Module EFPM271 for 2019/0
- Overview
- Aims and Learning Outcomes
- Module Content
- Indicative Reading List
- Assessment
Postgraduate Module Descriptor
EFPM271: SEN: Provision and Practice
This module descriptor refers to the 2019/0 academic year.
Module Aims
This module aims to enable you to:
- develop a critical knowledge and understanding of the special needs and inclusive education system/s in England
- critically examine legislation, policy and practice at various levels e.g. national, local, school, classroom
- provide direct experience of schooling as a means of supporting your development of knowledge and skills in practice
- support your further development as critically reflective and professional practitioners
- relate your understandings of the English system to your own experiences (either in the UK or internationally)
On successfully completing the programme you will be able to: | |
---|---|
Module-Specific Skills | 1. Demonstrate critical understanding of socio-political processes in relation to organisation and management of special and inclusive education 2. Gather relevant practical data (e.g. field notes and observation data) and critically analyse it for purposes of reflection 3. Critically reflect on your practical experience of classroom processes, support systems in schools 4. Demonstrate ethical professional practices |
Discipline-Specific Skills | 5. Critically engage in the relationship between theory and practice 6. Problematise practice in terms of disability/difference/special educational needs/inclusion 7. Compare and contrast different perspectives 8. Handle relevant sources of literature and engage in current debates 9. Construct organised, structured, critically reflective and analytic writing |
Personal and Key Skills | 10. Demonstrate critical and analytic thinking 11. Demonstrate independent learning, self-management and organisation 12. Demonstrate oral and written communication skills 14. Demonstrate the ability to locate and use learning resources 15. Demonstrate information technology skills 16. Demonstrate the capacity to work in groups |
Module Content
Syllabus Plan
Whilst the module’s precise content may vary from year to year, it is envisaged that the syllabus will cover some or all of the following key areas:
Overview of systems and management of special educational needs in England (national, local authority, school and class levels, national agencies, voluntary groups)
Overview of legislation and policy in England with particular reference to SEN/disability (history, Code of Practice, Equality Act, National Curriculum, Ofsted)
Organisation of schooling and assessment practices in England
SEN assessment arrangements (e.g. stages, statutory assessment, Education Health and Care Plans, Individual Education Plans)
Categorisation and labelling
Models of provision (continuum of placement, role of local v central government)
Stakeholder perspectives and roles (e.g. SENCO, parents, classroom teachers)
Classroom observation
Practical school experience (including observations on practice, curriculum and pedagogy)
Learning and Teaching
This table provides an overview of how your hours of study for this module are allocated:
Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities | Guided independent study | Placement / study abroad |
---|---|---|
30 | 270 | 0 |
...and this table provides a more detailed breakdown of the hours allocated to various study activities:
Category | Hours of study time | Description |
---|---|---|
Scheduled learning and teaching activities | 30 | 15 x 2 seminars |
Guided independent study | 10 | Preparation for seminars reading, small tasks, developing questions as directed |
Guided independent study | 25 | Directed formative activity: researching and writing written analytic account of SEN systems (based on students own experience and/or students own country) |
Guided independent study | 15 | Directed formative activity: reflecting on school visit and preparing paired presentation |
Placement | 60 | School visits and two week school placement |
Guided independent study | 160 | Carrying out literature review, analysing observational data and reflecting on school placement experience, then writing summative assignment |
Online Resources
This module has online resources available via ELE (the Exeter Learning Environment).
Department for Education resources and information. http://www.education.gov.uk/childrenandyoungpeople/send
nasen (formerly the National Association of Special Educational Needs) www.nasen.org.uk
Council for Disabled Children http://www.councilfordisabledchildren.org.uk/
Other Learning Resources
British Journal of Special Education
Support for Learning
European Journal of Special Needs Education
How this Module is Assessed
In the tables below, you will see reference to 'ILO's. An ILO is an Intended Learning Outcome - see Aims and Learning Outcomes for details of the ILOs for this module.
