Editorial Vol 5 Iss 2

Editorial

The Educational Experiences of Students with Asperger Syndrome

The Ministry of Education’s policy, Special Education 2000 (SE 2000) was intended to promote a model that ensured all students received an education that involved successful experiences (Ministry of Education, 1996). Students with Asperger Syndrome (AS) often have difficulty adapting to and achieving these successful experiences in their educational environment. This paper summarises the findings from a research project that was designed to investigate the issues that arise for students with AS, determine whether or not these experiences are generally positive or negative, and examine to what extent teachers have knowledge of AS. Data was gathered from interviews with three students, their parents and their teachers and a survey to examine teacher knowledge. Data was also gathered from nine interviews and twenty-nine questionnaires. This paper reports on the data gathered from the interviews. The emerging issues were: Difficulties accessing the curriculum, social difficulties, misunderstanding of parents’ roles, teacher responsibility, bullying, lack of teacher aide support, placement difficulties and sensory and environmental factors. The study concluded that the educational experience of the students was generally negative. The level of teacher knowledge was low, although the majority of teachers expressed an interest in gaining further knowledge.

Bullying: What do Students say?

Bullying occurs in most schools and happens to students no matter how capable, popular and well-adjusted they are. This paper reports on a study that examines the nature and extent of bullying and explores the context of bullying and school violence in New Zealand schools. Approximately 1370 students from seven primary and three secondary schools participated in the study. Using a survey approach, a questionnaire was designed to examine the prevalence and incidence of different types of bullying; the nature of the actual bullying and where it is most likely to happen; schools’ responses to bullying, including the issues of reporting and why students choose not to tell. Results indicate that all of the participating schools reported bullying to a greater or lesser extent. Listening to the voices of students in this study extends understanding of the issues around bullying. The results led to recommendations based on issues of policy, supervision (particularly in the areas identified by the students as being “hot spots”) and communication, with an emphasis on reporting and the need to create a culture of “safe telling” to ensure safe emotional learning environments for all students.