The JapaneseAssociation
The
Japanese AssociationofofSpecialSpecial
Education
Education

503-514, 2009.
Jpn,J,Spec.Educ., 46 (6),Brief .IVote

Roles of Special
Educational Needs Coordinators (SENCO) in
Mainstream Schools: Views of Colleague
Teachers at Primary and Secondary
Schools in Greater Manchester

Teachers' Attitudes Towards

Tomomithe

SANAGI

The prcsent study highlightscolleague teachers' attitudes towards various rolesof the SpecialEducationalNeeds Coordinators(SENCO)in England, Colleague(.]V

Special Educatienal Needs Coerdinators working
at primaryschuelsin Greater Manchester County responded
andsecandary
to a mailed
about
the
roles
of
Special
Educational
Needs
Coordinators,
1'hequestionnaire
results
included a summaryof respondents'
attitudes
as to whether
Special
Educational Needs Coordinatorswere fulfilling
their roles, and a comparisonofthe respondents'
replies regarding
the innportanceof the Coordinators: roles andth relation
betwccn their expectations
and
their
ratingsofhow well those
expectations
were
fu1fiILed.Responses from primary andseeondaryscheolteachers werealso compared,
The present findingsindicated that colleague
teachers have high expectationsof rcceiving
adviceon how to teach, on implemcntationof Individual Education Plans,andon assessmentof pupils' needs,
However, the colleague
teachers considercd
the actual
activitiesofSpecial
Educational Needs Coordinatorsto be quite di'ffbrentfrom those expectations,rnainly
involving keeping records,
registers, and/orStatements,assessing pupils'
needs,
and,in secendary
schools,
doing direct teaching. Thcse results sugg ¢ stthat, forcollaborationof rolesin schoels, furtherin-service
undsharingteacherteaehers

=71)

of

¢

trainingKeyisneeded,

Words:

Special Educationaltcachers' attitudes,

Needs

Coordinators

GreaterManchester(SENCO), colleague

Introduction

SpecialEducational Needs Coordinators (SENCO) in the schoolsof ,England andWales is described in the Code of Practice(Department
for Education, 1994; Department
fbr Education and Skills,2001). That role includes: (a)overseeing
the day-to-day operationneedsof the school's
specialeducational(SEN)
The roleoftheFaculty of Education, Chiba University--503

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The JapaneseAssociation
The
Japanese AssociationofofSpecialSpecial
Education
Education

T. Sanagi
policy, (b)coordinating

liaisingwithandadvising(e)overseeing

the records

with

of

fbr children

fellowteachers,with special educational
learning support(d)managing

of

with

provisions

all children

specialeducational

needs,

needs,(c)assistants,(bliaising

to theparents(g)in-servicetraining of staff, and (h)liaisingwithextcrnal
includingthe Local
agencies
Education Authority(LEA)and educational
psychology services, health and social
services,andvoluntary
bodies.
These activities all seem to be very important, However, muchresearch
has
out
that
the
many
requirements
of
this
role
a
heavy
burdenon
pointedputs
Special Educational Needs Coordinators (e.g.,
Cowne, 20e5;Layton, 20e5;Layton &Robertson, 2004; Lingard, 2001; National Union of Teachers (NUT),2004; Phillips,
Goodwin, & Heron, 2eOl; Sanagi, 2003b, c, d).
Special Educational Needs Coordinators' excessive
day-to-day workload
prevents
effective
coordination
for pupils with special edueational
needs.
The revised
Code of Practice(Department
fbr Education and Skills,
2001)intended to reduce theheavy workioadofSpecial Educational Needs Coordinators by decreasing theCoordinators' involvement in keeping registers for pupils with special educational
needs,

but nochildrenstatementin the school, nor
Needs Coordinators.
Despite the reduction
roles

with

specialeducationalfrom the government

wasadedicated roomneeds,

releasedtheestablishedcontributing

Coordinatorsfrom otherfbr SpecialEducationalin the jobrequirements,
many
SpecialEducational Needs
Coordinatorsstill suflbred because of their increasing rore and responsibility for
pupils withspecialofschooleducational

needs.

