Bad,mad and sad: developing a methodology of inclusion and a pedagogy for researching students with intellectual disabilities

A critical question for me as a teacher/researcher in the field of inclusive education is how to reposition children with moderate and severe intellectual disabilities as participants rather than subjects in the debate. In this paper, I develop a methodology of inclusion that comprises an ethics of consent and a pedagogy for research participation that is an opportunity not only to teach, but also to create a new discursive space for six children to speak. The discussion explores a range of methodological and interpretive strategies for including children with significant intellectual disabilities in research: issues of informed consent, the negotiation of power relations and the ways in which this innovative pedagogy can be empowering beyond the research situation. The use of this methodology has provocative implications concerning what might be learned about forging a link between the struggle for change and educational policy/practice if other researchers worked towards creating spaces for these most marginalized children to speak.

Inclusive education is about responding to diversity; it is about listening to unfamiliar voices, being open, empowering members and about celebrating ‘difference’ in dignified ways.     

The National Disability Insurance Scheme and access to education: progressive or coercive policy discourse?

This paper explores the experiences of a small group of families in Australia in relation to recent reform to disability policy by way of the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS). Framed in critical disability perspectives of policy implementation research, the paper focuses on the extent to which the scheme articulates inclusive opportunities for children and young people with disabilities, particularly in relation to facilitating access to education. Interview data that illustrate families' expectations of the scheme and latter-day experiences, coercions and negotiations highlight the tensions that exist for scheme participants who draw on its provision to support their education. These first- and second-order policy effects indicate a welcome change to disability support in Australia, though the extent to which the scheme can advance inclusion for people with disabilities is uncertain, given the distance rendered between the policy and its participants and other service systems. The paper concludes with a theoretical discussion based on the analysis of how the NDIS is framed to interrelate with scheme participants and education and how it might be reframed for better outcomes.     

Inclusion Paradigms and Perspectives: A Stepping Stone to Accepting Learner Diversity In Physical Education

Learner diversity is the focus of this paper. Parallels are drawn among attenlpts to integrate children with disabilities (who have unique motor needs), less skilled learners, and/or disinterested learners. Paul and Ward (1996) propose that debates over inclusion are paradigmatic in that ethical inclusion paradigm proponents (all children should be included) are at odds with comparative inclusion studies (determining whether or not inclusion really works). Application of Paul and Ward's idea about paradigm conflict and other special education perspectives are discussed to draw attention to low skilled and/or disinterested learners as well as to children with disabilities so that the needs of all children are uniformly addressed. When conducting research about learners without disabilities that are currently not fitting into physical education classes, paradigm dilemmas must be avoided. Future studies in physical education should focus on how diverse learners can be accommodated more than on how diverse learners affect other children. Further, physical educators may be better able to serve the needs of all students through coltural/social minority models (Paul, 1998; Sherrill. 1998) and infusion-based curricula (Rizzo, Broadhead, & Kowalski, 1997).     

Beginning early childhood education teachers’ struggle with inclusion in Turkey

The purpose of this study was to investigate Turkish early childhood education teachers’ perception of inclusion before they started their teaching profession and to explore their experiences with the children with disabilities in their first year of teaching. Sixteen Turkish pre-service teachers were first interviewed when they completed the teacher education programme about their expectations of inclusion practices in their future career. Four participants among the 16 teachers started to teach children with disabilities in their first year of teaching. Then, they were interviewed about their experiences at the end of the first and second semesters of teaching. Findings revealed that Turkish pre-service teachers displayed positive attitudes towards inclusion before they started teaching. However, they had negative experiences with children with disabilities in their first year due to the misimplementation of the inclusion policy and being inexperienced about the inclusion process, and began to question the effectiveness of inclusion. Implications for the inclusion policy and teacher education programmes are discussed.     

Chinese Parents’ Beliefs about the Importance and Feasibility of Quality Early Childhood Inclusion

This study aims to explore Chinese parents’ understanding about the importance and feasibility of quality pre-school inclusion and how these beliefs are affected by their levels of education and the types of disabilities in the Chinese socio-cultural and policy contexts. Findings support parents are highly supportive of the philosophy of inclusion. Both groups of parents of children with and without disabilities have different expectations for what quality inclusion looks like in the six dimensions of inclusion except for professional development and resources. The higher the levels of education, the more likely regular parents agree on all six dimensions of inclusion. Finally, disability categories did not affect parents’ beliefs. Parents of children with multiple disabilities expressed the greatest need for inclusion. Overall, parents’ agreement with the important features of inclusion reflects a greater expectation for quality inclusion and policy-making to make this happen to all young children.     

