Supporting student with emotional disturbance/behavioural disorder in Irish post-primary schools: replacing care support with teaching provision

ABSTRACT

Supporting students with emotional disturbance/behavioural disorder (EBD) in mainstream schools is complex. An alternative school-based model of provision for students with EBD, titled the Altered Provision Project (APP), was piloted in the Irish mainstream post-primary schools. The rationale behind APP was that students with EBD require additional teaching in self-management of behaviour from qualified teachers, rather than the care support provided by a Special Needs Assistant (SNA). This paper reports the findings of a review of APP, focusing on the types of interventions utilised with students with EBD that were found to be implemented the Irish mainstream post-primary schools involved in the project. Findings indicate that a range of different interventions is in place. However, schools require greater guidance and support, particularly in terms of planning and implementing bio-psychosocial approaches. Furthermore, a significant gap in the findings was the lack of evidence of multi-disciplinary interventions as reported by the participants.

KEYWORDS:

• Emotional disturbance/behavioural disorder
• behavioural interventions
• bio-psychosocial approaches
• post-primary schools

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Correction Statement

This article has been republished with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.

Notes

1. For the purpose of this paper, the term intervention is understood as the plans, strategies and support utilised to facilitate the learning and address the special needs of students. They are those adaptations or modifications that are designed to enable a student to achieve a desired learning goal.

2. The SNA has a specific role in the Irish educational system with the role described by the DES as a care role, including duties of a non-teaching nature only (DES 2014).

Additional information

Funding

This project was commissioned and funded by the National Council for Special Education, Ireland.

Notes on contributors

Bairbre Tiernan

Bairbre Tiernan is a lecturer in Special Educational Needs (SEN) at the Centre for Special Educational Needs, Inclusion and Diversity in St. Angela’s College, Sligo. Her research interests include special and inclusive education, behaviour, literary, assessment and inclusion with specific reference to multi-grade classrooms.

Dolores McDonagh

Dolores McDonagh is a lecturer in SEN Director of the Centre for Special Educational Needs, Inclusion and Diversity in St. Angela’s College, Sligo. Her research interests include maths education, special and inclusive education, SEN and inclusive planning, policy and dyscalculia.

Ann Marie Casserly

Ann Marie Casserly is a lecturer in SEN at the Centre for Special Educational Needs, Inclusion and Diversity in St. Angela’s College, Sligo. Her research interests include special and inclusive education, dyslexia and the socio-emotional aspects of dyslexia, behaviour and SEN in multi-grade classrooms.