Understanding Inclusion. Teachers' Inclusive Attitudes From Values To Practice

This thesis aims to explore the theme of teachers’ inclusive attitudes, offering a new theoretical and methodological approach of investigation. Concentrating on teachers’ understanding of inclusion, this study examines the complexity of relations between values and practice highlithing some critical aspects related to the transition of inclusive attitudes into inclusive practice. Moreover, the attention focuses also on the role of teacher education in developing and promoting inclusive attitudes, in order to understand and idenitify possible implementation for intial teacher education and ongoing training. Framing the interpretation of inclusion and inclusive education adopted in this work, particularly related to the development of those concepts at a local and international level, this work takes critically into account the Italian background, where the policy of integrazione scolastica has been established for almost forty years, but where there still are situation of intra-exclusion. The theoretical framework, embracing the idea of inclusion and inclusive education in their wider meaning, proposes an original rationale for studying inclusive attitudes with a qualitative approach, formulating a model configuration that supports the empirical investigation. Methodologically, the study is carried on with the creation of an art-mediated tool through which twenty six interviews to teachers in service, (K13) attending a specialisation course on qualified support teaching, have been conducted. Data analysis, software aided, is based on a multi phase content coding and a network/table representation, using a top-down/bottom-up approach. Outcomes are then further interpreted and discussed integrating excerpts form teachers’ interviews. Outcomes show that teachers demonstrate inclusive attitudes despite these are then hardly put into practice chiefly due to systemic factors, such as a lack of general teacher preparation on inclusion-related topics and so on. The complexity of relations between values and practice implicates that more efforts and changes need to be taken in order to positively transferr inclusive values into action. In fact, teachers’ inclusive attitudes seem to find barriers in the everyday school practice. Given the results of this study, it is possible to argue that the process from integrazione scolastica to inclusion needs to be further investigated within the Italian background, adopting a critical approach and possibly through cross-cultural research with other countries that are experiencing a passage towards a more inclusive education

Tra improvvisazione e inclusione: il profilo “polifonico” delle professionalità educative

This article presents a conceptual dialogue emerged from empirical studies in which two pedagogical-educational dimensions meet and speak to each other: the inclusive perspective and improvisation.The aim is to reflect in a “polyphonical” way, upon the opportunity which emergesfrom the contamination and hybridization between these two linguistic systems, their epistemologicalscenarios and their conceptual universes. It is recognised that both have a “revolutionary”potential to think about education in human development in a new way, both for pragmatic aspectsand pedagogical ones. This rationale polyphony delineates an “open profile” for educational professionals,a profile emerged and elaborated upon the theoretical and dialogical analysis conductedon data gathered in almost three years of research in the both inclusion and improvisation fields,finally merged in a new pedagogical paradigm

Understanding Inclusion. Teachers' Inclusive Attitudes From Values To Practice

This thesis aims to explore the theme of teachers’ inclusive attitudes, offering a new theoretical and methodological approach of investigation. Concentrating on teachers’ understanding of inclusion, this study examines the complexity of relations between values and practice highlithing some critical aspects related to the transition of inclusive attitudes into inclusive practice. Moreover, the attention focuses also on the role of teacher education in developing and promoting inclusive attitudes, in order to understand and idenitify possible implementation for intial teacher education and ongoing training. Framing the interpretation of inclusion and inclusive education adopted in this work, particularly related to the development of those concepts at a local and international level, this work takes critically into account the Italian background, where the policy of integrazione scolastica has been established for almost forty years, but where there still are situation of intra-exclusion. The theoretical framework, embracing the idea of inclusion and inclusive education in their wider meaning, proposes an original rationale for studying inclusive attitudes with a qualitative approach, formulating a model configuration that supports the empirical investigation. Methodologically, the study is carried on with the creation of an art-mediated tool through which twenty six interviews to teachers in service, (K13) attending a specialisation course on qualified support teaching, have been conducted. Data analysis, software aided, is based on a multi phase content coding and a network/table representation, using a top-down/bottom-up approach. Outcomes are then further interpreted and discussed integrating excerpts form teachers’ interviews. Outcomes show that teachers demonstrate inclusive attitudes despite these are then hardly put into practice chiefly due to systemic factors, such as a lack of general teacher preparation on inclusion-related topics and so on. The complexity of relations between values and practice implicates that more efforts and changes need to be taken in order to positively transferr inclusive values into action. In fact, teachers’ inclusive attitudes seem to find barriers in the everyday school practice. Given the results of this study, it is possible to argue that the process from integrazione scolastica to inclusion needs to be further investigated within the Italian background, adopting a critical approach and possibly through cross-cultural research with other countries that are experiencing a passage towards a more inclusive education.Questa tesi si propone di approfondire il tema degli atteggiamenti inclusivi degli insegnanti, offrendo un nuovo approccio teorico e metodologico. Concentrandosi sulla comprensione degli insegnanti rispetto all’inclusione, questo studio esamina la complessità delle relazioni tra i valori e la pratica mettendo in luce alcuni aspetti critici relativi alla transizione di atteggiamenti inclusivi in pratica inclusiva. Inoltre, l'attenzione si concentra anche sul ruolo della formazione degli insegnanti per lo sviluppo e la promozione di atteggiamenti inclusivi, al fine di comprendere e idenitificare possibili implementazioni per la formazione iniziale e in itinere degli insegnanti. Configurando l'interpretazione di inclusione ed educazione inclusiva adottate in questo lavoro, in particolare legate allo sviluppo di questi concetti a livello locale e internazionale, questo studio investiga criticamente il contesto italiano dove, nonostante le politiche di integrazione scolastica adottate da quasi quaranta anni, si verificano ancora situazioni di intra-esclusione. Il quadro teorico, abbracciando l'idea di inclusione e integrazione scolastica nella loro accezione più ampia, propone una cornice originale per lo studio degli atteggiamenti inclusivi attraverso un approccio qualitativo e la formulazione di un modello di configurazione teorica che supporta l'indagine empirica. A livello metodologico, attraverso uno strumento creato ad hoc, sono state condotte ventisei interviste ad insegnanti (tutti i livelli di scuola) in servizio e frequentanti un corso di specializzazione per le attività didattiche di sostegno. L'analisi dei dati, operata con l’ausilio di un software, si basa su una codifica di contenuti a fase multipla e una rappresentazione di mappe/tabelle, adottando un approccio bottom-up/top-down. I risultati sono ulteriormente interpretati e discussi grazie all’integrazione di estratti dalle interviste, mostrando che gli atteggiamenti inclusive dei docenti vengono poi difficilmente messi in pratica, principalmente a causa di fattori sistemici, come la mancanza di preparazione generale degli insegnanti su argomenti legati ai temi dell’inclusione. Infatti, gli atteggiamenti inclusivi degli insegnanti sembrano trovare ostacoli proprio nella pratica scolastica quotidiana. Infine, è possibile sostenere che il passaggio da integrazione scolastica a inclusione necessiti di essere ulteriormente esaminato a livello locale italiano, adottando un approccio critico e possibilmente attraverso ricerche internazionali che vedano coinvolti anche altri paesi impegnati nella transizione verso una educazione maggiormente inclusiva

Young researchers need help with academic networking

Commentary on young researchers and academic networkin