Theme 3: Sub-theme 2 Support for social, em otional and behavioural difficulties

There w as a perception expressed by m any participants that pupils experiencing SE B D received greater support in special schools than in m ainstream sch o o ls. Pupils did not express a v ie w on this issue. S om e parents expressed the v ie w that m ainstream sch oo ls were ill-equipped to deal w ith the behavioural and social d ifficu lties experienced b y pupils w ho had transferred. T h ey indicated that the m ain approach em p loyed in m ainstream schools to deal w ith behavioural problem s w as to rem ove the pupil from the classroom . There w as also som e criticism o f the w a y social difficulties had been dealt w ith w h ile pupils w ere in m ainstream sch o ols. S om e parents, including Parent 6C , felt there w a s a lack o f understanding on the part o f teachers:

s o m e w h e r e o n e d a y a n d th e y h a d to g e t a big, a h u g e bu s f o r th is tr ip a n d m y d a u g h te r w a s a w a k e m o s t o f th e n ig h t f r e tt i n g b e c a u s e s h e k n e w th a t n o o n e w o u ld s i t b e s id e h er. S o I r a n g up s o m e b o d y in th e s c h o o l y o u k n o w to s a y th a t b e fo r e th e y le ft c o u ld th e y m a k e s u r e th a t s o m e h o w th a t s o m e o n e w o u ld s i t b e s id e h er, th a t s h e w o u ld n 't b e le ft on h er ow n. So, the te a c h e r s t o o d up a n d s a i d ‘n o w John, i t ’s y o u r tu rn to s i t b e s id e X, n o w M a r y y o u ca n s w a p o v e r n ow , M a r y i t ’s y o u r tu rn ’. T h a t ty p e o f th in g to m e s h o w s a g r e a t la c k o f u n d e r s ta n d in g .... (Parent 6C)

There w as a perception am ongst parents and m ainstream teachers that pupils' em otional and behavioural d ifficu lties w ou ld be addressed in special sch ools in a m ore e ffe c tiv e w ay than in mainstream. Parent 3B expressed this view:

I f a c h ild is d o w n in a n y w a y a t a l l th a t c h ild is s e e n to a n d b r o u g h t o u t a n d w h a te v e r th a t n e e d is, i t ’s se e n s tr a ig h t a w a y. I t ’s n o t f e s te r in g .... (Parent 3 B)

There w as so m e agreem ent from teachers in m ainstream sch o o ls that so m e o f the pupils' behavioural and so cia l difficu lties w ere not adequately addressed w h ile they w ere in m ainstream primary sch ools. Som e o f these teachers acknow ledged that they found the behavioural d ifficu lties o f pupils w h o had transferred very d ifficu lt to deal w ith in a classroom situation. O ne m ainstream primary teacher described her d ifficu lties cop in g w ith the behaviours presented b y a pupil w ho subsequently transferred to case D:

T h ere w e r e m a n y d a y s w h en I w e n t to the p r i n c i p a l a n d s a i d I j u s t c a n 't d e a l w ith him . The k id s a r e te r rifie d , h e is th ro w in g s tu f f a ro u n d , n o b o d y is a b le to h o ld him . H e w a s b ig a n d v e r y a g g r e s s iv e .... (Teacher m ainstream primary ID )

Another m ainstream primary teacher in case C suggested that special sch ools w ere better equipped to deal w ith behavioural difficulties:

P r o b a b ly b e c a u s e th e y h a v e a h ig h e r to le r a n c e le v e l a n d th e y h a v e m o r e w a y s o f c o p in g w ith c h ild r e n th e r e ..th e y h a v e th e ir tim e -o u t ....(T eacher m ainstream primary 1C)

Principals o f post-prim ary sch o ols also stated that they did not have the fa cilities or supports in the sch ools to deal w ith som e o f the em otional and behavioural problem s experienced b y

som e pupils and o n e principal suggested that it w a s not alw ays in the p u p ils’ best interests to attend m ainstream sch o o ls that did not have adequate supports:

H e r e w e h a v e c h ild re n w ith e m o tio n a l p r o b l e m s a n d A D H D , w e w o u ld h a v e to a s k th e ir p a r e n t s to a s k th e ir G P to re fe r th em o n to X C h ild a n d F a m ily C a r e C e n tre a n d th e re's a s ix m on th w a itin g lis t to g e t in th ere. So, in o n e se n se , ta k in g c h ild re n w h o h a v e v e r y s p e c ia l n eeds, w h ich w e d o n 't n o r m a lly on a d a y to d a y d e a l w ith ; y o u h a v e to b e v e r y c o g n is a n t o f th e f a c t th a t y o u m a y b e d o in g m o r e d a m a g e . It's a b ig a s k

