Journal of Research in Special Educational Needs最新文献

{"title":"‘Right support, right place, right time; right mess!’ Professionals' views on factors influencing the SEND system and outcomes for children and families in England: A qualitative study","authors":"Jennifer Saxton,&nbsp;Isaac Winterburn,&nbsp;Jacob Matthews,&nbsp;Joanna Anderson,&nbsp;Will Farr,&nbsp;Saira Minhas,&nbsp;Sarah Smith,&nbsp;Tamsin Ford,&nbsp;the HOPE team","doi":"10.1111/1471-3802.70080","DOIUrl":"10.1111/1471-3802.70080","url":null,"abstract":"<p>The Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) system in England is under scrutiny. Critics highlight inefficient service design, poor implementation, and adversarial processes that cause family-level distress. Unmet needs deprive children of learning, harming long-term prospects. Legislative changes in 2014 mandated professionals from multiple sectors to produce integrated child-centred support plans. Since then, little peer-reviewed research has asked professionals about key influences on SEND provision, interagency working or service-user outcomes. We conducted focus-group discussions with 35 SEND professionals, using a topic guide co-developed with parents/carers of children with SEND. Thematic analysis identified several system-level influences: increasing bureaucracy which diverted resources from early intervention; increasing SEND presentations and complexity; inadequate resources and training; over-dependence on parents'/'carers' advocacy; poor relationships with families; harmful education policies. Good interagency working depended on information sharing, relationships, shared understandings of SEND and access to specialists. Long waiting-lists, delayed provision and gaps in post-16 services worsened children's outcomes. Securing SEND provision was said to punish parents/carers; children with fewer resources were unseen. Repairing the system requires parallel actions to increase human resources, improve training and interagency working, and reduce parent/carer burden when obtaining SEND provision. Without substantial investment, delivering a child-centred system that meets needs remains impossible.</p>","PeriodicalId":46783,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Research in Special Educational Needs","volume":"26 2","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.0,"publicationDate":"2026-03-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://nasenjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/1471-3802.70080","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147643221","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"A case study, nested approach of children with Down Syndrome, their parents' and teachers' experiences of navigating primary–secondary school transition","authors":"Orlaith Kelly,&nbsp;Niamh O'Brien,&nbsp;Kelly Burgoyne,&nbsp;Rebecca Baxter,&nbsp;Charlotte Louise Bagnall","doi":"10.1111/1471-3802.70070","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/1471-3802.70070","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Primary-secondary school transitions are critical developmental periods for children and significant others, within their ecosystem, and can be an uncertain, emotionally unsettling time for all. For children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities, and Down Syndrome (DS) in particular, this period is believed to be more difficult and require additional support. However, insights into what this support could look like are limited by the dearth of research which has explored the first-hand experiences of children and significant others. This insight is needed for educators, policy makers and researchers to make evidence-informed decisions into what support provision is most efficacious, feasible to deliver and suitable for children during this time. The present study addresses these gaps, taking a case study, nested approach through interviewing two children with DS, their nominated parent and teachers in primary school and secondary schools about their lived experiences of navigating primary-secondary school transitions and how they feel this period could be improved. Transcripts were analysed using reflexive Thematic Analysis, and four main themes: <i>Preparing for transition, Sources of support</i>, <i>Resources</i> and <i>Transition reflections,</i> were identified across the eight interviews. This study addresses a significant gap in existing literature on primary-secondary transitions for children with DS and makes a unique methodological contribution in triangulating data from multiple stakeholders, including the voices of children. Key recommendations are identified for: further research including the need for longitudinal research to understand the factors influencing families' decision-making processes; educational practice such as the need to begin preparations for primary-secondary school transitions early, taking a team-based approach; and policy, specifically to increase funding and accessibility of appropriate external support based on our findings.