In this paper the authors employ a case study approach to investigate the transition process for a student with special educational needs from a Hong Kong subsidised primary school into a secondary school. An analysis of transcripts from individual and focus group interviews with the student, his parents, his 4 primary teachers and his 10 secondary teachers, as well as government documents and notes of school observations, indicated that a lack of formal procedures for supporting a student's transition can result in a range of significant difficulties. The discussion focuses on the urgent need to develop strategic guidelines at a systemic level within Hong Kong, with a much greater focus on a collaborative school approach rather than the current overreliance on the parents to lead this process.

This article reports on the results of a survey distributed in April 2007 to government special education schools and settings throughout Australia. The survey collected information about the age and special education qualifications of teaching staff. It followed a similar survey that was distributed in May 2006 to Victorian special schools that found that 44.9% of teachers and principals were aged 50 years or more, and 68.9% had a special education qualification. In the current survey, the percentage of principals and teachers aged 50 years or more in the responding schools ranged from 37.5% in New South Wales to 51.0% in the Australian Capital Territory. The percentage of special education qualified staff varied from 53.1% in the Australian Capital Territory to 86.6% in Western Australia. These results are examined in further detail and possible implications discussed.

Despite aspirations to be a world-class national curriculum, the Australian Curriculum (AC) has been criticised as ‘manifestly deficient’ (Australian Government Department of Education and Training, 2014 p. 5) as an inclusive curriculum, failing to meet the needs of all students with disabilities (SWD) and their teachers. There is a need for research into the daily attempts of educators to navigate the tension between a ‘top-down’ system-wide curriculum and a ‘bottom-up’ regard for individual student needs, with a view to informing both policy and practice. This article is the first of two research papers in which we report the findings from a national online Research in Special Education (RISE) Australian Curriculum Survey of special educators in special schools, classes, and units regarding their experience using the AC to plan for and teach SWD. Survey results indicated (a) inconsistent use of the AC as the primary basis for developing learning objectives and designing learning experiences, (b) infrequent use of the achievement standards to support assessment and reporting, and (c) considerable supplementation of the AC from other resources when educating SWD. Overall, participants expressed a lack of confidence in translating the AC framework into a meaningful curriculum for SWD. Implications for policy, practice, and future research are discussed.

Inclusive education has become more common in schools, and children with developmental disabilities have had greater opportunities to interact, and hopefully establish relationships with their typically developing peers. While the quality of friendships between typically developing children has been examined in detail, relatively little comparable data is available on children with developmental disabilities. The current study provided an examination of the characteristics of the closest relationships between children with developmental disabilities and peers in inclusive school settings. Twenty-five children with developmental disabilities aged between approximately 5 and 12 years participated. Using an interview instrument, the relationships of these children with 74 peers were examined across six dimensions. Overall, dyads were found to be high in Validation and Caring as well as Help and Guidance, followed by slightly lower levels of Companionship. Intimate Exchange was reported to be lower. Conflict among dyads was also low, and Conflict Resolution was reported to be high when problems did occur. There was a clear differentiation between the highest- and lowest-ranked dyads for children with a disability. Overall, the features of the relationships between children with disabilities and their highest-ranked peer appeared similar in nature to those previously reported between typically developing peers.

The aim of the research described in this article was to build a protocol for describing students' development of emotional knowledge and understanding, and to tailor this to the requirements of assessing the progress of students with additional needs. The paper reports the establishment of such a developmental profile, using procedures for defining standards-referenced frameworks (Griffin, 2007) to create an observation questionnaire of students' emotional skills. This approach relies on the knowledge and collaboration of experienced teachers and researchers in the fields of special education and emotional development to establish an hypothesised framework of critical skills, observable behaviour statements, and developmental criteria that map qualitative transitions in student performance. The framework was subsequently validated against observation data gathered by teachers in 2007, from 77 Victorian government schools (21 mainstream, 56 special education) on 1597 students (3 to 18 years) with additional needs. Their responses were calibrated using partial credit item response modelling to empirically identify major transitions in students' emotional development and to establish the construct validity of the profile. In the area of students' emotional development, teachers have limited access to information that supports their assessment of progress and underpins decisions about setting goals for learning and appraising teaching strategies. The proposed article describes early stages of a research program that attempts to redress this situation by working with teachers to develop an appropriate and inclusive profile of emotional development for students with additional needs.

