Theories of Inclusion, Theories of Schools: deconstructing and reconstructing the ‘inclusive school‘ (original) (raw)
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British Journal of Special Education, 2010
Special education in England has over the past 25 years been subject to rapid development, not least in relation to the emergence of inclusive education. Alan Hodkinson of the Faculty of Education, Community and Leisure, John Moore's University, critically examines the development of inclusion in England and the barriers that can stall the development of this important educational and societal initiative. He discusses the journey towards inclusion from educational segregation to integration and describes the current Government stance on this important subject. Alan Hodkinson suggests that many of the barriers to effective inclusion are in practice located within the loci of Government, local authorities as well as that of schools. He concludes that it is now time to develop a new vision for the education of children with special educational needs and disabilities that is supported by straightforward, co-ordinated and well-resourced policies. If educational policy is to achieve an inclusive consciousness, it must ensure that the views of children, their families and educational professionals are listened to, and that inclusion is by the choice of the pupils and their parents and not by compulsion.
What future for special schools and inclusion? Conceptual and professional perspectives
In this article, Brahm Norwich, Professor of Education at the University of Exeter, examines the roles that special schools can play within inclusive educational systems. He notes that the percentage of young people in special schools in England has remained broadly stable over a number of years, despite inclusive policy initiatives. Brahm Norwich suggests that policy makers and practitioners have found it hard to understand how a broad and shifting notion like inclusion should be operationalised, especially when valued positions, such as meeting individual needs and providing a sense of belonging and participation, can appear to generate such tensions and contradictions. Brahm Norwich summarises findings on teachers' attitudes towards this crucial 'dilemma of difference' from three countries and argues that it is time to develop more sophisticated ways of thinking about provision. Rather than insisting on locating 'mainstream' and 'special' at opposite ends of a one-dimensional placement continuum, Brahm Norwich puts forward a multidimensional model in which a number of attributes can be considered when analysing provision. The 'flexible interacting continua' provided in this model concern identification, participation, placement, curriculum and teaching and governance and Brahm Norwich shows how schools, whether mainstream or special, need to strive towards commonality in terms of all five dimensions rather than simply in terms of placement. Policy makers as well as staff in both mainstream and special schools will be interested in exploring the implications of these ideas.
British Journal of Special Education, 2008
In this article, Brahm Norwich, Professor of Education at the University of Exeter, examines the roles that special schools can play within inclusive educational systems. He notes that the percentage of young people in special schools in England has remained broadly stable over a number of years, despite inclusive policy initiatives. Brahm Norwich suggests that policy makers and practitioners have found it hard to understand how a broad and shifting notion like inclusion should be operationalised, especially when valued positions, such as meeting individual needs and providing a sense of belonging and participation, can appear to generate such tensions and contradictions. Brahm Norwich summarises findings on teachers' attitudes towards this crucial 'dilemma of difference' from three countries and argues that it is time to develop more sophisticated ways of thinking about provision. Rather than insisting on locating 'mainstream' and 'special' at opposite ends of a one-dimensional placement continuum, Brahm Norwich puts forward a multidimensional model in which a number of attributes can be considered when analysing provision. The 'flexible interacting continua' provided in this model concern identification, participation, placement, curriculum and teaching and governance and Brahm Norwich shows how schools, whether mainstream or special, need to strive towards commonality in terms of all five dimensions rather than simply in terms of placement. Policy makers as well as staff in both mainstream and special schools will be interested in exploring the implications of these ideas.
A study of teachers’ perception about ‘Inclusive Education’ in UK mainstream primary schools
Worldwide inclusive education has been established as a significant policy direction with respect to including children with disabilities in regular or mainstream schools. Teachers are now expected to rise to the challenge of accommodating a range of students in the classroom. Yet how can teachers be supported to accomplish this challenging task in the classroom? Is it only a matter of resources or are teachers’ views about inclusion crucial for successful implementation of policy? How can developing countries seeking to introduce inclusive education policies go about the task? This paper draws upon a small scale study involving two mainstream primary schools in the United Kingdom. The study sought to uncover teachers’ perceptions of inclusive education in order to give insights into the reality of inclusion policy and practice. Data was collected through semi-structured interviews and documentary analysis. The findings of the study reveal that teachers' personal characteristics, their views of the support available, their understanding of inclusion and school practices all contribute to the successful implementation of policy.
