Transition research tends to consider the experiences of ‘typically developing’ pupils and focusses on the primary to secondary school transition. Accounts that specifically focus on the views of pupils with autism also tend to rely heavily on the accounts of parents and staff. This study aimed to explore the transition experiences of young adults on the autism spectrum from the perspective of the young people themselves, having an exploratory and emancipatory purpose. Four young people with diagnoses of autism (three male, one female) aged between 18 and 22 years old, enrolled on further education training courses in two colleges in two different outer London boroughs, were recruited to the study. A qualitative methodology was used, involving a psycho-social method of data collection which comprised of individual interviews applying the free association Grid Elaboration Method (Joffe & Elsey, 2014) and thematic analysis of the data. Each participant was interviewed about their experiences of transition. Interview transcripts were analysed using thematic analysis following guidance from Braun and Clarke (2006). Researcher field notes were used to support the analysis. Six themes emerged from the data: Resilience, Growth and Development, Relationships, Mental Wellbeing, Agency and Understanding Difference. Strengths and limitations of the study, in addition to further applied implications of the findings for professionals working with young adults with autism, were identified. The study highlighted the importance of eliciting the views of young people with autism in order to facilitate positive transition experiences, which are likely to influence future outcomes for young people with autism.

This research enquiry was conducted to investigate contemporary teaching and learning methodologies in the mathematics classroom for pupils with Asperger Syndrome and to explore ways in which the pupils are supported in the mathematics learning environment. Asperger Syndrome is a pervasive developmental disorder that can affect the motor system, memory, organisation and intrinsic motivation. Accordingly, the condition has the potential to adversely affect the learning of mathematics both theoretical and practical. Therefore, in addition to an exploration of external factors which could influence the mathematics learning experience for pupils with Asperger Syndrome, also considered was the potential part played by intrinsic and self-regulated processes. The investigation was divided into distinct phases. The first of these was an examination of how compatible intrinsic characteristics are perceived to be with contemporary mathematics teaching and learning. The second was a review of mathematics teaching pedagogical frameworks and settings. A case study approach involving ten students with Asperger Syndrome between the ages of 11 and 19 in a variety of educational establishments and interviews with internal and external professionals provided the data for analysis. The pupils were observed working on various mathematics tasks delivered via differing teaching and learning methodologies using a range of resources. There were several outcomes of the study. It was ascertained that the greatest factor governing a pupil’s perseverance with a task is a mathematics specialist Teaching Assistant who utilises a ZPD (Zone of Proximal Development) scaffolding style of support as proposed by Vygotsky (1978). Secondly, activities presented via a genuine real-world cross-curricular perspective had the greatest influence on interest in mathematics learning irrespective of subject matter. Thirdly, it was found that there was no significant difference between one-size-fits-all computer-based tasks and traditional methodologies in the support of mathematics learning. Finally, despite ongoing debates about the importance of educational setting, it appeared that school type alone (specialist or mainstream) had no discernible effect on the mathematics classroom experience for pupils with Asperger Syndrome.

A study was carried out to examine the interaction between music and language in learning and recall in children with autism spectrum condition (ASC). The research comprised initial interviews (N=12), a questionnaire (N=320), and a comparative intervention with children with ASC (N=24), and a comparison group of neurotypical individuals (N=32). Results from the questionnaire showed that, in the view of parents and teachers, there was a high prevalence of singing amongst children with ASC, especially in those with language delay. Furthermore, in the view of parents and teachers, music was more likely to enhance relationships for children with some language delay (as opposed to children who were non-verbal and children with age- appropriate speech). In the practical phase of the study, where children were asked to learn and subsequently recall both spoken and sung material, it was found that singing as opposed to speaking could enhance verbal recall for some children with ASC - particularly those with some language delay. With regard to the effects of language on melodic recall, for children with the lowest levels of musical development, the presence of language had a positive effect, but as the level of children’s musical development increased, the impact of language on melodic recall diminished. With regard to the comparison group, for children at Key Stage 1 (5-7 year olds), music had a positive effect on verbal recall in the long term, but for children at Key Stage 2 (8 -11 year olds), music had a negative effect, although this may have been due to external factors.