</p>","PeriodicalId":46783,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Research in Special Educational Needs","volume":"26 2","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.0,"publicationDate":"2026-03-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://nasenjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/1471-3802.70070","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147568240","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"A case study, nested approach of children with Down Syndrome, their parents' and teachers' experiences of navigating primary–secondary school transition","authors":"Orlaith Kelly,&nbsp;Niamh O'Brien,&nbsp;Kelly Burgoyne,&nbsp;Rebecca Baxter,&nbsp;Charlotte Louise Bagnall","doi":"10.1111/1471-3802.70070","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/1471-3802.70070","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Primary-secondary school transitions are critical developmental periods for children and significant others, within their ecosystem, and can be an uncertain, emotionally unsettling time for all. For children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities, and Down Syndrome (DS) in particular, this period is believed to be more difficult and require additional support. However, insights into what this support could look like are limited by the dearth of research which has explored the first-hand experiences of children and significant others. This insight is needed for educators, policy makers and researchers to make evidence-informed decisions into what support provision is most efficacious, feasible to deliver and suitable for children during this time. The present study addresses these gaps, taking a case study, nested approach through interviewing two children with DS, their nominated parent and teachers in primary school and secondary schools about their lived experiences of navigating primary-secondary school transitions and how they feel this period could be improved. Transcripts were analysed using reflexive Thematic Analysis, and four main themes: <i>Preparing for transition, Sources of support</i>, <i>Resources</i> and <i>Transition reflections,</i> were identified across the eight interviews. This study addresses a significant gap in existing literature on primary-secondary transitions for children with DS and makes a unique methodological contribution in triangulating data from multiple stakeholders, including the voices of children. Key recommendations are identified for: further research including the need for longitudinal research to understand the factors influencing families' decision-making processes; educational practice such as the need to begin preparations for primary-secondary school transitions early, taking a team-based approach; and policy, specifically to increase funding and accessibility of appropriate external support based on our findings.</p>","PeriodicalId":46783,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Research in Special Educational Needs","volume":"26 2","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.0,"publicationDate":"2026-03-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://nasenjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/1471-3802.70070","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147568244","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Caregiver experiences with special education in Massachusetts: Evidence of broken promises?","authors":"John William McKenna,&nbsp;Meghan Burke,&nbsp;Hsien-Yuan Hsu,&nbsp;Ashleigh J. Hillier,&nbsp;Joseph Veneziano","doi":"10.1111/1471-3802.70084","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/1471-3802.70084","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Research suggests that schools face significant challenges when attempting to provide a free appropriate public education (FAPE) to students with disabilities and that their caregivers may be marginalised during IEP development, implementation and progress monitoring. This study investigated the special education experiences of Massachusetts caregivers. An electronic survey was developed through a comprehensive literature review and expert panel review and distributed via social media, special education focused listservs and caregiver organizations. One hundred ten participants completed the survey in its entirety. The majority of caregivers were white, had higher levels of home income and were mothers of children who received special education services for more than one disability. Participants tended to report concerns with the quality of home-school partnerships and the degree to which their child received an appropriate education. Few caregivers reported higher levels of satisfaction with specific special education services that their child received. Mean service satisfaction was a statistically significant predictor of home-school partnerships, with higher levels of satisfaction associated with stronger partnerships. Child educational setting and grade were not statistically significant predictors of home-school partnerships, caregiver advocacy or service satisfaction. Study limitations, future research and implications for policy, teacher preparation and educator support are discussed.</p>","PeriodicalId":46783,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Research in Special Educational Needs","volume":"26 2","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.0,"publicationDate":"2026-03-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147567577","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Caregiver experiences with special education in Massachusetts: Evidence of broken promises?","authors":"John William McKenna,&nbsp;Meghan Burke,&nbsp;Hsien-Yuan Hsu,&nbsp;Ashleigh J. Hillier,&nbsp;Joseph Veneziano","doi":"10.1111/1471-3802.70084","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/1471-3802.70084","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Research suggests that schools face significant challenges when attempting to provide a free appropriate public education (FAPE) to students with disabilities and that their caregivers may be marginalised