Links between inclusive education and inclusive research

In recent years, particularly since the Salamanca Statement (UNESCO, 1994), considerable attention has been given to inclusive education. The concept of inclusive research has also emerged (Walmsley and Johnson, 2003). Initially this was associated with people with learning disabilities but now has a wider application. The two concepts have some shared values and the links between inclusive education and inclusive research have been explored (e.g. Nind, 2014a). She argued that ‘in inclusive research about inclusive education the problems, questions and answers would be recognisable to the teachers and learners involved – authentic for the educational community’ (2014a, p.536). This article, in the context of M-level studies, considers these developments and school-based research linked to assignments. Some background information about the concepts of inclusive education and inclusive research is provided. The links between them are considered. Then two brief case studies are presented to illustrate of how knowledge of these concepts has influenced the research of two M-level students in their final piece of work. In combination, these illustrate how the students considered whose knowledge to access, how to access it, how analysis might happen and the dissemination and impact processes. The article concludes by linking these case studies to the discussion of inclusive education and inclusive research. It highlights how gaining insights into inclusive education can be an educational experience for all those involved – and meet the requirements of an award bearing course. 2 Sue Pearson, Joanne Callaghan and Anna Cooper Hillary Place Papers, 3 edition (Jan 2016), University of Leeds Inclusive education There is a global movement towards inclusion/inclusive education with a focus on providing universal access to quality education. It is a response to a situation where children who are viewed as different may be excluded from education, have different access to, or limited participation in education. Discussing the concept is complicated by a range of factors including, but not limited to, issues of definition, the multiple dimensions and the potential tensions with other policy initiative. The school-based research reported below was undertaken in England and therefore the focus is on these issues in England although similar challenges occur in other contexts. In relation to the terminology, the terms ‘inclusion’ (Hodkinson and Vickerman, 2009, Ainscow et al., 2006), inclusive education (Black-Hawkins and Amrhein, 2014), ‘inclusive schooling’ (Department for Education and Skills, 2001) and ‘inclusion in education’ (Booth and Ainscow, 1998, Osler and Starkey, 2005) are in usage and are sometime used interchangeably. Others authors distinguish between these seeing inclusion as a broad concept applying to all aspects of society and other term limited to educational aspects. In this case, inclusive education is often referred to as a ‘process’ with the ‘product’ a more inclusive society. There is a presumption that for inclusive education to occur there needs to be a process of transformation of education, both formal and informal. Mittler summarised the challenges and opportunities for schools; In the field of education, inclusion involves a process of reform and restructuring of the school as a whole, with the aim of ensuring that all pupils can have access to the whole range of educational and social opportunities offered by the school. This includes the curriculum on offer, the assessment, recording and reporting of pupils’ achievements, the decisions that are taken on the grouping of pupils within schools or classrooms, pedagogy and classroom practice, sport and leisure and recreational opportunities. (Mittler, 2000 p.2 ) Mittler associated inclusive education with all children which is not a universal approach. In the literature, ‘inclusive education’ has both a narrow and a broad meaning. For some, it is primarily concerned with children with special educational needs (SEN) and/or those with disability. It is also used more widely to refer to any group where perceived differences (e.g. gender, ethnicity) may have negative consequences. However, both these approaches appear to suggest that there is a ‘them and us’ situation (Booth and Ainscow, 1998). There is a danger that this can be interpreted as ‘them’ needing to be enabled to join an unchanged ‘us’. Booth and Ainscow posit that inclusive education involves transformation of all. Others have questioned of why some are thought of as ‘them’ rather than equal members of society or as one author has termed it from ‘you’ to ‘we’ (Uzum, 2013). These ideas of the nature of inclusive education and to whom it applies were synthesised by UNESCO (UNESCO, 2009): Inclusive education is a process that involves the transformation of schools and other centres of learning to cater for all children – including boys and girls, students from ethnic and linguistic Links between inclusive education and inclusive research 3 Hillary Place Papers, 3 edition (Jan 2016), University of Leeds minorities, rural populations, those affected by HIV and AIDS, and those with disabilities and difficulties in learning and to provide learning opportunities for all youth and adults as well. Its aim is to eliminate exclusion that is a consequence of negative attitudes and a lack of response to diversity in race, economic status, social class, ethnicity, language, religion, gender, sexual orientation and ability. (UNESCO, 2009, p.4) In some instances where the focus has been restricted to children with special educational needs/inclusion, the debate has narrowed to issues about placement which, at times, has been resulted to a debate about the continued existence of special schools. This over simplifies the issues. For example, Cigman (2007) distinguished between ‘radical inclusion’ and ‘moderate inclusion’. In the former, special schools are viewed as a form of segregation whilst the latter considers the special school in relation to a sense of belonging, being valued, and respecting human rights. This framing of inclusive education challenges the notion that inclusive education is simply a matter of placement. Being able to take part in the whole in the educational community and its activities alongside a tracking on social and academic progress are dimensions of an inclusive approach. To foster the school-level development of inclusive education, a number of frameworks have been proposed some of which involve a process of self-audit to be undertaken by schools to identify areas for development. An internationally adopted tool is the Index for Inclusion: developing learning and participation in schools .First published in 2000, more recently a third edition produced (Booth and Ainscow, 2011). By that date, the Index for Inclusion had been translated into 40 languages. It has been designed to encourage the involvement of multiple groups including staff, pupils, parents and It is organised around three dimensions; culture, policies and practices. For each dimension there are indicators and a series of questions to elaborate on these. For instance, dimension B focusses on policy. Section B 1 addresses ‘Developing the school for all’ and has the indicators B.1.1 Staff appointments and promotions are fair. B.1.2 All new staff are helped to settle into the school. B.1.3 The school seeks to admit all students from its locality. B.1.4 The school makes its buildings physically accessible to all people. B.1.5 All new students are helped to settle into the school. B.1.6 The school arranges teaching groups so that all students are valued. Linked to these are a range of prompt questions designed to promote reflection amongst those involved. The audit process may increase (shared) awareness of a school’s strengths and areas for development but the Index provides limited guidance about how school-level transformations can be engendered. 4 Sue Pearson, Joanne Callaghan and Anna Cooper Hillary Place Papers, 3 edition (Jan 2016), University of Leeds There have been critiques of the Index for Inclusion including questioning inclusion being treated as a separate issue rather than as aspect of a wider school development approach (Norwich et al., 2001). The purposes in citing the Index for Inclusion in this context are threefold; to illustrate the breadth of issues viewed as relevant to inclusive education, to establish a link between inclusive education and school development and to highlight that the insights from multiple perspectives, including children, should be valued. In relation to pupils with special educational needs, the revised Code of Practice (Department for Education and Department of Health, 2014) has strengthened to guidance about taking into account pupil perspectives. The principles underpinning the Code state that: ‘...local authorities, in carrying out their functions under the Act in relation to disabled children and young people and those with special educational needs (SEN), must have regard to: • the views, wishes and feelings of the child or young person, and the child’s parents • the importance of the child or young person, and the child’s parents, participating as fully as possible in decisions, and being provided with the information and support necessary to enable participation in those decisions • the need to support the child or young person, and the child’s parents, order to facilitate the development of the child or young person and to help them achieve the best possible educational and other outcomes, preparing them effectively for adulthood.’ (2014, Section 1.1, Authors’ highlight) This is a notable change from encouragement of pupil participation to a requirement, a ‘must’. This may be accomplished most effectively if participation pervades all aspects of educational activity.