Crowthcr,Dyson, and Millward's
survey(2001)

highlightedthe situationthat almost
70% of primaryprimaryschoolSpecialEducational Needs Coordinators reported
that they had no time intheir scheduie
allocated
for work on special educational
needs,
anda further 27%
reported
that they had a halfiday or lessper week
for this purpose.
How can we reduce the everly heavy workloadof the Special
Educatienal Needs
that expectations
from colleague teachers adds
Coordinators?
Sanagi (2008)
statedincidental roles
to thc Special Educational Needs Coordinators' burden, causing
overwork,
For example,
teaching forpupils with special educational
needs"
2008, p. 55) is not a requiredrole
fbr the Specia! Educational Needs(Sanagi,
Coordinators, but rather is the jobof thc regular classroom
teachers andteaching
assistants.
However, even so, because of colleague
teachers' expectation,
many
Special
Educational Needs Coordinators, especialty
in secondary
schools,
provide directteaching for pupiLswith special
educational
needs,
in addition
to their other responsibilities
as SpecialEducational Needs Coordinators.
While SpecialEducational Necds Coordinators recognizethat their primary role
includes coordinatingwithspecialeducational
provision of programs for students
needs,
managementof stafi
liaisingwith parents, and overseeing
the day-to-day
operationof special
educational
needs
in
the
schools,
there
is a rnismatchpolicybetween Special Educational Needs Coordinators and their colleague
inteachers
relation
to expectations
tbr the Spccial
Educational Needs Coordinators'role (Sanagi,
teachers"direct- 504 -NII-Electronic Library Service

The JapaneseAssociation
The
Japanese AssociationofofSpecialSpecial
Education
Education

Teachers'AttitudesTowards the Roles of SENCO

2003d).Collaborationbetween the SpecialEducational Needs Coordinators and otherneeds,
staff isessential
not
only
forthe pupils with special educational
but also for
pupils.
Findings aboutcolleagucteacher's views
towards
Special Educational Needs
Coordinators'roles may provide information usefu1 fbr improving school programsfor pupils with special educational
needs
and
for constructing
moretruly inclusiveinis
Educational
Needs
schoolswhich
there
collaboration
between the Special
all

Coordinatorsand

the teachers,

Whenin special

fieldwere

informed about the revised
Code of Practice,manyof them
wereinterestedin the new guideline for special
educationalneeds
hopes that focusing on colleague
policy.The present author
attitudes
the
role
of
Educational
Needs Coordinators inteachers'
towardthe Special
this early period after the revisionof the Code of Practicewill contributeto thedevelopment of an eflbctive special educationalneeds
policy and improved practicein the schools,
The purpose of the present study
is to clarify the attitudes
andexpectations
roles
about
the Special Educational Needs Coordinators'of colleague
teachers inschoolsin Greater Manchester County, and to examine
theprimary and secondary
extentto whichthose expectations
are fu1filled.
Because conditionsin the primary andsecondaryteachers

schools

are

needs

education

those data are
diflbrent,

separately.

analyzed

MethodParticij)ants
Participants were

Coordinatorsworking

100 teachers whoin primary or

werc

colleagues

secondary

Educationa! Needs
in Greater-Manchester

ofSpecialschools

County in England.
Procedure
A questionnairewas mailed
randomly,
selectedin June andAugust.

to 50

primary schools
July,2003. Returns were50

secondary

accepted

until

and

schools

the endof

Questionnaire

The questionnaireeontained
8 items t'romthe revised Code of Practice(Department
fbr Education and Skills,
2001),15 items on the importance of SpecialEducaNeeds
role,
and
15 items on the respondents'
view
tionalCoordinators'of theof' these roles by their SpecialEclucationalNeeds Coordinator.
fulfillment
Participants were asked
to rate the importance of various
aspectsof the Special
Educational Needs Coordinators' roles in their school.
The scale of importance
rangedfrom 1
important to 5=very important.
Participantswere also asked to rate the extent to which
Special Educational
Needs Coordinators in the scheois that they had viewed
were
fulfi11ing
their roles.
=not