....(Principal m ainstream post-primary A )

Teachers in special sch oo ls referred to the som etim es challenging behaviours presented and suggested that experience o f such behaviours over tim e had provided them w ith the skills necessary to co p e in th ese situations. Teacher 2 A described h o w sh e learned to cope w ith difficult behaviours exhibited by pupils at times:

S o m e tim e s th e c h ild r e n can b e v e r y co n fro n ta tio n a l, e s p e c ia lly th e o ld e r c h ild re n a n d th e y ca n b e v e ry , I m ea n th e la n g u a g e th e y c a n u se to w a r d s a m e m b e r o f s t a f f th a t c a n a ffe c t a m e m b e r, o r th e le v e l o f v io le n c e th a t th e y m ig h t tr y to, o r y o u m ig h t w itn e ss, ca n b e q u ite d iffic u lt e s p e c ia lly . I ca n r e m e m b e r th e r a w n e s s o f th a t in th e b eg in n in g . You d o le a rn to c o p e w ith th a t.... (Teacher 2A )

T hese findings indicate a perception that pupils re ce iv e greater support for S E B D in special sch ools than in m ainstream schools. Teachers and principals in m ainstream sch ools acknow ledged d ifficu lties in coping with challenging behaviours in the cla ss environm ent. T h ese findings are supported b y a recent report b y C ooper and Jacobs (2 0 1 1 ), w h o identify the need for teachers to d evelop a basic k now ledge o f behavioural and co g n itiv e behavioural principles, and their application, in the prom otion o f go od behaviour, em otional w ell-b ein g and p o sitiv e social adjustment.

5 .4 .7 S u m m a ry o f fin d in g s in re la tio n to s u p p o r ts a n d r e s o u r c e s in m a in s tr e a m a n d s p e c ia l s c h o o ls .

The findings in relation to the them e o f supports and resources for pup ils w ith M G L D in m ainstream and special sch o ols are relevant to R esearch Q uestions 1, 2 and 3. A perceived

lack o f appropriate supports and resources was one o f the m ain reasons cited for the transfer o f pupils to special sch o ols for pupils w ith M GLD. In m ainstream sch ools, a perception that supports w ere b ein g reduced and a lack o f support in m ainstream c la sses w ere cited as reasons for transfer. The G AM w as identified b y teachers and principals as having contributed to a decrease in lev els o f support for pupils w ith M G LD in the current study. This m odel o f support has b een criticised in terms o f the capacity o f sch o o ls to provide adequate support for pupils w ith M G L D (Stevens & O ’M oore, 2 0 0 9 ). A t post-prim ary lev e l, the need to reapply for supports, as w e ll as a perceived lack o f appropriate supervision o f pupils, w ere cited as reasons for transfer.

There w as a perception am ongst all participant groups that pupils received a greater lev el o f supports in special sch o o ls particularly in relation to support for pupils w ith S E B D and S N A support. H ow ever, an over-reliance on SN A support and resentm ent b y som e pupils o f S N A support in m ainstream primary and post-primary sch ools w ere d ifficu lties highlighted b y parents and teachers in mainstream and special sch ools. T he role o f the S N A in supporting teachers o f pupils w ith M G LD in m ainstream sch o o ls w as highlighted as important in keeping pup ils on task. D esp ite the importance attached to the role o f the S N A b y participants in this study, there is currently no evid en ce to support the v ie w that p u p ils’ outcom es are better for th ose w h o receiv e S N A support in m ainstream sch o o ls (Blatchford, R u ssell, Bassett, B row n & M artin, 2 0 0 7). H ow ever, Blatchford et al. did find that the presence o f a support assistant in the classroom facilitated m ore individualised teacher attention towards pupils w h ich is consistent w ith the v iew s expressed b y teachers in the current study.

T he perception am ongst parents and teachers in m ainstream sch o ols that there w as greater support for pupils w ith SE B D in special schools highlights the need for greater supports and professional develop m ent for teachers in m ainstream sch o o ls in this area. H ow ever, the perception that teachers in special schools h ave greater expertise due to professional

developm ent in the area o f SEN is not supported by the ev id en ce o f studies (W are et al., 2 0 0 9 ). Teachers in special schools in the current study attributed their expertise to years o f experience rather than extra qualifications.

Parents and teachers in special schools agreed that support w ith placem ent for pupils w hen they reached 18 years o f age w as an important aspect o f provision in special sch ools and was identified b y som e parents as a k ey factor in their d ecision to transfer their children from m ainstream schools.