during IEP development, implementation and progress monitoring. This study investigated the special education experiences of Massachusetts caregivers. An electronic survey was developed through a comprehensive literature review and expert panel review and distributed via social media, special education focused listservs and caregiver organizations. One hundred ten participants completed the survey in its entirety. The majority of caregivers were white, had higher levels of home income and were mothers of children who received special education services for more than one disability. Participants tended to report concerns with the quality of home-school partnerships and the degree to which their child received an appropriate education. Few caregivers reported higher levels of satisfaction with specific special education services that their child received. Mean service satisfaction was a statistically significant predictor of home-school partnerships, with higher levels of satisfaction associated with stronger partnerships. Child educational setting and grade were not statistically significant predictors of home-school partnerships, caregiver advocacy or service satisfaction. Study limitations, future research and implications for policy, teacher preparation and educator support are discussed.</p>","PeriodicalId":46783,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Research in Special Educational Needs","volume":"26 2","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.0,"publicationDate":"2026-03-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147567578","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Exploring mental models of SEN among teachers of English for academic purposes: Themes and entanglements","authors":"Susie Russak,&nbsp;Leor Cohen","doi":"10.1111/1471-3802.70076","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/1471-3802.70076","url":null,"abstract":"<p>The study of English for Academic Purposes (EAP) is compulsory in many higher education institutions, particularly in settings where English is not the students' first language. Since more students are entering academia, the population of students with special educational needs (SEN) is increasing. Students with SEN struggle with academic requirements in their first language and more so with EAP courses. In order to impact teacher practices, it is first necessary to uncover their understandings of SEN. To this end, our study examined the mental models of SEN among eight EAP teachers. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews. Qualitative thematic content analysis revealed that their mental models were complex, constructed of impersonal (common parlance labels of SEN, institutional knowledge regarding placement levels and accommodations) and personal knowledge (in-class and prior personal/professional experiences). Moreover, these themes were often entangled in particular ways as participants provided epistemic warrants: building attributions and grounding knowledge claims from one knowledge set in another. We suggest these insights may be useful in constructing in-service training courses for EAP teachers.</p>","PeriodicalId":46783,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Research in Special Educational Needs","volume":"26 2","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.0,"publicationDate":"2026-03-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147564641","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Beyond the numbers: Unveiling trends and patterns in inclusive higher education research","authors":"Mariyam Shareefa,&nbsp;Visal Moosa,&nbsp;Walton Wider,&nbsp;Abd Majid Mohd Isa","doi":"10.1111/1471-3802.70082","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/1471-3802.70082","url":null,"abstract":"<p>This study conducted a systematic and comprehensive examination of the existing literature using bibliometric and science mapping analysis, identifying the volume and growth of research over time, key themes, influential authors and geographic contributions to the field. Bibliometric data for the present study was gathered from the Scopus database using appropriate keywords whereby a total of 2176 publications were retrieved and included in the analysis. The analysis was conducted using VOSViewer while certain graphs were produced using Microsoft Excel. While a geometric increase in the volume of publications is identified, the average citation remained more or less constant between one and two citations. While the major global contributors were the US, the UK and Spain, contributions from Russia, South Africa, Brazil and India are noteworthy. Florian, Sharma and Moriña were the three most influential authors in terms of citations. As for the major themes of knowledge, (i) provision of education to the disabled and special needs, (ii) provision of education in an inclusive setting and (iii) initial teacher preparation and learning design are significant. These are potential areas which can be further explored in future research.