The project of the other: developing inclusive learning communities in schools (original) (raw)
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The increasing cultural, linguistic, and developmental diversity of today’s classrooms demands more inclusive approaches to schooling, but classroom teachers often report feeling unprepared for inclusive education. This article reports some lessons learned from the Inclusive Practice Project, a teacher education reform project that has developed an innovative approach to preparing teachers to enter a profession in which they take responsibility for the learning and achievement of all students. It identifies four crucial issues, describes how they were addressed, and considers the challenges of professional development of teacher educators that emerged from the project studies. Key lessons focusing on the professional development of teacher educators in the establishment of a new curricular approach to teacher education for inclusive education are discussed.
The inclusive practice project in Scotland: Teacher education for inclusive education
Teaching and Teacher Education, 2009
While differences in national contexts are associated with variations in how teachers are trained and school systems are organised, the conceptual and philosophical problems of equity and inclusion in schooling are shared concerns. This paper describes how the structure and content of an initial teacher education programme for primary and secondary teachers has been revised to ensure that social and educational inclusion is addressed within the core programme. A rationale is presented for the development of 'inclusive practice', followed by a discussion of the reforms and an outline of the effects that are expected in the classroom practices of teachers in schools.
Developing Inclusive Practice: A Role for Teachers and Teacher Education
Although there is widespread support for inclusion at a philosophical level, there are some concerns that the policy of inclusion is difficult to implement because teachers are not sufficiently well prepared and supported to work in inclusive ways. Inclusion requires teachers to accept the responsibility for creating schools in which all children can learn and feel they belong. In this task, teachers are crucial because of the central role they play in promoting participation and reducing underachievement, particularly with children who might be perceived as having difficulties in learning.
Supporting the enactment of inclusive pedagogy in a primary school
International Journal of Inclusive Education, 2019
While inclusion has generally been accepted as orthodoxy, a knowledgepractice gap remains which indicates a need to focus on inclusive pedagogy. This paper explores how teachers in the Republic of Ireland primary school were supported to develop inclusive pedagogy to meet the needs of learners with special educational needs (SEN). It is underpinned by a conceptual framework which combines an inclusive pedagogical approach and key principles of effective professional development (PD) arising from the literature, which informed the development of a professional learning community (PLC) for inclusive practice in a primary school. The impact of the PD on teachers' professional practice was explored using an evidence-based evaluation framework. Analysis of interview and observation data evidenced that engagement with inclusive pedagogy in a PLC, underpinned by critical dialogue and public sharing of work, positively impacted teacher attitudes, beliefs, efficacy and inclusive practice. This research offers a model of support for enacting inclusive pedagogy.
Challenges of the secondary school context for inclusive teaching
Issues in Educational Research, 2010
Senate and State Government reviews into inclusion in Australian schools during the last two decades have revealed that the inclusion of students with disabilities in schools has proved challenging. A qualitative study involving interviews with 50 leaders in inclusive education suggest that currently the secondary school context is a barrier to the development of inclusive teachers. Although inclusive policies and legislation are in place, they are not supported by adequate funding and resources. This has had a negative effect on the capacity of systems, schools and teachers to be inclusive. From the views expressed by the participants in this research, it is clear that there is a continued need for systems to allocate adequate funding and resources, review current secondary school structure and professional learning, and for stakeholders to have access to specialist knowledge so as to enact the philosophy of inclusion.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF INCLUSIVE EDUCATION , 2018
Schools need to rethink their educational approach in order to cater for increasing student diversity in the classroom. The inclusive education model has emerged in response to this need, which encompasses practices such as learning communities and service-learning projects. In this study, we examined the perceptions of different education stakeholders regarding inclusive education in schools that have adopted these practices, with a view to identifying areas for improvement. We administered seven adapted questionnaires to the four main education stakeholders. The sample consisted of 757 participants (215 families, 446 students, 81 teachers and 15 management team members), and we performed descriptive and inferential analyses of the data they provided. The areas for improvement perceived by them concerned overcoming architectural barriers, promoting student participation in the organisation and planning of school activities and training for the educational community in specific educational measures targeting particular groups, such as immigrant students and students with motor and sensory disabilities. However, stakeholders appreciated positively some aspects like the new ways of collaborative working and the increase of family participation. Our results also indicated that teaching staff's perceptions were more critical for all the variables except relations between students, where families were the most critical.
Becoming an Inclusive Teacher at the Interface of School and Teacher Education
Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 2015
The aim of this study is to assess how the pedagogical solutions of the inclusive teaching practice in class teachers' adult education programme support the development to become an inclusive teacher. What kind of interpretations do the students make of inclusion and inclusive school? How does the participation in school community with reflective support by teacher education community enhance inclusive professional orientation? The research material consists of qualitative network material written by 22 adult students: teaching practice plans, reflective practice stories and teaching practice feedback. The analytical approach was thematic text analysis. Inclusion was interpreted as pupils' right to study with their peers but also as a professional challenge or ideal. The social exclusion was elicited only in a few stories. The meta-consciousness of developing an inclusive school was sparse. The experiences gained from the school's communities of practice combined with the theoretical and reflective tools offered by teacher education community formed meaningful learning.
Inclusive Classroom: Some Lessons From The UK
2015
The aims of this study is to portray the inclusive classroom in a school in the UK. What teachers do to handle the Special Educational Needs (SEN) children or children in needs, what are the equipments and facilities to cope the difficulty, and how to increase the SEN childrens' abilities. One of the challenges faced by education systems in around the world is inclusion. It is not simply about placing pupils with SEN in mainstream classrooms, but also examines about the quality of education received by all groups of learners and includes student's presence, participation, acceptance, and achievement. This research was held in the UK which has been implemented this system for years. This study was designed in the case study with one single case design. In this case, school AS was the single case and researcher investigated three different ranges of classrooms with different ranges of age groups. The researcher chose case study design to gain an in-depth understanding of the p...