Session Information
Contribution
The issue of inclusive education continues to dominate much of the international policy agenda and excite considerable debate between academics, professionals, parents and other stakeholdres. However, while inclusive educational policies continue to generate intense debate, there is comparatively little systematic research on its many facets. One important facet of the inclusion question is children's -especially those who have been the most difficult to be included- own perspectives on their educational experiences. By attempting to ascertain their views, we are not only ensuring their voices are heard, but also that their insights and experiences inform decision-making and potentially contribute to improvements in the field. In light of the above, this study was designed to elicit primary education students' with behavioural problems views about their schooling as well as their educational experiences. The main areas to be investigated were students' views about: (a) their school attendance, (b) the curriculum and the way is taught, (c) teachers' personal and professional skills and qualities, (d) the behavior they are engaged in, and (e) teachers' management responses to their misbehaviour.The sample of the study consisted of forty (40) Greek primary school students from fifth and sixth grades who have been identified by their classroom teachers as displaying behavioural problems. The vast majority of the students were also placed for 4-6 hours per week in resource settings for additional educational support. Data was collected by conducting individual semi-structured interviews that were constructed by the researchers for the purposes of this study. Interviews were used because they had proved effective in a number of previous studies designed to elicit students' views and experiences. The actual interview used drew extensively from the work of Cooper (1993), DePear (1995), Garner (1995), and Westling Allodi (2002), and consisted of twenty questions in total. Each interview was tape recorded and lasted approximately 30 minutes. The analysis of the data are currently under process and involves the verbatim transcription of the interview protocols for each participant student and the development of a category system for the responses. To develop a category system for the responses, all the transcribed interviews are content analysed in terms of emergent categories and themes on the one hand, and the research questions on the other. Additionally, ten transcripts are coded by a second person/researcher to enhance credibility of coding while agreement between the two researchers coding follows manual calculations of percentage of agreement as to the presence of the coded theme. Throughout this process there is also an exhaustive search for unique data.The preliminary results of the study indicate that students do have distinct views about schooling, as it is and as they would like to be, and they are able to provide a rich account of the "sources" that may contribute to the development, perpetuation and or elimination of their misbehaviour. In particular, students perceive school attendance as contributing not only to their academic but also to their social development. They view learning as being evolved not only around specific subject knowledge but also around social expectancies and behaviour. Curriculum is viewed as quite restricted and restrictive both in its content and delivery while many students suggest its expansion by incorporating extra curricular activities as well as support provision for particular group of students who experience difficulties in both the academic and social domains. Teachers' personal qualities and professional skills are considered to be closely related to their learning and behaviour in the classroom while successfull teachers are considered to be those who understand their behavioural difficulties and also support them to improve their academic performance. The results of the study provide a conceptual and practical framework for contextualizing students behaviour and behavioural problems in the classroom and are discussed in terms of their implications for promoting more inclusive policy-practices.1. Cooper, P. (1993) Learning from pupils' perspectives, British Journal of Special Education, 20, 4, 129-133. 2. Davies, J. D. (1996) Pupils' views on special educational needs practice, Support for Learning, 11, 4, 157-161. 3. De Pear, S. (1995) Perceptions of exclusion by pupils with special needs, In: M. Lloyd-Smith & J. Davies (Eds), On The Margins, London: Trentham Books. 4. Garner, P. (1995) Schools by scoundrels: the views of 'disruptive' pupils in mainstream schools in England and the United States, In: M. Lloyd-Smith & J. Davies (Eds), On The Margins, London: Trentham Books. 5. Howe, T. (1995) Former pupils' reflections on residential special provision, In: M. Lloyd-Smith & J. Davies (Eds), On The Margins, London: Trentham Books. 6. Jones, K. & Charlton, T. (1996) Overcoming Learning And Behaviour Difficulties, London: Routledge.7. Osler, A., Watling, R., Busher, H., Cole, T. & White, A. (2000) Reasons For Exclusion from School, Research Report RR244, London: Department for Education and Employment.8. Schnelling, K. & Dew-Hughes, D. (2002) A solution to exclusion, Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties, 7, 4, 229-240. 9. Slee, R., Weiner, G. & Tomlinson, S. (1998) School Effectiveness For Whom? London: Falmer Press.10. Visser, J. & Stokes, S. (2003) Is education ready for the inclusion of pupils with emotional and behavioural difficulties: a rights perspective?, Educational Review, 55, 1, 65-75. 11. Vlachou, A. (2004) Education and inclusive policy-making: implications for research and practice, Inclusive Education, 8, 1, 3-21.12. Vulliamy, G. & Webb, R. (2003) Reducing school exclusions: an evaluation of a multi-site development project, Oxford Review of Education, 29, 1, 33-49. 13. Westling Allodi, M. (2002) Children's experiences of school: narratives of Swedish children with and without learning difficulties, Scandinavian Journal of Educational Research, 46, 2, 181-205. European Journal
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