Riddell, Sheila
(2021).
Autonomy, Rights and Children with Special Needs: A New Paradigm, 2017-2019.
[Data Collection]. Colchester, Essex:
UK Data Service.
10.5255/UKDA-SN-854073
Since the late 1970s, in the field of special educational needs (SEN) in England and additional support needs (ASN) in Scotland, there has been a growing focus on parental involvement in educational decision-making. Despite the emphasis on the empowerment of children in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) and the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD), parental rights in education have tended to trump those of children and young people. There has also been some disparity with regard to the emphasis on the educational rights of children and young people with SEN/ASN in different parts of the UK, and competing understandings of the concept of autonomy.
In both England and Scotland, new legislation aims to place the rights of children and young people with SEN and ASN on a par with those of their parents. In the light of this change, this research will consider whether we are witnessing a paradigm shift in the field of special and additional support needs analogous to that which occurred in state education in the 1980s and 1990s, when marketisation and consumerism attained a much higher profile. The research addresses important questions with regard to:
(1) the practical realisation of the rights of children and young people with different types of difficulty and in different social and geographical contexts;
(2) the way in which children and young people's rights sit alongside those of their parents;
(3) the measures which may be taken by schools and local authorities to promote the rights of children and young people.
In considering the way in which the rights of children and young people with SEN/ASN are implemented in England and Scotland, the research will take account of changes in the wider social policy landscape, including the ongoing impact of devolution, growing diversity of governance arrangements in English schools and public sector austerity.
A range of research methods will be used in this project, including analysis of policy, legislation and administrative data; a survey of local authority policy and practice in relation to the rights of children and young people; key informant interviews to elicit views on the factors which are likely to promote or inhibit the realisation of the rights of children and young people with SEN/ASN; qualitative work with children and young people and their parents/carers in home and school settings.
Data description (abstract)
This research investigated the way in which the children's rights agenda is being implemented in practice in the field of SEN/ASN, taking into account the wider policy context of declining budgets, reduced local authority power, increasingly complex governance arrangements and policy divergence across England and Scotland.
The project's specific objectives are to analyse:
The extent to which children and young people with SEN/ASN in different social, geographical and educational contexts and with different types of difficulty are able to realise their rights effectively;
The degree to which the rights of children and young people with SEN/ASN intersect with those of parents/carers and are driven by, or influence, the decision-making of schools and local authorities;
The way in which capacity for autonomous decision-making is understood and acted upon in different social and educational contexts;
The factors which promote or inhibit the realisation of rights by children and young people with SEN/ASN, including those who are looked after by the local authority;
The impact of a children's rights approach on the broader education and social policy landscape.
Since the late 1970s, in the field of special educational needs (SEN) in England and additional support needs (ASN) in Scotland, there has been a growing focus on parental involvement in educational decision-making. Despite the emphasis on the empowerment of children in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) and the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD), parental rights in education have tended to trump those of children and young people. There has also been some disparity with regard to the emphasis on the educational rights of children and young people with SEN/ASN in different parts of the UK, and competing understandings of the concept of autonomy.
In both England and Scotland, new legislation aims to place the rights of children and young people with SEN and ASN on a par with those of their parents. In the light of this change, this research will consider whether we are witnessing a paradigm shift in the field of special and additional support needs analagous to that which occurred in state education in the 1980s and 1990s, when marketisation and consumerism attained a much higher profile. The research addresses important questions with regard to:
the practical realisation of the rights of children and young people with different types of difficulty and in different social and geographical contexts;
the way in which children and young people's rights sit alongside those of their parents;
the measures which may be taken by schools and local authorities to promote the rights of children and young people.
In considering the way in which the rights of children and young people with SEN/ASN are implemented in England and Scotland, the research took account of changes in the wider social policy landscape, including the ongoing impact of devolution, growing diversity of governance arrangements in English schools and public sector austerity.
A range of research methods were used in this project, including analysis of policy, legislation and administrative data; a survey of local authority policy and practice in relation to the rights of children and young people; key informant interviews to elicit views on the factors which were likely to promote or inhibit the realisation of the rights of children and young people with SEN/ASN; qualitative work with children and young people and their parents/carers in home and school settings.
| Data creators: |
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| Sponsors: |
Economic and Social Research Council
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| Grant reference: |
ES/P002641/1
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| Topic classification: |
Law, crime and legal systems
Education
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| Keywords: |
CHILDREN'S RIGHTS, SPECIAL NEEDS EDUCATION, Additional Support Needs, Children's Legal Capacity, Autonomy Rights, Dispute Resolution Rights
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| Project title: |
Autonomy, Rights and Children with Special Needs: A New Paradigm?
