The Changing Paradigm of Education in the Czech Republic: Inclusion Phenomenon and Its Conception of Primary School Pupils

Author(s):

Jakub Pivarč(presenting / submitting)

Conference:

ECER 2015

Network:

04. Inclusive Education

Format:

Poster

Session Information

04 SES 05.5 PS, General Poster Session

General Poster Session

Time:

2015-09-09

12:30-14:00

Room:

Poster Area

Chair:

Contribution

We have noted since the Velvet revolution (1989) the increasing interest of Czech government representatives in a systematic removal of barriers that hinder or even completely restrict the individuals with disability to be fully integrated into our society. The system of quality care provision to disabled individuals in the Czech Republic has changed in the last two decades in terms of quality and values. It is in line with the humanity principles and trends that stem, based on national religious traditions, from the Christian values of charity, love and selfless help to those who need it. The former Eastern block countries (particularly the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, Hungary, Bulgaria and Romania) follow other more developed European states in the tendency of inclusive education. The Czech education system, however, may still be recognised as segregational, separative, or selective. Educational needs of pupils with disability may remain saturated outside the mainstream education, i.e. at practical or special schools. The Czech Republic is facing a continuously increasing pressure of international and national institutions to reform its education system. Meanwhile, some formal legislative measures, strategies and options to implement inclusive education have been taken. Nowadays, the inclusion element into Czech education is developing gradually and is perceived more as a philosophical concept or trend, rather than a practical matter (Tannenbergerová, 2012).

The most significant barriers that prevent a successful advancement of inclusive education may be registered at a macrosocial level, i.e. national level (e.g. legislative framework for education, education policy conception and strategies); at a mezo-social level, i.e. of a particular school (e.g. organisational requirements, personal, material and financial provisions) and finally at a microsocial level, i.e. of a classroom (including psychosocial aspects and also the variables related to psychological and social factors that impact on relationships between the pupils without disability and those with disability).

Often an overlooked problematic aspect in research which significantly influences the process of inclusion are diagnostics of pupils conceptions (preconceptions) of their peers with disability. Within the Czech research context, there has been no research study to explicitly investigate a child's conception of inclusive education phenomenon. Clearly, incorrect notions, prejudices, lack of information and negative attitudes (referred to as misconceptions) of pupils towards their peers with disability may hinder integration, or inclusion (Nowicki, Sandieson, 2002; Sherman, Sherman, 2013). Based on literature research and parallel to the current situation in the field of inclusive pedagogy, we present findings of a qualitative study as part of this paper in relation to children's conceptions of inclusive education. This takes into account an analysis of notions, knowledge and attitudes of primary school pupils towards their peers with disability.

Children’s (pupils’) conceptions may often differ from the adult interpretational framework (including teachers, parents, and specialists). That is why the children’s conceptions are so important for teaching and research. They are a set of specific knowledge and notions which are based on the empirical or interpretational models of an individual. Structure content of knowledge in forms of thought clusters and notions create an idiosyncratic unique knowledge matrix that is accentuated by an individual’s emotional component. Children's conceptions of inclusive education were analysed in this study as multidimensional entities, because they are formed by a cognitive component (the level of understanding inclusion; pupils' opinions on inclusion; their understanding of the concept) and by an affective component (pupils' attitudes towards inclusion; inclusion importance; attitudes towards disabled pupils). The research question is formulated as follows: What understanding, opinions and attitudes do primary school pupils have of the inclusion phenomenon and pupils with disability?

