Policy and Administration in Special Education

Assessment Task 1

Policy & Administration in Special Education

Critical analysis of policy.

The New South Wales Department of Education and Communities (NSW DEC) Every Student, Every School initiative (ESES) is complex with multiple, integrated project activities staged over 2012 to 2013. It is supported by $47.9 million provided by the Commonwealth Government’s National Partnership: More Support for Students with Disabilities. The

objective is that NSW DEC schools and their teachers will build capacity to meet the needs of students with a disability and additional learning and support needs. ESES provides a framework for improving and enhancing learning and support in school (NSW Department of Education and Communities, 2012).

ESES is aimed at improving responses under the commonwealth’s Disability Standards for Education 2005 (NSW Department of Education and Communities, 2012). Despite major changes in legislation in the 20th century there has been inadequate improvement in education for people with a disability in Australia and these students are falling behind as a result (Commonwealth Government, 2009; Pricewaterhouse Coopers, 2011). This has meant that change is necessary to improve outcomes for these students. The Disability Standards for Education (2005) endorse the rights of students with a disability to enrol in their mainstream school on the same basis as every other student. The Commonwealth Disability

Discrimination Act (DDA), 1992 gives a broad definition of disability including physical or sensory impairment, intellectual disability, brain injury, emotional and mental health disorders, disorders that result in a person learning differently to others and behaviour that is a symptom or manifestation of disability and learning difficulties (DDA, 1992 & Human Rights Commission, 2005). Legal obligations under the DDA and Standards apply equally to all of these students and as result all teachers must make personalised adjustments to enable students with a disability to access and participate in learning on the same basis as their peers without a disability. There are five project areas in ESES, which together provide an

integrated approach to building the capabilities of schools to provide high quality support for students with a disability and additional learning and support needs (NSW Department of Education and Communities, 2012).

The first project area of ESES is Professional learning for skilled and knowledgeable teachers. Opportunities for professional learning for teachers and support staff are being developed. One opportunity is the availability of up to 300 scholarships, for teachers to gain

a Masters in special education (NSW Department of Education and Communities, 2012). According to Fang & Sass (2010) gains in learning, particularly reading, for students with a disability are greater when the teacher holds a post graduate qualification. Authors of the Mapping the Territory report (Louden et al., 2000 as cited in Fielding-Barnsley, 2005) recommended that post graduate qualifications for teachers should be supported. Many teachers have no formal training in special education and may lack the financial resources to obtain such qualifications (Matsuda et. al, 2005). Many teachers simply believe they don’t possess the time, experience or access to professional development to support teaching children with disabilities in a mainstream class (Shaddock, Giorcelli & Smith, 2008). The ESES scholarships offer teachers a financial incentive to complete a post graduate qualification, as well as the opportunity to building skill level and knowledge to improve classroom practice.

Hattie (2005) has found that how teachers teach has the biggest influence on a student’s learning. Other research explains that the most important determinant of student achievement is teacher quality (Rockoff 2004; Rivin, Hanushek, & Kain 2005; Aaronson, Barrow & Sander 2007; Harris & Sass 2008, as cited in Feng et al., 2010). The Review of Funding for Schooling (2011) reported support from contributors for more funding to improve teacher quality. To address the lack of formal training in special education, a mandatory component on disability and special education should be introduced to all teacher training programs throughout Australia. Submissions in the Commonwealth Government’s Shut Out report

(2009) discussed the need for systematic strengthening of teacher education and professional development. In NSW it is already mandatory for under-graduates to study a component of special education, however in some states and territories this is not the case (FieldingBarnsley, 2005). In the interim Learning and Support Teachers (LAST) should be utilised in a collaborative model to support and build the capacity of teachers.

The second project area for ESES is Support for students with a disability in regular classrooms. More than 90,000 students in NSW DEC schools will at some time require adjustments in their learning because of a disability, learning difficulties or behaviour. Every school will have direct and timely access to a specialist teacher to support these students (NSW Department of Education and Communities, 2012). The Mapping the

Territory report (Louden et al., 2000, cited in Fielding-Barnsley, 2005) support this view that there should be at least one teacher with specialist knowledge in every school. More than 1800 LAST positions have been allocated directly to DEC schools to support students with low levels of additional needs. This is a 30% increase in the number of specialist teachers already allocated to schools. LAST positions establish a special education presence in every school, which means that schools will have direct access to a specialist teacher that was not previously available in every DEC school (NSW Department of Education and Communities 2012).

LAST positions have been created through the restructure of specialist teachers including Support Teacher Learning Assistance (STLA), Early School Support Teacher, Support Teacher Behaviour (STB), Support Teacher Integrated IM, Itinerant Support Teacher Integration (ISTI), Outreach Teacher (autism, ED, special education) and School Learning and Support Co-Ordinator (SLSC). ESES claim they will provide an extensive program of induction training and ongoing professional development to support school leaders, LAST, classroom teachers and support staff (NSW Department of Education and Communities, 2012). However, this induction is being rolled out over 18 months, resulting in a gap of specialist knowledge in the interim. The allocation of LASTs to schools from the restructure of itinerant and specialist positions has meant in many cases schools will gain a teacher with specialist knowledge and experience in one specialist area. For example, a school may be appointed a LAST who was previously an STLA, and who may have limited knowledge in integration, behaviour or autism. Some schools may have a LAST appointed, who prior to this was an STB their entire teaching career, with no recent experience or knowledge in the area of learning difficulties and access to the curriculum. 96 Assistant Principal Learning and Support (APLaS) positions have been created through the restructure of Assistant Principal Behaviour (APB) and Assistant Principal Learning Assistance (APLA). During the 18 moth transition phase APLaS could be utilised to support additional professional and learning needs of teachers and LAST. Local schools could pool their LAST skills and expertise to deliver teacher professional learning.

