ERIC Number: EJ1326881
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2022-Feb
Pages: 17
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0268-2141
EISSN: N/A
The Experiences of New Primary School Special Educational Needs Coordinators: Presenting the SENCO Voice through Concept-Drawing and Personal Narratives
Smith, Andrew
Support for Learning, v37 n1 p91-107 Feb 2022
Through a narrative informed study, using concept drawing, ten newly appointed primary school Special Educational Needs Coordinators (SENCOs) drawn from across three Local Authority areas at the start of their compulsory training, reflect upon and share their experiences at this early point in their SENCO career. Their experiences reveal that they like being SENCOs due to the support they provide for their pupils and professional colleagues together with the positive differences they perceive they make in terms of improved outcomes for children with special educational needs (expressed as their 'Psychological Contract'). However, this is set against a climate which impacts negatively on their ability to meet the requirements of current legislation and statutory guidance (expressed as their Legal Contract). This climate is created through the Contextual Variety which exists between schools as they have their own culture/ethos which can result, as reported in this study, by SENCOs facing an excessive (and increasing) administrative workload, a general lack of resources, limited protected time, limited understanding about the role and special educational needs in general held by their colleagues and limited opportunities to develop as school leaders.
Descriptors: Elementary Schools, Special Education, Special Education Teachers, Coordinators, School Districts, Personal Narratives, Novices, Freehand Drawing, Contracts, School Culture, Experience
Wiley. Available from: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030. Tel: 800-835-6770; e-mail: cs-journals@wiley.com; Web site: https://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2191/en-us
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Elementary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A