‘The best of both worlds’ or ‘a compromise policy’?: co-location as a form of educational placement for pupils with special educational needs.

Griffiths, Eve (2014). ‘The best of both worlds’ or ‘a compromise policy’?: co-location as a form of educational placement for pupils with special educational needs. University of Birmingham. Ph.D.

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Abstract

Co-location involves the physical placement of two schools onto one site. By some it is seen as a ‘compromise policy’ which prevents inclusion, whilst other authors argue that it offers ‘the best of both worlds’ in allowing pupils with special needs to access both mainstream and special school environments.
The teacher-research presented here focused on the co-location of a special school with a mainstream secondary school. It used formal interviews and questionnaires to explore the attitudes of staff and parents towards the co-location and a ‘mosaic’ (Clark and Moss, 2001, p.1) of child-friendly methods to access the opinions of pupils from both schools. The research also included case studies of two co-located special schools which further explored the concept of co-location and considered the relationship of co-location to broader literature relating to the educational placement and inclusion of children with special needs.
The research discovered that participants from the mainstream school were generally less concerned about the co-location than the special school participants. Participants from the special school were concerned about bullying, inequality and educational failure as a result of the co-location. Participants from all groups spoke with enthusiasm about the potential of the co-location to deconstruct prejudices and offer staff and pupils opportunities to learn together.
The research concludes that co-located schools can be ‘autonomous’ and joined only by their physical placement on the same site, or that the schools can become ‘collaborative’ and work together to offer a unique inclusive learning environment.

Type of Work:

Thesis (Doctorates > Ph.D.)

Award Type:

Doctorates > Ph.D.

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