Jill Porter

Judith Coupe

First published in 1986. Aimed at teachers, students and related professions this book serves to bridge the gap between the theory and practice of educating pupils with severe learning difficulties. In the light of the 1981 Education Act it is crucial to identify, and subsequently meet, the needs of these pupils. This can only be done by an in-depth understanding of curriculum design, child development and the learning process. This book incorporates these aspects together with an appreciation of teaching techniques and school and classroom organisation. It explains how the parents, school staff and linked agencies complement this procedure.

Bridging the Gap between Theory and Practice

The Education of Children with Severe Learning Difficulties

Harry Daniels

Hugh Lauder

Knowledge, Values and Educational Policy focuses on what schools are for and what should be taught in them, how learning is possible across boundaries, and issues of diversity and equity. Policies and practices relating to schools are also considered. Within this volume, internationally renowned contributors address a number of fundamental questions designed to take the reader to the heart of current debates around curriculum, knowledge transfer, equity and social justice, and system reform, such as: What are schools and what are they for? What knowledge should schools teach? How are learners different from each other and how are groups of learners different from one another, in terms of social class, gender, ethnicity, and disability? What influence does educational policy have on improving schools? What influence does research have on our understanding of education and schooling? To encourage reflection, many of the chapters also include questions for debate and a guide to further reading. Read alongside its companion volume, Educational Theories, Cultures and Learning, readers will be encouraged to consider and think about on some of the key issues facing education and educationists today.

A Critical Perspective

Knowledge, Values and Educational Policy

Christina Tilstone

Christopher Robertson

Penny Lacey

First Published in 2000. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

Pupils with Learning Difficulties in Mainstream Schools

Understanding and Responding to the Experience of Disability informs readers about current understandings of disability and ways of recognizing the needs that arise from the lived experience of impairment in schools. While most schools have clear procedures in place with respect to identifying children with special educational needs, the same is not true for disability. Moreover, research suggests that many schools have restricted understanding of this distinction, often equating disability to children with SEN and children with health conditions, thereby failing to recognize the pivotal role of impact. In this insightful text, Jill Porter argues that disability needs to be understood within the setting in which it is experienced, thereby recognizing that it is not a fixed attributable label, but one that is cultural, contextual and fluid. By providing a theoretical basis for understandings of disability around notions of impairment, experience and impact, the book combines three key components: a conceptual understanding of disability – to provide a clear value driven framework for professional responses; an empirical illustration of the development of materials to support an understanding of why the process of disability data collection cannot simply be reduced to two questions on a form; embedded illustrative case study material to provide exemplars of how the materials can be contextualized and used to make adjustments to enhance the participation of all children.

Jill Porter

Books

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