Special schools at the crossroads of inclusion: do they have a value, purpose, and educational responsibility in an inclusive education system?

Figures & data

Table 1: Overview of research design and data collection

Cohort	Design and data collection
1.	Postal survey of 135 special school principals in Ireland (n = 59; 44% response)
2.	Face-to-face interviews with six special school principals (n = 6)
3.	An in-depth phenomenological special school case study (n = 9 participants)

Table 2: Key themes explored

	Theme
1.	Inclusive Education from the Perspective of the Special School
2.	Public and Parental Perception of Special Schools
3.	Current and Future Role of Special Schools
4.	Collaborative Practice between Special and Mainstream Schools
5.	Feasibility of Special School Outreach Programmes

Table 3: Profile of special school sample (Cohort 1)

Official designation of special school	Number of schools surveyed	Number of school responses	% of total sample responses
Moderate General Learning Difficulty (Mod GLD)	33	17	52
Mild General Learning Difficulty (MGLD)	30	15	50
Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD)	19	6	32
Youth Encounter Projects/Children at Risk/Young Offenders	13	3	23
Severe Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties (SEBD)	11	5	45
Severe and Profound General Learning Difficulty (SPLD)	10	4	40
Hospital Schools	7	3	43
Specific Learning Difficulty (SLD)	4	3	75
Hearing Impairment	3	1	33
Travelling Community	2	0	0
Visual Impairment	1	1	100
Multiple Disabilities	1	0	0
Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties (EBD)	1	1	100
Total Number of Special Schools	135	59	44