Social, Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties in Irish Schools: We Need to Talk About Gender
Keywords:
Gender, SEBD, Post-Primary, Primary, Social, Emotional and Behavioural DifficultiesAbstract
Findings from the Growing Up in Ireland research (Banks, Shevlin and Mc Coy, 2012) report an over-identification of males with special educational needs, particularly social, emotional and behavioural difficulties (SEBD). This highlights gender as a previously well-known but largely ignored variable in understanding and supporting students who present with SEBD. With over one third of post-primary schools being single gender schools (Department of Education and Skills, 2018), Ireland is unique in Europe in stratifying schools according to gender. This paper makes the case for further research into gender and SEBD in the Irish context. Identifying a lacuna in the literature and referencing previous research by this author (McKeon, 2015), four issues are highlighted in which further investigation is needed in order to respond more effectively to the needs of students in Irish schools.
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