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It is argued that housing is a fundamental element in successful community care programmes for people who have a long-term mental illness, but that the significance of the immediate living environment on the individual's psych- social well-being has been underestimated in the formulation and implementation of policy. Using a grounded theory approach. Part One reports an exploratory study of the catchment area of one psychiatric hospital, which included parts of three health districts and three local authority areas. The study examined in detail, with a focus on housing, the operation of services for mentally disabled people , the plans for creating locally-based facilities, and the implementation of those plans in the mid-1980's, by means of a combination of documentary evidence and key informant interviews. All three parts of the study area were found to have encountered major but differing problems. Wide variations between and within local areas in policy and resources were found, but most stiking was the emergence of two distinct key informant perspectives: those of policy makers/managers, and workers in face-to-face contact with mentally disabled people, indicative of separate discourses of rights and needs. Part Two sets up a model of three functions of housing based on psychological needs, and argues for a compensatory role for housing in community care, which is contrasted with the reality of increasing difficulty in meeting even basic survival needs. It is suggested that the emphasis on negative rights of much mental health reform was inadequate to ensure that needs were met when the welfare net began to contract, and renewed emphasis on citizenship and social rights is proposed as a means to represent more adequately the housing needs of mentally disabled people at the levels of policy and service planning.

This thesis presents the result of a study on learning difficulties among primary school children carried out in Lagos State of Nigeria. The study determined teachers' perceptions of special education, determined whether primary school children had learning difficulties, the relative proportion of children who have learning difficulties and the types of learning difficulties that they have. It described how the children's needs were met and how appropriate the provisions made to meet these needs were. In addition it evaluated the implications of the research findings for teacher education. The results of the survey, which was carried out by means of research interviews and survey questionnaires, showed that the teachers' perceptions of special education were not well articulated. They recognised children's learning difficulties, but would not regard these as special educational needs. The teachers indicated that about 21% of primary school children had learning difficulties. They identified five major types of learning difficulties, namely cognitive; specific; language; emotional and behavioural difficulties and difficulties arising from exceptional abilities. Negligible numbers of children with physical, sensory and mental disabilities (under 1.0%) were also identified. The teachers indicated that there was no policy on identification and intervention for children with learning difficulties. Individual schools and individual teachers adopted their own methods of identification and intervention. The study concluded with recommendation for special needs education legislation. The legislation should among other things, direct on a statutory Code of Practice for the effective management and administration of special educational needs in schools; a revised teacher training curriculum to include special education components; and enlightenment programmes to raise awareness around disability and special needs issues. This work also contains the results of a mini survey carried out in 11 pre-schools on the implementation of the special educational needs Code of Practice as the institution study, a requirement of the doctorate in education programme. The mini survey determined training needs on the Code of Practice for pre-school settings. An abstract appropriate to the institution study is indicated in front of the institution study itself.

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This study aims to further an understanding of the engagement of children with learning difficulties in curricular activities, by focusing on classroom interactions within mainstream primary schools. In the current educational climate, there is a shift towards increasing the participation of children with special needs, alongside recent governmental guidance supporting the implementation of their right to participate. Consequently, there are a growing number of studies offering recognition of children's participation and their potential contribution. They focus on participation being determined by the teacher whereas this research portrays the view of the child in determining their own participation. The research was an exploratory, in-depth study of seven children within two contrasting school settings. The research process entailed the building of a knowledge base upon which to interpret classroom interactions. It drew upon multiple sources and methods of data collection, to identify emerging factors and categories pertaining to children's engagement. The emerging factors fell into three distinct categories; resource engagement, focus of engagement and engagement in the task agenda. Resource engagement is concerned with children's utilisation of social and physical resources whilst focus of engagement considered the subject of children's attention. Lastly, engagement in the task agenda covered the response of the child to the activities set by the teacher. Relevant theories were used to help further an understanding of the identified categories of children's engagement, and focused in particular on three theoretical tenets pertaining to active, subjective and interactive processes. When these three processes were used constitutively, two conclusive themes emerged. Firstly, that engagement is a demonstration of children's autonomy and self-governance and secondly, that engagement is a process by which children become more knowledgeable about their classroom environment and develop autonomous responses to external requirements.

The role of social support in the lives of the 16.8 million caregivers for children with special needs in the U.S. is not adequately understood. Many studies have explored seeking health information online, but failed to consider information exchanged through social networks (i.e., family, friends, colleagues, neighbors, etc.). Caregivers of children with special needs spend on average 30 hours per week providing such care. The burden of caregiving can negatively affect caregivers physically, mentally and emotionally, socially, and financially. Social support is one potential mediator for the effects of caregiver burden. The objective of this study was to explore the flow of four dimensions of social support within the social networks of maternal caregivers for children diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD). A convenience sample was gathered via electronic distribution lists for Indiana parents of children with special needs. Participants could elect to complete a face-to-face interview or an anonymous online survey. The typical participant was Caucasian, married, college-educated, and located in Central Indiana. Respondent social networks are composed of multiplex relations, indicating strong ties. Significant correlations were found for participant age, child age, and the age of diagnosis, and network members for various networks. Specifically, a later age of child diagnosis is associated with fewer network members for the caregiver. Correlational analyses between dimensions of social support and network characteristics suggest options for further study. Overall, the results of this exploratory study are inconclusive, but can provide direction for future research.

A dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Education in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Education (Educational Psychology) in the Department of Educational Psychology and Special Needs Education at the University Of Zululand, South Africa, 2016 / Data was collected using qualitative methodology. The purposive sampling was used in selecting nine teachers and eight parents for the study. To collect data, semi-structured interview questions were formulated. Interview questions consisted of open-ended questions were conducted to teachers and parents in determining the role they play in empowering special needs learners with psychosocial skills. Observation was done in different phases during lessons/learning. Qualitative data analysis was used in order to draw conclusion about the role of teachers and parents in empowering special needs learners with psychosocial skills in a special school. Research findings led to the following conclusions: teachers empower special needs learners in various ways compared to the role played by parents. They believe in teaching special needs learner’s skills to be independent, sociable, and presentable and be recognised by the society. Others teach skills by focusing on the learner’s strengths to overcome their weaknesses. Some teachers empower learners through sports in order for them to participate and compete with other children outside school while others believe in teaching discipline so that learners should be able to obey the rules outside school. The results reveal that the empowerment of learners depends on the child’s condition/disability. The findings revealed that hundred percent of parents believe in giving their special needs children love and support in whatever skill that has been identified by teachers as their role of empowering them. They also make their children feel important to the family and to the community. Parents believe that once the child feels loved, she or he is able to love themselves and others. The results show that there is a gap between the role played by teachers and that played by parents which needs to be filled. The findings revealed that partnership between teachers and parents in supporting special needs learners to benefit from their education is good although there are challenges mentioned. The programmes available in the school and in the community also empower special needs children even they exit school. On the basis of the findings, recommendations for teacher training in special education were put forward in order for the empowerment of special needs learners with psychosocial skills in special schools to be effective.