Don’t Pull me Out!? Preliminary Findings of a Systematic Review of Qualitative Evidence on Experiences of Pupils with Special Educational Needs in Inclusive Education

AbstractProblem Statement: A variety of studies evaluated the effect of inclusive education on pupils with special educational needs (SEN). The results from these studies are inconsistent, however none of the studies reported potential harmful effects. It remains unclear how inclusive education is experienced by pupils with SEN and what particular challenges they are faced with.Purpose of Study: This study aims to synthesize findings from qualitative research in order to present lines of action for teachers and school managers working in or considering inclusive education.Research Methods: A comprehensive search strategy was developed to obtain relevant qualitative studies (until December2010). Papers that met our inclusion criteria were assessed for methodological quality by two independent reviewers, prior to inclusion in the review. We used the meta-aggregative approach to synthesis, which involves three phases: (1) assembling thefindings of studies (variously reported as themes or categories); (2) pooling them through further aggregation based on similarityin meaning; and (3) arriving at a set of synthesized statements presented as ‘lines of action’ for practice and policy.Findings: The findings indicate that the pull-out classroom model is valued for its educational benefits, however, less appreciated for social reasons; the regular classroom teachers’ knowledge of and support for children with SEN is highly appreciated; the quality of the social network is a crucial factor for successful inclusion, and; the way pupils with SEN perceive themselves seems to affect their level of inclusion.Conclusions: Based on the preliminary findings we suggest that different actions on different levels of the school context could be considered: adjusting the learning environment in a way that pulling-out becomes redundant; training regular classroom teachers in providing behavioral and personal support; informing peers and observing relationships between pupils; recognizing negative feelings; encouraging pupils with SEN to change negative self-perceptions, and helping these pupils in developing successful coping strategies