Investigating perceptions of the assessment process for pupils with special educational needs within an Irish context

This paper discusses a four-year longitudinal study to investigate how special needs policies and practices in Ireland impact on the experiences and outcomes for pupils with special educational needs (SENs), how curriculum is delivered and how SENs resources and support services are used. The project consists of a number of distinct but interrelated phases. The first includes data collection through focus groups conducted with key stakeholders in the field of SENs in Ireland within primary education. These provided a context for the research team to gain insights into experiences, attitudes and opinions on the issues confronting schools and service providers. This paper presents one set of preliminary results from this phase of the research. A major emerging theme was assessment: the role of assessment in SENs; current assessment procedures and the outcomes for pupils who are formally assessed and identified as having SENs. The research team considers the strengths and weaknesses inherent in an assessment process designed to support pupils with SENs.