The Ecology of Inclusive Education

Strategies to Tackle the Crisis in Educating Diverse Learners

David Mitchell

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2018
• eBook ISBN: 9781351616072
• Topic: Education
• Subtopic: Education General

Educators today face two major challenges. The first, is to develop an education system which meets the needs of an ever more diverse student population. The second, is to successfully implement such a system. This requires nothing less than a revolutionary transformation of current approaches taken to education.

Drawing on research-based evidence and offering over 70 concrete strategies to help educators respond to these challenges, this unique book provides a blueprint for an education system which will recognize the rights of all students, while engendering social cohesion and an equitable society. Broadening the scope of inclusive education, the author presents an ecological model – a system which places children at its centre and acknowledges the impacts of school, community, bureaucracy and society, to maximize opportunities for learning, and see students achieve the same levels of attainment, regardless of their gender, socio-economic status, ethnicity, religious beliefs or disability.

A timely book which addresses the concerns of teachers and educators around the globe, The Ecology of Inclusive Education will give its readers the knowledge and confidence they require to meet the needs of each and every learner.

1
INTRODUCTION: WHAT CRISIS?

Crisis! What crisis? In April 2017, I published an open letter to Ministers of Education in which I asserted that, around the globe, too many of our children are not succeeding in our schools. I went on to emphasize that this is an urgent issue that requires a radical re-thinking not only of education, but also of social policies. I believe that such changes require nothing less than a revolutionary transformation of education; piecemeal tinkering with parts of it will no longer suffice. Addressing the causes of poor outcomes and implementing remedies is very important, not only for the well-being of vulnerable children, but also for the development of an equitable society and, ultimately, to avoid the disintegration of society. I hope this book will help educators to bring their systems back from the brink of failing our most vulnerable children by maximizing opportunities for them to learn and by removing barriers.

But first, some introductory comments on the challenges educators face.

The ‘big five’ of diversity

So what are our challenges? Let me briefly focus on five major ones: gender, socio-economic status, ethnic minorities, religion and beliefs, and disability.

Gender. Although the achievement of boys and girls overlaps to a significant degree, in many countries boys trail behind girls. Also, there is widespread concern that girls do not tend to undertake STEM studies. At the most extreme, some countries limit, or even deny, educational opportunities for girls.

Socio-economic status. There is considerable evidence that low socio-economic status (SES) backgrounds have negative effects on children’s cognitive development, social behaviours and educational achievement. Research across the world consistently concludes that SES is the strongest predictor of educational achievement.

Ethnic minorities. Most, but not all, ethnic minorities in many countries fare poorly on a wide range of educational, economic, social and health indicators. In some situations, too, they are exposed to discrimination, even persecution.

Religion and beliefs. While religion or beliefs seem to have no impact on school achievement, in some countries they can lead to discrimination and tensions.

Disability. Although there is surprisingly little information on the achievement of children with disabilities, data are increasingly being disaggregated to enable some conclusions to be drawn. Thus far, these have not been encouraging and point to the need to improve outcomes for such children.

Note, too, that in many cases it is the combination of two or more of these markers of identity that are related to discrimination or low achievement. For example, in the UK the lowest achieving groups are low SES black Caribbean boys, low SES white British boys and low SES white British girls (Strand, 2014).

We are living in an era of increasing diversity

At least in western countries, populations are becoming increasingly diverse. This trend reflects a range of factors, including the impact of globalization with its attendant mobility of labour; an upsurge of refugees fleeing conflicts or the consequences of global warming, or desertification, or seeking better economic futures; changes in peoples’ belief systems; changes in demographic profiles resulting from such factors as differential fertility rates among various groups; and independent choices of identity exercised by free citizens.

Encouraging diversity vs establishing social cohesion

Striking a balance between recognizing the rights of diverse peoples and the need to maintain social cohesion constitutes a major challenge to all societies. Inevitably, this challenge falls to a significant extent upon educators. When does tolerating or encouraging diversity threaten the fabric of a cohesive society? Conversely, does the aspiration for social cohesion lead to marginalizing those who are different? To what extent should educators seek to achieve homogeneity of values, achievement and behaviour among students? To what extent should they attempt to assimilate those who are perceived to differ from the mainstream of society? What differences should they celebrate and enhance? Which ones should they seek to reduce, even eliminate?

I recognize that the answers to these questions very much depend on the contexts of particular countries. They are, nevertheless, important questions to consider.

