Teacher And Student Voices: A Comparison Of Two Perspectives For Studying Inclusion Processes In Italy

Author(s):

Dario Ianes(presenting / submitting)Heidrun Demo

Conference:

ECER 2014

Network:

04. Inclusive Education

Format:

Paper

Session Information

04 SES 07 C, Student Attitudes towards Inclusion

Paper Session

Time:

2014-09-03

17:15-18:45

Room:

B026 Anfiteatro

Chair:

Kiki Messiou

Contribution

The main research aim of this study is to investigate possible discrepancies between data about relevant inclusive processes collected through questionnaires completed by teachers and others completed by their pupils.

The interest for this issue arises from two relevant aspects in inclusive education research. The first one refers to the Italian context and its need to develop deeper and more reliable research outcomes about school inclusion. The second one refers both to the national and to the European context and it is the importance of giving voice to the protagonists of educational processes in in the processes of analysis and development of educational research.

School inclusion has in Italy a history lasting by now on forty years, but only in very recent times research data about its quality have been produced. Some studies have investigated general structural aspects of the school system and its inclusive politics, quantitative data often produced by school heads or by administrative staff have been collected (Gherardini and Nocera, 2000; INVALSI, 2006; ISTAT, 2012, 2013, 2014). Some other studies are focused on teachers’ perspective and collected descriptive data, their opinions and attitudes (Balboni and Pedrabissi, 2002; Medeghini, et al., 2009; Reversi et al., 2007; TreLLLe, Caritas e Fondazione Agnelli, 2011) and many of our studies rank in this research trend (Ianes, Demo and Zambotti, 2010; Canevaro, D’Alonzo, Ianes and Caldin, 2011; Ianes and Demo, 2013; Ianes, Demo and Zambotti, 2013). Other research projects administered questionnaires to relatives of students with disability (Canevaro, D’Alonzo and Ianes, 2009; D’Alonzo, 2002; Dettori, 2011) or investigated everyday school life with an ethnographical apporach (D’Alessio, 2011). Although the student voice approach in educational research highlights the role to students’ opinions and perspectives in studying educational questions (Levin, 1994; Atweh and Burton, 1995; Booth and Ainscow, 2001), in Italy only a few research projects have taken into account the pupils’ point of view. The few existing data that took into account students’ perceptions and opinions (with or without SEN) (Ianes and Adami, 2011; Ianes, Zambotti and Demo, 2013) show evidence of significant discrepancies between what teachers report and what their students with and without SEN report. In both studies the teachers’ results are significantly more positive and describe situations in a more ideal way, thereby breeding doubts about their reliability. These results convinced us both of the need of listening to the student voice and of the importance of studying possible discrepancies between teachers’ and students’ perspectives. Triangulating data collected through teachers’ and pupil’s point of view with data emerged though direct observation in their classrooms could also offer some new information about the reliability of the two points of view.

Method

Investigating the hypothesis of a relevant discrepancy between the information provided by teachers and by students about inclusive education processes is the main issue of this study. Data collected through direct observation will complete the comparison. Possible positive bias in teachers’ point of view will be described. It is undeniable that if the hypothesis were confirmed, we should critically have to reconsider the results emerged from research based on data collected through self-report questionnaires administered to teachers and to highlight the importance of describing inclusive education phenomena taking into account both teacher and student voice. A voluntary-based sample of 10 primary school classes and 10 secondary school classes including at least one student with a certified disability will take part to the study. Each class will be treated as a case and for each case all teachers and all students (except those with disability) will be asked to complete a questionnaire. The closed question questionnaire, in two different versions for teachers and pupils, will focus on the following relevant topics for studying school inclusion: 1. Didactics methodologies used in the classroom 2. Push/pull out phenomena 3. Learning and social participation results reached by the classroom and by the student with disability 4. Level of socialization of the student with disability in formal and informal situations at school and in other extra-school contexts. The questionnaires will be administered by one class teacher in touch with the research staff. The collected data will be analyzed through bi-varied analyses that will test the association between the typology of the respondent (teacher or student) and the answers provided. The hypothesis of a discrepancy between the teachers’ answers and the students’ ones will be considered demonstrated if the association is statistically significant. In three primary school classes direct structured observation will be carried out for one week, observing: 1. didactics methodologies used in the classroom 2. push/pull out phenomena After this week teachers and students will be asked to fill in the questionnaires. The data collected through observation will be compared with the two groups of data collected through questionnaires to highlight significant associations and differences.

