ABSTRACT
This book is one of three in a series dealing with responses to the issue of special educational needs in mainstream secondary schools. These books are one of the products of a three year study that was conducted by the Oxford Educational Research Group following a grant from the Rayne Foundation. The research involved two quite tightly focussed investigations: one on disruptive behaviour in classrooms, and one on the early educational implications of medical disorders at or near the time of birth. It also involved two broader studies: one on provision for special needs children of secondary age in Oxfordshire, and one on the nature and effect of special needs input to initial teacher training courses in universities in England and Wales. While the books are not formal research reports, the results of the four aspects of our research programme have been a major influence on what is presented here. The research is also relevant to the books in another way. During the project, the research team came to agree on some general principles relating to special needs. These are reflected in this series of books and play a particularly important role in the approach taken in this volume.
