Labels of SEN: The Perceptions and Experiences of Young People with a Behavioural, Emotional and Social Difficulty

The study explored the perceptions of young people with a Statement of SEN for Behavioural, Emotional and Social Difficulties (BESD) of themselves and their school experiences.

BESD is the most frequently occurring SEN for young people of secondary school age and receives considerable attention in psychological and educational literature, as well as in the press.

However, relatively minimal attention is paid to the messages that these young people have about their own education and in particular, the understanding they have of their needs and the label of BESD.

This also holds for other labels of SEN, despite the ongoing debate about the usefulness and ethics of such labels.

The systematic literature review examined the interplay between young peoples' awareness of their labels of SEN and self-concepts.

The quality of the fourteen included studies was evaluated and indicated that much of the research lacked rigorous explanation of important data collection and analysis techniques; such as sampling procedures, interview schedules and audit trails.

Four major continuums emerged with regard to the perceptions of young people of themselves and their labels:

• awareness vs. lack of awareness of label
• positive vs. negative reactions
• distance vs. identification with similar others
• accommodation vs. resistance to label

This awareness and perception of labels has not been investigated within a BESD population and the empirical paper aimed to rectify this.

Nine semi-structured interviews were conducted with young people aged 13-16 with a statement of SEN for BESD. Data were analysed using a social constructionist grounded theory approach.

Eight of the nine participants were not aware of their label of BESD and many evaluated the label negatively.

The resulting grounded theory model presents the strengths and struggles that young people with a BESD face at school and the interaction of these experiences with receiving support and teacher-pupil relationships.