This research synthesis investigates studies that evaluated a well-known intervention, the Circle of Friends (CoF) – which seeks to promote the inclusion of socially neglected students. The aim of the review is two-fold; first, to identify the intervention’s variant applications and, second, to record what evidence-based outcomes have been reported. A systematic literature search including seven databases was conducted and based on inclusion and exclusion criteria, a total of nine articles were identified. The primary outcomes indicated that the intervention was mainly used with younger students (primary education) and only rarely used in secondary schools. Additionally, the results show that the intervention was set up significantly less often for girls. The quality of the majority of evaluations was lacking which leads to recommendations for further research on this intervention to include the utilisation of more rigorous and more rounded research designs and proper trialling. Critical issues surrounding the implementation of the intervention are also outlined.

The Individualised Education Programme (IEP) is a fundamental document that describes all educational responses to the additional support needs of students, setting up the guideline for their learning and developmental experiences. Specifically, the IEP goals represent the personal destination translated into desirable behaviours and skills that will enable students with additional support needs to meet their educational and functional needs. This paper analysis the quality of the 2497 IEP goals established for 135 Portuguese students with additional support needs and their fit to the students’ level of severity and educational level. The quality of IEP goals was measured using the Revised IFSP/IEP Goals and Objectives Rating Instrument and the content was categorised in reference to the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health, version for Children and Youth. Findings showed that goals are generally poorly written, particularly in terms of their measurability and that their quality decreases as students’ progress in education. Results also showed that IEP goals for students with a highly individualised curriculum do not attend to their needs of more functional contents. The results are discussed in terms of their implications for teacher training.

Purpose: The International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) was introduced in Portuguese education law as the compulsory system to guide eligibility policy and practice in special education. This paper describes the implementation of the ICF and its utility in the assessment process and eligibility determination of students for special education. Methods: A study to evaluate the utility of the ICF was commissioned by the Portuguese Ministry of Education and carried out by an external evaluation team. A document analysis was made of the assessment and eligibility processes of 237 students, selected from a nationally representative sample. Results: The results provided support for the use of the ICF in student assessment and in the multidimensional approach of generating student functioning profiles as the basis for determining eligibility. The use of the ICF contributed to the differentiation of eligible and non eligible students based on their functioning profiles. Conclusions: The findings demonstrate the applicability of the ICF framework and classification system for determining eligibility for special education services on the basis of student functioning rather than medical or psychological diagnose.

Portugal was the first country decreeing the mandatory use of the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health: Child and Youth (ICF-CY) framework for guiding special education assessment process and to base eligibility decision-making on students’ functioning profiles – in contrast with traditional approaches centred on medical diagnosis. Considering the conceptual and pragmatic adjustments underlying this change, this study intends to explore how the professionals involved in assessment procedures perceive the impact of the ICF-CY use. Inscribed in an external evaluation commissioned by the Portuguese Ministry of Education, a content analysis was conducted over 33 focus groups composed of 192 educational professionals selected from a stratified random sampling design. Professionals’ opinions revealed that the ICF-CY use supported a better understanding of students’ functioning by prompting the description of the environmental influence on students’ participation. Challenges were pointed out regarding the ICF-CY use, namely: (1) the need of assessment tools that can provide information about the environmental influences on students’ functioning; (2) the establishment of collaboration mechanisms between professionals; and (3) the professionals’ ICF-CY training. Based on these three challenges/dimensions, recommendations were drawn in order to prompt a multidimensional approach on educational assessment and intervention planning.

Positive teacher-child relationships promote children’s engagement, as children feel more secure to explore and participate in free or oriented activities. For children with disabilities, a context wherein they can receive the support to maintain a positive engagement in different activities is even more relevant. A scarcity of research exists on how to promote ECEC quality, namely, how to facilitate teacher-child interactions in inclusive environments. This study aims to evaluate preschool teachers’ opinions about thedesirabilityandfeasibilityof a set of empirically validated strategies to improve teacher-child interactions in ECEC classrooms, for the group and children with disabilities. The participants were 89 Portuguese preschool teachers. Based on a non-systematic literature review, a questionnaire composed of 22 strategies to facilitate teacher-child interactions (in 4 dimensions: emotionally responsive interactions, classroom management, attend to children’s perspectives, and scaffolding learning) was developed. Along with the questionnaire, a set of socio-demographic variables was also collected. ECEC teachers scored significantly higher in thedesirabilitysubscale compared with thefeasibilitysubscale in all dimensions and at both thechildand thegrouplevel. This gap between teachers’ perceiveddesirabilityandfeasibilityprovides important insights regarding the dimensions which are important to reinforce in ECEC teachers’ education and professional development. The mean difference between thedesirabilityandfeasibilitysubscales registered a higher effect size at thechild’s level than at thegroup’slevel, confirming that the inclusion of children with disabilities in preschool settings remains a challenge. Moreover, the effect size was small to moderate in theEmotionally Responsive Interactionsdimension for bothchildandgrouplevels. These results are aligned with previous studies stating that among different self-identified dimensions for improvement, emotional support is the less evoked by ECEC teachers. Across all dimensions, the main reason teachers give for difficulty infeasibility, both at thegroupandchild’slevel, is lack ofknowledge. Overall, understanding the reasons teachers attribute to the difference between the strategies’desirabilityandfeasibilityinforms the assessment of teacher education needs and might be operationalized as a new observation instrument.