Teacher assistant partnerships in special schools

The number of assistants in schools in Ireland and Northern Ireland has increased significantly over the years in response to changes in educational policy and although the role of the assistant has been the focus of many research studies, ambiguity still surrounds the role.  There is also a notable gap in the research on the …
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Meeting the Needs of Children with Special Educational Needs in Multi-grade Classrooms

The purpose of the study was to investigate how mainstream teachers meet the needs of pupils with SEN in multi-grade classrooms. The aim of the research was to identify good practice and challenges with regard to the inclusion of pupils with SEN in mainstream, multi-grade classrooms in primary schools, as well as identifying how teachers …
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Managing early years inclusive transition practices

To compare the transition policies and practices employed by mainstream schools for young children with special needs in the North and South of Ireland. Specifically, he project aims to document the policies (at government, local authority and school level)  that direct and influence the transition process; to explore the differing practices and strategies employed by …
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Reconceptualising school placement as part of Initial Teacher Education in Ireland, North and South: the role of specialist school placement.

The aim of this study is to investigate student teachers’ attitudes towards inclusion and their perceptions of competence in meeting the needs of students with SEN, before and after teaching placement in a specialist setting, on concurrent and consecutive ITE programmes for post-primary teachers, North and South. ITESP Final Report


Dyslexia in Ireland: Views regarding the provision for pupils with dyslexia since the publication of the Task Force Reports, North and South (2002) (DyslexiaN/S)

Project Aims (a) to consult with members of the Dyslexia Task Force groups, North and South (DENI, DES) and ascertain their views and perspectives on the provision of support for pupils with dyslexia ten years on. (b) to consult with key stakeholders, North and South and to ascertain their views and perspectives on the provision …
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The development of North/South case studies identifying key features of good practice in the teaching of pupils from ethnic minorities

This research project will develop case studies exemplifying good practice in the teaching of pupils from ethnic minorities by focusing mainly on identifying teaching/learning strategies which are successful in integrating ethnic minority children into the classroom and engaging them actively in their learning. Schools will be chosen from the North and South and will be …
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Dyslexia, Literacy and Inclusion – Conference

To help fund a conference which seeks to: Develop a dynamic interface on the island of Ireland that will harness educational theory, research and practice on the special educational needs, dyslexia for the purposes of enhancing learning and teaching in schools. Promote collaboration between Northern Irish and Southern Irish educational practitioners into what constitutes best …
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Facing Autism Ireland 2009

26 – 27 June 2009 Europa Hotel, Belfast This conference will update evidence based practice in the treatment of ASD to ensure that parents and professionals have the best possible information. This conference will follow on from three previous conferences.    


Student Teachers Perceptions of their Competence to meet the needs of pupils with Autistic Spectrum Disorder in mainstream Primary Schools

Objectives: To ascertain how competent BEd primary students in their respective institutions perceive themselves to be in identifying the characteristics of ASD through the teaching element of the BEd course To establish how well prepared BEd primary students feel they are in addressing the needs of pupils with ASD through the teaching element of the …
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Consulting Pupils on the Assessment and Remediation of the Specific Learning Difficulties

Objectives: To consult with primary and post-primary pupils on their level of participation in the assessment and remediation of their specific reading difficulties To share ideas and findings between the two partners of the project via e-mail and face-to-face meetings To work with Northern Irish and Southern Irish research partners to understand what constitutes good …
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