EDUC1531: Disability and Educational Needs: What's so 'Special' about SEND?

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• To explore definitions inclusion as it relates to education.
• To study conceptualisations of Special Educational Needs, Disability and related forms of support, understanding and intervention in educational practice.
• To develop a critical approach to analysing and evaluating policy and practice as they impact on individual learners.
• To develop a multi-layered perspective of Special Educational Needs and Disability based on the study of educational, historical, social, psychological, pedagogical, cultural and individual perspectives.

• This level 1 module will encourage a view that all individuals have varying degrees of skills and untapped potential for living lives of quality, meaning and purpose within society, though this stance will be critically evaluated.
• This module will explore how policy impacts education and the lives of learners.
• This module will explore different ways of understanding SENDs, and the challenges inherent with these different conceptualisations.
• In the module we will spend time exploring several specific SENDs and their implications for learners, teachers and wider society.

Subject-specific Knowledge:

• By the end of this module, the students should be able to demonstrate:
• A critical understanding of contemporary research and inquiry in the field of special educational needs and Disability.
• An understanding of how Special Educational needs and Disabilities are characterised and identified with reference to specific SENDs.
• An awareness of Autism Spectrum Disorders, ADHD and Developmental Language Disorders as areas of specific focus to explore understandings of wider module themes.
• An understanding of how policy and legislation can have an impact on students' educational experiences.
• A critical understanding of inclusive education policies and practices.
• An informed, reflective and reflexive approach to the field of special education, whether as a teacher, educational professional, policy maker or citizen.

Subject-specific Skills:

• The ability to critically evaluate how special needs are conceptualised and characterised and the ways in which these judgments effect the educational experiences of individuals.
• The ability to critically evaluate research relating to special educational needs.
• The ability to link educational policies to practices in education.
• The ability to identify the practical and theoretical implications of research relating to the inclusion of learners considered 'special'.

Key Skills:

• The ability to participate in debates/discussions
• The ability to research specific topics of interest and communicate findings related to knowledge and understanding of concepts to others.
• The ability to undertake an independent critique of current research.
• The ability to present and communicate about defined topics in both academic writing and in poster form.

• This module will be taught intensively over one term with two lectures per week and a weekly seminar.
• This module will be taught through interactive lectures, seminars, digital video material and tutorials. Special Educational Needs and Disability are a broad and complex area of study which is approached from many disciplinary perspectives. Throughout the module students will be expected to read and research their own particular areas of interest in addition to materials provided by module staff.
• Summative assessment comprises a rationale, an academic poster on a specific SEND addressed in the module, critically examining major module themes. The summative submission deadline will be set after the taught section of the module has been completed.
• This module aims to develop students' knowledge and understanding of Special Educational Needs and Disability, and the assessment aims to assess the development of this knowledge applied to a specific special educational need taught in the module.

Students will be given opportunities for formative feedback before the summative assessment. A seminar will be held to prepare students on how to create an academic poster.

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