Developing Inclusive Teacher Education

Tony Booth, Kari Nes, Marit Strømstad

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2003
• eBook ISBN: 9781134412754
• Topic: Education
• Subtopic: Education General

Inclusion concerns the overcoming of barriers to learning and participation for all, regardless of ability or disability, and is now a central tenet of basic education policy globally. Increasingly, teachers need to be able to implement inclusion into their daily practice. This book stems from its contributors' shared attitude towards education based on the values of equity, entitlement, community, participation and diversity, and examines the ways in which teachers are prepared for inclusion in teacher education institutions as much as schools. Using examples of practice from schools and teaching institutions across the UK, Norway, New Zealand and the USA, the contributors use a valuable comparative approach to explore crucial questions, such as: * How are ideas and practices of inclusive schools reflected in the curriculum of teacher education? * What tools do teachers need to implement inclusion? * What are the policy and cultural contexts for the development of inclusion? * How are the barriers to learning and participation overcome in teacher education itself? This book provides an insightful analysis of whether inclusion is an achievable aim for the 21st century. Its international array of experienced contributors have put together a text that offers a distinct pedagogical focus, which makes it a key reference tool for academics, students and researchers everywhere.

Chapter 1
Developing inclusive teacher education?
Introduction

Tony Booth, Kari Nes and Marit Strømstad

Introduction

This book arose out of a meeting of the International Research Colloquium on Inclusive Education in Norway in 2000, involving people from five countries: England, New Zealand, Norway, Scotland and USA. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss the implications of inclusion for teacher education. The participants at that meeting produced draft papers, which following detailed critical discussion were developed as the chapters for this book (Nes et al. 2002). Previous meetings of the group produced a series of publications looking at a variety of other aspects of inclusion and exclusion in education (Allan 2003; Ballard 1999; Booth and Ainscow 1998; Clark et al. 1995). These previous books were focused, largely, on the activities of schools. It seemed that if we wished to examine the possiblities for the inclusive development of schools we should look more deeply at the possibilities for developing inclusion within and from our own institutions. The development of inclusion in schools depends in part on the way teachers are prepared for their work by teacher educators.

A view of inclusion

Inclusion, as an idea, is a feature of the documents regulating curricula and education systems of many countries, though the meaning that it is given differs from country to country and within different elements of the education systems. On our view, inclusion is about consciously putting into action values based on equity, entitlement, community, participation and respect for diversity. Increasing inclusion is always linked with reducing exclusion. It is concerned with the reduction of inequality, both economic and social, both in starting positions and in opportunities. While commonly inclusion is identified with a concern with disabled students or those categorised as having special educational needs, for us it is about reducing barriers to learning and participation for all learners. It is about reducing discrimination on the basis of gender, class, disability, sexual orientation, ethnicity and family background. If we focus on only one aspect of the identity of learners we cannot include them in education as whole people.

Inclusion does not just involve a focus on the barriers experienced by learners but is about the development of the detail of the cultures, policies and practices in education systems and educational institutions so that they are responsive to the diversity of learners and value them equally. It is about curricula and ways of organising learning. It is concerned with developing schools for both staff and students, with emphasising the conditions for learning as well as the outcomes of learning, and for reintegrating special needs education into mainstream education thinking. It views participation as involving active learner involvement and collaboration and acceptance of each student for himself or herself. This is a transformative view of inclusion. It is to be contrasted with an assimilationist or ‘melting pot’ view in which learners, irrespective of their backgrounds, interests, identities, gender, attainments or disabilities are meant to fit into a monocultural education system, with fixed curricula and approaches to teaching and learning.

Inclusion is about the prevention of barriers to learning and participation for all children, young people and adults. As part of this process, diversity is assumed, welcomed and viewed as a rich resource rather than seen as a problem. Given the variety and prevalence of exclusionary pressures within society, inclusion has to be seen as a process towards an unattainable goal. An inclusive school is one that is on the move rather than at a destination. Inclusion is about taking real practical steps rather than being caught in the glare of high ideals. But having a view of the destination makes it possible to take a step in the right direction.

