Conference Agenda

There is an international trend towards increased placement of students with disabilities in regular schools. Research has shown that students educated in inclusive classrooms tend to perform better academically and socially when compared to students who are educated in specialist settings (Hehir et, al, 2016). This research has largely focussed on students with students who have low support needs. A large majority of students with disabilities who have high support needs continue to be educated in specialist settings. Researchers, inclusion advocates and policymakers have emphasised the need to include all learners irrespective of the level of needs of students with disabilities. Surprisingly the voices of parents and students who have high support needs are missing from this debate. There is also hardly any research that has made cross-country comparisons.

This current research was being undertaken to examine why parents/carers choose to enrol their child(ren) in regular and/or special schools. The study will also explore factors that influence their decisions to move their child, if they do move them, from one setting to another. We are keen to identify factors that influence parents'/families' decisions about choosing a placement option (inclusive VS special) for their child.

Theoretical Framework

This research is about exploring parental motivation to send their children to either special or inclusive settings. We plan to use the “Theories of Motivation in Education: an Integrative Framework” by Urhahne and Wijnia (2023) to provide a conceptual foundation for the project. The theoretical framework helps us understand the motivation of a person about important decisions. Parents/families may make placement decisions considering many factors (e.g. parental self-efficacy, Matthews, et.al, 2022; satisfaction with the placement option, Sharma, et.al, 2022). The framework would allow us to examine parental motivations across different country contexts. It may allow us to extend Urhahne & Wijnia's framework as it is not applied across multiple country contexts in the inclusive/special education field.

The data for this study is being collected from Australia, Switzerland, Canada, Italy, Greece, Germany, and the UK (and other countries). Our group is conducting a longitudinal study using quantitative and qualitative data with the aim to understand why and how parents decide to enrol their children in one or the other setting. In this symposium, we will present cross-country comparisons and individual country data from some of the participating countries about parental perspectives and factors that influenced their decisions.

The first paper will report parental data from a study conducted in Plymouth, UK, the second paper will report data from Norway which examined the relationship between parental perceptions about inclusion with their demographic variables, and the final presentation will examine parental perspectives about the quality of their child's education in Italy.

The research will have significant implications for researchers, policymakers, educators, and families and carers of students with a disability who are keen to learn about how best the schools and systems be reformed to provide high-quality education to all children

This paper presents research findings from a cross-sector study: Are We Included? This project began in 2021 in the city of Plymouth, UK. It is the 2nd largest city in the southwest of England with a population of approximately 265,000. A primary objective of this research was to understand parental perspectives about the inclusion of their child in Plymouth. Research on this topic in the UK and globally is limited (Blandford, et.al, 2023; DfE, 2022; Holland & Pell, 2017) Plymouth is an area of considerable deprivation impacting on student, parent and carer participation in mainstream education compounded by the 2020 – 2022 pandemic. At this time, national policy aimed at improving outcomes for all students had created system-led changes - increased Academisation, the bringing together of Alternative Provision and Special Education Needs, emphasis on English and maths, a one-size fits all behaviour model, and increased powers for Ofsted. This nationally funded levelling-up project aimed to both determine and improve inclusion in all 19 city secondary schools– as reflected by stats on student attendance, participation, and attainment. The data was collected using a series of questionnaires and interviews with students, teachers, and parents. This research will only report on the findings of the survey from parents. A total of 398 parents responded to the survey that examined their Perceptions about inclusion (Sharma et.al, 2022). The interview question examined their responses to these three questions. 1- How do you define or what do you understand by effective inclusive education for your children in this city? 2- What are the challenges you and your children have faced when accessing inclusive practice in schools? 3- How and/or in what way do you as key stakeholders in the delivery of inclusive education to your children, think these challenges can be addressed? Data were analysed using descriptive statistics and thematic analysis. We discovered the majority of parents felt teachers were doing their best to include all children in school but thought more could be done to establish better relationships and communications with families. Many felt their school had a preference for defaulting children with behavioural and/or SEND needs to the school SEND hub, rather than supporting them to continue attending their classes. There was also much concern expressed about the systems’ overreliance on referring children with behavioural needs to the city’s already overstretched Pupil Referral Unit (PRU), rather than providing behavioural support in-house.

Blandford, S., Casson, W., Gibson, S., Munn, G., and Shute, J. (2023). Schools Collaborate To Make Inclusion Work. Teaching Times. Available at: https://www.teachingtimes.com/schools-collaborate-to-make-inclusion-work/ DfE (2022), SEND Review: Right support. Right place. Right time. Department for Education London: HM Stationery Office. Holland, J. & Pell, G. (2017) Parental perceptions of the 2014 SEND legislation, Pastoral Care in Education, 35:4, 293-311, DOI: 10.1080/02643944.2017.1392587 Sharma, U., Woodcock, S., May, F., & Subban, P. (2022, July). Examining Parental Perception of Inclusive Education Climate. In Frontiers in Education (Vol. 7, p. 907742). Frontiers.

