Understanding children’s constructions of meanings about other children: implications for inclusiveeducation

This paper explores the factors that influence the way children construct meanings about other children, and especially those who seem to experience marginalisation, within school contexts. The research involved an ethnographic study in a primary school in Cyprus over a period of 5 months. Qualitative methods were used, particularly participant observations and interviews with children. Interpretation of the data suggests that children's perceptions about other children, and especially those who come to experience marginalisation, are influenced by the following factors: other children and the interactions between them; adults’ way of behaving in the school; the existing structures within the school; and the cultures of the school and the wider educational context. Even though the most powerful factor was viewed to be the adults’ influence, it was rather the interweaving between different factors that seemed to lead to the creation of particular meanings for other children. In the end, it is argued that children's voices should be seen as an essential element within the process of developing inclusive practices.<br/

Inclusive School Community: Why is it so Complex?

This paper addresses the question: why is it so hard for school communities to respond to diversity in learners, staff and parents in inclusive ways? The authors draw on theory and recent professional experience in Queensland, Australia, to offer four guiding principles that address traditional assumptions about learning that result in inequality of opportunity and outcomes for students. The authors suggest these principles to support the development of a more inclusive school community: (1) develop a learning community incorporating a critical friend; (2) value and collaborate with parents and the broader community; (3) engage students as citizens in school review and develop¬ment; and (4) support teachers’ critical engagement with inclusive ideals and practices. The authors describe how the principles can work in concert in a school community

The journey travelled – A view of two settings a decade apart

Inclusion is generally recognized as an ongoing, active process which reflects shifts in policies, practice and values as well as political choices made over long periods of time. Although intended as a transformative concept it can also represent a messy compromise between congealed policy positions and contradictory practices. Against this background of compromise and dissatisfaction, this study aims to examine how two schools with clear inclusive aspirations and intentions have weathered the last decade. Drawing upon two research visits ten years apart in which the schools were filmed and members of the school community were interviewed, this study reports on their perception of the journey travelled. Data from the study shows that in both cases there was a shift away from practices which were previously seen as being a route towards greater inclusion. The causes for these shifts were political, economic and social factors underpinned by the pervasive influence of the special education and medical model on the two schools’ practice and principles

La educación inclusiva frente a las desigualdades sociales: un estado de la cuestion y algunas reflexiones geograficas

Este artículo establece un estado de la cuestión e la educación inclusiva en el mundo y sugiere algunas reflexiones al respecto. El primer apartado recuerda las conexiones ineludibles entre las preocupaciones educativas por la educación inclusiva y las preocupaciones más generales por la desigualdad. El segundo consigna los criterios de búsqueda de las publicaciones académicas, y observa dos grandes temas en sus contenidos: sobre todo, el cambio interno de las escuelas atrae las miradas, pero en segundo plano también el entorno territorial despierta algunas inquietudes. El tercero anota los criterios de búsqueda de la documentación del Banco Mundial, la OCDE y la UNESCO. En este ámbito los simposios de la Oficina Internacional de la Educación de UNESCO revelan una interpretación dispar, aunque convergente, del concepto de educación inclusiva en las distintas regiones mundiales. Asimismo, todas las publicaciones oficiales muestran una atención prioritaria a las dinámicas internas de las escuelas, puesto que apenas algunas esbozan ciertas relaciones entre la educación inclusiva y las políticas públicas. El último apartado adelanta varios argumentos a favor de una mayor consideración de las escalas local y estatal de la educación inclusiva. Las principales razones para atender a la dimensión local provienen de la causalidad acumulativa de las privaciones sociales, de la necesidad de articular la acción de las escuelas y de la posibilidad de abrir un espacio significativo para la participación ciudadana. Asimismo, las principales razones para atender a la dimensión estatal surgen de las posibles sinergias entre la educación inclusiva y la expansión educativa (p. ej. ¿es correlativo el avance de la escolarización en los distintos ciclos escolares?) como también entre la educación inclusiva y la protección social (p. ej. ¿tienen una implicación pedagógica consistente las abundantes condiciones educativas de las transferencias sociales?

