ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on the views of students who have recently completed initial teacher education (ITE) courses in order to investigate such claims in more detail. The evidence presented suggests that the diminution of special educational needs (SEN) input to ITE courses is very real, with the implication that, without considerable reformulation, an even bleaker future for SEN within ITE may exist. When interviewed about this aspect of their SEN experience all of the students commented on the variation in quality between schools. SEN provision within the school was organised from a department, which had five teachers and whose facilities included a resource room, a special unit, a support-teacher network providing in-class intervention, and a 'sanctuary' for pupils who were regarded as having behavioural difficulties. The evidence gathered from this group of students shows that less than 20% recall receiving two or fewer SEN-specific lectures during their course, whilst only 15% recalled more than six sessions of input.
