Examining the effect of networks for students with special educational needs

Students representedProject start (nationwide n=54 students)Project end (3 regions n = 40 students)Mainstream school n = 30 studentsSEN school n = 24 studentsMainstream school n = 22 studentsSEN school n = 18 studentsTeachers20 (67%)22 (92%)8 (36%)14 (83%)Parents30 (100%)24 (100%)20 (91%)13 (75%)Students29 (97%)24 (100%)19 (86%)18 (100%)Note: Responses from teachers and parents correspond to the number of students they represent.

Students representedNetworkMainstream schoolSEN schoolSeminars for teachers of all students9 (41%, n = 22)13 (72%, n = 18)Seminars for parents of young students5 (38%, n = 13)1 (10%, n = 10)Seminar for old students1 (11%, n = 9)5 (63%, n = 8)SKUD06.dk for teachers of all students13 (59%, n = 22)15 (83%, n = 18)SKUD06.dk for parents of all students17 (77%, n = 22)6 (33%, n = 18)MSN Messenger for old students0 (0%, n = 9)3 (38%, n = 8)Note: The number of students which could have been represented are listed in parenthesis.

Mainstream schoolSEN schoolYesNoDon't knowYesNoDon't knowAcademic level lower than peers (T + P)44 (63–25)39 (12–65)17 (25–10)82 (86–77)7 (0–15)11 (14–8)Good or fairly good at remembering academic information (T + P+S)73 (62–85–73)17 (25–15–11)10 (13–0–16)77 (64–85–83)17 (29–15–6)6 (7–0–11)Good or fairly good at remembering messages (T + P+S)62 (75–90–21)9 (12–10–5)29 (12–0–74)80 (78–84–78)7 (7–8–6)13 (15–8–16)Good or fairly good at concentrating on things he likes to do (T + P+S)89 (76–100–90)1 (0–0–5)10 (24–0–5)96 (93–100–94)0 (0–0–0)4 (7–0–6)Good or fairly good at concentrating on things he has to do (T + P)79 (62–95)15 (25–5)6 (13–0)93 (100–85)7 (0–15)0 (0–0)High or fairly high self–confidence (T + P)64 (63–65)27 (24–30)9 (13–5)78 (72–85)15 (14–15)7 (14–0)High or fairly high self–esteem (T + P)81 (75–85)11 (13–10)8 (12–5)85 (93–77)12 (0–23)3 (7–0)Shows good or fairly good social competences (T + P+S)89 (88–85–95)11 (12–15–5)0 (0–0–0)88 (86–84–95)4 (7–0–5)8 (7–16–0)Mostly has a say in recess activities (T + S)0 (0–0)91 (88–95)9 (12–5)10 (21–0)77 (71–83)13 (8–17)Classmates frequently visit student at home (P + S)66 (75–58)34 (25–42)0 (0–0)34 (46–22)63 (54–72)3 (0–6)Is frequently visited by other than classmates (P + S)54 (70–37)46 (30–63)0 (0–0)24 (31–16)70 (62–78)6 (7–6)Does frequently go places with classmate other than home (P + S)51 (70–31)39 (25–53)10 (5–16)33 (38–28)61 (54–67)6 (8–5)Note: Data listed as average (%) of total responses from the respondent groups first and answers from the respondent groups respectively are shown in parenthesis: Teachers (T), Parents (P), Students (S).

Mainstream schoolSEN schoolYesNoDon't noYesNoDon't noIs expected to write same amount of papers as classmates (T + P+S)58 (50–50–74)28 (37–25–21)14 (13–25–5)34 (21–38–44)43 (64–46–17)23 (15–16–39)Has same amount of homework as classmates (L + E)82 (63–100)12 (25–0)6 (12–0)70 (57–83)23 (28–17)7 (15–0)Is given special consideration during class periods (T + P+S)32 (25–35–37)61 (75–45–63)7 (0–20–0)35 (50–23–33)58 (43–69–61)7 (7–8–6)Is given special consideration during recess (T + P+S)21 (37–10–16)71 (63–70–79)8 (0–20–5)36 (36–38–33)59 (64–46–67)5(0–16–0)Has considered changing school (T + P+S)17 (25–15–10)80 (75–85–79)3 (0–0–11)39 (7–0–11)55 (86–100–78)6 (7–0–11)Expects to take 9th grade exam (T + P+S)72 (63–90–63)7 (12–5–5)21 (25–5–32)11 (0–15–17)50 (79–54–17)39 (21–31–66)Expectations re. qualifications for mainstream upper secondary school (T + P+S)53 (38–70–53)15 (25–5–16)32 (37–25–31)11 (0–16–17)49 (86–38–22)40(14–46–61)Will an extra year (10th grade) improve qualifications for upper secondary school (T + P+S)49 (50–45–53)14 (0–20–21)37 (50–35–26)33 (21–62–17)29 (50–15–22)38 (29–23–61)Do you/your son expect he will have a job as an adult (P + S)52 (50–53)10 (20–0)38 (30–47)28 (23–33)4 (8–0)68 (69–67)Note: Data listed as average (%) of total responses from the respondent groups first and answers from the respondent groups respectively are shown in parenthesis: Teachers (T), Parents (P), Students (S).