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The JapaneseAssociation
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Education
Education

T. Sanagi

These ratings

were

alsoon a 5-point scale, anchoredby C`neverdo" it and

"do

it

regularly".
"Fulfi11ment"

was

rated

in orderto be able to that itwill be explore

fbr and satisfaction
SpecialEducational Needs Coordinators.

the colleague

teachers'

expectations

withthe actual

moreclearly

conduct

ofthe

Results
werereturnecl
Questionnairesby 29 primary school colleague
teachers and 42
secondaryschoolcolleagueteachers (total
2V=71). The respondents'
averagelengthteachingofexperiencewas
I3.0 years (SD=9.68).About half of the colleague
teachers (nJ=351 49.39b)had attended
training coursesthat dealtwith teaching pupils
withspecialeducationalneeds(l7 primary school teachers; 18 secondary school
teachers). Only fiveof the colleague
teachers (7,O%)
indicatedthat they wantedtobecome Special Educational Needs Coordinators in the future.

Colleague 7'leachers'
Attitudes 7rowards RLUiltment

Edacationat
oj'SPecial

jYeeds Coordinators' Roles
Factor analysis, Responses to the items in the questionnaire that concerned
fu1fi11mentof the Special Edueational Needs Ceordinators'reles were checked
withthe Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin (KMO) measureol' sampling
adequacy,in order to assess
the appropriatenessof those data for lactoranalysis.
The KMO
index was .73 andthe Bartlett's
test of sphericity
washighly significant
indicating that the(P<.OOI),
data were appropriate
fbr analysis.
The data were then analyzed
via
principal
components
analysiswith a varimax
rotation.
Analysisof the scree plotconfirmedthesuitability of a four-factor
solution, The four-factorsolution
accounted
for 62.19Jbof
the total variance.

The firstfactor,"Givingadviceandinfbrmation,andmanagemcnt,"

accounted

for 21,O% of the total variance.
This factorrelated to the day-to-dayoperationof thespecialeducationalneeds
policyin the schools.
The second
factor,teaching and relationshipwithparents,"accounted
fbr 16,O% of the total variance.
Items loading on this factorreflected directsupport
tbr pupils and their parents.The third factor,
pupils'needs and information management,"
accounted
for 14.6% of the total variance.
The items on thissubscalerelatedto managementin the school, such as keeping records and establishing relationships
with external
agencies.
The fourth factor,
educatien,"
tbr 10.5% of the total variance,accounted
The items on this subscale
relatedto theschool's
policy of inclusion.
The factor
loadings are displayed in Table 1.
Pve'manyyschool teachers' eview. In the primary school teachers' view, the role ofliaisingwith external
agencieswasthe part of their job mostoften
carriedoutbySpecial Educational Needs Coordinators. The roles of keeping pupils' records,
registersandStatements,making
a bridge between parents andthe school,assessing``Direct

C`Assessing`[Inclusive

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The JapaneseAssociation
The
Japanese AssociationofofSpecialSpecial
Education
EducationT"eachers'Atti,tudes
Towards the Roles of SENCO
1

TABLE

(]olleagueTeachers'AttitudcsTowards the Extent that SENCOs
Their Reles (multiple
table: Factor I.oadings andt-Tests)
1

Givingbriefadviceofon

implementation

2

3

Fulfill

Secondary

4Primary

schoolschool.878

3,79(.96) 3.67(1.06).863

3.64(.91)

