Abstract
ABSTRACTThe aim of the present study was to examine and describe educational leaders’ mindset types related to schooling of students with ADHD in five municipalities with ADHD special education classes and in five pair-matched municipalities without such classes. Selection of the ten municipalities was based on the results from a nationwide survey (response rate 76%) aimed at investigating how Swedish municipalities organise schooling for ADHD students. Interview data was analysed with the use of a theoretical framework presented as a typology table describing mindsets more or less in line with either the neuropsychiatric paradigm or inclusion. The perceived neuropsychiatric influence on ADHD students’ schooling seemed to affect educational leaders’ decision making, leading to different schooling for ADHD students in different municipalities. The findings, presented as municipality profiles, are discussed in relation to the notion of inclusive education and alternative educational paths leading either towards inclusion or exclusion.
Highlights
Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) ‘is considered to be a biologically based, educational disability that is treatable but not curable by treatment (Pfiffner and DuPaul 2015, 597).’ The authors state that teachers should be aware of this fact
Prosser (2008) criticises this dominance, stating, ‘If only medical questions are asked, only medical answers will be found’. Slee posed another critical question: ‘Whose interests are served by the discovery and spread of ADHD?’ (1998, 133)
These types are called congruent neuropsychiatry-based, conflicting mindsets dominated by neuropsychiatry, conflicting mindsets dominated by educational integration, complete disagreement in a transformation phase, educational integration with eclectic approach, and striving towards inclusion
Summary
Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) ‘is considered to be a biologically based, educational disability that is treatable but not curable by treatment (Pfiffner and DuPaul 2015, 597).’ The authors state that teachers should be aware of this fact. Allen Frances, former chair of the DSM-IV and co-author of a critical update for educational professionals (Meerman et al 2017), warns that teachers are misinformed about ADHD and about how to deal with behavioural problems. The behavioural ‘symptoms’ among ADHD students in the classroom are not questioned, . These ‘symptoms’ may evolve due to the push for greater academic performance and increased demands for higher productivity in schools, which are related to the needs of global economies (Harwood and Allan 2014; Hinshaw and Scheffler 2014; Tomlinson 2012). Teachers, who deal with these ‘symptoms’ among their pupils, encounter guidelines for ADHD students’ schooling based on the neuropsychiatric paradigm, which enjoys a strikingly prominent position in the area of dealing with behavioural issues in schools (cf. Langager 2014, 284)
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