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Enabling, hearing and giving weight to students’ views of special schooling in 21st century Ireland: do ‘dilemmas of difference’ apply?

Motherway, Colman (2009) Enabling, hearing and giving weight to students’ views of special schooling in 21st century Ireland: do ‘dilemmas of difference’ apply? Doctor of Education thesis, Dublin City University.

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Abstract
Special schooling is increasingly under the microscope, with theory, policy and practice converging towards inclusive education, and Irish legislation enshrining the principle o f inclusive education fo r children who have special educational needs. Central to current debate is the question o f whether or not to recognise difference: this has become known as the ‘dilemma o f difference'. In recent years, another social movement has also come under the microscope, with increased emphasis and discourse on the concept o f children’s rights / views o f children. Both o f these themes are central aspects o f this study. This study aims to ascertain the views o f students who attend one special school, and in particular whether ‘dilemmas o f difference’ apply fo r them. Using a range o f different strategies such as focus groups, individual and paired interviews and written and pictorial data created by participants, students ’ views on schooling are gathered and analysed. An overarching theoretical perspective combining an open thesis o f insider epistemology, a relational theory o f the subject, and a social relational model o f disability is used to fram e the study. The findings are that dilemmas o f difference do apply fo r at least some o f the participants, in particular in relation to identification, location and the status o f the school. A dilemma o f difference in respect o f curriculum was fo u n d not to apply in this study. This study is significant fo r the manner in which research is conducted with young people with special educational needs, and its findings have implications fo r policy makers and practitioners. While the movement towards inclusive schooling continues, it is apt to consider and to give due weight to the views o f students, including those attending special schools.
Metadata
Item Type:Thesis (Doctor of Education)
Date of Award:November 2009
Refereed:No
Supervisor(s):Day, Théresé
Uncontrolled Keywords:special education;
Subjects:Social Sciences > Education
DCU Faculties and Centres:DCU Faculties and Schools > Institute of Education
Use License:This item is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License. View License
ID Code:22538
Deposited On:07 Aug 2018 08:48 by Thomas Murtagh . Last Modified 04 Aug 2021 13:46
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