Expected Outcomes

The expected results concern the hypothesis that the data reported by the teachers are significantly different from the ones reported by both the students and the observation. The pilot study on three class-cases will be able to provide some preliminary clues about the different degree of discrepancy of the data reported by the teachers, the ones reported by the students and the ones collected through direct observation. The outcome for the studies on school inclusion could be twofold: 1. calling for more data based on student voice, that can highlight interesting information in their being different from the teachers’ ones; 2. questioning the results of research based on teachers’ self-reported data.

References

Gherardini P. e Nocera S. (200) L'integrazione scolastica delle persone Down. Trento, Erickson INVALSI (2006) rapporto finale relativo al questionario sull'integrazione scolastica degli alunni con disabilità. http://www.invalsi.it ISTAT (2012, 2013, 2014) Indagine sugli alunni con disabilità nella scuola primaria e secondaria di primo grado. http://www. istat.it Balboni G e Pedrabissi L. (2002) Attitudes of Italian teachers and parents toward school inclusion of students with mental retardation Education and Training in Mental Retardation and developmental Disabilities, 35: 148-159 Medeghini R. et al. (2009) L'inclusione scolastica. processi e strumenti di autoanalisi per la qualità inclusiva. Brescia, Vannini Reversi S. et al. (2007) The quality of disabled students' school integration. School psychology International, 28: 403-418 Trellle, Caritas e Fondazione Agnelli (2011) Gli alunni con disabilità nella scuola italiana: bilancio e proposte, Trento, Erickson Ianes D., Demo H. e Zambotti F. Gli insegnanti e l'integrazione, Trento, Erickson Canevaro A., D'Alonzo L. Ianes D. e Caldin R. (2011) L'integrazione scolastica nella percezione degli insegnanti, trento, Erickson Ianes D. e Demo H. (2013) What can be learned from the italian experience? methods for improving inclusion. La Nouvelle Revue de L'Adaptation e de la Scolarization, 61, Avril Ianes D., Demo H. e Zambotti F. (2013) Integration in italian schools: Teachers' perceptions regarding day-today practice and its effectiveness. International Journal of Inclusive Education, DOI: 10.1080/13603116.2013.802030 Canevaro A., D'Alonzo L. e Ianes D. (2009) L'integrazione scolastica degli alunni con disabilità dal 1977 al 2007, Bolzano, Bolzano University Press D'Alonzo L. (2002) Un'indagine sui bisogni delle famiglie con un figlio disabile integrato a scuola. in: D'Alonzo L. (a cura di) Integrazione e gestione della classe, Brescia, la Scuola Dettori G. F: (2011) L'integrazione scolastica degli allievi con ritardo mentale: il punto di vista dei genitori. in MINORI E GIUSTIZIA, 5: 145-159 D'Alessio S. (2011) Inclusive Education in Italy. A critical Analysis of the policy of integrazione scolastica, Rotterdam, Sense Publisher Levin B. (1994) educational Reform and the treatment of students in schools. Journal of educational Thought, 28: 1:88-101 Atweh B. e Burton L. (1995) Students as researchers: rationale and critique. British Educational research Journal, 21/5:561-575 Booth T. e Ainscow M. (2001) Index for Inclusion, Bristol, CSIE Ianes D. e Adami L. (2011) L'integrazione scolastica degli alunni con BES: la parola ai protagonisti e ai compagni. Research paper not published Ianes D., Zambotti F. e Demo H. (2013) la qualità dell'inclusione degli alunni con BES. Trento, PAT

Author Information

Dario Ianes (presenting / submitting)

Free University of Bolzano, Italy

Heidrun Demo