Look a Blue Elephant in the Class!....Exploring the Perspectives and Expectations of Special Educational Need Coordinators on Special iApps for Children with Severe Intellectual Disabilities

With the digitalization of school, the special education practice and the roles of special education needs coordinators (SENCOs) have changed. The use of educational apps specially designed to support children with severe intellectual disabilities is expected to increase rapidly with many claiming not only new ways to play, but also to have educational benefits. However, there is a lack of research examining this transformation, a gap which this exploratory study opens up for new understandings of. This qualitative study explores the perspectives and expectations of SENCos on playful digital learning using Special iApps as an exemplar. The findings show that SENCOs have highly perceived the educational effectiveness of Special iApps. Still, not being involved and influential in the school’s decisions about the selection of appropriate educational apps, and lack of digital competence were something that the SENCos highlighted, raise the question of why digital tools are not commonly used in special education, causing obstacles for children in need of special support. Therefore, a question for future researchers to investigate is how these shortcomings can be addressed. From the analysis and interpretation, we have identified some recommendations to offer ideas on how the findings of this study can be implemented in academia- industry to further this space.