Barriers to the Inclusion of Pupils with Behavioural Difficulties in Compulsory Secondary Education. Case Study

Author(s):

Dolors Forteza(presenting / submitting)Francisca Moreno(presenting)

Conference:

ECER 2014

Network:

04. Inclusive Education

Format:

Paper

Session Information

04 SES 01 B, Diagnosis and Labelling: Implications for Children, Their Identities and Their Education

Paper Session

Time:

2014-09-02

13:15-14:45

Room:

B014 Anfiteatro

Chair:

Liz Todd

Contribution

The purpose of this study is to investigate the barriers that obstruct the inclusion of pupils, specifically those with behavioural difficulties, in compulsory secondary education. In Spain, there are special programmes and measures in place to respond to the needs of students who have difficulty in following the ordinary curriculum, students who are in danger of abandoning secondary education without basic studies. Since the nineties, these measures have proliferated, with regulatory back-up, and are aimed at minimising the disadvantages suffered by these students which make them more vulnerable to exclusion.

Students with behavioural difficulties make up a particularly fragile group. They are students with a history of failure typified by repetition of a school year, unjustified absenteeism, generally falling behind in their learning, inappropriate conduct and an attitude of rejection towards education, amongst others.

Inclusive education, promoted with added impetus over the last decade to respond to the right of all students to participate and learn, reinforces the need to review educational practices and detect the barriers that prevent certain students from having a satisfactory educational experience, increasingly separating them from regular education. Therefore it is important to provide proof of the exclusion processes that occur over their time in education in order to be able to bring about change in classroom and organisational practices.

The study is presented within the framework of the “Inclusive schooling and diversity” research group at the University of the Balearic Islands. We investigate the experiences of students with behavioural difficulties during their school life with two aims – to get inside knowledge about the special intervention programmes and analyse the attitudes of both the students and their teachers.

The theoretical framework for the research is based on studies on inclusion, understood in its widest sense, and fostered by the Salamanca Statement (UNESCO, 1994) which was followed by UNESCO studies (2001, 2009) which were concerned with achieving equal education of quality for all. Furthermore, contributions from Ainscow (1999, 2005), Ainscow and West (2006), Ainscow, Booth and Dyson (2006), Booth and Ainscow (2002), Echeita (2006), Parrilla (2007) and Escudero and Martínez (2011) are some of the reference points that guide analysis of the data collected. It is an analysis that is centred on the barriers that may limit attendance, participation and success in learning for students with behavioural difficulties.

Therefore we commenced this study on the basis of two special measures in two secondary schools from a qualitative methodology point of view. The results of the research provide sufficient proof to confirm that the existence of special programmes obstructs these students’ progress and increases their vulnerability.

Method

Taking into account the nature of the research subject, we chose a qualitative, or interpretative, methodology based on case studies (Stake, 2006; Yin 2003). The tools used to gather information were, on the one hand, semi-structured interviews and, on the other, non-participatory observation in the classroom. Document analysis in the two schools taking part complemented the data triangulation process, ensuring rigour and credibility of the research. The analytical process was based on the basic premises of inclusive education. Information was gathered over two school years from a group of students in a socio-educational intervention programme (PISE) made up of 14 male students between 15 and 19 years of age. Out of these 14 students starting the programme, only half completed it. The programme is attached to a Secondary School and located in a marina in Mallorca where basic training is given as well as a professional initiation workshop on boat maintenance. The second group, on an educational intervention programme (PIE) was made up of 12 students at the start of the year but 4 left due to long-term expulsion and one joined an ordinary class at the request of the family. The remaining 7 students (6 male and one female) were between 14 and 16 years of age. The programme comes under another school, near to the other one, in which students are offered a curriculum in more globalised disciplines along with professional workshops.

Expected Outcomes

The evidence in this study reveals that students with behavioural difficulties become trapped in failure at secondary school, although their previous history, which was less than satisfactory, predicts this failure which increases during this educational phase. Students begin to receive support in the regular classroom that is out of context with the experience of their classmates. Behavioural problems are magnified and schools do not look for preventative strategies but, instead, use punishment strategies (expulsion, warnings, etc). When the problems are aggravated they are re-routed to a special programme (PIE) so that they can acquire some basic skills which, in the end, they do not manage to achieve. The students’ failure, which is understood to be such by teachers, means that they are re-directed to another special measure (PISE) which does not achieve the aim that they can return to ordinary schooling either. In summary, we can show that the special programmes or measures for students with behavioural difficulties do not improve their situation. In the background we find an organisational and curricular system that excludes them and stagnates any chance they may have of success. The system takes them out of the regular classroom without having analysed the variables of the context that may be making their learning difficult. The special programmes are, amongst other things, a barrier to inclusion as they impair the chances for these students to participate fully in regular education, and they also inhibit the necessary reflection by teachers on their own practices.

References

Ainscow, M. (1999). Understanding the Development of Inclusive Schools. London: Falmer Press. Ainscow, M. (2001). Desarrollo de escuelas inclusivas. Ideas, propuestas y experiencias para mejorar las instituciones escolares. Madrid: Narcea. Ainscow, M. (2005). Developing inclusive education systems: what are the levers for change? Journal of Educational Change, 6(2), 109-124. Ainscow, M. & West, M. (2006). Inproving Urban Schools. Leadership and Collaboration. Berkshire: Open University Press. Ainscow, M., Booth, T. & Dyson, A. (2006). Improving Schools, Developing Inclusion. London: Routledge. Booth, T. & Ainscow, M. (2002). The Index for Inclusion (2nd Ed.). Bristol: Centre for Studies on Inclusive Education. Echeita, G. (2007). Hacer visibles los procesos de exclusión educativa. VII Jornadas técnicas de AAPS, Barcelona, enero. Recuperado de www.uam.es/personal_pdi/stmaria/sarrio.pdf Echeita, G. y Domínguez, A.B. (2011). Educación inclusiva. Argumento, caminos y encrucijadas. AULA. Revista Pedagógica de la Universidad de Salamanca, 17, 23-35. Parrilla, Á. (2007). El desarrollo local e institucional de proyectos educativos inclusivos. Perspectiva CEP (Monográfico “Escuela Inclusiva”), 14, 17-31. Stake, R.E. (2006). Multiple Case Study Analysis. New York: Guilford Press. Topping, K. & Maloney, S. (Eds.), Inclusive Education. London: Routledge Falmer. UNESCO (1994). The Salamanca Statement and Framework for Action on Special Needs Education. Paris: UNESCO. UNESCO (2001). The Open File on Inclusive Education. Paris: UNESCO. UNESCO (2009). Directrices sobre Políticas de Inclusión en la Educación. París: UNESCO. Yin, R. (2003). Case Study Research. Desing and Methods. London: Sage Publications.

Author Information

Dolors Forteza (presenting / submitting)

University of Balearic Islands, Spain

Palma de Mallorca

Francisca Moreno (presenting)

University of Balearic Islands

Applied Pedagogy and Educational Psychology