This paper reports on the attitudes of 340 government primary principals from New South Wales, Australia, towards the inclusion of students with disruptive behaviours in schools. Principals’ attitudes were examined using the Principals and Behaviour Survey (PABS), a new composite measure built upon a foundation of existing validated surveys on attitudes towards the inclusion of students with disabilities. Principal component analysis identified 3 components that were used as variables for correlations with a range of demographic characteristics, such as age, qualifications, experience, school size and location. School size and the number of students with a diagnosed mental health condition in the school had a small relationship with principals’ attitudes. From the analysis of data from the emotional response scale, it was found that principals’ emotions about inclusion were less positive towards students with disruptive behaviour than towards students with sensory, physical or intellectual disabilities. Overall, principals appeared to hold dichotomous positions in regard to the benefits of inclusion, viewing it as beneficial for students with disruptive behaviour but not for their peers. However, principals who held more positive views were consistently more positive across all measures.

This paper reports the findings from a study investigating Bhutanese parents’ involvement in supporting their children with special educational needs (SEN) in schooling. The interaction between the parents themselves in supporting each other was also explored. Individual interviews were conducted with 26 parents (13 fathers and 13 mothers) of children with either full inclusion or partial inclusion in 3 schools located in 3 regions (urban, semi-urban, and rural) and analysed using manual thematic coding and Leximancer text mining software. Of Epstein’s (1987) 6 types of parental involvement activities in education, these parents reported their actions to be parenting, volunteering in schools, supporting learning and development at home, and collaborating with the community. The minimal interaction among the parents was mostly between the stay-in-school urban mothers who had consistent but impromptu and informal interactions. The implications of this study inform the need for schools to respond to policy and to actively engage parents, and for education programs and support groups to be set up to strengthen parental involvement in the education of children with SEN in Bhutan.

Individuals with the pervasive developmental disorder Asperger's syndrome (AS) are generally of average or above average intelligence and attend mainstream schools. Despite their intelligence, some of the characteristics and challenges associated with AS can impact upon the quality of life they experience at school. Although both males and females are diagnosed with AS, females have been underrepresented and unrepresented in much of the AS research. Consequently, much of what is known about the school experiences of students with AS is based on studies consisting predominately of male perspectives. This article discusses what adult females with AS and parents of females with AS currently attending school wish teachers understood about AS in females. Many of the experiences described by participants indicate there is a lack of understanding about AS, both generally and specifically, in relation to females. Implications of these findings and recommendations for educators and schools are provided, and directions for future research are outlined.

Recent research suggests that inquiry‐based approaches can be powerful in stimulating the development of inclusive practices. However, the implementation of such approaches can be difficult, particularly in contexts where there is a strong emphasis on improving standards, as measured by test and examination scores. This article describes and reflects on the authors’ experiences in working with staff in an English secondary school. It illustrates how the use of evidence, particularly the views of students themselves, can be a powerful lever for change. The paper argues that the successful use of such approaches will depend on forms of leadership that foster a willingness to address the challenges that emerge as a result of listening to the voices of different people.

Research on the efficacy of sensory integration therapy (SIT) is addressed in this article. Initially, past key reviews of intervention studies until 1994 are considered. Subsequently, more recent studies from 1994 until 2007 are examined. Consistent with numerous previous reviews, no robust evidence supporting the efficacy of SIT was found. Alternative and more parsimonious explanations for purported effects of SIT are considered. In light of the accumulated lack of evidence for the effectiveness of SIT, continued use of the technique outside of research contexts does not appear to be justified.

Various models for funding special education services have been described in the literature. This paper aims at moving the debate concerning special education funding reform beyond the descriptive level by reviewing studies that investigated the impact of various models for funding special education. Systematic searches were conducted of ERIC and PsycINFO to identify studies that investigated the impact, implications, or outcome of one or more special education funding models. Ten studies were identified covering five major funding models. The results showed that the funding reforms investigated in these studies each had associated benefits, but also potential detriments. However, these studies mainly involved indirect outcome measures, often failed to fully assess impact on academic achievement or cost-effectiveness. Results highlight the need for additional research on the impact of special education funding reform.

Students with autism and intellectual disabilities experience many transitions during their schooling, and a large body of literature is devoted to best practices in transition planning and support. The Taxonomy for Transition Programming 2.0 is a research-based model that provides best practice suggestions to guide the planning of various transitions and contexts. The researchers aimed to use the current qualitative study to discover the transition planning practices used to support students with autism and intellectual disabilities in inclusive school settings when transitioning from primary to secondary schools and from secondary school to postschool life in New South Wales (Australia). The practices that emerged were then examined for alignment with the Taxonomy for Transition Programming 2.0. The inductive content analysis of interviews with 8 parents and 13 teachers indicated that although most of the areas of the Taxonomy are represented in the planning processes, there is room for improvement, particularly in the areas of formal individual education program and transition planning, student involvement, information sharing, and program assessment. The results highlighted the importance of formal student- and family-centred planning processes to the success of both transitions. The results were used to make further recommendations for future research, policy, and practice.