Inclusion in the context of competing values in early childhood education

Inclusion of preschoolers with disabilities in programs for typically developing children has a strong legal, rational, moral, and empirical basis. Despite this compelling foundation, however, the desirability of inclusion continues to be debated and acceptable options for inclusive placements are often difficult to find. In this paper, we argue that professionals and parents are often placed in a position in which inclusion must be weighed against other compelling values in making decisions about placements for children. We describe three competing values—high-quality programs, specialized services, and family-centered practices—and demonstrate how in many communities these values and inclusion are difficult to achieve simultaneously. We argue that placement in inclusive settings should be a goal for all children with disabilities, but that placements should also be of high quality, sufficiently specialized, and consistent with family priorities. We conclude with a series of recommendations for changes needed if this goal is to be attained.     

Preparing preschool teacher candidates for inclusion: impact of two special education courses on their perspectives

Successful implementation of inclusive practices depends mainly on teachers' attitudes towards children with special needs and their inclusion, and teachers' willingness to work with children with special needs in their classrooms. Experiences teacher candidates have during pre‐service stage might influence their perceptions towards children with disabilities and their inclusion. The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of two special education courses on (1) preschool teacher candidates' general attitudes towards inclusion, (2) their willingness to work with children with significant intellectual, physical and behavioural disabilities within inclusive classroom settings and (3) their level of comfort in interacting with children with disabilities. A four‐part survey was administered to participants four times throughout the study, once before and after each course. The survey package included (1) a demographic information form, (2) the Opinions Relative to the Inclusion of Students with Disabilities Scale, (3) an adapted version of the Teachers' Willingness to Work with Children with Severe Disabilities Scale and (4) the Interaction with Children with a Disability Scale. The results showed that both special education courses positively influenced teacher candidates' attitudes, willingness and comfort levels. However, impact of the second course focused on helping teacher candidates learn and apply instructional strategies to work with children with disabilities in inclusive classrooms was much larger. Implications of the study findings in relation to future research and practice are discussed.     

Educational inclusion in Singapore for children with physical disabilities

Under Singapore’s inclusive education policy, children with mild physical disabilities are integrated into mainstream schools. There is currently no known published research yet in Singapore on the outcomes of inclusion for children with physical disabilities. Internationally, recent research had compared the school experience of children with physical disabilities to that of their typically developing peers. This study examined the social and academic impact of educational inclusion for children with physical disabilities. It investigated how their participation in school activities, academic performance, self-esteem, peer relationships, and social/emotional development compared to that of typically developing schoolmates. A total of 60 clients (n = 30 with physical disability; n = 30 typically developing students; age range = 8 to 16 years) in a local primary and secondary regular school participated in the study. The children with physical disabilities met academic expectations in school and had comparable levels of self-esteem, but experienced peer problems and participated less in school activities. Understanding children’s overall school experience is critical to becoming an inclusive society that enables children with a range of disabilities to benefit academically and socially. Implications for practice and future research were discussed.     

The masculine face of science

This paper considers the contemporary debate about inclusion and inclusive education as this affects children with special educational needs/disabilities. It addresses the continuing question of the relative contributions of value and evidence based considerations in making policies and developing practices. The main point of the paper is to argue that we cannot avoid dealing with these questions and that there is a need for a constructive synthesis of value, conceptual and empirical matters to resolving questions about inclusion. Though this may seem uncontroversial, it is argued that there are hard decisions to be made, or dilemmas surrounding how we address differences which arise from potentially conflicting values — the values of inclusion and individuality. The paper also discusses the contribution of empirical research evidence in the context of these dilemmas. The paper concludes with a rejection of the values/rights versus ‘what works’ positions and opts for the challenge of recognising different values, how they can conflict and how this tension needs to be resolved and the role of evidence in finding a resolution.     