Education, Inclusion and Individual Differences: Recognising and Resolving Dilemmas
British Journal of Educational Studies, 2002
The case is presented for a dilemmatic perspective to the educational provision for pupils and students with difficulties and disabilities. This perspective recognises the links and tensions between social and individual values and models. The paper focuses on the central significance of dilemmas of difference in understanding policy and practice issues in the field. One of the central arguments is that a commitment to inclusion implies a commitment to meeting the needs of a minority and therefore to arrangements which may not be required by the majority. Inclusion is about mainstream schools accommodating a full diversity, and in doing so leads inevitably to adopting dedicated or specialised support systems for some. The paper provides an overview of recent changes in policy and practice as well as looking at possible future trends. An inter-disciplinary model which connects individual and social perspectives is proposed both for explanatory purposes and for designing provision in terms of the interaction between the inclusivity of the system and responding to additional individual needs.
The Dilemma of Inclusive Education: Inclusion for Some or Inclusion for All
Frontiers in Psychology, 2021
In this paper, we intend to consider different understandings of inclusive education that frame current public and professional debates as well as policies and practices. We analyze two – somewhat opposing – discourses regarding inclusive education, namely, the “inclusion for some” – which represents the idea that children with special needs have a right to the highest quality education which can be delivered by specially trained staff, and the “inclusion for all” – which represents the idea that all children regarding their diverse needs should have the opportunity to learn together. To put the two discourses in a dialogical relation, we have reconstructed the inferential configurations of the arguments of each narrative to identify how the two definitions contribute to position children with and without special needs and their teachers. The results show the possibilities to bridge the two narratives, with respect to the voices they promote or silence, the power relations they cons...
Educational inclusion in England: origins, perspectives and current directions
Support for Learning, 2015
In this paper we examine different aspects of the inclusion debate, including how it has been shaped by the political context in England over the past 30 years. We then give consideration to the key argument that has dominated the inclusion agenda over the last decade: should effective inclusion be considered only as placement in mainstream school settings, or can one consider inclusion in a specialist placement as successful? Research studies examining the views of children, parents and teaching staff are also discussed. Consideration is given as to whether a 'universalist' view of inclusion (in which special schools should not be offered) is one that is feasible and desirable. The key arguments highlighted include those relating to 'quality' in education, academic and social inclusion, human rights, parental choice and teachers' attitudes and skills. The role of some professional groups in supporting inclusion, such as educational psychologists (EPs) and Special Educational Needs Coordinators (SENCos), is also examined.
Inclusive schooling policy: An educational detective story?
The Australian Educational Researcher, 2003
Since the publication of the Salamanca statement (UNESCO 1994), inclusive schooling has formed a growing part of the deliberations of the special education community. Inclusive schooling research in Australia in the main continues to reproduce traditions of the special education field, emphasising the dominant psychological perspectives that have been superimposed on inclusive education discourses. At the fifth International Congress of Special Education (ISEC 2000) held in Manchester, 'the death knell of the concept of special education' (ISEC 2000) was announced. The concept proposed by Mike Oliver, Professor of Disability Studies at the University of Greenwich, asserts an end to understandings of diversity dependent on medical, psychological and charity-based discourses. From a recent study of inclusive schooling policy, and drawing from poststructuralist methodology, I suggest an approach to research, policy development and practice that questions traditionalist theorising in the special education field. Reflecting on the implementation of the Inclusion of Students with Disabilities Policy (DECCD 1995) in the Tasmanian government school system, I outline my alignment with Oliver's view and highlight how questions of epistemology and reconstructions of research methodologies are central to rethinking understandings of difference. I also illustrate a methodological orientation that offers possibilities for a different science to take place, thereby understanding diversity as multiple and contradictory-and beyond the single 'detective story' (Gough 1998) of the medical, psychological and charity-based discourses that circulate in schools as the populist conceptions of 'inclusion'.