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‘Nowhere that fits’: the dilemmas of school choice for parents of children with Statements of special educational needs ( SEN ) in E ngland
Author(s) -
BajwaPatel Meanu,
Devecchi Cristina
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
support for learning
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.25
H-Index - 30
eISSN - 1467-9604
pISSN - 0268-2141
DOI - 10.1111/1467-9604.12052
Subject(s) - appeal , compromise , school choice , dilemma , statement (logic) , politics , special educational needs , psychology , special education , sociology , social psychology , pedagogy , developmental psychology , political science , law , social science , philosophy , epistemology
Giving parents a choice with regard to their children's education has been central to the political discourse of school reform at least since the 1988 E ducation R eform A ct ( ERA ). With regard to children with a Statement of special educational needs ( SSEN ), a plethora of policies and laws have given parents the right not only to choose a school, but also to appeal to decisions in the best interest of their children. Yet, despite the discourse of school choice, the implementation and practice of such reforms is neither assured nor simple. Participants in this study indicated that they have little choice of suitable provision and are having to compromise either the academic or the social aspects of their child's schooling. This article argues that for many parents whose children have a Statement of SEN , the choice of a school is often a dilemma, as ‘nowhere seems to fit’.