An inclusion initiative in Singapore for preschool children with special needs

This paper describes a preschool inclusion initiative in Singapore, which currently has no mandate for integrating children with special needs in mainstream schools. This very small-scale qualitative study involving children with mild learning disabilities discusses a therapy outreach programme by a local children's hospital. It explores the supports and challenges of this experience based on interviews with therapists, teachers, principals, and parents. Facilitators of inclusion included communication, collaboration, availability of training and resources, and a readiness for inclusion. Barriers to inclusion included person-related hindrances, structural obstacles, gaps in programme delivery, and limited specialized training and resources. We learned that in the absence of mandatory provisions for inclusion, children with special needs can be supported in regular education when there is “buy in” for early inclusion and intervention amongst key stakeholders. Practical strategies toward this end are discussed.     

Reggio Emilia Inspired Learning Groups: Relationships,Communication, Cognition,and Play

A key aspect of the Reggio Emilia inspired curriculum is a learning group approach that fosters social and cognitive development. The purpose of this paper is to investigate how a Reggio Emilia inspired learning group approach works for children with and without disabilities. This study gives insight into how to form an appropriate learning group including the effective ratio between children with and without disabilities, the teacher expertise required and other supporting strategies for children with special needs to function more positively in a learning group approach. This study employed both qualitative and quantitative data analysis to code selected videotaped learning group sessions. Findings indicated that across the five children, four children developed in the areas of relationship, communication, and play skills. Children within the learning group exhibited increased interest, inclusion, friendship, and empathy toward both children with special needs. In addition, facilitating high quality learning groups requires intentional planning, reflection, and engagement from children and teachers.     

Swiss Children's Moral and Psychological Judgments About Inclusion and Exclusion of Children With Disabilities

Children's judgments about inclusion and exclusion of children with disabilities were investigated in a Swiss sample of 6‐, 9‐, and 12‐year‐old children from inclusive and noninclusive classrooms (N = 422). Overall, the majority of children judged it as morally wrong to exclude children with disabilities. Yet, participants were less likely to expect the inclusion of children with mental or physical disabilities in academic and athletic contexts compared to social contexts. Moreover, older children more consistently coordinated disability type with context of exclusion. There were also significant differences depending on the type of classroom. The findings extend existing research on exclusion by investigating exclusion based on disability across different age groups and educational settings.     

A Meta-Analysis of School-Age Children's Attitudes Towards Persons with Physical or Intellectual Disabilities

Factors associated with children's attitudes towards persons with physical and intellectual disabilities were examined in a meta-analysis spanning the years 1990 to 2000. A total of 20 studies met the inclusion criteria allowing for 65 comparisons across 2,240 participants. Factors of interest were attitudinal components, type of disability, age and gender of respondents, and role of inclusion. The majority of research findings revealed that children preferred target children without disabilities compared to targets with physical or intellectual disabilities. Three methods for calculating average effect sizes were used: (a) unweighted means, (b) weighted means, and (c) vote counting. It was concluded that biases in attitudes do exist but that summary results need to be interpreted with regard to individual study differences and the methods used to calculate mean effect sizes.     

Communities of practice in inclusive education

The data in this paper represent the experiences and perspectives of parents and teachers who worked as communities of practice, designing support plans for the inclusion of three students with intellectual disabilities in general education classrooms. Their reflections, obtained through interviews and questionnaires, show how they constructed relevant knowledge to support these children with special educational needs in their class. The findings show the potential benefits of partnerships and local knowledge in addressing the educational challenge of inclusion.     

Investigation and comparison of Turkish and American preschool teacher candidates’ attitudes towards inclusion of young children with disabilities

Inclusion of young children with disabilities into general education classrooms is a common practice that has been implemented for many years in developed countries around the world and many developing countries have been creating and implementing laws and regulations to support inclusive education in early years. Although extant literature includes a commonly agreed definition for inclusion, the implementation of inclusive practices varies across countries. A critical factor for successful implementation of inclusive practices is teachers’ attitudes towards inclusion of children with disabilities. The purpose of this study was to compare Turkish and American pre-service preschool teachers’ attitudes towards inclusion of young children with disabilities and their willingness to work with children with severe behavioural, physical, and cognitive disabilities. A total of 123 pre-service teachers participated in the study. The results showed that pre-service teachers across two countries had similar attitudes towards inclusion and their attitudes were positive. Additionally, both groups of pre-service teachers reported more favourable attitudes towards working with children with severe physical disabilities than those who have severe cognitive and behavioural disabilities. Implications for future research and practices are discussed.     