In Madeira Island the Educational System has endured significant changes. The concept of education has changed in the past years as well as the need to help parents understand the new changes. This new concept of school brought a new universe into the classrooms. Teachers, students and the community in general must learn to deal with the diversity of students who now share their educational journey in the same school environment. This new challenge obliges parents, teachers, headmasters and the school community to accept, respect and provide the needed conditions for an effective education for all students. This research has explored whether inclusion of students with mental problems is working effectively, from the perspective of the teachers, in the high schools located in Madeira. The study was developed to identify the gaps in the teaching/learning process for students with mental problems studying in regular high schools. A survey method was adopted for this study in which a questionnaire was developed to explore teachers' attitudes and beliefs around the education of students with mental problems studying in regular high schools. Three illustrative scenarios were selected to show different realities that may occur among these students. Teachers read the three case scenarios and related them to their own experiences as educators. Teachers' reflections upon the problems gave the researcher the opportunity to analyze how these problems are solved or ignored by educators. The questionnaire was validated and ethical permission gained from the University. Five hundred questionnaires were distributed to teachers working in different high schools in Madeira, 300 questionnaires were returned at the end of the field work. Analysis of the responses identified a significant view that teachers were concerned about inclusion, but did not engage actively to implement government policy in this area. In particular teachers with more than 10 years experience were significantly less prepared and willing to engage with this inclusive approach. The majority of teachers reported a lack of resources, inappropriate curriculum and insufficient specialist staff as excuses for not engaging in inclusive education. The guidelines laid out in the educational policy have been put to the test. This study showed that, according to the opinions of teachers, none of the requirements have been met by the 35 schools surveyed in this study. The distance between theory and practice has always been long and in the case of inclusive education, giant steps need to be taken to narrow the gap between the theory in policy and reality in the school.

Despite the wealth of research examining physical activity (PA) in children and adolescent without disability, there is a lack of research that has focussed on PA related to children and adolescents with intellectual disabilities (ID). The evidence that does exist in this area suggests that children and adolescents with ID are less active than their non-ID peers. The school environment offers numerous opportunities to engage in PA regularly, yet to date, school-based research focussing on PA in children and adolescents with ID is limited. Thus, the primary aim of this thesis was to investigate PA, sedentary time (ST) and playtime behaviours in children and adolescents with ID.Four study chapters are included in the thesis. Study 1 used uniaxial accelerometers to investigate habitual PA levels, sedentary behaviour and PA patterns in children and adolescents with severe and moderate ID. Results demonstrated that participants engaged in low amounts of PA, spent a large proportion of waking hours in ST and mainly engaged in short, sporadic bursts of PA.Study 2 investigated the PA levels of children and adolescents with severe and moderate ID during playtime and PE contexts using direct observation techniques. Participants engaged in similar levels of moderate to vigorous PA (MVPA), and spent minimal amounts of time engaging in sport based activities during playtime and PE. At playtime participants spent the majority of time playing alone or in small groups and no participants engaged in any large group play. Study 3 explored teachers’ perceptions of PA engagement for children and adolescents with ID. Teachers reported that pupils prefer to engage in fun, unstructured activities. Parents and teachers were identified as key role models who can influence PA engagement for this population and teacher participants explained that pupils with ID have limited understanding around PA and the benefits to health. Study 4 evaluated the effectiveness of a school-based PA intervention, delivered in two primary special educational needs (SEN) schools. The intervention demonstrated promising results, with an increase in accelerometer assessed MVPA levels between baseline and follow up of ~18mins. However, these findings were not statistically significant, possibly due to the small sample size involved. Minimum clinically important difference analysis suggested that changes in MVPA were likely to be beneficial to heath. Furthermore, qualitative data generated through teacher interviews highlighted positive intervention effects across the school. Overall the studies presented in this thesis provide an overview of PA engagement and associated behaviours in children and adolescents with ID. The major findings presented suggest that children and adolescents with moderate and severe ID are not sufficiently active, and the SEN school environment may be an important area to target PA interventions. The current thesis has made a significant contribution to our understanding related to the PA in children and adolescents with ID and has highlighted a number of recommendations for future research.

