1. Dr.Alan Bruce, Universal Learning Systems
LINQ Conference: Rome, Italy (17 May 2013)
LINQ Conference Rome: May 2013, Dr Alan Bruce ULS/FIESTA Network

2.  Historic pattern of low expectations
 Institutionalization and ‘special’ needs
 Embedded imagery of dependence
 Family, support and care
 Medicalization of discourse
 Recognition of achievements
 Teaching – and learning – around difference
LINQ Conference Rome: May 2013, Dr Alan Bruce ULS/FIESTA Network

3.  Families
 Communities
 Culture and beliefs
 Schooling, learning and research
 Media and portrayal – the charity factor
 Transition and technologies
 Work, employment and a full life
 Permanent dependence or rights?
LINQ Conference Rome: May 2013, Dr Alan Bruce ULS/FIESTA Network

4.  Coordination
 Multidisciplinary linkage
 Shared perspectives
 Meaningful progression
 Family engagement
 Flexibility
 Satisfaction and engagement
LINQ Conference Rome: May 2013, Dr Alan Bruce ULS/FIESTA Network

5. • Lack of consensus – goals, strategies, aims
• Turf issues – professional confusion
• Mixed messages
• Attitudes – the negative mindset
• Misinterpretations
• Built environment
• Unthinking exclusion
• Fragmented planning
• Disempowered families
LINQ Conference Rome: May 2013, Dr Alan Bruce ULS/FIESTA Network

6.  Increased numbers in schools
 The university revolution
 Impact of legislation and policy
 European dimensions
 Technological revolution
 From psychology to engineering – the altered
environment
 Shaping the mind – struggles with attitudes
LINQ Conference Rome: May 2013, Dr Alan Bruce ULS/FIESTA Network

7.  Adaptive/assistive
technologies
 Vocational
evaluation
 Assessment
 Counselling
 Materials design
 Environmental
design
 Software design
 Medical supports
 Legislation
 Innovative
pedagogy.
LINQ Conference Rome: May 2013, Dr Alan Bruce ULS/FIESTA Network

8.  Models of schooling under critical review
 The re-positioning of purpose – Ivan Illich
 From industrial model to emancipatory
discourse
 Hierarchy, control and managed behavior
 Appropriating competence in a multipolar world
 From teaching to guidance and learning support
 Integration and inclusion – the shifting paradigm
LINQ Conference Rome: May 2013, Dr Alan Bruce ULS/FIESTA Network

9.  Lisbon Declaration
 Inclusive education as principle
 Significant national variations
 Separation between health, social services
and education functions and responsibilities
 Poor multidisciplinary developement
 Family exclusion
 Focus on educational, health and social needs
LINQ Conference Rome: May 2013, Dr Alan Bruce ULS/FIESTA Network

10.  1994: UNESCO Salamanca Statement and Framework for
Action in Special Needs Education
 2003: Promoting the Employment and Social Integration
of People with Disabilities (EU Council)
 2003: Equal Opportunities for Pupils and Students with
Disabilities in Education andTraining
 2006: United Nations Convention on Rights of People with
Disabilities
Pupils with disabilities continue to experience inequality in the education
system. This has resulted in lower levels of educational qualifications and
workforce participation among people with disabilities (relative to those
without disabilities), which results in social isolation and economic adversity.
LINQ Conference Rome: May 2013, Dr Alan Bruce ULS/FIESTA Network

11.  The FIESTA (Facilitating Inclusive Education and Supporting the Transition
Agenda) network focuses on achieving effective transition through
collaborative working for children with special educational needs.
 FIESTA is a three-year (2011-2014) network funded by the Education,
Audiovisual, Cultural and Executive Agency (EACEA), under the Comenius
program of the European Union’s Life Long Learning Program.
LINQ Conference Rome: May 2013, Dr Alan Bruce ULS/FIESTA Network

12.  Ireland (Enable Ireland; Universal Learning Systems)
 Bulgaria (Center for Inclusive Education)
 Romania (EuroEd)
 Greece (Platon School)
 Netherlands (CMO; CSG)
 Scotland (University of Edinburgh)
 Cyprus (University of Nicosia)
 Finland (Context Learning)
 Spain – Catalonia (Pi del Burgar)
LINQ Conference Rome: May 2013, Dr Alan Bruce ULS/FIESTA Network