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| Grant holders: |
Sheila Riddell, James MacAllister, Neville Harris
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| Project dates: |
| From | To |
|---|
| 1 July 2017 | 14 August 2019 |
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| Date published: |
31 Mar 2021 14:27
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| Last modified: |
31 Mar 2021 14:27
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| Collection period: |
| Date from: | Date to: |
|---|
| 1 July 2017 | 14 August 2019 |
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| Country: |
England, Scotland |
| Spatial unit: |
No Spatial Unit |
| Data collection method: |
(1) Review of literature, policy, legislation and administrative data (April–July 2017)
Electronic databases (including the British Education Research Index, ERIC, Medline, Social Science Citation Index) were searched using appropriate keywords. The literature search was restricted to English language publications and work conducted over the past 10 years. The international literature on children’s rights of participation and redress was examined, with a focus on education and other relevant spheres of social policy (e.g. youth justice, family law and health). The ‘grey’ literature (including reports of evaluations and policy reviews conducted by practitioner or policy bodies which may not be in the public domain) was also examined, as was relevant administrative data published by the Scottish Government, the Department for Education and the tribunal systems in both jurisdictions. The overall aim of this review was to locate the exercise of rights in SEN/ASN within a broader socio-legal and international context. A key concept to be explored was that of autonomy, its significance and implications for fundamental rights and the way in which children’s participatory rights are realised in different types of education systems in Europe and in a wider international context. (2) Key informant interviews (April–July 2017)
Up to 20 interviews were conducted in both England and Scotland (40 in total) with key players in government and organisations promoting and delivering SEN/ASN services. Their purpose was to sensitise the research team to important themes concerning the realisation of children and young people’s rights. Key informants included: Scottish Government and DfE representatives; Commissioners for Children and Young People; organisations representing children and young people with different types of SEN/ASN; parents’/carers’ forums; local authorities; schools; dispute resolution and advocacy services. School interviewees will be drawn from local authority maintained mainstream and special schools, other special schools and (England only) academies and free schools. (3) Local authority questionnaire survey (April – August 2017)
Drawing on the central themes arising in the key informant interviews, a questionnaire survey was developed and administered to the responsible officer for SEN/ASN in all English local authorities. A survey was used in our previous collaborative research and achieved a good response rate.
(4) In-depth case studies of children/young people with SEN/ASN (9 months, Aug. 2017–April 2018)
Six LAs were identified (3 in England and 3 in Scotland) with different social and geographical profiles and SEN/ASN policies and practices reflected in patterns of identification, placement, funding and support for children’s rights .
Within each authority, eight case studies of children and young people with SEN/ASN were conducted. (48 in total; 24 in each jurisdiction). The case studies, based on semi-structured interviews and observations with children and young people and significant others, were used to explore factors affecting the exercise of rights of participation and redress. The interviews focussed on children and young people’s accounts of their involvement in decisions on matters such as school choice, educational provision, funding including individual budgets (where appropriate), the resolution of disagreements including mediation and tribunals, curriculum and planning. The sampling criteria for the child and family case studies focussed on the four most common overall official categories of SEN/ASN (Riddell et al., 2016): (1) social, emotional and behavioural difficulties (Scotland) and social, emotional and mental health difficulties (England); (2) moderate learning difficulties; (3) speech, language and communication difficulties; and (4) autistic spectrum disorder. In each authority there were two case studies (one for a child at primary education stage, the other for one at secondary stage) for each of these four categories of SEN/ASN.
In addition to these variables, children and young people were drawn from different deprivation quintiles , ethnic groups and age groups, and reflected a gender balance. Cases were drawn from different types of school (local authority maintained mainstream and special; academies (England only); other special schools).
Within each of the 48 case studies, we interviewed the child or young person, their parents/carers and up to two significant others, such as a teacher, educational psychologist or parent partnership officer (up to four interviews per case study, maximum of 192 interviews in total). The interviews with children/young people and parents/carers were conducted either in the home or in another setting chosen by the adult. In some cases, it may be necessary to interview the children and adults together.
In order to understand the way in which the school environment supports the rights of children and young people with SEN/ASN, we undertook at least half a day’s classroom observation per child/young person (subject to permission), as well as interviews and other activities. |
| Observation unit: |
Organization |
| Kind of data: |
Numeric, Text |
| Type of data: |
UK survey data |
| Resource language: |
English |
|
| Data sourcing, processing and preparation: |
The research was approved by the Moray House Research Ethnics Committee. The research adhered to the Ethical Guidelines of the British Educational Research Association. Leaflets produced aimed at particular groups, including children and young people with different types of SEN/ASN, explained the purpose of the research. The written consent of all participants in the study was sought, and it was made clear that withdrawal from the research at any time and without explanation was possible. Every effort was also made to protect the anonymity of parents, children and young people, as well as staff in education authorities and schools. Members of the research team had experience of interviewing vulnerable children and young people and understand the issues involved. They had experience in the use of alternative forms of communication. All researchers had Enhanced Disclosure status.
Interview transcripts were anonymised, removing names and other personal information and the names of the interviewees were only known to the research team. The recordings were transcribed by a vetted transcriber and were stored on an encrypted hard-drive that were not linked to any network devices, and were locked away when not in use. Backup was also carried out using an encrypted external hard-drive that was not linked to any network devices, and was locked away when not in use. Visual data were stored securely as jpeg files and an encoded identifier was used to link the different types of data gathered in each case study.
On the initial proposal, we stated that qualitative data would not be archived because of confidentiality issues.
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| Rights owners: |
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| Contact: |
| Name | Email | Affiliation | ORCID (as URL) |
|---|
| Riddell, Sheila | Sheila.Riddell@ed.ac.uk | Centre for Research in Education Inclusion & Diversity (CREID), University of Edinburgh | https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9584-8885 |
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| Notes on access: |
The Data Collection is available for download to users registered with the UK Data Service.
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| Publisher: |
UK Data Service
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| Last modified: |
31 Mar 2021 14:27
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