Mandatory accreditation for special educational needs coordinators: Bio-politics, neoliberal managerialism and the Deleuzo-Guattarian 'war machine'

Done Elizabeth, Mike Murphy, Helen L Knowler

Research output: Contribution to journalArticle (Academic Journal)peer-review

22 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Recent changes to policy directives now require newly appointed Special Educational Needs Coordinators (SENCOs) in UK mainstream schools to be qualified teachers. Training and accreditation through a nationally approved postgraduate award is now mandatory. Concepts drawn from poststructuralist biopolitics and critiques of neoliberal educational managerialism are mobilized in an analysis of recent inclusion policy and award requirements. Resistance to the positioning of SENCOs and pupils within a political narrative of economic priority and productivity is conceptualized as a Deleuzo–Guattarian ‘war machine’. The implications of biopolitical orientations for practitioner research are explored with reference to teacher action research.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)86
Number of pages100
JournalJournal of Education Policy
Volume30
Issue number1
Early online date14 Apr 2014
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2015

Keywords

  • SENCO
  • accreditation
  • Training
  • special educational needs

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