The English School Reforms: Competition, Innovation and Fragmentation

The last 30 years have seen efforts by successive governments, of different political persuasions, to improve the English education system. Common to all of these reform efforts is a concern to close the gap in attainment between students from economically disadvantaged students and their peers, although the approaches tried have varied considerably. More recently, they have involved an increased emphasis on the idea of allowing schools greater autonomy within a policy context based on market forces as the main improvement strategy. In this chapter, we analyse these developments in order to draw lessons for those in other countries who are interested in promoting greater equity within their national education systems. This leads us to argue that whilst school autonomy can be a positive force—particular where it encourages teachers to work together in exploring more inclusive practices—it requires coordination at the local level and the introduction of accountability arrangements that provide space for experimentation, as well as resources to promote the professional development of teachers

‘Everyone can imagine their own Gellert’: the democratic artist and ‘inclusion’ in primary and nursery classrooms

What do artists do when they work in schools? Can teachers do the same? These were the questions at the heart of our recent research, investigating the work of 12 artists working in primary and secondary schools in England. Funded by Creativity, Culture and Education as a ‘legacy’ project of Creative Partnerships (2003–2011) our intention was to develop a theorisation of artists’ practice that could inform the work that teachers do. In this paper, we report on a key aspect of the Signature Pedagogies project (www.signaturepedagogies.org.uk) the way in which artists approached the issue of inclusion. Through an examination of the work of three story-makers in primary and nursery schools, documented through observation, film and interview, we show that the democratic participatory practices they adopted were based on a fundamental belief that: every child was capable of having ideas; every child could contribute meaningfully to discussions; and every child was integral to a collective ‘performance’. We conclude that these artists’ democratic orientations may well be difficult for teachers to adopt in the current moment, but that this artistic work in schools may still provide a welcome relief for all involved, as well as maintaining an exemplar of alternative pedagogical practice that might be expanded in a changed policy environment

Teaching inclusively: are secondary physical education teachers sufficiently prepared to teach in inclusive environments?

Background: Contemporary British educational guidelines, such as the National Curriculum (NC) have adopted inclusivity in the way children with special educational needs (SEN) are taught. Therefore, inclusion has risen up the political agenda, resulting in more children with SEN being taught in mainstream environments. Empirical research has attempted to examine PE teacher's perceptions of inclusion. However, it is evident that PE teachers perceive the training they receive during initial teacher training (ITT) as a constraint on their practice with specific regard to teaching children with SEN. Purpose: This study aimed to determine if student secondary PE teachers are sufficiently prepared to teach children with SEN inclusively, by examining their training at ITT as well as their perceived preparedness and confidence to teach inclusively. Participants and setting: 107 students from a four-year BA (Hons) and a PGCE secondary PE ITT course attending a North West England ITT institution participated in the study. Research design: Survey research was implemented to examine if student secondary PE teachers attending two different ITT courses were sufficiently prepared to teach in inclusive environments. Data collection: A 31-item semi-structured questionnaire comprising predominantly of closed questioning, was used for this study. Open-ended questions were included to collect qualitative data, intended to add richness to the data and explore students' perceptions. Questions focused upon respondents' inclusion training at ITT, the perceived effectiveness of this training, students' preferences in teaching, experience of teaching children with SEN, as well as their perceived preparedness and confidence to teach inclusively

Exploring the relative lack of impact of research on ‘ability grouping’ in England: a discourse analytic account

Grouping students by ‘ability’ is a topic of long-standing contention in English education policy, research and practice. While policy-makers have frequently advocated the practice as reflecting educational ‘standards’, research has consistently failed to find significant benefits of ‘ability’ grouping; and indeed has identified disadvantages for some (low-attaining) pupil groups. However, this research evidence has apparently failed to impact on practice in England. This article, contextualised by the authors’ interests in education and social inequality, seeks to do two things. First, it provides a brief analysis of the existing research evidence on the impact of ‘ability’ grouping, with particular reference to socio-economic inequality, identifying seven different explanations for the poorer progress of pupils in low sets that emerge from the literature. Second, it applies Foucaultian ‘analysis of discourse’ to propose potential explanations for the apparent lack of traction of existing research with policy and practice, arguing that practices of ‘ability grouping’ reflect cultural investments in discourses of ‘natural order’ and hierarchy, with particular resonance for the discursive and political habitus of middle-class parents. The authors postulate that investing in a powerful counter-discourse of enlightenment science, illustrated via their current randomised control trial of different approaches to pupil grouping, may offer a means to challenge hegemonic discourses that underpin current classroom practice