It has become common to link the purposes of education with personal and national economic performances, but education is always interlinked with wider social policy. Most broadly, inclusion is related to a fundamental aim of education as contributing to the development of sustainable ways of life in sustainable communities and environments. It is about schools and communities acting in a mutually supportive relationship. This involves the recognition that education is broader than schooling and that schools should support the education within communities rather be seen as its only source.

Inclusion involves the idea of schools supporting all learners within a locality. Within Northern Europe this is the idea of ‘the school for all’ or in England it might be seen as the comprehensive community school, though generally such a term is confined in that country to secondary schools. Many countries share a trend towards increasing competition between schools coupled with encouragement to parental choice which detaches schools from particular localities and redirects their social purpose. As illustrated within the chapters of this book, this has gone much further in some countries, such as New Zealand and England, than others. This ‘standards agenda’ with its associated ‘accountability culture’ is a major barrier to inclusive development.

The importance of teacher education for inclusion

So how do teacher educators respond to the challenge of inclusion? To what extent are teacher education institutions themselves developed in an inclusive way? What values, knowledge and skills do teachers need to possess to implement inclusion? What part does teacher training play in qualifying teachers to develop inclusion in schools? How can teacher educators support this process for teachers already working in schools? The authors of the chapters in this book attempt to throw light on these questions. They explore what inclusion means to them and others within and beyond their institutions. In the final chapter we draw together these differing ideas.

The book views teacher education broadly Just as education cannot be identified with schooling so teacher education is not only about what goes on in institutions. Teacher education institutions contribute to the broader educational experience of teachers. Most teacher education is informal and unplanned, as teachers learn through experience with and from colleagues, students and others, in settings that may be both literally and metaphorically far removed from lecture rooms or classrooms. Most formal teacher education too, is outside of the control of those paid to think of themselves as teacher educators, organised by teachers themselves as they inform each other about areas of practice that are of direct relevance within their particular communities. Learning is life-long, even for teachers, and that includes people who work within higher education as well as schools and pre-school settings.

Efforts to support inclusion in teacher education take place in a variety of ways. Institutions have developed new structures (departments, faculties etc.), new courses with changed curricula and new names, new ways of organising teaching and learning in order to remove barriers for certain groups of students. Higher education institutions also work directly with teachers and schools to support inclusive development. Experiences with these differing approaches are described in the book.

The ‘official’ structure and content of teacher education

We have gathered together some of the official basic information about the structure and content of teacher education in the five countries involved, to provide a context for the chapters that follow. At the end of this chapter is a list of internet sources for those who want to take a closer look. Readers should be aware that we are reporting here what is said in official documents. What actually happens in practice may be quite different and is documented and discussed throughout the book. We provide only a brief overview here.

We wanted to know about access to, and the duration of, undergraduate teacher education, where it takes place and the nature of in-service training. The extent of national or other guidelines for teacher education and what they say about inclusion is another issue of great relevance.

Although we have made it clear that our view of inclusion does not focus on children categorised as ‘in need of special education’ or special provision, we have included information about special teacher education in the various countries. The separation of the education system in general, and teacher education in particular, into mainstream and special strands has been a feature of all the countries included here although some no longer have special initial teacher education, expecting all teachers to qualify first as mainstream teachers.

The approach to such specialisation affects the way inclusion is viewed within schools and institutions of higher education. It has made it difficult to discuss and resolve certain important issues, such as the over-representation of boys or, in some areas of some countries, of ethnic minority students amongst those categorised as in need of special education. We argue that the notion of special needs education can involve a simplistic view of the origins of educational difficulties as arising within learners themselves, and can thereby deflect attention from barriers to learning and participation, arising from discriminatory practices, curricula, teaching approaches, school organisation and culture and from national and local policies. It implies a dichotomy between a homogeneous normality and special learners. While in many systems there is a recognition that inclusion is about more than the giving of special support to categorised learners, these realisations tend to be grafted on to a special education view in which learners who experience difficulties are expected to be assimilated within an unchanged mainstream. It is not part of our view to ignore the support that some students require to participate in the mainstream, but we think they are best served by also attempting to make schools responsive to all aspects of learner and teacher diversity.