IEPs

Givingadviceonassessinging pupils'special

andrecord-needs

Giving advice

on how to teach pupils ,758
with SpecialEduca,tionalNeeds

Arrangingand

S,S6(1.16)

managing

training

staff

3.46(1,14) 3.54(l.l2)
3.32(.90).517

3,51(1.14)

opportunities

Giving detailedinformation on
SpecialEducational Needs

3,79(,92) 4.28(1.02)*

Managhig good staff meetings
Taking the role of consultant

pupils' .514
.394

3.39(1,10) 3.68(1.09)

l'orpar-.757

3.71(.81)

pupds with SpeciatEduca-.712

2.85(1,29) 4.57(.69)**

Anranging thc eurrieulum
fbr pupils
with SpeciaiEducational Needs.669

3,OO(1.19) 4.00(1.05)**

Makiiiga bridgebetween par¢ nts and,667

S.96(.88)

4.51(,76)**.743

4,39(.79)

4.69(.52)t.738

4.64(.68) 4.51C82)
3.82(.82) 4.26(1.04)t

4.21(.89)*

entsTcaehing

tional Needs directly

theschools

Keeping pupis' records,

registers,andStaterncnts
Liaisingwith exterrial agencies
Assessingand evaluating
pupilsiSpecial.569

Educational Needs in detail

Helping te makethe school

more

inclu-.871

3.78C80)

3.95(1.05)

sweMakingdffuse the inclusion.719 3.46(.76) 3.74(.82)
po]icy in thc schools'P<.05,tp<.10,"*p<.Ol.
,7Vbtes.Principal-factoranalysis:
varirnax
rotation,
Register=a recordof detailed
informationon any pupil that does not have a Statement,
SENCO=Special Educational Needs Coordinator.
IEP=!'Individual Education Plans.
Factor 1 : Giving advice and information, and managements
Factor 2 : Directteaching and relationshipwithparents
Factor 3 : Assessingpupils' needs
andinfbrrnation rnanagemcnt
sur'e

to

Factor 4 : Inelusiveeduc;ation- 507 -NII-Electronic Mbrary
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T. Sanagi
needs
in detail,onpupils' special educational
giving briefadvice
implementation of IndividualEducation Plans (IEP),
andgivingdetailedinlbrmation
on
needs
were
also regarded
as fu1fi11ed
well.
pupils'special educational
On the other hand, primary schQol teachers indicatedthat other roles were not
fuIfitledas well, such as teaching pupits with special educational
needs
directly,
arrangingthe curricu!um{'orpupils with special educational
needs,
andarrangingandevaluating

andmanaging

staff

training

opportunities,

Slacanclary
schoolteachers'view.
According to the secondary
schoolteachers, theaspectef the SpecialEducational Needs Coordinators'
jobthat was most consistently
records,
registers,andStatements. Other roles also
carried out was keeping pupils'
regardedas being well performed
included teaching pupils with special educational
needs
direct!y,rnaking
a bridge between parents andthe scheol,andliaisingwith
external

agencies.

In contrast,

the items on giving advice

to teachers, suchgiving advice on
hew to teach
andpupils'givingneeds,
and also the items on in-service
training were
pupils with special educational
regardedas not fu1filled
well by the SpecialEducational Needs Coordinators.
Compazz'sonof'
andsecondarp
schoolteachers. Primary schools
in EnglandPrima}ly
are usuallyrathersmallerin size than secondary
schools.
In the primary schools, theSpecial Educational Needs Coordinatorsoften have to take the additional
jobof
to their roles as SpecialEducational Needs
being a classroom
teacher, in addition
Coordinator, However, SpecialEducational Needs Goordinators in secondary
schoolteachers. In this way,
the background of thegenerallydo not have to be classroom
fu1fi11mentof the roles o{' Special Educational Needs Coordinators diflersbetween
schools.
primary and secondary
In order to clarify this point, the replies of the primary and secondary
schoQlteachers were comparedwith an independent-samples t-test.This analysis revealed
that primary andsecondaryschoolteachers' attitudes
towards
Special Educational
Needs Coordinators'roles were significantly
differenton fiveitems.Secondary school
teachers
were
rated
the fo11owingfive items higher than primary school
teachers:
needs
giving detailed information on pupils; special educational(t(62)=2.100,
roleoftakingtheconsultant
forP<,05),
parents (t(61)=2.300,
P<.05), teachingassessingpupilsrecordingwithspecialeducational

