Theories Of Special Educational Needs

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One of the underlying problems within the existing SEN system is the terminology itself. Currently children are identified as having SEN ‘if they have a greater difficulty in learning than the majority of children of their age which calls for additional or different educational provision to be made for them’ as stated by DfE (2011) cited by Hodkinson and Vickerman (2009: P.18). The term SEN originated from the Warnock Report (1978) where it introduced the idea of special educational needs (SEN), where the initial intention was to move away from the categorisation of pupil. The Warnock Report (1978) was to inform subsequent legislation and significantly change the face of special needs provision. The Act made the teacher responsible for identifying and providing for special educational needs, which is crucial for the child on making the right decisions dependant on their needs. But in todays society, the number of labels has increased due to the about of conditions and syndromes that have been recognised. During this essay I am going to discuss the labelling theory whilst critically analysing the term special educational needs. The terminology of ‘special educational needs’ was broadly welcomed in the 1970s and is dominantly used in education today. However, over the past thirty years the term ‘special educational needs’ has increasingly come to be seen as problematic. Tomlinson (1985) cited by Skidmore (2004: P5) argues that the terminology of special educational needs still 'masks a practice of stratification which continues to determine children's educational careers by assigning to them an identity defined by an administrative label'. Soan (2005) cited by Hodkinson and Vickerman (2009: P.163) believed that new terminology shoul... ... middle of paper ... ...The Education Act (1994) addressed certain aspects of education for children with special needs, its approach to, and definitions of children with special needs. Barnes (1991) cited by Kristjansen, Vehmas and Shakespeare (2009: P.15) stated that the act ‘established eleven categories of ‘handicap’, and children falling into these categories were described in terms of the ‘treatment’ they could receive. The act still referred to children who ‘suffered from a disability of mind or body’, and so clearly focused on special schools’ as catering for ‘handi­capped’ children.’ While labels can be necessary aspects of special education, every child is unique, with needs and abilities specific to himself, and labels can obscure that fact. ‘Sam is special needs’ represents that by labelling people, we allow much of our everyday lives to be based on stereotypical categories.

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