Voices from the Margin: The learning experience of Mathematics by students who exhibit social, emotional and behavioural difficulties.

This Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) explores the lived experience of students who present with Social Emotional Behavioural Difficulties (SEBD) during their Mathematics lesson at school. Hence, it attempts to give them a voice with regards to their learning experience in the subject. The aims of the research were to (i) explore how students presenting with SEBD experience learning in the Mathematics classroom; and (ii) suggest educational strategies and interventions that could help in offering students presenting with SEBD with a more engaging learning experience.

The participants of this study were four students exhibiting with SEBD aged between 12 and 13 years old. The data was collected over a period of 12 weeks. The main data sources included recorded video diaries and semi-structured interviews.

The main research findings indicate that the behaviour of students exhibiting with SEBD in the Mathematics classroom is linked to the curriculum, emotions, relationships, consequences and appraisals.