Inclusion is a complex concept that ranges from placing students in mainstream classrooms to changing entire educational systems. While inclusive education is often simplified as the place where students are educated, it is much more than just the mere placement. In inclusive classrooms, all students irrespective of diversities are welcomed and schools make adjustments to ensure that the needs of all students are met. Research has shown a positive impact of inclusive practices on all students including those who have additional needs (Artiles et al. 2006). There has been some debate that inclusion mandates across most countries are driven by policymakers, and researchers and the voices of parents/carers and students with disabilities and their siblings are not given due attention. The perspectives of those who are the actual recipients of inclusion policies and how they experience them should not be overlooked. In Norway, the basic principle of special education is that the student should be taught in mainstream schools (also referred to as inclusive schools), still 9% of students are educated in permanent special education units (NDET, 2023). The current project investigated the potential relationship between the type of placement of students with additional needs with the perception of students' well-being. In this context, relevant factors in measuring the quality of the inclusion climate in schools are students' social participation and acceptance among friends, happiness, and belonging in the school community (Schwab et al., 2018; Sharma et al., 2022). Objective The objective of this paper is to investigate parental reports about the well-being of students receiving special education in regular schools, special schools and special education groups. Method and preliminary findings Through an internet-based survey, we collected data about parental perspectives about inclusion [Parental Perception of Inclusion Climate Scale (Sharma et al., 2022)] and compared it between parents of children who were attending regular schools and special schools/groups as dichotomous independent variables. We used individual items and three sub-factor scores on the Parental scale (Sharma et al., 2022)] related as dependent variables. The findings of the study will be discussed with possible implications for the special and inclusive education sectors in Norway and other countries.

Artiles, A. J., Kozleski, E. B., Dorn, S., & Christensen, C. (2006). Chapter 3: Learning in inclusive education research: Re-mediating theory and methods with a transformative agenda. Review of research in education. McConachie, H., Mason, D., Parr, J. R., Garland, D., Wilson, C., & Rodgers, J. (2018). Enhancing the Validity of a Quality of Life Measure for Autistic People. Journal of autism and developmental disorders, 48(5), 1596–1611. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-017-3402-z Nordahl-Hansen, A., Fletcher-Watson, S., McConachie, H., & Kaale, A. (2016). Relations between specific and global outcome measures in a social-communication intervention for children with autism spectrum disorder. Research in Autism Disorders, 30, 19–29. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rasd.2016.05.005 Norwegian Directorate for Education and Training (NDET).2023. “Fakta om grunnskolen 2023-2024” https://www.udir.no/tall-og-forskning/statistikk/statistikk-grunnskole/analyser/2023/fakta-om-grunnskolen-20232024/spesialundervisning/ Schwab, S., Sharma, U., & Loreman, T. (2018). Are we included? Secondary students' perception of inclusion climate in their schools. Teaching and Teacher Education, 75, 31-39. Sharma, U., Woodcock, S., May, F., & Subban, P. (2022, July). Examining Parental Perception of Inclusive Education Climate. In Frontiers in Education (Vol. 7, p. 907742). Frontiers.

Despite widespread recognition in recent global educational policy agendas (UNESCO, 2015) that inclusive and equitable education is pivotal for ensuring quality education, a contentious debate persists regarding the effectiveness of truly inclusive learning and social contexts (Ainscow, 2020; Hehir, Pascucci, & Pascucci, 2016; Stephenson & Ganguly, 2021). This has lately been particularly pronounced in Italy in a newspaper article which asserted that notwithstanding the country's 50-year history of promoting integration and, subsequently, inclusion since the early 2000s, the system is purportedly failing. Naturally, this has sparked diverse reactions among academics, journalists, teachers and other stakeholders. However, scant attention has been given to the voices of parents and caregivers who, along with their children, directly experience inclusive practices and policies in Italy. Taking into account that in Italy the vast majority of students with disability attend mainstream/inclusive schools, the overarching aim of the research being presented is to provide parents with an opportunity to make their voices heard regarding their preferences towards mainstream/inclusive schools and special schools. This is especially important when considering that research on parents’ perceptions is still not that copious (Sharma et al., 2022; Zanobini et al., 2018). Specifically, this work addresses the question: “Which variables predict positive or negative perceptions towards inclusive education?” The initial data related to the Italian context that will be presented as part of an international study in nine different countries exploring the perceptions of parents and caregivers regarding school provision for students with special educational needs. The data collection tool comprises the “Parental Perception of Inclusive Climate Scale” (Sharma, et al. 2022), the “Me as a Parent Scale” (Short Version) (Matthews et al., 2022), and four open-ended questions. These findings will contribute to the ongoing discourse on global educational policies and the practical implementation of inclusive education strategies, filling a crucial gap in understanding parental perspectives.

Ainscow, M. (2020). Promoting inclusion and equity in education: lessons from international experiences. Nordic Journal of Studies in Educational Policy, 6(1), 7-16, DOI:10.1080/20020317.2020.1729587. Hehir, T., Pascucci, S., & Pascucci, C. (2016). A summary of the evidence on inclusive education. Retrieved from http://alana.org.br/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/A_Summary_of_the_evidence_on_inclusive_education.pdf. Matthews, J., Millward, C., Hayes, L., & Wade, C. (2022). Development and validation of a short-form parenting self-efficacy scale: me as a parent scale (Maaps-SF). Journal of Child and Family Studies, 31(8), 2292-2302. Sharma, U., Woodcock, S., May, F. & Subban, P. (2022). Examining Parental Perception of Inclusive Education Climate. Front. Educ. 7:907742. DOI: 10.3389/feduc.2022.907742