About

Special Education at UNSW is particularly interested in addressing issues in special education across the lifespan of people with disabilities.

Theoretical frameworks from the fields of education, disability studies, assistive technology, and the behavioural sciences inform research and teaching at all levels of teacher education.

Research

The Special Education and Inclusive Education Research group (SIERG) has a strong commitment to conducting research that aims to enrich the lives of children, adolescents and adults with disabilities by providing evidence-based supports to help them succeed in inclusive environments at school, at home, and in the community.

Our current and past research projects encompass the following areas:

• Transitions in lives of people with disabilities
• School-home collaboration
• Families of people with developmental disabilities
• Evidence-based practices in special and inclusive education
• Mobile technology as a learning support for students with disabilities
• Wraparound services for students with dually diagnosed intellectual disability and mental health disorders
• Ageing women with intellectual disabilities - well-being and coping
• Educational experiences of young people with mental health disorders and cognitive disabilities in the criminal justice systems
• Preparing beginning teachers to manage challenging student behaviours
• Curriculum approaches in classroom behaviour management teacher preparation.

See our current SIERG HDR students here

Community Engagement

The Special Education team have strong partnerships with a range of educational providers, including:

Schools

• Moriah High School, Sydney
• Moriah Primary School, Sydney
• Rolland Hassell School, Sydney
• Verona School, Sydney
• William Rose School, Sydney.

Non-governmental organisations

• Access Community Education Services, Port Macquarie
• Sunshine Home, Sydney
• Women With Disabilities ACT, Canberra.
• Self Advocacy Sydney
• Women with Disabilities Australia (WWDA) - Iva Strnadová is the President of WWDA

Professional organisations

• Australian Association of Special Education
• NSW Committee of the Australian Association of Special Education (AASE) - Terry Cimming and Iva Strnadová Vice-Presidents; Iva Strnadová National Councillor
• Positive Behaviour Interventions and Supports Australia (PBISA)
• ARACY