EMULSIONES MÁS USADAS EN RECICLADO DE PAVIMENTOS

The current research evidence about the links between CF and education illustrates that children and young people with the condition may experience vulnerable

educational circumstances. However, much of the research considers children with medical conditions to be a homogenous group and fails to account for the unique characteristics and variable nature of CF. Therefore, the specific vulnerabilities experienced by children with CF in education remain largely unknown. The duty placed upon schools to support children with medical conditions is new in its approach and it may be too early to establish the impact of this government policy (DfE, 2015). Further uncertainties around the application of SEN and disability policy to children and young people with CF could mean that they are unable to get the support they need most in their education.

Some of the themes arising in the body of research reviewed may well be of concern to both primary and secondary children with CF. The literature has demonstrated the importance of education to children with medical needs, regardless of disease severity. This has shown education to be important for reasons that extend beyond future aspirations or career plans. There are likely to be educational and social implications arising from having CF at school. Issues within the theme of school absence such as falling behind and keeping up with school work, and disconnection from friends are all of relevance to this study. Nevertheless, school absence does not necessarily affect all children with CF. Indeed, many children are able to attend school while receiving intensive treatment for chest exacerbations and some may rarely experience ill health at all during their time at school. Existing research has examined the issue of receiving treatment in hospital in a context of school absence. Yet, there are no studies that have

considered children’s experiences of having intensive treatments while attending school. Further, little is known about the education received by children and young people with CF when they are not well enough to attend school or when they are hospitalised. These factors are likely to be significant to the educational

agency working between education and health care providers, parental experiences, teacher knowledge of CF and importantly, children and young people’s experiences of education during such periods.

The majority of children with CF will have a vast regime of daily treatment in order to stay well. Puckey et al’s (2006) article goes some way to identifying how CF might impact on children while they attend school, but there is an absence of the voices of children, parents and other stakeholders in the paper. Other studies have also suggested there are certain health implications of having CF at school, such as the need to use the toilet urgently, the administration of CF treatments, possible symptoms and side effects, following a CF diet and issues relating to cross-

infection. These areas highlight a need for this study to address some the practical considerations of being a school-aged child with CF, such as how children

experience CF symptoms, their treatments and procedures for administering CF medication or having treatments at school. It is possible that primary and secondary students could have different experiences in relation to these issues, due to the variations within and between the systems and structures associated with different provisions.

The presupposition that children with medical conditions are in need of educational support is a key feature of much of the literature. Supportive provision in relation to the awareness and understanding of children’s medical conditions at school was identified in several studies, in addition to the closely related theme of maintaining good communication. However, the subject of receiving ‘support’ to children with CF may be contentious as the research also shows that they have a strong desire to be seen as ‘normal’. The literature further revealed there are dilemmas that exist within the issue of educational support. For example, some children may choose to keep their condition private in order to maintain a sense of normality and this could result in a lack of understanding of CF and any subsequent needs by school staff. Consequently, this research is primarily interested in the views of children and young people with CF on their own needs in education, alongside the perspectives of parents and education and health personnel.

Finally, an exploration of the possible frameworks for understanding the educational experiences of children with CF revealed the biopsychosocial model to be superior to other approaches, within a context of this study. It was argued that this model allows the interconnected and interactional factors that make up children’s

experiences to be considered. A review of existing literature has also demonstrated the need for an exploratory approach to the research, because it cannot be

established if the conclusions made by more general studies on the education of children with medical conditions are also applicable to all children and young people with CF, even where such studies have included those with the condition.

Nevertheless, existing studies have provided possible areas of exploration that may be relevant to the education of individuals with CF. The literature has further

evidenced the need for the involvement of stakeholders in addition to children with CF, including parents, and education and health personnel, in order to enable a deeper understanding of issues in education relating to children with CF from multiple perspectives and contexts.

This chapter has addressed the first research question by identifying the current research evidence about the links between CF and education. Three further research questions for this study were informed by the review of the literature contained within this chapter:

 What are the perspectives of children and young people with CF on their educational experiences and needs?

 What are the perspectives of other key stakeholders on the education of children and young people with CF?

 How can the study data inform developments in the education of children and young people with CF?

The next chapter provides the rationale for a further methodologically related research question and revisits all the research questions relating to this study. It describes the development of the methodology and research design that will generate the data needed to answer these questions.