M uch o f the literature on the transfer process b etw een sectors refers to transfer from special sch ools to m ainstream provision, particularly in relation to pupils w ith M G LD. T his reflects a v ie w , w h ich has been reinforced through p o lic y initiatives such as the G A M (D E S , 2005) that, g iv en the appropriate support, pupils w ith M G L D can be su ccessfu lly included in m ainstream classroom s. T he v iew that inclusion can b e fostered through allocation o f resources has b een challenged. Slee (2008) argues that the core b usiness o f in clu sive education is the reform o f curriculum, pedagogy and assessm en t and not h o w resources are to be allocated. A num ber o f the studies on the transfer o f pupils b etw een m ainstream and special sch o ols have focu ssed on p up ils’ experiences of, and perspectives on, educational provision in both settings.
3 .7 .1 P u p i l s ’ p e r s p e c tiv e s on e d u c a tio n a l p r o v is io n in m a in s tre a m a n d s p e c ia l s c h o o ls
Jacklin’s (1 9 9 8 ) study on pup ils’ experience o f the transfer process betw een special and m ainstream sch o o ls in the U K , explored the p erspectives o f 15 pupils w h o had experience o f m ainstream and special schooling. T he p rocess o f transfer encom p asses the w h ole process o f m ovem en t from one school to another, b egin n in g w ith the early stages o f identification that a pupil m ay need to leave a placem ent and ending w ith full-tim e placem ent in the receivin g sch ool. O f the group o f pupils studied, fiv e had transferred due to em otional and social difficu lties w h ile learning and social difficu lties w ere stated as reasons for tw o other pupils. A ll pupils had a m edical condition, or a degree o f physical disability, as w e ll as
varying degrees o f em otional, behavioural and learning d ifficu lties. A ll pupils identified differences b etw een m ainstream and special sch ools, particularly regarding organisational features, teachers and teaching styles, and friends and friendship groups. T he m ost important issu e identified from the p u p ils’ perspective was that o f friendships, includ ing relationships w ith peers, b uildin g and m aintaining friendships and ach ievin g status am ongst peer groups. Seven o f the eight pupils w h o transferred from m ainstream referred to feelin g s o f isolation from their peers in their m ainstream settings and felt m ore included in the special school.
P u p ils’ perspectives on their relationships with peers in special sch o o ls are the focus o f a sm all-scale exploratory study carried out in one sch ool for pupils w ith M G L D in L ondon by N orw ich (1 9 9 7 ). H is study explores the perspectives o f adolescents w ith M G L D on their experiences o f special sch o o ls, and their self-perceptions, in order to identify w hether these perspectives reflected a tension betw een positive and n egative con seq u en ces. N orw ich was referring to the ten sion that ex ists betw een pup ils’ need and desire for additional support and the potential for stigm atisation o f those attending special sch oo ls. T he m ajority o f pupils interview ed indicated that special schools were for those w h o could not read or w rite and for those w ith learning difficu lties. In describing their personal feelin g s about attending a special school, m ost p o sitiv e responses related to quality o f teaching and curriculum , w h ile m ost negative resp onses related to bullying or teasing, both w ithin and outside the school environm ent. The m ajority o f pupils reported that the sp ecial sch o o l helped pupils w ith literacy d ifficu lties or w ith learning difficulties in general. H ow ever, fe w had co n fid en ce o f this type o f support b ein g available in a m ainstream post-prim ary sch ool. W ith respect to the tension b etw een availing o f educational provision in special sch o ols and stigm atisation, N orw ich (1 9 9 7 ) argues that the findings were consistent w ith “the assum ption o f a balance between p o sitiv e learning benefits and negative aspects o f teasin g and devaluation” (p. 4 9).
In a later study, N orw ich and K elly (2005) explored the perspective o f pupils w ith M G LD, aged betw een ten and fourteen, from mainstream and special sch o o ls on p o sitiv e and negative aspects o f educational provision in mainstream and special sch o o ls. In this study, 74% o f pupils in special sch o o ls had previously attended m ainstream sch oo ls and so, w ere able to com m ent o n both forms o f provision. Som e o f these pupils expressed the v ie w that there was greater support from learning support assistants in special sch o o ls than had b een available to them in m ainstream sch ools. Others reported experiences o f isolation in m ainstream sch ools or b ullying from their m ainstream peers. There w ere m ixed v ie w s expressed in relation to teachers in m ainstream sch ools, w ith som e pupils suggesting that teachers did not seem to understand their learning difficulties. H ow ever, there w ere also som e p o sitiv e experiences o f mainstream sch ools reported, including more opportunities to pursue hobbies in larger schools. O ne o f the m ost interesting findings from this study is that b oys o f post-prim ary age in special sch ools w ere m ore dissatisfied with b ein g in their present school than any other group o f p up ils in m ainstream or special schools. Furthermore, b o y s o f post-prim ary age in m ainstream sch o ols, w h o expressed dissatisfaction w ith elem ents o f their educational provision, still preferred rem aining in a m ainstream school. T h ese findings are significant to the Irish context particularly w hen considered in light o f the fact that the m ajority o f pupils attending special sch o o ls for M G LD are boys o f post-prim ary age.
