This study explored the perceptions of parents and staff around the services offered to young children with disabilities in Special schools. Questionnaires were distributed to parents of young children with disabilities attending Special schools and to the professional staff working with these children. Six Special schools, under the auspices of the Western Cape Education Department and situated in the Cape Town Metropole, participated in the study. Questionnaires focused on the following themes: knowledge of disability, the nature and amount of contact enjoyed by staff and parents, the level of participation, consultation and decision making afforded to parents and staff and the extent to which parents and staff perceived that their needs were being met by the school. Findings highlighted a need among staff and parents for more knowledge around all issues of disability. This included information pertaining to disability as well as knowledge of the roles of various staff trained to work with the children. Parents voiced an additional need for information relating to their child's activities during a school day. Results also indicated insufficient contact between parents and staff This impacted on the level of consultation and decision making afforded to parents. It also affected the way in which staff viewed interaction with parents as well as their attitudes towards them. Differences in parents' and staff's perceptions of the extent to which the schools met the needs of parents varied from school to school. It appeared that meeting the emotional needs of parents of young children with disabilities by the schools needed particular attention. Socioeconomic factors appeared to influence responses, especially in areas around knowledge of disability and the amount of contact maintained by parents with the school. Even though many parents wished to participate more in their child's school activities, financial and social constraints were cited as factors preventing this. This study is relevant in a time when changes are being implemented in the Special Education system, particularly when a more meaningful involvement is being demanded of parents in all aspects of school affairs. Recommendations are thus aimed at empowering parents and staff, with a view to strengthening the partnership between parents of young children with disabilities attending Special schools and the staff working at these schools.

The purpose of this study is to use life story as a method to describe a former student’s, with her main schooling in the special school, thoughts of life during and after school, as well as the social relationships she has had and has access to. An overarching objective is to contribute to the field of knowledge from a young adult’s perspective. The study is qualitative with a life story approach. In the analysis, Bronfenbrenner’s ecological development model is used. The empirical data consists of transcriptions of conversations and instant prints from Facebook. The study is retrospective, but the study also captures the present day when the informant’s perception of life in the present day is also described. The informant perceives its later school years as more positive than earlier years. The result shows that the availability of social relationships was significantly higher during school in comparison to life as a young adult. The result also shows that the informant’s experience of the support of important adults is predominantly negative.

Syftet med studien är att undersöka hur verksamma pedagoger inom grundsärskolan arbetar med formativa bedömningsprocesser. Frågeställningen handlar om hur pedagogerna synliggör kunskapskraven för elever som har en utvecklingsstörning, hur de följer upp elevernas lärprocesser samt vilka verktyg de använder i det formativa arbetet med eleverna. Jag har genom semistrukturerade intervjuer undersökt hur verksamma pedagoger tänker kring kunskapsbedömningen i grundsärskolan, hur de utmanar eleverna och vilka förutsättningar eleverna ges för att utveckla sina förmågor. För att finna svar på studiens frågeställning har jag tagit del av litteratur kring formativa arbetsprocesser samt intervjuat fyra pedagoger inom grundsärskolan som alla har en lång erfarenhet inom skolans värld.   Studiens resultat visar att det arbetas på ett formativt sätt där elever på olika sätt får vara en del i sin kunskapsinhämtning men vad det gäller att analysera resultat, utvärdera och förändra undervisningen var det ingen pedagog som använde sig av detta för att förändra sin undervisning. Resultatet visar också att rektor och huvudman har en stor del i hur det arbetas i grundsärskolan kring formativa bedömningsprocesser. Hur rektorer organiserar sin verksamhet för att det ska ges förutsättningar för kollegialt lärande och samsyn avspeglar sig på pedagogernas syn på delaktighet för eleverna.   Min uppfattning är att för att arbeta formativt med elever på grundsärskolan behöver pedagogerna få en större förståelse för att hur de kan använda alla sina goda exempel och insamlat material kring eleverna på ett mer effektivt sätt genom att analysera dessa, ta hjälp av kollegor och genom att tillsammans reflektera för att därutifrån förändra undervisningen. Detta gör att det kan hittas nya vägar att få elever med en utvecklingsstörning mer delaktiga i sin kunskapsinhämtning. / The purpose of this study is to investigate how educators in the special school use formative assessment processes. The research question is about how teachers reveal the Syllabus for students who have learning disabilities, how they follow up the students´ learning processes, and which tools they use in the formative work with the pupils. Through semi-structured interviews this study investigate the educators views of assessment in special schools, how they challenge students, and what prerequisites the students are given to develop their abilities. To answer the research question, I have studied the literature on formative work processes and interviewed four educators in special school who all have long experiences of teaching.    The findings show that formative assessment is used and the students are involved in their learning processes in different ways. However, none of the interviewed used formative assessments when it came to analyzing results, evaluate, and change their teaching. Additionally, the result reveals the importance of the principal and the headmaster regarding how formative assessment is used in special school. The teachers’ point of view about pupils´ involvement is affected by how the principal manages the organization to peer learning.   My opinion is that teachers working formatively with students at special school need better understanding of how they may use examples and collected information. This may be done more efficiently by analyzing these, collaborate with colleagues, and together reflect on opportunities to develop the education. Thus, new ways to make students with development disabilities more involved in their learning processes can be found.