for pupils withcurriculum

of

needs

needs
specialandadviceasondirectly(t(62)=6.900,
P<.Ol), arranging

educational

needs

the

(t(54)=3.500,
p<,Ol),and

bridge between parents and the school (t(53)=2.700,
P<.05),All but one or these items belonged to the second factor("Directteaching andrelationshipwithparents") from the factoranalysis.
makinga

ComParison of ResPondents'Attitudes About Which Aspects of the SPecial
Educational JYeeds Coordinators' Roles Were lmPortant andHow
Well
Those Roles rvere thijitled
In the questionnaire,the respondents
rated
the same
items both in terms of how
wellthey were
fulfiIledby the Special Educational Needs Coordinators and how- 508 -NII-Electronic Library Service

The JapaneseAssociation
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Special Education
Education

Teachers'AttitudesTowards the Roles of SENCO
TABLE

2

Primary School Teachers' Rcplies as to Which Aspects of the SENCOs'
Roles WeT ¢ Important and Which Were FulfillcdImportanceFulfi11ment

Factor1

Giving brief advice

Giving advice
specialimplementation

on

on

and

assessingof

IEPs
pupils'recording

4.19(.74)
3.82(.82)

S.78(,97)

3.64(.9I)

needs

Giving adviceonhow
Educational Nceds

Arranging and

to

teach

managing

Speeial 4.32(.77)

pupils withstaff

training

opportu-

3,46(1.14)**

3,64C83)

3.32(.90)

4.32(.72)

3,79(,92)**

nitiesGiving detailed information on pupils'Special Edu-

Factor2

catienal

Needs

Managinggoed

3.43(1.00) 3.39(1.10)

staff meetings

Taking the rolc of consuttant
for parents
Teaching pupils with
SpecialEducational Needs
directly
Arranging the curriculumfor pupils with Special
Educational Needs
Making a bridge between parents and the sehools

3.46(.96)

S,71(,81)

Factor3

Keeping pupils'records, registers,andStatements
Liaising with external
agencies
Assessing andevaluating
pupilsi Special Educational Needs in detail3.54(1.00) 4.39(,79)**
4,25(,89) 4.64(.68)*
S.ll(l.20) 3.82(.82)**

Factor4

IIelping to makethe school
more
inclusive
Making sure to diflUse the inclusion policyin the3.70(.82)
3,54(.81)3.78(,80)
3.46(.76)

2.85(1.08) 2.77(1.24)
S.50(.92)

3.00(1.19)*

3.75(.75)

S.96(,88)

schools,Mtes.

*p<.05,**p<.O].

SENCO-Special

Educational Needs Coordinator.

IEP=Individual,Education Plans.
Factor 1 : Giving advice'Factorandinformation, andmanagement

2 : Directteaching and relationshipwithparents
Viactor3 : Assessingpupils' needs and informationmanagernept

Factor 4 : Inclusive education

important they were. Comparisons of the replies as to what was important and also
as to how well the roles werefu1fi11ed
was
made
with
t-tests.
paired samples
Colleague teachers at prirnaryschools. Table 2 shows an analysis of the primaryschoolteacher's replies, using t-teststo cornpare
those aspectsof Special
Educational
Needs Coordinators'roles that those teachers considered
to be important andthoseconsidered
to be fu1fi11edThe items for which
diflbrenceswere statistically significant}isted in Table 3.
The primary schoolthat the Special Educational
teachers reported
Needs
Coordinators fu1filled
their roles better than expected
in keeping pupils'records,-4.100,registers,andStatements (t(27)=assessingandevaluating
are

