Exploring the perspectives of adolescents with moderate learning difficulties on their special schooling and themselves: stigma and self‐perceptions

ABSTRACT

This paper considers the perspectives of 13‐15‐year‐old pupils in a special school for moderate learning difficulties in inner city London. Views about special schooling and integration, whether they experience a tension in their perspectives about special schooling in relation to stigma, and their perceptions of self‐continuity and change and their possible selves, were explored through semi‐structured interviews with 19 pupils. The findings were interesting in showing a tendency for these pupils to express views reflecting a tension between the positive benefits of their special schooling and teaching and the negative consequences of so doing at a stigmatized school. These pupils also tended to see the positive contribution of such schools as an expression of their overall lack of confidence in the potential of mainstream schools to adapt and support their learning needs. The findings are discussed in terms of involving pupils in decisions about their educational provision, understanding self‐perceptions in terms of reference groups and theoretical matters concerned with internalizing others’ views in constructing the self.

KEYWORDS:

• Adolescents
• learning difficulties
• perspectives
• self concept
• stigma
• inclusion