The third project area of ESES is Special schools as centres for expertise. 106 special schools will be funded to develop and implement projects that facilitate and demonstrate best

practice in supporting students with additional learning and support needs. A vital and integral component of these projects will be the inclusion of strategies for networking with other schools within the region, to enable sharing of expertise and resources (NSW Department of Education and Communities, 2012).

Submissions in the Commonwealth Government’s Shut Out report (2009) regarding inclusive education identified that skill development proves to be the most financially resourceful way of improving outcomes for students with disabilities. It was also reported that teachers were less likely to welcome inclusion if they were not trained in special education and if they believed they would be offered minimal support. It also stated that the education system was staffed by teachers who had minimal or no training in disability. This project area can help build the capacity of schools and teachers to meet the needs of students with disabilities as the projects can be locally designed to develop and demonstrate best practice in special education. These can then be shared with other schools to increase skills and knowledge for mainstream teachers. Inclusive practice begins with learning from good practitioners and best practice research (Shaddock et al, 2007).

The fourth project area of ESES is Instruments to understand and support individual student’s learning needs. A new functional behaviour assessment tool and guidelines are currently being developed by DEC, with an anticipated completion of 2012. This tool is to be administered by teachers, together with input from parents and students to assess and understand specific educational needs of students, to enable the planning of appropriate support and adjustments needs (NSW Department of Education and Communities, 2012). As a result planning for adjustment will be informed by functional educational needs rather than by disability type or label. Prior to ESES the specialist service system in DEC schools recognised the type of disability the student had rather than the additional educational needs of each student (NSW Department of Education and Communities, 2012).

An encouraging aspect of this assessment tool is that it will give a profile of the whole student, and respect and value the knowledge and input from parents. Under the

Commonwealth Disabilities Standards for Education (2005) legislation students and their

parents must be consulted about the adjustments that are put into place for.

Fine &

Nissenbaum (2000, in Fine & Simpson, Eds., 2000) believe that parents are an invaluable resource to support their child’s education, as they have a good understanding of their child’s strengths and needs. Collaborative consultation promotes effective partnerships and inclusive school environments, in order to maximise outcomes for students with disabilities (Foreman, P, Ed., 1996).

That the functional assessment tool is to be administered by teachers, it could be considered a negative aspect by many. Given that Australian teachers already feel overwhelmed with workload (Forlin, 2001; Westwood, 2003, cited in Shaddock, Giorcelli & Smith, 2007), the functional tool may be viewed as another task for teachers to fit into a very busy school day. Shaddock et al., (2007) recognise that Australian teachers juggle many demands, and that time constraints are their biggest obstacle. Details are not yet available regarding the

complexity of the tool, however the Functional Assessment Tool Pilot that the DEC trialled in 2010 was a lengthy and time consuming instrument and unpopular with teachers. LAST teachers could be utilised to support the implementation of this tool, along with the Learning and Support Team.

The final project area for ESES is Information to support teaching and learning and expert support. It is the result of identified need of parents, teachers and principals to have better access to uncomplicated information regarding supporting students with a disability, easier access to specialist support services and resources for students with complex high support needs (NSW Department of Education and Communities, 2012). A combined initiative with NSW Health in this project area is the Physical as Anything.com website. This site provides easy access for teachers, support staff, parents and carers to simplified information regarding medical, developmental and psychological conditions in childhood and adolescence, put together by a panel of medical and educational experts. It allows for expert support and provides consistent information to schools and families. The site is easy to navigate, user friendly and contains downloadable resources and links to an extensive range of related websites.

An encouraging aspect of this final project area is that it utilises a multi-disciplinary approach. Collaborative consultation is being encouraged with teachers, students, parents, support staff, consultants, allied health professionals and academic partners. Collaborative partnerships facilitate the linking of personnel within and across schools and other agencies in an effort to provide innovative solutions to educational needs (Arthur, Gordon & Butterfield, 2003). The Commonwealth’s Review of Funding for Schooling (2010) make it clear that funding in isolation doesn’t improve student outcomes, rather the relationship between principals, teachers, students, families and the wider community is a vital component. This collaborative consultation will provide highly specialised support for

learning, to enable improved outcomes for students with disabilities.

Given the changing nature of student profiles and increasing diversity of students, combined with growing legal obligations to provide personalised adjustments for students with a disability, it means that ESES is now the business of every school and every teacher. The Commonwealth Government will undertake an independent evaluation of the National Partnership and its effectiveness in achieving its objective to provide more support for students with disabilities.

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Extract from Commonwealth of Australia (2010). Review of funding for schooling: emerging issues paper. Accessed on September 3, 2012 from http://www.deewr.gov.au/Schooling/ReviewofFunding/Pages/default.aspx

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Fielding-Barnsley, R. (2005). The attributes of successful learning support teacher in an Australian inclusive classrooms. Journal of Research in Special Educational Needs, 5, 2, 6876

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Hattie, J. (2005). What is the nature of evidence that makes a difference to learning? Paper presented at the ACER Conference, Melbourne. Accessed on September 3, 2012 from http://www.acer.edu.au/workshops/documents/HattieSlides.pdf

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Shaddock, A., Giorcelli, L., & Smith., S. (2007). Students with Disabilities in Mainstream Classrooms: A resource for teachers, Canberra: Commonwealth of Australia

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