This article reports on the pilot work for a collaborative National Health and Medical Research Council project in Australia involving education and health professionals to improve the health and well-being of young people who have an intellectual disability. The pilot study was a qualitative exploration of teacher experiences using a health diary as part of the special education curriculum over a six-month period. The research questions were: (1) How did teachers include health-related matters in the curriculum before use of the Ask Health Diary?; and (2) How did teachers and students use the Ask Health Diary as a component of the school curriculum and what were the benefits? The Ask Health Diary was used to introduce students to the concept of self-advocacy in relation to their health needs and provide practical strategies for supporting students’ learning about self-advocacy in relation to their health. The reported data indicates that the Ask Health Diary was a popular resource for students and teachers and raised awareness of the importance of developing the communication skills and independent living abilities necessary for young people to advocate for their own health needs. The pilot study indicates that there is merit in including the diary in a health-based school curriculum for adolescents who have an intellectual disability.

This paper investigates the literature pertaining to the professional reading habits of teachers. Particular attention is given to those teachers working with students with special education needs. The value of professional reading is considered along with the quantity of professional reading of teachers from Australia and overseas, the types of professional reading undertaken, and the factors that influence the degree and type of professional reading. The literature suggests that teachers engage in relatively little professional reading, especially when compared to the reading habits of other professionals. Further, the reading that is undertaken is principally from periodicals that are largely pragmatic in nature. Issues arising from these findings are explored, current barriers to the promotion of professional reading are identified, and research-based recommendations aimed at changing low levels of professional readership are suggested.

The aim of this article is to provide clinical and practical guidance for the provision of one-on-one intervention for children with spelling difficulties. We briefly discuss the requirements of theoretically guided assessment and suggest some norm-based assessment tools in this light. The main focus of this article is on teaching children with spelling difficulties in a one-on-one context. Previous research has shown that children present with spelling difficulties of different types and that intervention is most effective when targeted at the specific difficulty. Hence, we outline different interventions for different subtypes of developmental spelling difficulties.

This article reports on inclusive education in Bangladesh for children with special needs. Bangladesh is not behind other developed countries in enacting laws and declarations in favour of inclusive education, but a lack of resources is the main barrier in implementing inclusive education. Special education and integrated education models exist in Bangladesh. The difference is that almost all school age children with disabilities in developed countries such as Australia are in education, whereas, 89% of children with disabilities are not in education in Bangladesh. New initiatives for Bangladesh are described, and further initiatives are suggested, such as link programmes between regular and special schools, dual placement provisions, development of special units in regular schools, initiation of model schools for others to follow and inter‐ministerial and inter‐agency collaborations to improve inclusive education practices.

Social StoriesTM have gained wide acceptance as an intervention for children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) yet extant research provides only circumscribed empirical evidence in support of their efficacy. While it is claimed that Social Stories may be appropriate to children with significant levels of intellectual disability and basic language skills, limited research has been conducted with this group. This pilot study employed an ABC design using a Social Story intervention to target looking at a book during group reading time. The participant was a child with autistic disorder who had intellectual disability and limited language skills. The intervention was unsuccessful, highlighting the need to further investigate the role that both language skills and intellectual ability play in moderating response to the intervention.

This investigation examined the relationship between teachers’ beliefs and their preferences for classroom interventions for behaviours consistent with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Teacher ratings of intervention acceptability, effectiveness, and rate of change were compared across United States and New Zealand samples. Beliefs examined were personal teaching efficacy, general teaching efficacy, and pupil control ideology (PCI). Samples were compared regarding their preferences for the daily report card, response cost technique, classroom lottery, and medication as classroom strategies for managing ADHD-related behavioural concerns. Data were analysed using general linear modelling techniques, and an interaction was demonstrated between ADHD intervention x PCI x nationality. Differences were observed for ADHD interventions across samples based upon pupil control orientations. Implications for educators and their classroom practices are discussed.

The aim of this systematic review was to map the peer-reviewed literature (2009–2019) relating to school involvement with wraparound models in the support of students with complex needs. Specific research questions addressed explored the evidence base of the efficacy of wraparound with these students and barriers and enablers in the provision of wraparound services. Database searches were conducted and a total of 50 articles were identified. The analysis revealed eight different aspects of wraparound efficacy, with mixed results. Nine factors were identified as having a positive enabling, or disabling, effect on the provision of effective wraparound services. The wraparound programs were varied in their nature and in their successful implementation, with time to allow the program to mature and adherence to the 10 principles of the wraparound process emerging as enabling factors for wraparound success.