Formative Assessment
A formative assessment is designed to give you feedback on your understanding of the module content but it will not count towards your mark for the module.
Form of assessment | Size of the assessment (eg length / duration) | ILOs assessed | Feedback method |
---|---|---|---|
Written analytic account of SEN systems (based on students own experience and/or students own country) | 1000 words | 1, 5, 6, 8, 9,10-14 | Written tutor comments |
Paired presentation about school visit | 15 minutes (1500 words equivalent) | 3-6, 10-15 | Tutor and peer oral feedback |
Summative Assessment
A summative assessment counts towards your mark for the module. The table below tells you what percentage of your mark will come from which type of assessment.
Coursework | Written exams | Practical exams |
---|---|---|
100 | 0 | 0 |
...and this table provides further details on the summative assessments for this module.
Form of assessment | % of credit | Size of the assessment (eg length / duration) | ILOs assessed | Feedback method |
---|---|---|---|---|
Written assignment based on themes drawn from school placement experience | 100 | 5,000 words | 1-14 | Formal written tutor feedback and grade |
Re-assessment
Re-assessment takes place when the summative assessment has not been completed by the original deadline, and the student has been allowed to refer or defer it to a later date (this only happens following certain criteria and is always subject to exam board approval). For obvious reasons, re-assessments cannot be the same as the original assessment and so these alternatives are set. In cases where the form of assessment is the same, the content will nevertheless be different.
Original form of assessment | Form of re-assessment | ILOs re-assessed | Timescale for re-assessment |
---|---|---|---|
Written assignment based on themes drawn from school placement experience (5000 words) | Written assignment based on themes drawn from school placement experience (5000 words) | 1-14 | 6 weeks |
Indicative Reading List
This reading list is indicative - i.e. it provides an idea of texts that may be useful to you on this module, but it is not considered to be a confirmed or compulsory reading list for this module.
Basic reading:
Boyle, C. (2014) Labelling in special education: Where do the benefits lie? In A. Holliman (Ed.) The Routledge international companion to educational psychology (pp. 213-221). London: Routledge.
Cheminais, R. (2015) Special educational needs for qualified and trainee teachers. (3rd Edn.) London: Routledge.
Denscombe, M. (2014) The good research guide. 5th edn. Maidenhead: OUP. [especially section on observations]
DfE/DoH (2015) Special educational needs and disability code of practice: 0-25 years. London: DfE/DoH. https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/398815/SEND_Code_of_Practice_January_2015.pdf
Ekins, A. and Grimes, P. (2009) Inclusion: Developing an effective whole school approach. Maidenhead: Open University Press.
Florian, L. (ed) (2014) The Sage handbook of special education. 2nd edn. London: Sage.
Florian, L. and M.J. McLaughlin (Eds.) (2008) Disability classification in education. London: Sage.
Lawson, H., Boyask, R. and Waite, S. (2013) Construction of difference and diversity within policy and classroom practice in England. Cambridge Journal of Education, 43, 1, 107-122.
.
Ofsted (2010) The special educational needs and disability review. London: Ofsted.
Pearson, S., Mitchell, R. and Rapti, M. (2015) 'I will be "fighting" even more for pupils with SEN': SENCOs' role predictions in the changing English policy context Journal of Research in SEN, Journal of Research in Special Educational Needs, 15,1, 48-56.
Qureshi, S. (2014) Herding cats or getting heard: The SENCO-teacher dynamic and its impact on classroom practice. Support for Learning, 29, 3, 217-229.
Robertson, C. (2012) Special educational needs and disability coordination in a changing policy landscape: making sense of policy from a SENCO’s perspective. Support for Learning, 27, 2, 77-83.
Thomas, G. (2017) How to do your research project: a guide for students in education and applied social sciences. 3rd edn. London: Sage. [especially section on observations]
Wearmouth, J. (2008) A beginning teacher's guide to special educational needs. Maidenhead: OUP.
Wearmouth, J. (2017) Special educational needs and disabilities in schools: A critical introduction. London: Bloomsbury Academic.