P<,Ol),

pupils'-509-

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3

TABLE

Their Expectations Were StatisticallyDi,fferent
Frorn Their Ratings of the Fulfi11mentof
Items in Which

the Primary School Teachers' Ratings ofThose Expectations
Expectation>Fulfillment'

Expectation<Fulfi11ment'

GivingadviceonhowtoteachpupilswithKeepingpupils'rccords,regist

SpecialEducationalNeeds

t.and
¢ rs,

Statements

GivingdetaiLedinformationonpupils'Spe-Assessingand,evaluatingpuplls'Special
cialEducationalNeeds
EducationalNeedsindetail'agencles

Arran.nyingthecurriculumforpupilswithLiaisingwithexternal
SpecialEducationalNeeds

special educational-3.100,in detailwith external(t(27)=
P<.O1),and liaisingneeds-2.100,the primary school teachers regarded(t(27)=:
P<.05).Conversely,

agencies

the Special Educational Needs Ceerdinators as fa!lingshort
advice
on
how
to
teach
with
specialeducational
givingpupilsoftheir expectationsin(t(27)=4.076,

needs

needs
P<.Ol),giving detailedintbrmation on pupils'special educationa](t(27)=
the curriculum
tbr pupils with special educational
2,948, P<.Ol), and arranging
needs(t(27)=2260,
P<.05).

Cblleagueteacltersat secendut:yschoolteacher's replies,

using

Table

sahools.

t-teststo compare

4 shows

ananalysisofthe secondary

SpeclalEducational
considered
to be important andthosedifferenceswerestatisticallysignificant
those aspects

ofNeeds Coordinators'roles that those teachersconsidered
to be fu1filled.
The items for whieh
are listedin Table 5.
reported
The secondary
schoolteachers
that the SpecialEducationalNeeds
in keeping pupils' records,
Coordinators fu1fi11ed
their roles better than expected-2,890,registers,andStatements (t(38)==
P<.Ol)and teaching pupils with special-3.400,educational
needs
directly(t(S6)=school
P<.Ol).In contrast, the secondary
Educational Needs Coordinators
teachers regarded
the Special
as fallingshort of theiritems:
how
expectations
on
fbur
on
to teach pupils withspecialgiving advice
needs
educationalbrief
adviceon
implementationof(t(38):=4.499,
P<.Ol), giving
Individual Education Plans (t(38):=2.767,
P<.Ol), giving detailedinfbrmation onneeds(t(38)=2.110,
pupils'special educational
P<.05),and assessing and recordingneeds
in detail(t(38)=4.027,
pupils'special educational
P<.Ol).
Discussion
In the viewtors' mostneeds,of their colleague
important roles wereadvising

tional needs,

on

and

teaching
managing

teachers, the SpecialEducatienal Needs Coordinarecordingandassessingpupils' special

educational

specialeducagiving infbrmation about
the pupils Individual Education Plans. In centrast, inmethods

and!Qrboth primary and secondary
schools,
the colleague
teachers werenotsatisfiedwiththe performance of Special Educational Needs Coordinators in the roles of giving-510-

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Tcachers' Attitudes Towards
TABLE

the Roles of SENCO

Secondary School Teachers' Repliesas to Which Aspects of the SENCOs'

4

Roles Were Important andFactor 1Giving

bricf advice

Giving advice
specialon

Which Were FulfiitedImportanccIi"ulfitlmcnt

implementation
and

of

IEPs
pupils'onassessingon

how to teach pupils withrecording

4u23(-78)
4.26(,91)

3.67(1,06)**
S.36(1,16)**

needs

Giving advice

Special 4.4･9(.68) 3.54<1.12)**

Educational Needs

Arranging andmanaging

staff

training

opportu-S,82(.94) 3,51(1.14)

nltles

Factor2

Giving detailedinformationon pupils' SpecialEdueational Needs
Managing good stafi' meetings
Taking the role of consultant
fbrparents
Teaching pupils with
SpecialEducational Needs
directly
Arranging the curriculum
fbr pupils with Sp¢ cial

