Ann Lewis

Accessing, through Research Interviews, the Views of Children with Difficulties in Learning

The authors of this and the following two articles consider some of the challenges facing researchers in establishing children’s views about learning. In this article Ann Lewis provides an overview of some of the key issues with regard to the interviewing, for research purposes, of children with difficulties in learning. The issues discussed and the approach adopted will have wide application in a climate which increasingly accepts that accessing the authentic views of children is an important responsibility requiring respectfulness, sensitivity and skill.

The views and experiences of parents of children with autistic spectrum disorder about educational provision: comparisons with parents of children with other disabilities from an online survey

A recent review of educational provision for children with special educational needs by the House of Commons Education and Skills Committee in 2006 singled out children with autistic spectrum disorder (ASD) as being in need of special attention and highlighted the frustration felt by parents. One implication is that parents of children with ASD find it disproportionately difficult to obtain appropriate educational provision for their children compared with families with children with other disabilities. This paper compares the views of parents of children with (n = 66) and without (n = 59) ASD about educational provision across mainstream and special schools from an online survey in the United Kingdom. Results show that whilst there are some differences in experiences between groups of parents (ASD versus non‐ASD), their views are more similar than different both in relation to positive aspects of provision as well as areas for improvement. A majority of parents in both groups were mostly satisfied with their child’s current educational provision, although concerns about transitions between and beyond schools were common to both groups. There was no evidence to suggest that disability legislation in the United Kingdom (Disability Discrimination Act 1995 – Part IV) had made a significant impact on parents, either in informational or practical terms. Improvements in educational provision need to support all children with special educational needs or disabilities rather than singling out a group of children with particular needs.

The home‐education of children with special needs or disabilities in the UK: views of parents from an online survey

The home‐education of children is one ‘choice’ of provision that is often overlooked or unreported in the debate on inclusive education for children with disabilities or special educational needs. This study aimed to access the views of these hard‐to‐reach home‐educating families through an online survey. Twenty‐seven parents, with at least one child with special educational needs or disabilities/being educated at home, responded, and over two‐thirds identified ‘push’ factors away from the school as their main reasons for educating their children at home, such as bad experiences with formal provision and the perceived failure of schools to meet their child’s needs adequately. A majority of children had been at a mainstream school at the time of the decision to home‐educate and 48% of the children were described as having an Autistic Spectrum Disorder. Findings are discussed in relation to the ‘personalisation’ agenda of education in the UK.

How specialized is teaching children with disabilities and difficulties

How specialized is the teaching of the group of learners with disabilities and difficulties? This is one of the most basic and perplexing questions in the education of this group. This is a highly significant question in the context of current education policy and practice. There has been a growing awareness of the need for universalizing curricula; however there have been few attempts to clarify the nature, rationale, and evidence‐base for particular modifications. We summarize the findings that have emerged from two successive strands of critique focused on our opening question. We argue that research‐led understanding and explication of ‘special’ pedagogies need to integrate teacher knowledge about learning processes and about the nature of disability, curriculum, and pedagogic strategy.

Satisfaction with educational provision for children with SEN or disabilities: a national postal survey of the views of parents in Great Britain

The success and quality of educational provision for children with SEN and/or disabilities is a matter of considerable debate, with wide differences reported by parents. Extant evidence is limited by sampling bias and size, making the true extent of (dis)satisfaction difficult to gauge. This paper reports systematic, comparative evidence from a factor analysis of a large sample of diverse parents (n = 562) in Great Britain, surveyed on key aspects of provision such as choice of school and influence of attitudinal and environmental factors. In contrast to dominant notions of widespread unhappiness amongst parents, a largely positive view of educational provision was found. Parents of children with psychosocial difficulties in mainstream schools were the main exceptions, being the least satisfied with provision. These findings offer a timely and welcome balance in the highly contentious debate on where and how additional support for children and young people with SEN or disabilities takes place.