</p>","PeriodicalId":46783,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Research in Special Educational Needs","volume":"26 2","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.0,"publicationDate":"2026-03-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147564776","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Exploring mental models of SEN among teachers of English for academic purposes: Themes and entanglements","authors":"Susie Russak,&nbsp;Leor Cohen","doi":"10.1111/1471-3802.70076","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/1471-3802.70076","url":null,"abstract":"<p>The study of English for Academic Purposes (EAP) is compulsory in many higher education institutions, particularly in settings where English is not the students' first language. Since more students are entering academia, the population of students with special educational needs (SEN) is increasing. Students with SEN struggle with academic requirements in their first language and more so with EAP courses. In order to impact teacher practices, it is first necessary to uncover their understandings of SEN. To this end, our study examined the mental models of SEN among eight EAP teachers. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews. Qualitative thematic content analysis revealed that their mental models were complex, constructed of impersonal (common parlance labels of SEN, institutional knowledge regarding placement levels and accommodations) and personal knowledge (in-class and prior personal/professional experiences). Moreover, these themes were often entangled in particular ways as participants provided epistemic warrants: building attributions and grounding knowledge claims from one knowledge set in another. We suggest these insights may be useful in constructing in-service training courses for EAP teachers.</p>","PeriodicalId":46783,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Research in Special Educational Needs","volume":"26 2","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.0,"publicationDate":"2026-03-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147564782","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Beyond the numbers: Unveiling trends and patterns in inclusive higher education research","authors":"Mariyam Shareefa,&nbsp;Visal Moosa,&nbsp;Walton Wider,&nbsp;Abd Majid Mohd Isa","doi":"10.1111/1471-3802.70082","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/1471-3802.70082","url":null,"abstract":"<p>This study conducted a systematic and comprehensive examination of the existing literature using bibliometric and science mapping analysis, identifying the volume and growth of research over time, key themes, influential authors and geographic contributions to the field. Bibliometric data for the present study was gathered from the Scopus database using appropriate keywords whereby a total of 2176 publications were retrieved and included in the analysis. The analysis was conducted using VOSViewer while certain graphs were produced using Microsoft Excel. While a geometric increase in the volume of publications is identified, the average citation remained more or less constant between one and two citations. While the major global contributors were the US, the UK and Spain, contributions from Russia, South Africa, Brazil and India are noteworthy. Florian, Sharma and Moriña were the three most influential authors in terms of citations. As for the major themes of knowledge, (i) provision of education to the disabled and special needs, (ii) provision of education in an inclusive setting and (iii) initial teacher preparation and learning design are significant. These are potential areas which can be further explored in future research.</p>","PeriodicalId":46783,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Research in Special Educational Needs","volume":"26 2","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.0,"publicationDate":"2026-03-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147564777","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Effectiveness of an online-delivered parent-mediated intervention for the improvement of social skills of children with autism","authors":"Issa Alkinj,&nbsp;Manuela Sanches-Ferreira,&nbsp;Cristina Nunes","doi":"10.1111/1471-3802.70079","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/1471-3802.70079","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) show social communication difficulties, a common symptom alongside behavioural issues. These difficulties may affect both their social and academic inclusion when they do not receive proper support. The current study attempts to examine the effects of a parent-mediated intervention that was delivered online to improve the social communication skills of a sample of 12 young children with ASD (intervention group = 6; control group = 6). The intervention programme consisted of 10 sessions based on multiple strategies, including social stories, 3D-video modelling and video self-modelling, with the use of prompting, fading and social reinforcement, targeting different social communication skills. A quasi-experimental method was used based on pre- and post-intervention assessment and follow-up to evaluate the effects of the intervention. The results showed that participants in the intervention group showed significant improvements over the control group in sociability and speech/language/communications domains, and there was an improvement in the total Autism Treatment Evaluation Checklist (ATEC). Also, parents demonstrated high fidelity in the implementation and high satisfaction with the intervention programme. The limitations and future implications of the study are discussed.</p>","PeriodicalId":46783,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Research in Special Educational Needs","volume":"26 2","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.0,"publicationDate":"2026-03-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://nasenjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/1471-3802.70079","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147564004","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}