The aim of this study is to create a greater understanding on how the Thai schools and their principals provide opportunities for the teachers to interact with students who have disabilities and how the schools also provide opportunities for the students’ education and prepare them to become participants in society. The theoretical frameworks we used were three models; participation, sense of coherence (SOC) and learning by doing. In our study we have used both interviews and observation to get a more trustworthy result. The results of our study entail that the Thai school tried to prepare the students with disabilities for society but do not make them participants in decisions made about their future. In the classroom the dialogue between the teacher and students was missing to stimulate the students to be participants in their education.

Särskolan är idag en skolform för elever med intellektuell funktionsnedsättning. Syftet med denna studie är att få ökad kunskap om och fördjupad förståelse för hur tillhörighet till särskolan kan upplevas och påverka identitetsutveckling hos elever med lindrig utvecklingsstörning. Studien är kvalitativ med hermeneutisk ansats och bygger på semi-strukturerade intervjuer med elever i gymnasiesärskolan. I studien framkommer att eleverna i gymnasiesärskolan upplever tillhörigheten tudelat. Samtidigt som särskolan upplevs som en trivsam och trygg miljö, positiv för social delaktighet och kunskapsmässig utveckling upplever de en skam och sorg över tillhörigheten som de därmed försöker att hemlighålla. Det framkommer även att tillhörigheten till särskolan kan påverka identitetsutvecklingen både positivt och negativt. Då den genom att vara anpassad efter elevens förutsättningar kan bidra till en positiv självbild kan den också bidra till identitetsförvirring då eleven för omgivningen hemlighåller tillhörigheten och därmed inte fullt ut kan ta till sig identiteten som elev i särskolan.

In this study, I explore how the senior leadership team at an Academy Trust in England understands and operationalizes inclusion, particularly for pupils whose learning profile includes autism. England’s policies regarding inclusion appear to focus on the placement of pupils with disabilities in the mainstream provision; however, the Academy Trust, a specialist provision, suggests their school is inclusive. Gaining insight into the senior leadership team’s understandings and operationalization of inclusion will provide further understandings of inclusion in Multi Academy Trusts that are specialist provisions. In this study, I examine the understandings of eight members of a senior leadership team at a Multi Academy Trust. Participants were recruited through the Director of Research and Development at the Trust during their regularly scheduled meetings. Data were collected and triangulated though interviews, document reviews, and a focus group. Data was analyzed through qualitative thematic analysis. This study highlights the importance of strategic planning, Trust structure, pupil placement, curriculum, and evaluation systems in operationalizing inclusions for pupils with disabilities including autism. The findings also suggest inclusion, for senior leaders at the Multi Academy Trust, means meeting the individual needs of pupils, facilitating pupil voice, facilitating a sense of belonging, promoting independence, and maximizing pupil potential.