The culture of inclusion: Recognizing diversity at multiple levels

Federal and state initiatives to ensure public educational opportunities to youngsters with disabilities have resulted in the inclusion of these children in typical preschool and community placements. With these mandates come questions and concerns about the methods that are most useful in supporting children in these settings. Educators are challenged to provide services for children with a range of behavioral and developmental differences as well as services that are responsive to the diverse needs of children and families who vary considerably in their cultural, ethnic, and linguistic backgrounds. The purpose of this paper is to examine how preschool programs and community sites acknowledge, adapt, and match the cultural preferences and/or expectations of participating children and families. Themes related to culture and diversity which have emerged from this qualitative study are discussed as they influence preschool inclusion.     

Using informed strategies for learning to enhance the reading and thinking skills of children with learning disabilities

The purpose of this study was to improve the reading performance of children with learning disabilities using a classroom-based metacognitive reading program. The participants were third- and fourth-level 8- and 9-year-olds (13 boys and 5 girls) at a school for children with learning disabilities. A cross-sectional time series design was used. During pre- and posttesting participants were assessed on two measures of strategy awareness and a measure of perceived self-competence. During the instructional phase the metacognitive reading program was introduced. Participants were assessed on measures of reading performance throughout the study. In general, the findings were positive: Students increased in performance and awareness of strategies from pre- to posttesting. In addition, participants were placed in subgroups based on pretesting assessments. The subgroups differed on their improvements over time. This study provides preliminary evidence that a metacognitive reading program can be used with children with learning disabilities to improve their awareness about reading and their comprehension skills.     

An Illusory Interiority: Interrogating the discourse/s of inclusion

It is generally accepted that the notion of inclusion derived or evolved from the practices of mainstreaming or integrating students with disabilities into regular schools. Halting the practice of segregating children with disabilities was a progressive social movement. The value of this achievement is not in dispute. However, our charter as scholars and cultural vigilantes () is to always look for how we can improve things; to avoid stasis and complacency we must continue to ask, how can we do it better? Thus, we must ask ourselves uncomfortable questions and develop a critical perspective that Foucault characterised as an ‘ethic of discomfort’ (, p. xxvi) by following the Nietzschean principle where one acts ‘counter to our time and thereby on our time ... for the benefit of a time to come’ (Nietzsche, 1874, p. 60 in , p. xxvi). This paper begins with a fundamental question for those participating in inclusive education research and scholarship—when we talk of including, into what do we seek to include?     

Picturing global educational inclusion? Looking and thinking across students’ photographs from the UK,Zambia and Indonesia

Over the last few years we have engaged children and young people in participatory photography projects in a diverse range of international contexts. The projects, diverse as they are, have been school-based and primarily focused on students' experiences of educational inclusion/exclusion. Photographs taken by students can stimulate conversations in which different perspectives are shared and considered. Whilst this process is meaningful within a local context, it is also compelling to reflect more widely on what children and young people's photographs and commentary (and through these their interpretations of their educational experiences) have to tell and, indeed, show us about educational inclusion globally. In this paper, we begin by explaining what we mean by the term 'educational inclusion', and consider what methodological relevance the participatory photography has for engaging in research with children and young people about their educational experiences. We then briefly describe the contexts of the projects this paper draws on, which took place in the UK, Zambia and Indonesia. In the main body of the paper, we will look across these international projects and consider a selection of students' photographs and interpretations in relation to several broad themes about educational inclusion which they suggest.     

The role of an epistemology of inclusivity on the pursuit of social justice: a case study

Social justice education emphasizes how schools can better serve traditionally marginalized students. This case study examines the pursuit of social justice education in an unlikely setting: a Catholic elementary school that both espouses inclusion of all children and effectively includes children with a wide range of disabilities. The article focuses on the way a school principal understands the concept of inclusivity and how this “epistemology of inclusivity” enacted by the leader impacts the pursuit of social justice in the school. The study illustrates that an epistemology of inclusivity can at once embolden and delimit the social justice practices.