Secondary school transition for students with special educational needs in Ireland

ABSTRACT

The transition from primary to secondary school represents one of the key junctions in the educational career of young people. Research has shown that much of the challenge in this transition stems from changing social structures and encountering different learning environments. However, the transition experiences of students with special educational needs (SEN) have received relatively little attention. Drawing on large-scale longitudinal data from over 7000 young people, we examine the extent to which students with different SEN experience additional transition barriers to their peers. The findings show that young people with SEN are more likely to experience a negative transition to secondary school. Furthermore, the type of need matters and students with general learning disabilities and intellectual disabilities are three times more likely to experience poor transition compared to young people without SEN. Transition experiences also vary by gender and socio-economic status, with girls and lower socio-economic groups more at risk. This paper highlights the importance of supporting students through to their second year in secondary education, promoting positive teacher–student interactions and providing additional supports for those with lower achievement in primary school. For students with disabilities, the research highlights a need for more effective transition supports, particularly during the pre-transition period.

KEYWORDS:

• Transition
• academic supports
• social supports
• special educational needs
• secondary school

Acknowledgments

Growing Up in Ireland has been funded by the Government of Ireland through the Department of Children and Youth Affairs (DCYA) in association with the Central Statistics Office (CSO) and the Department of Social Protection (DSP). These data have been collected in accordance with the Statistics Act, 1993. The DCYA, CSO and DSP take no responsibility for the views expressed in the research. The project has been designed and implemented by the joint ESRI-TCD Growing Up in Ireland Study Team.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Selina McCoy

Selina McCoy is Associate Research Professor at the Economic and Social Research Institute, Dublin and Adjunct Professor at Trinity College Dublin. Her research interests focus on social inequality in educational participation and outcomes, including a particular focus on the wellbeing and development of young people with disabilities. She has published widely in peer-reviewed journals, most recently in American Behavioral Scientist, Child Indicators Research, International Journal on Inclusive Education and Economics of Innovation and New Technology. Selina is the Irish National Expert at the European Commission Independent Experts on Education and Training.

Michael Shevlin

Michael Shevlin is Professor in Inclusive Education at the School of Education, Trinity College Dublin and Director of Inclusion in Education and Society (IES). His main research interests include school and educational experiences of children with disabilities and developmental delays and ensuring that the voice of the child is heard in developing the education system. Michael sits on numerous expert groups and advisory boards.

Richard Rose

Richard Rose is Professor of Inclusive Education at the University of Northampton. He has previously held posts as a teacher, head teacher and inspector in various parts of England.  Richard’s research interests are in the area of inclusion and children’s rights. He is currently Principal Investigator on a project investigating knowledge, practices and rights towards children with disabilities in Bhutan, funded by UNICEF.  Richard has conducted research for research councils, charitable trusts and government organisations in the UK, China, Estonia, Malaysia, Malta, Ireland, Georgia and India.