The countries are presented in alphabetical order. Only those aspects that deviate from the first, England, are specifically described for each of the other nations.

England

Students generally qualify as teachers through one of three routes, a three-or four-year education degree for primary teachers, another degree followed usually by a one-year teacher qualification for primary or secondary teachers, or training on the job in schools in collaboration with a institution of higher education or local education authority. This last route is relatively rare. There are also some two-year conversion courses aimed at providing teachers in shortage subjects, who have studied a subject for a first degree other than the one they wish to teach. Applicants for a teacher education course all have to have reached a minimum standard in English and Maths and in Science for primary teachers. They are medically assessed for ‘fitness to teach’ and their criminal background is checked.

Before qualification all teachers have to pass additional tests in literacy, numeracy and ICT skills. New professional standards or ‘outcome statements’ came into force in September 2002 (DfES/TTA 2002). They are in addition to the detailed requirements of the national curriculum for schools, which is the key document for teacher education for both primary and secondary schools (DfEE QCA 1999). The number of hours devoted to any area of the teacher education curriculum is not centrally specified. However, the amount of school practice during the studies is centrally decided, for example 32 weeks in a four-year programme. The national standards with the accompanying Handbook for the Award of Qualified Teacher Status contain several formulations related to inclusion, including attitudes to social, ethnic or religious background, attainment, gender and disability. A couple of examples are given here and these are also examined in Chapter 3.

• Standard 1.1 They (teachers) have high expectations of all pupils; respect their social, cultural, linguistic, religious and ethnic backgrounds; and are committed to raising their educational achievement.’ The Handbook of Guidance says: ‘All children and young people are entitled to an education that develops their potential and widens their opportunities. Teachers are expected to have a professional commitment to raising the educational achievement of all their pupils, whatever their background or current level of attainment.…’ (p. 3)
• Standard 2.4 They understand how pupils’ learning can be affected by their physical, intellectual, linguistic, social, cultural and emotional development.’ The Handbook of Guidance says: ‘Trainees need to have sufficient understanding of some of these factors to take account of and respond to individual pupils’ needs, to plan lessons sensitively, and to teach in an inclusive way that recognises pupils have different motivations to learn and that pupils have different needs at different times.’ (p. 21)

An inclusion statement within the National Curriculum views inclusion as the creation of ‘learning environments…which respond to pupils’ diverse needs’… and ‘provide opportunities for all pupils to achieve, including boys and girls, pupils with special educational needs, pupils with disabilities, pupils from all social and cultural backgrounds, pupils of different ethnic groups including travellers, refugees and asylum seekers, and those from diverse linguistic backgrounds’. It requires all teachers to plan their teaching with due regard to three principles: ‘setting suitable learning challenges’, ‘respo...

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Acknowledgements
• Contributors
• Chapter 1: Developing inclusive teacher education? Introducing the book
• Chapter 2: Using teacher development to foster inclusive classroom practices
• Chapter 3: Views from the institution: overcoming barriers to inclusive teacher education?
• Chapter 4: The analysis of context: some thoughts on teacher education, culture, colonisation and inequality
• Chapter 5: ‘Sometimes I two-times think…’: competing interpretations of inclusion for language minority students
• Chapter 6: Qualifying teachers for the school for all
• Chapter 7: Creating structures for inclusive development in teacher education
• Chapter 8: Inclusion and exclusion in the university
• Chapter 9: Understanding disability and transforming schools
• Chapter 10: Developing inclusive teacher education: drawing the book together