The use of Transana as a video analysis tool in researching computer-based collaborative learning in inclusive classrooms in Cyprus

This paper focuses primarily on the methodological considerations of a study investigating the interactions of pairs of disabled and non‐disabled children working together on computer‐based tasks, in mainstream primary schools in Cyprus. Twenty dyads of pupils (each pair comprising a disabled child and a non‐disabled peer), were observed and videotaped while working together at the computer. Extensive piloting of data collection strategies, coding schemes and methods of analysis led to the use of Transana, a computer‐based qualitative analysis tool, for much of the analysis. Firstly, the analysis involved extracting two ‘video transcripts’ which were synchronized with the video; one for non‐verbal interaction (events) and one for verbal interaction. Two coding schemes were then developed, one for each transcript. The next stage of the analysis involved identification of specific verbal interaction patterns within the non‐verbal (event) phases, in respect to collaboration and inclusion, as documented by specific video clips synchronized with both transcripts. The authors believe that this work is unique in applying Transana in this context and it is suggested that the approach has much to offer researchers seeking to understand the fine grain of interactions in inclusive classrooms.

‘Why should I be like bloody Rain Man?!’ Navigating the autistic identity

This article explores the views of six higher education students with autism/Asperger syndrome. The research draws upon social identity theory to explore how participants made meaning of their label. There was consensus that information given at the point of diagnosis generally did not reflect their individual experiences. First-hand accounts tended to be perceived as more personally relevant. The ‘Asperger’ identity was generally framed as fragile and inconsistent, leading some individuals to distance themselves from it. This may be problematic for a group that is already disadvantaged and isolated. However, participants conveyed strong self-images regardless of how and whether they identified with their diagnosis, which was attributed to their relative privilege in achieving higher education and therefore experiencing success and achievement related to their personal strengths. In this article, Andrea MacLeod, Ann Lewis and Christopher Robertson, from the University of Birmingham, call for researchers and relevant services to involve autistic individuals directly in fostering a constructive ‘autism identity’.

Understanding of epilepsy by children and young people with epilepsy

There is a striking dearth of studies focusing sensitively and in depth on the mainstream educational experiences of children with epilepsy, as viewed by those children themselves. The one‐year project (2006–7) reported here addresses that gap. Children’s perceptions about mainstream teachers’ understanding of epilepsy and school‐based needs are particularly interesting and this work breaks new ground in that connection. The authors report findings from two complementary qualitative methods of data collection: (1) an e‐survey of 44 self‐selected children and young people with epilepsy, and (2) interviews (mainly individual) in mainstream schools with 22 children/young people with epilepsy. Overall, the children and young people (aged 7–18) were clear about the nature of their condition, including seizures. For many, there was an implicit reluctance in accepting epilepsy as a “part of them”; self‐reported feelings of secrecy, stigma and shame abounded. This had repercussions for how schools were seen to need to respond with sensitivity and knowledge‐based understanding. Taking a qualitative methodological approach revealed important insights into complex concepts like stigma in the school context. This was illustrated in children and young people’s readiness to talk about their feelings of “difference” in relation to others when given the opportunity to do so sensitively. The findings have important implications for how schools and services work in a genuinely fully inclusive way with children and young people who have epilepsy.

The development of children’s ideas about others’ difficulties in learning

In this paper, Professor Ann Lewis, of the School of Education, University of Birmingham, reviews the literature and current research on pupils’ perceptions of others’ difficulties in learning. She focuses, in particular, on three strands: children’s perceptions about other people and their traits; children as ‘naive’ biologists, attempting to explain growth and development in others; and children’s responses to and use of cues based on achievement and ideas about ability. In a wide-ranging discussion, this article explores work on theory of mind and notes the different ways in which children explain learning difficulties in others at various ages. In her conclusion, Professor Lewis makes three key points: there is a need to supplement experimental work in this area with good quality, classroom-based studies; more effort should be devoted to finding ways of accessing children’s views and perceptions in authentic and reliable ways; and staff working in inclusive classrooms are ideally placed to contribute to the development of research in this area.

Methodological Issues in Exploring the Ideas of Children with Autism Concerning Self and Spirituality

This article considers the methodological challenges in attempting to hear directly from children with autism spectrum conditions about their views concerning spirituality and religion. We may seek these views on the grounds of childrens rights, health/well-being and spirituality links, or of the neglect of faith groups in hearing directly from such children, or because these childrens views may be fundamentally challenging in religious terms (such as difficulties in understanding the ‘other’ /‘Other’). Five pointers about methods are discussed, drawing on cognitive and developmental research. Additionally, childrens right to silence is considered as well as the crucial importance of researcher reflexivity.