Method

A character of this research requires qualitative methods. Research strategy is inspired by a multiple case study design which enables characterisation, analysis and a comparison of children's conceptions of inclusive education in regard to the variables observed. The qualitative inquiry was conducted in 2014 and the research sample included pupils without disability from three primary schools from a town in Central Bohemia. They were aged 10 - 15 years. The intention was to include pupils from mainstream primary schools of various ages, gender and personal, family and social history, because these factors may reflect and influence the variability of children's conceptions of inclusive education and disability. In total, 10 pupils participated in the study (4 boys and 6 girls). A method of phenomenographic interview, the approach to capture the complexity of pupils' understanding and notions of inclusive education, was used. As for the cognitive dimension of children's conceptions of disability, the Leventhal's model was employed (In Petrie, Weinman, 1997) which focused on the complexity of understanding disability. The model's concept provides five primary aspects of understanding disability: (1) signs and symptoms; (2) causes, reasons for disability; (3) time dimension of disability (i.e. when does it occur, how long does it last); (4) disability implications; (5) curability. Those five dimensions of Leventhal's model made a foundation for questions in the semistructred interview. The affective dimension of children's conceptions was explored via an analysis of labels. Three labels were presented to the pupils (a short 80-word text written on individual cards). Each label referred to a particular story of a school principal who was to decide on the inclusion of a disabled pupil to the mainstream primary school. The first label represented the principal's positive attitude (he/she accepts a disabled pupil with no objections), the second label depicted negative attitude (he/she declines to accept a disabled pupil) and in the last one, the attitude was indifferent (he/she cannot decide). The pupils were to relate themselves with one of the stories and to provide their own interpretation of their choice. The label analysis thus aimed at pupils to project their own opinion and attitude towards inclusion or segregation of disabled pupils. Interviews with pupils were performed on an individual basis in their school environment. The average length of the interview was 20 - 30 minutes. Ethical aspects of research were in compliance with the standards of the American Psychological Association.

Expected Outcomes

It is impossible to generalise the validity of research findings to the entire population of pupils without disability, however they may be evaluated in relation to the sample assessed. In line with Dyson (2005), our study demonstrated that the pupils' conceptions of disability evolve with age. Pupils' interpretational framework becomes more precise, differentiated and implies a more sophisticated understanding of disability with increasing age. The child's conception of disability impacts on his/her ability to cognitively process information from his/her environment, consequently, to integrate it into own knowledge system and utilise it. In correlation to children's conceptions this ability is conditioned by the ontogenetic development of intellect (thought process maturation). Particularly, older pupils (aged 15; 2 girls and 1 boy in this study) are able to manage inner representations in a more complex way than their younger peers (4 pupils in total). Inclusive education is unacceptable for most pupils who participated in the research (regardless of their age or gender). Even though the older pupils are aware of the problems faced by their peers with disability, they find it inconceivable to include disabled pupils into the mainstream classroom. Only two pupils (aged 11) out of ten responded to accept a disabled pupil into their classroom. Attitudes defending segregation are mainly caused by inadequate experiences with disabled peers, absence of disabled pupils during out-of-school activities or reluctance (even fear) to be in a group with someone who is disabled. Pupils are, however, aware of the barriers that limit inclusive education (such as organisational, technical and curricular). Interpretation of a pupil called Sára (aged 15) generally reflects the conceptions of other participants: Sára said: "Disabled children feel better at a special school, because they can have fun with similar children. I would not accept a disabled child into the primary school.”

References

American Psychological Association (2009). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association. Washington: American Psychological Association. Dyson, L. (2005). Kindergarten Children’s Understanding of and Attitudes toward People with Disabilities. Topics in Early Childhood Special Education, 25(2), 95-105. Leventhal, H., et al. (1997). Illness Representations: Theoretical Foundations. In K. Petrie, & J. Weinman, Perceptions of health and illness: current research and applications (pp. 19 - 45). Australia: Harwood Academic Publishers. Nowicki, E., & Sandieson, R. (2002). A Meta-Analysis of School-Age Children’s Attitudes towards Persons with Physical or Intellectual Disabilities. International Journal of Disability, Development and Education, 49(2), 243-265. Sherman, J., & Sherman, S. (2013). Preventing Mobility Barriers to Inclusion for People with Intellectual Disabilities. Journal of Policy and Practice in Intellectual Disabilities, 10(4), 271-276. Tannenbergerová, M. (2012). Inkluze ve škole a možnosti jejího sledování. In T. Janík (Ed.), Školní vzdělávání: podmínky, kurikulum, aktéři, procesy, výsledky (pp. 21 - 32). Brno: Masarykova univerzita.

Author Information

Jakub Pivarč (presenting / submitting)

Charles University in Prague

Primary Education Dept.

Prague

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