3 .7 .2 R e a s o n s f o r tra n s fe r o f p u p ils f r o m m a in s tr e a m to s p e c ia l s c h o o ls in I r e la n d
A recent Irish study on the reasons pupils transfer from m ainstream to special sch o ols (K elly & D evitt, 2 0 1 0 ), identifies reasons for the p revalence o f transfer am ongst pupils over the age o f 12. T h e study consisted o f tw o phases. Phase o n e included a survey o f principals in 54 special sch o o ls in Ireland and phase tw o consisted o f interview s w ith parents, pupils and teachers in special sch o o ls. O f the 54 sch ools in volved in phase one o f the study, the largest
groups represented included 17 special schools for pupils w ith M G L D , 18 special sch o ols for pupils with m oderate G LD and seven special sch ools for pupils experiencing em otional disturbance. O f the ten sch ools w hich participated in phase tw o o f the study, fiv e w ere special sch o o ls for pupils w ith M G L D , two were special sch ools for pupils w ith m oderate G LD and special sch o o ls for pupils with physical disabilities, hearing im pairm ent and em otional disturbance w ere also represented. The results o f their survey indicate an increase in the number o f pupils transferring to special schools betw een 2 0 0 4 and 2 0 0 9 . In special sch ools for pupils w ith M G L D , the results indicate a 75% increase in the num ber o f pupils enrolling from m ainstream sch ools during this five year period. O verall, 90-95% o f pupils in special sch o o ls for pup ils w ith M G L D and m oderate G LD transfer b etw een the ages o f 12 and 15. T he study found a variety o f reasons for the transfer o f pupils to special sch o ols including academ ic, social, em otional, behavioural and, to a lesser extent, p hysical or health-related needs. The results o f the survey indicate that 90% o f pupils w ho transferred from m ainstream primary sch oo ls to special sch ools for pupils w ith M G L D did so for academ ic reasons and 74% did so for social reasons. Similarly, 91% w ho transferred from post-prim ary sch o o ls did so for academ ic reasons w h ile 57% did so for social reasons. H ow ev er, 62% o f those w ho transferred at this stage did so for em otional and behavioural reasons. A cad em ic reasons included the num ber o f subjects in the post-prim ary curriculum, lack o f em phasis on life sk ills, class s iz e and over-reliance on SN A support. S ocial and behavioural reasons included social ex clu sio n and p u p ils’ awareness o f their ow n d ifficu lties in m ainstream schools. Parents expressed dissatisfaction w ith aspects o f support in m ainstream sch o ols including difficu lties a ccessin g resources and a perceived lack o f teacher k n o w led g e and training in the area o f SEN. T h e study also investigates parents and pupils persp ectives on the d ecisio n m aking process regarding placem ent in the special schools. Their find ings indicate m ixed experiences o n the part o f 13 parents interview ed, w ith six reporting that m ainstream sch o ols
initiated the transfer process and seven reporting that they m ade the d ecisio n th em selv es in consultation w ith the principals o f the special sch ools. T h e m ajority o f pupils interview ed reported that they had talked w ith their parents about leav in g their m ainstream school. W h ile the findings from the survey are presented according to the ca tegory o f special sch oo l, findings from the interview s relate to all special sch o ols represented.
A lthough K elly and D e v itt’s (2 0 1 0 ) study provides a com p rehensive o v e r v ie w o f reasons pupils seek enrolm ent in special schools, the v iew s o f teachers and principals in m ainstream sch o ols w ere not sought. This raises som e issu es as the find ings are m ainly expressed in terms o f d ifficu lties experienced b y pupils in m ainstream sch oo ls. A s k e y stakeholders in educational pro vision for pupils w ith SEN, teachers and principals in m ainstream sch o o ls are central to the transfer process and can contribute an insider p ersp ective on the types o f difficu lties and challen g es experienced b y mainstream sch o o ls in m eetin g the learning n eed s o f these pupils. Frederickson et al. (2 00 4 ) draw attention to a lack o f studies on experiences o f inclusion w hich obtained m ultiple stakeholder p erspectives, thereby o fferin g lim ited opportunities to loo k at com m onalities and differences. T h e in clu sio n o f m ultiple stakeholders is identified as crucial to developing effectiv e com m unication and collaboration. T his is particularly relevant to the Irish context given the su g g estio n that special sch o o ls are becom in g increasingly isolated from mainstream sch ools (M cC arthy & K en ny, 2006; Stevens & O ’M oore, 2 0 0 9 ) and the recom m endation for the need to d ev elo p links betw een both sectors (W are et al., 2 0 0 9 ). The current study includes p ersp ectives from k e y stakeholder including pupils, parents, principals and teachers in m ainstream and special sch ools.
W hile m ost o f the literature on the transfer process fo cu ses on the transfer from special to m ainstream sch o o ls, studies o f the transfer o f pupils from m ainstream to special sch ools identify academ ic, social, em otional and behavioural factors am ong the reasons for this phenom enon. N o rw ich (2008a) highlights the tension, or dilem m a, w h ich ex ists for pupils attending special schools betw een the desire for additional support and the potential for stigm atisation w h ich m ay result. A recent Irish study, (K e lly & D evitt, 2 0 1 0 ), o f the transfer o f pup ils over the age o f 12 from m ainstream to special sc h o o ls indicates a high percentage o f pupils are transferring to special sch ools for pup ils w ith M G L D b etw een the ages o f 12 and 15. G iven the high percentage o f pupils transferring to special sch o o ls for pupils w ith M G LD, further research w hich focu ses on this particular category is warranted. The v iew s o f k e y stakeholders involved in the transfer p rocess, in clu d in g teachers and principal in m ainstream sch ools, are necessary to identify issu es w h ich m a y be com m on or different in each sector and to prom ote greater linkage and collaboration through research. The current study aim s to bridge this gap in the literature.