This essay is about the sexual- education at special schools for young people in the ages thirteen through sixteen with the diagnosis autism. The study aims to identify, describe and understand the teachers’ experiences in how the education is practiced in their daily work with these children. The way of procedure we have used in the study is qualitative interviews with teachers at special schools. The result show that how the teachers practice the education depends on how the student group is constructed and the students’ qualifications. The teachers feel that the sexual- education is important and valuable. The study shows that they try to widen the topic, so that the students learn how to strengthen their self-esteem, self-determination and the knowledge in feeling confidence in being a woman or a man. The study also show what hindrance the teachers meet in their pursue to educate the children about their sexuality. The hindrance that the teachers feel exist is parents influence and the staffs own values.

Målet med denna studie är att lära mer om studie- och yrkesvägledares arbete i grundsärskolan eller gymnasiesärskolan. Frågorna som ställs handlar om deras arbete med eleverna och deras föräldrar, eller andra vårdnadshavare, samt andra relaterade ämnen. Bakgrunden till studien är till stor del att många unga vuxna med utbildning i särskolan hamnar utan någon organiserad sysselsättning och därmed i socialt utanförskap, vilket väckte de frågor som behandlas i denna studie. Studien genomfördes genom intervjuer under cirka ett år. På grund av frågornas karaktär ansågs en kvalitativ studiemetod vara mest lämplig. Detta är alltså en kvalitativ studie med en hermeneutisk karaktär och en ambition att öka förståelsen för ämnet. Resultaten som genererats av intervjuerna speglar komplexiteten och glädjen som följer med att arbeta med en grupp som är utsatt på olika sätt och i olika grad. Slutsatserna av studien var att studie- och yrkesvägledare kan behöva arbeta för att stödja empowerment av elever som deltar i specialundervisning i en värld som har orsakat, eller starkt bidragit till, negativa associationer till sådan utbildning och/eller intellektuella funktionsnedsättningar. Detta är ett område där studie- och yrkesvägledare utifrån sin roll och sina arbetsvillkor kan bidra till en positiv förändring / The aim of this study is to learn more about the work of study- and career counselors in compulsory special school or upper secondary special school. The questions asked are about their work with the students and their parents, or other guardians, as well as other related subjects. The background to the study is largely that many young adults with an education in the special school end up without any organised occupation and consequently in social exclusion, which raised the questions addressed in this study. The study was conducted through interviews over a span of approximately one year. Due to the nature of the questions, a qualitative study method was deemed to be most appropriate. Thus, this is a qualitative study with a hermeneutic character and an ambition to increase the understanding of the subject. The results generated by the interviews reflect the complexity and the joys that come with working with a group that is vulnerable in different ways and to different degrees. The conclusions of the study was that study- and career counselors may need to work to support the empowerment of students who partake in special education in a world that has caused, or strongly contributed to, negative associations with such education and/or intellectual disabilities. This is an area where study and career counselors can contribute, based on their role and their working conditions, to a positive change.

Syftet med studien är att beskriva några lärares perspektiv på hur grundsärskoleelever påverkas av att vara inkluderade i grundskolan. För att samla in data till studien har den kvalitativa forskningsintervjun använts som metod. Studien bygger på sju intervjuer med grundsärskolelärare och grundskollärare som undervisar grundsärskoleelever som är helt eller delvis inkluderade i grundskolan. Den teoretiska utgångspunkten för studien är Nilholms (2007) beskrivning av tre perspektiv på specialpedagogik, det kompensatoriska perspektivet, det kritiska perspektivet och dilemmaperspektivet. Resultatet av studien visar att det finns flera faktorer som påverkar grundsärskoleelevers inkludering i grundskolan. De faktorer som framträder i studien är organisatoriska faktorer, lärares påverkansfaktorer, såsom deras attityder och kunskaper om inkludering, elevers sociala utveckling och kunskapsutveckling, samt elevers uttryck för påverkan av inkluderingen. I resultatet synliggörs att det finns både möjligheter och svårigheter för eleverna att vara inkluderade, men svårigheterna är övervägande. Den slutsats som kan dras av studien är att det finns stora utvecklingsmöjligheter kring grundsärskoleelevers inkludering i grundskolan. Utvecklingen måste ske på alla nivåer i skolsystemet för att skapa förutsättningar för denna process. I utvecklingsprocessen kommer det att finnas ett behov av speciallärarprofessionen som ser till elevernas individuella behov. / The purpose of the study is to describe the perspectives of some teachers on how students in special schools are affected by being included into regular schools. The method used to collect the data has been that of the qualitative research interview. The study is based on seven interviews with teachers at special schools and teachers at regular schools who work with students with intellectual disabilities that are completely or partly included in the regular schools. The theoretical basis for the study is Nilholm´s (2007) description of three perspectives on special education, the compensatory perspective, the critical perspective and the dilemma perspective. The result of the study shows that there are multiple factors affecting the inclusion of students with intellectual disabilities in the regularly schools. The factors emerged in this study are: the school organization, the impact of teachers, such as their attitudes towards and knowledge of the practice of inclusion, the development of social and cognitive skills of the students, as well as the students’ expressions of affection. The results of the study show both possibilities and obstacles for including students with learning disabilities, but the obstacles are greater. The conclusion to be drawn from this study is that there exist great possibilities for the development of inclusion of students with intellectual disabilities in the regular school. The development is necessary on all levels of the school system in order to create the conditions for successful inclusion. In this process there will be a demand for special education teachers who are able to assess the individual needs of these students.

