‘Soft barriers’ – The impact of school ethos and culture on the inclusion of students with special educational needs in mainstream schools in Ireland

IF 1.1 Q3 EDUCATION & EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH
D. Keon
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引用次数: 6

Abstract

The use of ‘soft barriers’ to deter students with special educational needs (SEN) from accessing some schools has been reported in the Irish media. This article investigates the influence of ethos and culture on access to and inclusive practice in mainstream schools in Ireland. Ethos and culture are nebulous concepts yet are integral to how schools operate, how they present themselves and how they are perceived by the public. Findings from a small-scale, qualitative research study are used to illustrate this. In the study, the understandings and attitudes of principals, special education teachers and guidance counsellors in mainstream schools in relation to students with Social, Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties (SEBD) are investigated through the use of questionnaires and semi-structured interviews. In line with international experiences, an argument is presented suggesting that many sections of the education system in Ireland, while seemingly having been irrevocably transformed in response to national policy on inclusion, preserve very traditional structures, organisation and attitudes due to issues of ethos and culture remaining largely unchallenged in the inclusion debate. This phenomenon appears to have greater impact at post-primary level. Cosmetic, surface-level changes impede meaningful, systemic change in terms of access and inclusive practice.
“软障碍”——学校风气和文化对将有特殊教育需求的学生纳入爱尔兰主流学校的影响
爱尔兰媒体报道称,使用“软障碍”来阻止有特殊教育需求的学生进入一些学校。本文调查了爱尔兰主流学校的风气和文化对获得和包容性实践的影响。民族和文化是模糊的概念,但它们是学校如何运作、如何展示自己以及公众如何看待它们的组成部分。一项小规模的定性研究的结果被用来说明这一点。本研究采用问卷调查和半结构化访谈的方法,调查了主流学校校长、特殊教育教师和辅导员对社会、情感和行为困难学生的理解和态度。根据国际经验,有人提出了一种论点,认为爱尔兰教育系统的许多部分虽然似乎已经因国家包容政策而发生了不可逆转的转变,但由于民族精神和文化问题在包容辩论中基本上没有受到挑战,因此保留了非常传统的结构、组织和态度。这一现象在小学后一级的影响似乎更大。表面上的变化阻碍了在获取和包容性实践方面进行有意义的系统性变革。
本文章由计算机程序翻译,如有差异,请以英文原文为准。
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来源期刊
Improving Schools
Improving Schools EDUCATION & EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH-
CiteScore
5.50
自引率
0.00%
发文量
4
期刊介绍: Improving Schools is for all those engaged in school development, whether improving schools in difficulty or making successful schools even better. The journal includes contributions from across the world with an increasingly international readership including teachers, heads, academics, education authority staff, inspectors and consultants. Improving Schools has created a forum for the exchange of ideas and experiences. Major national policies and initiatives have been evaluated, to share good practice and to highlight problems. The journal also reports on visits to successful schools in diverse contexts, and includes book reviews on a wide range of developmental issues.
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