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ERIC Number: EJ1460934
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2025-Mar
Pages: 27
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0311-6999
EISSN: EISSN-2210-5328
Available Date: 2024-07-10
Improving the Accessibility of Subject English for Students with Language and/or Attention Difficulties
Australian Educational Researcher, v52 n1 p511-537 2025
The study of English is compulsory throughout all 13 years of schooling in Australia and, while there are differentiated options in the senior years of school, these do not have the same parity of esteem nor transactional value. Previous research has identified patterns of enrolment in high versus low-status subjects, reflecting differential access to powerful knowledge and further educational opportunity. To date, research has focused on patterns of inequalities in enrolment access along socioeconomic lines with comparatively less attention to the "accessibility" of pedagogy and assessment, particularly for students with high-incidence disabilities like Developmental Language Disorder (DLD) and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). In this study, we draw on individual achievement and interview data to consider the accessibility of subject English from the perspectives of 59 Year 10 students identified as having language and/or attentional difficulties consistent with DLD and ADHD. In describing their ease or difficulty with subject English, students reported "attributions to self" (e.g., their ability to write or to concentrate), and "attributions to the subject" (e.g., explicitness of success criteria, flexibility of assessment requirements, and the in/accessibility of teaching). Attributions to the subject dominated students' responses, however, students also described a range of supportive pedagogical practices that--if implemented consistently and effectively--may help to increase the accessibility of subject English for students with language and/or attentional difficulties, providing more equitable opportunities for these students to gain from their participation in this important compulsory subject.
Springer. Available from: Springer Nature. One New York Plaza, Suite 4600, New York, NY 10004. Tel: 800-777-4643; Tel: 212-460-1500; Fax: 212-460-1700; e-mail: customerservice@springernature.com; Web site: https://link.springer.com/
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: High Schools; Secondary Education; Grade 10
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Australia
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: 1Queensland University of Technology (QUT), Centre for Inclusive Education, Faculty of Creative Industries, Education and Social Justice, Kelvin Grove, Australia