13. The network facilitates children with special
needs - and families - during the following
periods of transition:
 Transition of children with special needs from
pre-school to primary school and primary
school to secondary school.
 Transition of children with special needs to
mainstream environments
LINQ Conference Rome: May 2013, Dr Alan Bruce ULS/FIESTA Network

14.  Transition periods for pupils with special needs is
considerably more difficult than for non-disabled peers.
 Transition from early years settings to primary and primary
to post primary is difficult for professionals due to lack of
communication and curriculum differences.
 Amount and level of quality information exchanged is not on
a continual basis or considered the norm.
 Teachers are not privy to pupils’ needs prior to start of the
school term.
 The process of transition is completed in an ad hoc or
informal manner with no formal procedure in place.
LINQ Conference Rome: May 2013, Dr Alan Bruce ULS/FIESTA Network

15.  Importance of various professional frameworks and
how each professional discipline impacts on student
learning and development.
 A model to provide a holistic approach to child
development.
 Therapeutic goals seen as part of overall child
educational development, not as a separate goal.
 Practical tools to reassess existing transition
programs.
 Cultivating an inclusive and collaborative learning
environment, including a self-assessment process.
LINQ Conference Rome: May 2013, Dr Alan Bruce ULS/FIESTA Network

16.  Focus of motivation
 Problem solving focus
 From curriculum to competence
 Content to meaningful action
 From formal teaching to creation of bonds and links
 Mentoring
 Models of best practice
LINQ Conference Rome: May 2013, Dr Alan Bruce ULS/FIESTA Network

17.  Attitudes of parents, teachers and pupils
 Over-emphasis on attainment and accreditation
 Lack of diversity - flexibility to meet children’s needs
 Professional fears/prejudice, scarcity of teaching
methods and strategies
 Preoccupation with disability classifications
 Inability of national policy to shape local practices
 Inaccessible buildings
 Lack of training or professional development for
teachers.
LINQ Conference Rome: May 2013, Dr Alan Bruce ULS/FIESTA Network

18.  Access to a flexible curriculum
 Programmes for staff exchanges and training
 Regular reviews
 Dialogue and communication with all stakeholders
e.g. pupils, parents, school, voluntary organisations.
 Facilitation of a collaborative/partnership approach
 Active pupil participation
 Peer mentoring.
LINQ Conference Rome: May 2013, Dr Alan Bruce ULS/FIESTA Network

19.  To examine best practice examples for SEN children
who transitioned into first year mainstream primary
school from either specialized or mainstream
environments
 To identify examples of best practice SEN children
who transitioned from mainstream primary to
secondary schools.
 Identification of best practice undertaken through a
mixed methods approach where children, families
and a wide range of professionals participate in the
research.
LINQ Conference Rome: May 2013, Dr Alan Bruce ULS/FIESTA Network

20.  Defining needs
 Defining required supports
 Developing teams: communication
 Avoiding traps – the standardized label
 Critical and reflective thinking and practice
 Empathy
 Sensitivity and clarity – goal setting
 Evaluative review
LINQ Conference Rome: May 2013, Dr Alan Bruce ULS/FIESTA Network

21.  Modeling
 Empathic analysis in transition support
 Social analytics for multidisciplinary work
 Roles and responsibility
 Advanced digital competence/assistive
technologies
 Universal Design
 Comparative research methods
 Independent living/rights based models
LINQ Conference Rome: May 2013, Dr Alan Bruce ULS/FIESTA Network

22.  www.ulsystems.com
 www.opendiscoveryspaceproject.eu
 www.fiesta-network.eu
LINQ Conference Rome: May 2013, Dr Alan Bruce ULS/FIESTA Network

23. Dr. Alan Bruce
Universal Learning Systems
Dublin
abruce@ulsystems.com
LINQ Conference Rome: May 2013, Dr Alan Bruce ULS/FIESTA Network