The function of special education

The main research question of the project is: What is special education about, and what is its function? The project has gathered a large amount of empirical data. Class teachers, students and parents have answered questionnaires. Students have taken tests in reading and mathematics. There are observations of students both in special and ordinary education. A few students, their parents and teachers have in addition been informants in a more detailed study. School often fails in creating an inclusive arena for learning. Especially the way school meets students receiving special education is not reasonable. There are many examples that teaching does not give SEN students optimal conditions for learning. This group of students have low achievements, their motivation for school is low, their sense of well-being is low and they are much engaged in activities inhibiting their learning. Special education segregates. It is given mostly outside of class. There is often a lack of coherence between special education and ordinary teaching. Those responsible for special education are not always oriented about what goes on in ordinary teaching, and the other way around. The (SEN) students are gradually lagging behind their fellow students in academic achievements. Consequently, the basis for participation in the learning fellowship becomes less favorable. Decisions about and the organizing of special education are made from a notion about what is practical and feasible for the institution, more than from a consideration about what are the students? needs and what represents quality in teaching for them. There are traditions about how to assign, organize and carry out special education, and these traditions define the frames for what will be desirable and possible. The content and the methods in ordinary teaching and in special education receive less attention. This is also the case when it comes to determine adequate teacher competence. Less than half of the students receiving special education have teachers with formal competence in special education. There is an increasing employment of assistants. Teacher competence is just as crucial to special education students as to all the other students. In spite of this, special education has a higher potential for learning than ordinary teaching. In special education, students are more active with exercises, they communicate more with the teachers, they are less engaged in learning inhibitory activities, they use more ICT-based teaching aids and they work with more adapted tasks than in ordinary teaching. The individual oriented follow up of special education students is weak in ordinary teaching, and the total level of student activity is lower in the ordinary than in special education. The dilemma is that special education does not manage to take care of the learning potential. A conclusion based on these empirical findings related to students receiving special education: Teacher expectations are low, teachers? characterizations of these students are often negative, and teaching is often simple and instrumental. The learning pressure is weak, the coherence between ordinary and special education is missing and the learning outcome is low. Special education is often isolated from the activities in class. In this way, special education can function as a relief for the rest of the students and teachers. This illustrates the double function of special education. Officially, special education should guarantee teaching and learning of high quality for this group of students. We have seen that this is not necessarily the case. A function not officially expressed is the belief that the learning conditions for the rest of the students are much more favorable when students in need of extra help are out of class. This need not be the case, but it sustains the stability of the school organization. The legitimacy of the matter then could be more associated to the decision of offering special education than to the quality in the teaching for these students. It is not acceptable that children and youngsters for years have to stay in a school where they do not function well. A challenge is the notion that the reason is the quality of special education. The reality is that the school as a whole has to answer for the students? learning opportunities and the results they reach. Therefore, it is important to look into what goes on in the ordinary teaching to be able to understand why students strive. With optimal conditions, school can function well also for students receiving special education. Haug, P. (red. 2017) «Spesialundervisning. Innhald og funksjon» Oslo: Samlaget. The book was presented at a conference at Volda University College in June 2017 Facebook: https://www.Facebook.com/Hivolda.speed Web address: http://www.hivolda.no/hivolda/forsking-og-utvikling/forskingsprosjekt/nasjonalt-finansierte-prosjekt/speed-prosjektet/speed-prosjektet

The main issue raised in this study is the teaching of pupils identified as having special needs in school. Today about 18 % of the available lesson-resources are allocated to special education, which represents a noticeable increase compared to the year 2004, when 5,4 % of the pupils received special education The school year 2010-2011 a total of 51 853 compulsory school pupils - or 8,4 % of the pupil population - receive special education in Norway. A lot of knowledge has been accumulated when it comes to organisational issues etc, but as far as the quality of teaching, the pupils learning experiences and the academic outcomes the knowledge base is much weaker. The overarching question, then, is how special education is functioning in Norwegian schools : The quality of teaching, how pupils receiving special education experience school and what are the outcomes. Highly frequent groups in special education are focused (pupils with dyslexia, dyscalculia, behavior problems). Dimensions to be paid special attention are the use of minority language and ICT. In the study 200 pupils in special education and their teachers are the main informants. In addition, there will also be collected data from their classmates and from the mainstream classroom in which t hey participate. Audio and partly video recording will be used, together with observation forms, interviews and questionnaires. In order to compare development in learning outcome for different groups of learners, all children in the involved classes will be tested by means of national tests on two occasions. A reference group with national and international researchers and practitioners will be established. They will meet a couple of times per year (2012-2014) to discuss the development and results of the project. One workshop will be arranged.