This study investigated the self-concept of students with vision impairments who were placed in mainstream and specialist schools in South Australia. Self-Concept was studied across six dimensions, namely Physical, Moral, Personal, Family, Social and Academic Self-Concepts and the Total Self-Concept. The 'Tennessee Self-Concept Scale: Second…

This article presents new insights into the views of families regarding the educational opportunities for their children in special school settings. It reports on a study designed to capture the perspectives of families regarding the opportunities to consult and engage with teachers on the education of their child or children with disabilities…

The United Nations has called upon Governments that are signatory to the "Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities" (CRPD) to adopt practical but progressive systems to transfer resources from segregated settings/special schools into mainstream schools. What will this mean for Australia's special schools, particularly given…

Children with intellectual disabilities (ID) are less likely to meet physical activity (PA) guidelines and have higher tendencies towards sedentary behaviors. Considering a large proportion of a child's day is spent at school, this setting provides a promising environment for increasing PA levels. Staff often significantly impact the success of PA…

Schools for specific purposes (SSP) are and have been a significant feature of the education ecosystem since the roll out of mass schooling in Australia and elsewhere. SSPs serve some of the most vulnerable and disadvantaged communities. While their social and emotional worth to their communities (students, educators, families) is rarely…

This paper aims to explore the impacts of a Learn to Play programme in specialist schools for children with multiple developmental issues. Specialist schools are schools dedicated to children with IQs below 70 and who may also have other developmental issues. The Learn to Play programme focusses on facilitating children's enjoyment and ability to…

Inclusive education is enshrined in law and supported by the literature as best practice in education. Inclusive education has been shown to provide better academic, social and behavioural outcomes for children with disabilities than segregated learning environments. In the Northern Territory, Australia, however, the dual system of mainstream and…

Students on the autism spectrum often require support to navigate transitions from one educational setting to another. This study examined stakeholder perceptions about the transition supports that educators employ to support students on the autism spectrum to transition from one school setting to another. A non-matched Australia-wide sample of…

Interpreting and enacting curriculum in any school is a complex undertaking, even more so in special school contexts where teachers must develop and enact appropriate curriculum modifications and accommodations for small groups of students and individual students. In special education contexts, educational modifications are changes teachers make…

Teachers are faced with an increasingly complex environment in which they need significant support to foster the classroom climates their students benefit from. Developing a critical understanding of the school and broader social context can foster awareness of the 'bigger picture' that influences the school community individually and…

The Victorian Government, Australia, committed to deliver recommendations from a review of the Program for Students with Disabilities. We report on the implementation of Recommendation 7: to explore options for how special schools could become 'centres of expertise' to support inclusion in mainstream schools. Informed by evidence reviews of…

Partnerships are one of the key practice principles guiding the practice of early years teachers in Australia, and are explicitly noted in the policy frameworks. However, teachers working with children in hospital face many complexities in establishing and maintaining partnerships with families when facing serious, and at times, life-threatening…

Purpose: This article examines the educational decision-making of hearing parents for their deaf children born during a period (1970-1990s) before the introduction of new-born hearing screening in New South Wales, where the study was conducted, and prior to the now near-universal adoption of cochlear implants in Australia.…

The aim of this study is to understand how mobile devices are being used to support students' learning (i.e., mobile learning) in specialist schools, and in specialist support units within mainstream schools. A validated survey instrument is used to examine these practices through the lens of a sociocultural digital framework that highlights…

This study explored parents' perceptions of a hospital-based schooling intervention for children with cancer. A qualitative design using semi-structured interviews was employed. Participants were nine parents whose children had participated in the program. Parents participated in semi-structured interviews, which were transcribed verbatim and…