There are economic and social benefits of improving the performances of diverse learners

In their influential book The Spirit Level, Richard Wilkinson and Kate Pickett made it clear that the greater the inequality in a nation, the greater the number and degree of social problems encountered, including poor educational achievement. They showed that problems that tend to be more common lower down the social ladder – such as violence, drug abuse and infant mortality – are worst in more unequal societies. Wilkinson and Pickett explained this by arguing that inequalities erode the cohesion of a society, the degree to which individual citizens are involved in their society, the strength of the social networks within it and the degree of trust and empathy between citizens. Further, as individuals internalize inequality, their psyches becoming profoundly affected by it, and that in turn affects their physical as well as their mental health, leading to attitudes and behaviours that appear as a variety of social and health problems. When these problems become widespread and those affected see no hope for the future, there is a risk of undermining the authority of the state.

In a similar vein, Barbara Ischinger (2012), Director for Education at the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development), has described how school failure penalizes a child for life:

This can be seen in lower initial and lifetime earnings, more difficulties in adapting to rapidly changing knowledge-based economies, and higher risks of unemployment. The same child is also less likely to take up further learning opportunities and less able to participate fully in the civic and democratic aspects of modern societies.

(p. 15)

And, further, there are social costs of children failing in school:

School failure damages social cohesion and mobility, and imposes additional costs on public budgets to deal with the consequences – higher spending on public health and social support and greater criminality, among others.

(p. 15)

Thus, as well as moral imperatives, there are substantial economic and social reasons for equalizing educational opportunities for those who are disadvantaged.

The impact of disruptive technologies

Compounding the above problems, educators should take account of the impact of disruptive technologies on the job market. Advances in computerization and other technologies mean that, at best, some jobs are likely to continue to be available but undergo significant transformations, whereas others will disappear altogether. On the plus side, technological change is likely to bring direct and indirect job creation as machines require building and maintenance, thus more wealth is created and new markets are opened.

Educators have a responsibility to prepare their students for a future where technology and its applications are likely to become increasingly sophisticated in all spheres of life. The OECD (2016) has pointed out that the impact of technological change on employment and jobs is biased towards certain types of skills. It noted that routine tasks that are easily programmable together with non-person-to-person interactions are most affected. Conversely, person-to-person services and occupations relying more on creativity, context adaptability, task discretion, social skills, and tacit cognitive capacities have been less affected.

Policies should be predicated on inclusion

Around the world, there are many instances of children being segregated on the grounds of their gender, religion, ethnicity, socio-economic status, as well as their ability. At its most extreme, some groups of children are totally or partially excluded from education, as is the case of girls in some societies or disabled children in many developing countries. Sometimes, segregation occurs as a matter of policy, for example through allowing parents to choose their children’s place of schooling or through governments deciding that special schools are legitimate places to educate children with disabilities. At other times, it is (presumably) an unintended consequence of other policies, for example housing policies that lead to stratification of communities on the grounds of income. Whatever the circumstance, segregation occurs despite evidence that it at best bestows no advantages and, at worst, does harm to children.

Fortunately, around the world there are many examples of programmes that successfully accommodate student diversity. I review many of them in my two most recent books (Mitchell 2014, 2017). The challenge is twofold – how to bring these programmes to scale and how to dispense with those that are failing. This will require enlightened leadership.

Structure of this book

To develop a complete mind: Study the art of science; study the science of art. Learn how to see. Realize that everything connects to everything else.

Leonardo DaVinci

The 78 strategies I have selected are organized around what I term an ecological model in which everything connects to everything else, as DaVinci put it. Elsewhere, I have presented this model in the form of a spiral system to portray the relationships among the various elements that impinge on children (Figure 1). In part, it is based on Urie Bronfenbrenner’s (1979) ‘ecological systems theory’. Here are the main principles underlying my model:

• Individual children are at the heart of the system. They are embedded in families, which, in turn, interact with a series of other systems – classrooms, schools, communities and the broader society.

• Family factors include the interaction patterns, language, cultural capital and perceptions of the value of education held by families.

• Classroom factors include the curriculum, assessment, pedagogy, peer group influences and classroom climate.

• School factors include policies, leadership, school culture and the deployment of human and capital resources.

• Community factors include demographic features, economic resources and cultural values.

• Bureaucracy factors cover strategies within the purview of ministries or departments with responsibilities bearing on education.

• Societal factors include educational policies, resourcing and accountability mechanisms – usually the responsibility of governments.

Such systems should be ‘joined up’, which involves both horizontal and vertical integration. Horizontal integration requires linking systems at the same level to ensure consistency and compatibility of approach (e.g. among teachers ...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Dedication
• Table of Contents
• 1 Introduction: what crisis?
• 2 Society: unity in diversity
• 3 Bureaucracy: ‘government proposes, bureaucracy disposes’
• 4 Communities: making connections
• 5 Schools: learning organizations with permeable borders
• 6 Classrooms: innovative learning environments
• 7 Families: what counts?
• 8 The child: constructor of knowledge
• 9 Conclusions: it is time to radically re-think our education systems
• Index