The prevalence of children and young people with mental health needs is of national and local concern. Changes in legislation have explicitly made the identification and support of pupil mental health needs a role for schools. Research indicates the identification of pupil mental health needs has a multitude of barriers meaning said needs are frequently unidentified. This is of concern given it is estimated that half of mental health needs have their onset during adolescence and are related to negative outcomes such as poor educational attainment and in some cases, suicide. School staff are tasked with performing a Tier 1 (Universal Services) mental health professional role. However, there is considerable variation in the support school staff receive when performing this pastoral role and routine pastoral care has received little attention in the literature. The purpose of this research was to explore the lived experiences of lead pastoral staff identifying and supporting adolescent pupil mental health needs in mainstream secondary schools. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with four purposively selected members of secondary school staff performing lead pastoral roles. The interview transcripts were analysed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) and the following four overarching themes were found to be relevant for all participants: Multiple Conceptualisations of Role, A Myriad of Emotion, Constraints and Conflict, and Remit. These findings are discussed in the context of existing literature and the limitations of this research are considered. Implications for educational psychology practice are proposed, relating to the different levels at which educational psychologists work: individual, group and organisational. Suggestions for future research related to pastoral leads identifying and supporting adolescent pupil mental health needs are provided.

This thesis explores the educational inclusion experiences of children with Williams syndrome (WS) in Irish primary schools from the perspectives of the children, their parents and teachers. Almost equal numbers of parents chose mainstream and special-education placements for their child with WS, although this choice was complex. Parents were very satisfied with their child’s education regardless of setting. Parental and teacher perceptions of the WS educational profile differed little. Teachers presented a slightly broader profile, yet showed less awareness than parents of anxiety in the children. Findings indicate a capacity in the children to learn Irish and other languages successfully, despite their entitlement to exemptions from language learning in the Irish educational system. Some features associated with WS (such as sociability) enhance the inclusion of learners with WS, while certain maladaptive behaviours impede it. Evidence suggests that maladaptive behaviours may be caused by high anxiety and poor expression of emotion due to poor comprehension of negative emotions. In addition, these children display more internalizing and self-regulatory behaviours, when parent and teacher data is compared, than has previously been noted in the literature, which may actually negatively impact on the child’s educational inclusion. Both parents and teachers support the children’s learning but teachers’ special education experiences and professional development influenced quality of supports and, hence, quality of educational inclusion. Some strategies used successfully by individual teachers to support learners with WS are those traditionally associated with autism, despite the sociability associated with WS. The children had clear images of themselves as learners and could identify personal learning strengths and challenges. Their liking for physical and social activities may be important aids to concentration, participation and, hence, inclusion. Different interpretations of inclusion were evident from parents and teachers. A definition of inclusion was proposed to compare educational placements. Such a comparison showed that Irish mainstream placements should not necessarily be viewed as the most inclusive educational setting for learners with WS. Consequently, a framework, based on the individual education planning process, proposes a way to maximize the educational inclusion of children with WS, regardless of setting.

Text in Afrikaans / The focus of this qualitative study is the way teachers experience parental involvement in the learning process of mentally disabled children. Five participants, teaching at a school for disabled children for more than ten years and working with children between the ages of six and 18, participated in this study. Individual, unstructured interviews were conducted with the participants to describe how they experience parental involvement in the learning process of mentally disabled children. The interviews were recorded and transcribed. Nine recurring themes were identified in the transcriptions and compared with current literature. The aim of the study was not to generalize the findings, as it was a qualitative study and the participants were given the opportunity to share their experience. The result of this study is a detailed description of how teachers experience parental involvement in the learning process of mentally disabled children. / Social Work / M.Diac

Text in Afrikaans / The focus of this qualitative study is the way teachers experience parental involvement in the learning process of mentally disabled children. Five participants, teaching at a school for disabled children for more than ten years and working with children between the ages of six and 18, participated in this study. Individual, unstructured interviews were conducted with the participants to describe how they experience parental involvement in the learning process of mentally disabled children. The interviews were recorded and transcribed. Nine recurring themes were identified in the transcriptions and compared with current literature. The aim of the study was not to generalize the findings, as it was a qualitative study and the participants were given the opportunity to share their experience. The result of this study is a detailed description of how teachers experience parental involvement in the learning process of mentally disabled children. / Social Work / M.Diac