4,67(.53) 4.28(1,02)*

Making a brid,gebetween parents and4.86(,87) 4･,51(.76)
4,23(.96) 4.69(,52)**

3:.4-･2(1.08)
3..68(1.09)
4.05(,86) 4.21(,89)
3.76(1.26) 4･.57(.69)**
4.08(1.04) 4.00(1.05)

Educational Needs

the schools

Factor 3Keeping

puplls' records, registers, and Statements
Liaising with external
agencics
Assessing andevaluating
pupils: Special Educational
Needs in detail

Factor 4Helping

Makingthe school

to makcsure

to diffusethe

inclusive

more

inclusionpolicy in the

4A9(.72)
4.46(.76)

4.51(.82)
4.26(1.04)

3.85(1.04)
3.86(.91)3,95(1.05)
3.74(.82)

schools,Arbtes.*p<.os,**p<,o1.

SENaO=
SpeciaL Educational Needs Coordinator.
IEP==-Individual Education PIans.
Factor l : Giving advicc and infbrmation,
andmanagcmcnt
Factc)r2 : Direct teaching and relationshipwithparents
Factor 3 : Assessing pupils' needs
andinfbrmation management
Factor 4:Inclusive educationthem

adviceOnandinformation onteaching

pupils with special

educational

needs.

items relating to the SpecialEducational Needs Coordinators providing
adviceandinformation,the secondary
schoolteachers reported
that the Coordinators
did not fu1fi11
their expectations.
From the resuits of the surveyof the colleague
teachers, it seems
theSpecial
Educational
Needs
Coordinators
inthat
the secondary
schoolsin Greater Manchester saw their rolo more as teaching pupilsdircctlythan interms of advising
their colleagues,This was supportedby the high averagescoresonthe item on fu1fillment
of directteaching± .69).
(4.57
Indeed, many
SpecialEducational Needs Coordinators have enoughtcaching
experienceandskills to be able to teachneeds,
andpupils with special educational
all

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T. Sanagi
5

TABLE

Items in Which

the Secondary School Teachers' Ratings of Their Expecta-

Werc StatisticallyDifferentFrom TheiT Ratings of theThose Expectations
tions

jVbtes.IEP=Individual

theyteachingmay

educational

even

of

Education Plans.

to do highlyskilled

are expected'Fulfi11rnent

have become a model

directteaehing of those pupils. Their skilled
ol' efi'ective

teachingofpupils withspecialneeds.

}Iowever, there are somedependency on
possible disadvantages to excessive
SpecialEducational Needs Coordinators for directteaching. That dependencc of thecolleagueteachers on the SpecialEducationalNeeds Coordinatorsmayisolatethe
Coordinators and their pupils with special educational
needsfrom the rest of theschool.
In the 1970s, many
remedialteachers had the experiencethat they and theirwithspecialeducational
needs
were
isolated
from
the
main
body of the school.
pupilsSometimes, the remedial
departments were regarded
as ato the mainclassrooms.
The remedial
teachers' attitudes and practicewas that they wcresionals"in teaching pupiiswith special needs, and in providing a very individualized
educational
experience,but in practice,few opportunities
arose
where
they could
work
together with other,s. This may
have been one of the causes of the isolationin
rernedialschools,which
were
obviouslyThis prevented dlfi'usinga policyandschools.
practicesof inclusionin mainstream
Because diffbrencesin pupi!s'needs are morein secondary
extensive
than inschool,collcaguesecondaryschoolteachers
are easily confused
about
how teprimary
makesuitablefbrwithspecialeducational
needs.
This
may
be
why
provisions
pupilsthe sccondary
schoelcolleagueteachers tend to depend on the Speeitt1
Educational
Needs Coordinators.
The directteaching provided by the Special Educational Needs Coordinators
may
be anothercause
of exclusive
conditions.
When the SpecialEducational Needs
Coordinators take time to do directteaching, this has some potential disadvantages.
Firstof all, itpromotcs a waste of proi'essienal
resources,
because the Coordinators`Cbackstop""profos-"exclusive'P.