Mainstream schoolSEN schoolYesNoDon't noYesNoDon't noDo you as a teacher/does the teacher know enough about muscular dystrophy (T + P)28 (37–20)27 (13–40)45 (50–40)52 (43–61)15 (7–23)33 (50–16)Are there rooms at school the students cannot access because of muscular dystrophy (T + P+S)20 (0–35–26)71 (88–60–63)9 (12–5–11)11 (14–8–11)86 (86–84–89)3 (0–8–0)Does the student receive practical help in school (T + P+S)75 (50–90–84)21 (38–10–16)4 (12–0–0)90 (88–94–88)6 (6–6–6)4 (6–0–6)Is the scope of practical help appropriate (T + P+S)86 (88–80–89)8 (0–15–11)6 (12–5–0)85 (71–84–100)10 (21–8–0)5 (8–8–0)Are there any problems related to the practical help at school (T + P)21 (12–30)58 (50–65)21 (38–5)11 (7–16)63 (57–69)26 (36–15)Does the student have a computer at school (T + P+S)85 (100–75–79)12 (0–15–21)3 (0–10–0)84 (87–77–89)11 (7–15–11)5 (6–8–0)Does the teacher-parent cooperation work (T + P)68 (50–85)7 (0–15)25 (50–0)79 (64–93)3 (0–7)18 (36–0)Note: Data listed as average (%) of total responses from the respondent groups first and answers from the respondent groups respectively are shown in parenthesis: Teachers (T), Parents (P), Students (S).

Mainstream schoolSEN schoolYesNoDon't noYesNoDon't noHas SKUD given you/the teachers more knowledge about muscular dystrophy (T + P)45 (50–40)12 (0–25)43 (50–35)56 (50–62)11 (14–8)33 (36–30)Has SKUD changed the student's social competences (T + P)34 (63–5)55 (25–85)11 (12–10)7 (0–15)63 (79–46)30 (21–39)Has SKUD changed the schools requirements of expectations of the student (T + P)25 (25–25)49 (63–35)26 (12–40)19 (15–23)47 (71–23)34 (14–54)Has SKUD changed your perception of the student's need for practical help (T + P)21 (37–5)79 (63–95)0 (0–0)18 (22–16)64 (57–69)18 (21–15)Has SKUD changed the student's academic competences (T + P)2 (0–5)69 (63–75)29 (37–20)11 (0–23)63 (79–46)26 (21–31)Has SKUD influenced the student's ability to remember and concentrate (T + P)0 (0–0)85 (75–95)15 (25–5)7 (0–15)55 (71–39)38 (29–46)Has SKUD made you aware of the need for changes to the school's accessibility (T + P)40 (0–80)55 (100–10)5 (0–10)11 (7–16)74 (86–61)15 (7–23)If SKUD was permanent, would you participate (T + P)82 (88–75)11 (12–10)7 (0–15)85 (93–77)11 (7–15)4 (0–8)Note: Data listed as average (%) of total responses from the respondent groups first and answers from the respondent groups respectively are shown in parenthesis: Teachers (T), Parents (P).

Mainstream schoolSEN schoolTeachers (n = 8)Parents (n = 20)Teachers (n = 14)Parents (n = 13)Has SKUD met your expectations?9.2 (8–10)5.1 (0–10)5.9 (0–10)5.9 (0–10)Outcome of physical networks and seminars7.8 (0–10)2.9 (0–10)3.9 (0–10)2 (0–8)Outcome of virtual network and SKUD06.dk3.8 (0–9)3.3 (0–8)3.2 (0–6)2.5 (0–8)Note: Mean assessment on a scale from 0 to 10, where 0 means ‘No/Nothing’ and 10 means ‘A lot’. Range in parentheses. Data at project end.