The purpose of this study is on the basis of frame factors such as time, policy documents and student diversity, to examine some teachers' perceptions of opportunities and difficulties to teach mainstreamed pupils. The underlying intensions is to show what is found in the teachers' statements concerning what conditions they feel they have to teach on the basis of two different curricula, how they express themselves on various frame factors such as time, policy documents and student diversity, and if other possible frame factors become visible in the teachers´ statements. Interviews have been used as a method and carried out with six different teachers who are teaching in grades 7-9. They come from different parts of the country and teaches different subjects. This study has a frame factor theoretical perspective and the theory has been the basis regarding study design, implementation and analysis. The results show that the teachers in this study have intentions of customize their teaching based on all students' different needs, but it can be difficult with great student variation and cognitive discrepancy. The teachers told that it is the primary school curriculum that mostly determines the education and that adjustments then are made to fit the students who take the special school curriculum. The risk is that students who follow special school curriculum does not get the opportunity to show their skills in a fair manner since the curricula differs greatly in certain subjects between school types. The teachers in this study were generally positive about teaching mainstreamed pupils, but expressed that it often is a lack of knowledge in primary school about intellectual disabilities and special school. Previous studies show that knowledge is a key factor for the success of creating teaching that is characterized by the participation of all students. / Syftet med denna studie är att utifrån ramfaktorerna tid, styrdokument och elevvariation undersöka några lärares upplevelser av möjligheter och hinder för att undervisa integrerade elever. Underliggande frågeställningar är att synliggöra vad som framkommer i lärarnas utsagor gällande vilka förutsättningar de upplever att de har att undervisa utifrån två olika kursplaner, hur de uttrycker sig om olika ramfaktorer som tid, styrdokument och elevvariation samt om andra möjliga ramfaktorer blir synliga i lärarnas utsagor. Intervju har använts som metod och genomförts med sex olika lärare som undervisar i årskurs 7-9. De kommer från olika delar av landet och undervisar i olika ämnen. Studien har ett ramfaktorteoretiskt perspektiv och teorin har legat till grund för studiens utformande, genomförande och analys. Resultatet visar att de deltagande lärarna i studien har intentioner om att anpassa undervisningen utifrån alla elevers olika behov, men att det kan vara svårt när elevvariationen och den kognitiva diskrepansen är stor. Lärarna har berättat om att det oftast är grundskolans kursplan som styr och att anpassningar sedan görs för att passa för elever som läser efter särskolans kursplan. Risken med detta är att eleverna som läser efter särskolans kursplan inte får möjlighet att visa sina kunskaper på ett rättvist sätt då kursplanerna mellan skolformerna skiljer sig mycket åt i vissa ämnen. Lärarna i studien var över lag positivt inställda till att undervisa integrerade elever, men uttryckte att det ofta saknas kunskap i grundskolan om intellektuella funktionsnedsättningar och om särskola som skolform. Tidigare studier visar på att kunskap är en nyckelfaktor för att lyckas med att skapa undervisning som präglas av delaktighet för alla elever.