Agency for Inclusion: A Case Study of Special Educational Needs Coordinators (SENCos)

ABSTRACT

International recognition of Special Educational Needs Coordinators (SENCos) as agents of change for students with special educational needs calls for a deeper understanding of SENCo agency. However, literature on teacher agency for inclusion has paid little attention to SENCos. Taking a sociocultural view of agency, this qualitative case study collected rich data from five primary school SENCos in New Zealand via semi-structured individual interviews, work-shadowing and relevant documents. The findings showed that the SENCos exercised agency for inclusion through advocacy for students with SEN, commitment to the SENCo role, professional competence, self-efficacy, participation in decision-making, and collaboration with a wide range of people. The findings point to the need to conceptualise SENCo agency as a temporal, ecological process that involves engagement with culture, structure and resources in specific contexts.

KEYWORDS:

• Special Educational Needs Coordinator (SENCo)
• teacher agency
• ecological process
• student inclusion
• inclusive education

Acknowledgments

We wish to offer special thanks to the five participating SENCos. We also wish to thank the school principals for their assistance in accessing prospective participants.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).