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The Development of Pupils with and Pupils without Special Educational Needs in Primary Schools in The Netherlands. Ed Smeets Guuske Ledoux ITS Kohnstamm Instituut Radboud University University of Amsterdam Nijmegen, The Netherlands Amsterdam, The Netherlands ECER 2013. Background.
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The Development of Pupils with and Pupils without Special Educational Needs in Primary Schools in The Netherlands Ed Smeets GuuskeLedouxITS Kohnstamm InstituutRadboud University University of AmsterdamNijmegen, The Netherlands Amsterdam, The Netherlands ECER 2013
Background The percentage of pupils in special schools in The Netherlands is among the highest in Europe: between 4 and 5% of pupilsaged 4-12. In addition, 1% of pupils in mainstream schools receiveadditional SEN budget, whereasteachersconsider 26% of theirpupils to have special educationalneeds (Smeets et al., 2007). Thisoutcomeconfirms the percentage of 26 foundearlier in The United Kingdom (Croll & Moses, 2003).
Research questions • What proportion of pupils in mainstream primary school in The Netherlands have SEN according to their teachers and what kind of problems do they have in opinion of their teachers? • What is the stability of the ‘SEN label’ over a period of 3 years? • How do literacy and numeracy attainment levels of pupils with and pupils without SEN develop over time? • How do pupils with and pupils without SEN develop according to their teachers with respect to social-emotional aspects?
Method • Large cohort study in primary schools (COOL5-18) • Grades 2, 5 and 8 • 3 Year interval • ‘Pupil Profile’: Questionnaire, completedby teacher forevery pupil in class • ‘SEN Profile’: Questionnaire, completedby teacher forevery pupil in classconsidered to have SEN • Tests, completedbyevery pupil in class: mathematics, technical reading, vocabulary, comprehensive reading
Definition of SEN A pupil with SEN is a pupil … • forwhomthere is anindividualeducation plan; and/or • forwhom a specific approach or extra help is needed; and/or • who has a specificproblemorlearningdifficulty.
Research Question 1: Pupilswith SEN and the nature of theirproblems(according to theirteachers)
Pupilswith SEN (accordingto teacher) Total number of pupils: 15624 in COOL1; 19615 in COOL2
Stability of the ‘SEN label‘ over 3 yearperiod According to the teachers at COOL1 and COOl2: • 65% no SEN on both occasions; • 12% SEN on both occasions; • 12% SEN at COOL1 and no SEN at COOL2; • 11% no SEN at COOL1 and SEN at COOL2. Changes: • 50% of SEN pupils has no SEN 3 years later (accordingto the teacher); • 23% changed ‘label’.
Research Question 3:Development of cognitiveattainmentlevels of pupilswith and pupils without SEN
Research Question 4:Social-emotionaldevelopment of pupilswith and pupils without SEN (according to their teacher)
Conclusions • According to teachers, about 25% of pupils in mainstreamprimary school have special educationalneeds. • Most common are beingbehind in literacy / numeracy, a problematic attitude to work and internalisingproblembehaviour. • The stability of the ‘SEN label’ is questionable: after 3 years 23% of all pupils had changed ‘label’; 50% of SEN pupils at T1 was notconsidered to have SEN at T2.
Conclusions • Attainment of the ‘no SEN’ groupon average was highest, of the ‘stable SEN group’ lowest. • Pupilsconsidered to have no SEN at T1 and SEN at T2 wereon average alreadylaggingbehind at T1. • The ‘stable SEN group’ showedhigherlearninggainsfromgrade 5 to 8 as compared to the ‘no SEN’ group at mathematics and reading ability. • SEN pupilson average wereratedlesspositivelyonunderachievement, behaviour, attitude to work, and popularitywithclassmates, wereconsidered more dependentupon the teacher and had more conflictswith the teacher. • The attitude towardswork, as ratedby the teacher, became more problematicwith the ‘stable SEN group’ from T1 to T2.
The Development of Pupils with and Pupils without Special Educational Needs in Primary Schools in The Netherlands Ed Smeets GuuskeLedouxITS Kohnstamm InstituutRadboud University University of AmsterdamNijmegen, The Netherlands Amsterdam, The Netherlands e.smeets@its.ru.nlgledoux@kohnstamm.uva.nl ECER 2013