Teaching as Dialogue: Teaching Approaches and Learning Styles in Schools for Pupils with Learning Difficulties

It is simply not possible to accept the content of the National Curriculum without also accepting messages about teaching approaches and learning styles. The issues, in National Curriculum documentation, are inextricably linked. The subject orders themselves contain many messages about teaching approaches and learning styles. It is not possible to implement the subject content of the National Curriculum without entering into the methodological debate. Teachers in schools for pupils with severe and moderate learning difficulties often claim that their aim is to educate pupils for autonomy. This is, of course, a worthy aim but autonomy is about more than proficiency in skills. The adoption of behavioural methodology represented an important step in the evolution of teaching pupils with learning difficulties. Teachers, over the years, became aware of the shortcomings of the systems operated within schools for pupils with severe learning difficulties.