Achievers, confidence-builders, advocates, relationship-developers and system-changers: what ‘making a difference’ means to those who work with children with special educational needs – a typology of rewards

Abstract

Previous research on the rewards found that teachers gain satisfaction in a sense of vocation, ‘making a difference’, and the emotional rewards of ‘care’ and ‘love’, especially in whole-class teaching. The meaning of ‘making a difference’ often remains unexplored however, and this article is an attempt to rectify this gap in the literature and aims to construct a typology of the rewards that staff find in working with children with special educational needs (SEN). SEN co-ordinators and teachers of children with SEN were studied using four focus groups (n = 20) and 12 semi-structured interviews (total sample, n = 32). A narrative, life-history approach was taken to analyse the rewards over time of working with children. Making a difference was mentioned as a phrase 47 times across the sample of 32. A typology of the kinds of rewards experienced by teachers was constructed and the rewards were found in improving attainment, being an advocate, confidence-building and ‘system changing’. Some respondents defined ‘making a difference’ in disparate ways. The article found that those having the longest career in school found that being an advocate for parents was the most rewarding aspect of their job. The study concludes by drawing out the implications for the retention of staff in a time of policy change.