Internationally, there is a growing trend towards the inclusion of autistic pupils within mainstream schools. However, concerns have been expressed regarding this policy roll-out preceding empirical evidence demonstrating effective outcomes for autistic students. Concerns have also been expressed regarding the absence of the voices of autistic pupils themselves within research and policy literature. This review seeks to synthesise evidence from qualitative studies relating to the experiences and perspectives of autistic young people enrolled in mainstream second-level or post-primary education. Searches were carried out on three bibliographic databases: Education Research Complete, Education Resources Information Centre and PsychInfo. One thousand sixty-three studies were identified through a combination of database and hand searches of which 33 met the inclusion criteria for the review. Data were synthesised using ‘thematic synthesis’ and the validity of included studies was assessed using the ‘Critical Appraisal Skills Programme’ (CASP) checklist. Thematic synthesis resulted in the development of three analytical themes: ‘Demands of mainstream placements’, ‘Social participation’ and ‘Impacts on the student’. Our analysis revealed that for many autistic young people, mainstream school is a complex and demanding social environment. Further research conducted in partnership with this cohort is essential as inclusive policy and practice continues to develop. Lay Internationally, more autistic pupils are being educated in mainstream schools. Some people have voiced concerns that this policy roll-out is happening before examining the effective outcomes for autistic students. Concerns have also been expressed regarding a lack of the voices of autistic pupils themselves within research and policy. This study was undertaken in order to gather literature that explores the views and experiences of autistic young people in relation to their mainstream school placement at the secondary level. This study aims to summarise the existing literature and provide a new, more complete account of the school experiences of this cohort. After an extensive search, 33 studies were identified by the authors as meeting a set of inclusion criteria. All of the studies included in this review elicited the views and perspectives of at least one autistic young person regarding their mainstream secondary school placement. Upon carefully analysing these studies, the authors developed three key themes as follows: ‘Demands of mainstream placements’, ‘Social participation’ and ‘Impacts on the student’. Our analysis revealed that for many autistic young people, mainstream school is a complex and demanding social environment. Further research that prioritises the voices and perspectives of this cohort is essential as inclusive policy and practice continues to develop.

Inclusion is an important aspect of achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in education. This article will discuss the significance of recent developments in the field of school-based bullying prevention and evaluate their applicability to the policy discourse of inclusive education. Both inclusive education and school-based bullying remain contested phenomena without a clear consensus regarding their definition or how to operationalise them as concepts within school policy or practice effectively. UNESCO’s Scientific Committee has recently proposed the Whole Education Approach, which conceptualises a holistic, socially engaged, and interconnected vision for policy development in addressing school-based bullying prevention. Importantly, the Whole Education Approach conceptualises incidences of bullying as indicative of a deficit of care and support within the surrounding social environment, thus adopting an ecological and relational focus regarding bullying prevention. In addition, bullying prevention is viewed as requiring coherent collaboration between the school, family, and other relevant stakeholders in the local social community surrounding the school. This includes government funding, resource policies and national legal frameworks. This article argues that this approach may also have utility within inclusive education policy in supporting a more integrated and holistic promotion of social inclusion, underpinning equal opportunities in recognition of the diverse needs of all learners in schools. This article discusses the details of the Whole Education Approach and emphasises how this framework can also address educational inclusion by adopting an integrated, multi-elemental focus on supporting collaboration across stakeholders relevant to the lives of pupils within schools.

Ireland has a distinct and complex history regarding the education of persons with special educational needs (SEN) and in its approach to inclusion. Special and general education largely developed in parallel and separately. As recently as the 1990s, legal actions by parents seeking educational rights for children with severe disabilities prompted appropriate provision for these students and a shift towards inclusive schools. The Education for Persons with Special Educational Needs (EPSEN) Act set out important changes – although not all implemented – followed by a series of changes in resource allocation, culminating in the removal of the requirement for students to be diagnosed in order to access supports. International evidence suggests that resource allocation based on learners’ profile and SEN diagnosis have been linked to the overidentification of SEN students. Ability to pay for private assessments has also been shown to exacerbate inequality in Ireland and beyond. We examine how Ireland's policy changes are impacting on schools and students, drawing on emerging evidence. We consider concerns over the adequacy of teacher professional development, the intended and potentially unintended consequences from a process of ‘domestication’ at the school level and ultimately whether the changes are accompanied by sufficient and appropriate accountability measures.

Recent decades have seen an increase in the use of qualitative research methods within disability research, often seeking to include the voices of individuals with disabilities in research informing policy and service provision. However, such cohorts of participants often present with diverse communication profiles, leading to negative assumptions about their capacity to participate in traditionally common forms of qualitative data collection, such as interviews or focus groups. This effectively marginalises them from participating in research relevant to their lives and social inclusion. The current paper argues that, despite the existence of a range of participatory methods, there remain barriers across methodological approaches to the inclusion of participants with complex profiles within qualitative research. In particular, there is a lacuna within the literature regarding how to specifically differentiate or appropriately adapt qualitative methods to support access. An additional lack of guidance regarding the selection of methods and planning of research is also an issue. Drawing from a transformative perspective, this paper proposes adopting Universal Design for Learning (UDL) principles to guide researchers in in how to differentiate the planning, designing, and conduct of research with participants with disabilities presenting with complex communication profiles. While UDL is not being proposed as an alternative to existing research methodologies, its principles provide a framework for researchers to select from existing methods or approaches in a flexible manner depending on the profile of participants they will be working with. A range of existing approaches and methods are discussed with examples that illustrate how they have been used to support participation and inclusion within qualitative research studies.

This Autistic-led phenomenological qualitative study explores the experiences of Autistic Teachers in the Irish Education system. While autism has received attention in Irish educational research, it is notable that Autistic teachers are under-researched. This study was conducted by an Autistic teacher-researcher and used Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis to design and conduct semi-structured interviews with four Autistic teachers to address this significant gap in the literature. In the findings, participants described strengths including using monotropism advantageously in their teaching and the ability to form strong and empathetic relationships with their pupils. Experiences with colleagues were often influenced by a lack of autism-related understanding and sometimes stigma and negative biases. The physical, sensory, and organisational environments of schools had an overall negative impact on participants’ experiences. Recommendations resulting from the study include a need to increase whole school knowledge of autism and to encourage neurodivergent-friendly environments. The findings suggest that increased awareness is needed across the Irish education system including initial teacher education (ITE), professional development (PD), and support services. What support to provide, how to provide it, and to whom provide support to are areas for future study emerging from the research. Findings have implications for future practice, policy, and research.