could,

actingwith

specialascoordinators,

educationalaflt}ct
needs

than

the educational
they

could

experience

teach

of

many

more

directly.Second, when

pupilstheSpecialEducational Needs Coordinators do directteaching, this could easily cause
their colleague
teachers to depend on them too rnuch. Finally,directteaching imposes-512-

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The JapaneseAssociation
The
Japanese AssociationofofSpecialSpecial
Education
Education

TeachersJAttitudes Towards
anexcessive

the Roles of SENCO

burden on SpeciatEducational Needs CoordinatoTs'
workload.

In lightof the lailurcsin the remedial
tcaching systemin the past and the Special
Educational Needs Coordinators' burdens in the present, direct teachingby theSpecial Educational Needs Coordinatorsis not efllective {br pupils with special
educational

needs.

Ainscow and Muncey (1989)
schools are characterpointed out that successful
ized by a strong emphasison collaboration
andsharing.
has also argued
that itis essentia}
fbr an edective
SpecialEducaSanagi(2003)
that coordination
occursthroughout
the schoolastional Needs Coordinator systemmostimportantleadingtoschoolimprovement
isa whole,One of thefactors
collaborative
work
among
the Special Educational Needs Coordinators, their colleague teachers, and other stafl such as teaching assistants.
thc primary roles ot' SpecialEducational
Colleagueteachers should understandsure that their SpecialEducational Needs CoordinaNeeds Coordinators,
and maketors exercise
the role of coordinator,
Colleague teachers should deve].optheir own roleof teachingneeds
directly.
pupils with special educational
In-serviceteacher training and adequate
sharingof roles should
be regardedasvery
important in every school (Sanagi,2003), In-servicetraining forteachers should
encourage
teachers to take eflbctive roles in collaboration
withthe SpccialEducational
Needs Coordinators.
For developing sucheducational
model

known

needs,

ofspecialcollaborationaseducationalin schools,

the interactivemodel,
needs2007) reg'ards(Sanagi,

roles

as

forpupilswith

speciai

cducational

teaehers withadequateskillsneeds

teachers
the way

isto have colleague

for pupils withmodel

be considered,cantal factorthat influenccspupils.According to this modcl,
schools

theoreticalaspecialofspecialAn interactiveasancnvironmen-

to establish

effl ctive

teachers

take theeducational

needs,

andlettheir teaching skills become more
effective
through collaborative
work
with
the
SpecialEducational Needs Coordinators.
In Japan,systemsimilarte the SpecialEducational Needs
there is a coordinatorsystemin
EnglandandWales.
However,manycolleagueteachers in
Coordinators
mainstream
schoolsin Japanexpect the Coordinators
staff
to be professionalteachingratherthan coordinators.
In Japanescmainstream
schools,
many
coordinators[Fhismay cause theirprovide directteaching at their schools, as well coordinating.
colleagueteachers to depend on themandisolatesome pupils with special educational needs
andthe coordinatorsfrom the rest of the school. There is roomforinvestigationabout teachers' attitudes toward the roles of coordinators
in Japan.

Acknowledgements
by KAKENHI
fbr Scientific
Research,,(Grant-in-Aid
1471017S) and MEXT
of Education, Culture,Sports,Science andTechnol(Ministryogy)
Thanks to Prol'essorPeter Farrell(theUniversity
grant in aid for study abroad,of Manchestcr), his collcagues,
andall participantsin this study.
This study

wassupported-513-

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The JapaneseAssociation
The
Japanese AssociationofofSpecial
Special Education
Education

T. Sanaga

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June27, 2008; Accepted February 21, 2009-- 514 ･-NII-Electronic Library Service