Pedagogical Approaches to Developing Student Teachers' Reflexive Practice for Inclusion

Author(s):

Órla Ní Bhroin(presenting / submitting)

Conference:

ECER 2016

Network:

10. Teacher Education Research

Format:

Paper

Session Information

10 SES 05 A, Preparing Teachers to Teach in Diverse Classrooms

Paper Session

Time:

2016-08-24

13:30-15:00

Room:

NM-G107

Chair:

Ingrid Helleve

Contribution

The purpose of the study was to explore the use of reflexive practice as a pedagogical approach in the education of student teachers and to explore any changes or developments in their understanding of special educational needs (SEN), disability and inclusion and of their role as teachers for inclusion, in order to inform the development of a special and inclusive education (SIE) specialism in an initial teacher education (ITE) programme.

Research Questions:

Why have the student teachers chosen the SIE specialism and what do they hope to gain from it?
What understanding of and attitudes to SEN do they bring with them to the specialism?
What changes or developments, if any, occur in the student teachers’ understanding of SEN, disability and inclusion and of their role as prospective teachers for inclusion over the course of their engagement with this specialism?
Do the reflexive practices of student teachers contribute to their understanding of SEN, disability and inclusion and of their role as prospective teachers for inclusion?
How is the pedagogy of the specialism designed to enable development of student teachers’ reflexive practice?

Internationally, there is a policy commitment to the inclusion of children with SEN in mainstream schools. In Ireland, the EPSEN Act (Government of Ireland, 2004) mandates the creation of inclusive learning environments and enshrines in law the right of all students to attend mainstream schools. Teachers and schools are increasingly involved in creating and sustaining inclusive learning environments. Equipping teachers to undertake these challenges, to be inclusive teachers, has had implications for teacher preparation across the continuum. Regarding teacher preparation, a decision made by Minister for Education to extend the length of all ITE programmes (DES, 2010) led to the restructuring of the BEd programme from a three-year to a four-year fulltime programme. Additionally, ITE programmes were required to align with criteria set out by the Teaching Council. These developments presented an opportunity to staff of the Special Education Department of one College of Education to develop and deliver core, integrated and specialist components of special and inclusive education as part of the BEd programme and a major specialism in SIE was developed. This context provided the rationale for research investigating the pedagogical approaches to developing student teachers' reflexive practices for inclusion.

The study was set within the theoretical framework of critical social constructivism. Constructivist approaches were a pedagogical feature of the SIE modules undertaken by course participants, recognising the transformative potential of constructing understandings. The critical stance of this framework was integral to the questioning of assumptions, self-monitoring and continuous reflection towards deeper understandings underpinning the pedagogical experiences of teaching and learning which contributed to methods of data generation for the study.

Literature forming the backdrop for the study was conceptually organised to review attitudinal research, research on the impact of the special school practicum and research on impact of course work combined with field experience. Attitudinal research indicates that the period of pre-service education represents an ideal time for altering negative attitudes and addressing concerns that student teachers may have in relaiton to inclusive education (Jordan et al., 2009; O'Toole & Burke, 2013; Sharma et al., 2006). Research on special school practicum indicates that this has value for pre-service teachers provided that it incorporates supervised opportunity to practise teaching with support in planning and reflection, and feedback on pedagogy (Lambe & Bones, 2006; Walton & Rusznyak, 2013). Regarding impact of course work combined with field experience, research indicates the critical importance of structure of course programme and placement with instructional and reflection opportunities (Bentley-Williams & Morgan, 2013; Peebles & Mendaglio, 2014; Swain et al., 2012).

Method

Study design was qualitative, within an interpretative tradition, with data being obtained from three data collection sources: post-its, reflective writing (3 extracts per participant completed near the beginning, at the middle and end of the two taught modules) and student contributions to a blog. Participants Participants were 25 BEd 2 student teachers undertaking the SIE specialism. This specialism has six modules taught over three years, with three modules in year two of the BEd programme. For research purposes, the study focused on student teachers’ experiences of the first two modules in year two of the BEd programme and of a ten-week school placement at the start of year three of the BEd programme. Procedure At the outset of first session, students were invited to complete post-its indicating their reasons for choosing the specialism, what they hoped to gain from it and the understanding of and attitudes to SEN that they considered they brought to the specialism. Reflective writing was employed in the study as a means for students to explore concepts of SEN, disability and inclusion, to consider implications for learning, to examine teaching practices for students with SEN in the context of teaching practices for all students and to reflect on their own understanding and learning. In each of the reflections, students were encouraged to select an aspect, event, element of the programme that was of particular interest to them at that point in time, to briefly describe, analyse, and reflect on that aspect, to consider their response to that aspect, to question assumptions, to analyse from a number of perspectives using practical and personal experience and course material, to think of alternative approaches, and to consider how their reflection might transform teaching practices. The final reflection required students to consider any changes and developments in their knowledge, skills, understanding, attitudes and practices regarding teaching and learning for pupils with SEN, and to reflect on insights about themselves as prospective teachers, over the course of the taught modules. The blog for student contributions was designed to encourage the students to engage in and critique collaborative practices for inclusion during the school placement. Data Analysis Content analysis involved a combination of deductive and inductive coding of data to determine initial and changing perspectives about SEN, prospective practices, pedagogical approaches and types of changes affecting the participants, and connections with personal and educational experiences.

Expected Outcomes

Descriptive findings indicate that students chose the SIE specialism because of their experience of the SIE core module in BEd Year 1 and an interest in working with children with SEN. At the outset, they have high expectations for learning more about SEN and acquiring knowledge of how to teach children with SEN but are apprehensive about visits to special schools. Changes identified by student teachers in their understanding of SEN, disability and inclusion and of their role as prospective teachers for inclusion relate to increased confidence, increased knowledge of use of resources, increased understanding of teaching to address diversity, changes to communication and interaction skills, increased understanding of SEN, increased awareness of infrastructures in and purpose of special school setting and an awareness of the importance of planning, teaching and learning based on individual needs of the children. While initially concerned with specific strategies for individual children, analysis of blog contributions indicated that student teachers increasingly located their teaching of children with SEN within the context of inclusive education relating this to teaching for inclusion. Regarding pedagogical approaches and student teachers' reflexive practices for inclusion, four key themes emerged across all data sets as follows: appreciation of the learner; authentic teaching and learning experiences; complexities of inclusive education; and, collaboration for inclusion.

References

Bentley-Williams, R., & Morgan, J. (2013). Inclusive education: pre-service teachers' reflexive learning on diversity and their challenging role. Asia-Pacific Journal of Teacher Education, 41(2), 173-185. Department of Education and Skills. (2010). Better literacy and numeracy for children and young people. Dublin: Government of Ireland. Government of Ireland. (2004). Education for persons with special educational needs act. Dublin: The Stationary Office. Jordan, A., Schwartz, E., & McGhie-Richmond, D. (2009). Preparing teachers for inclusive classrooms. Teaching and Teacher Education, 25, 535-542. Lambe, J., & Bones, R. (2006). Student teachers' perceptions about inclusive classroom teaching in Northern Ireland prior to teaching practice experience. European Journal of Special Needs Education, 21(2), 167-186. O,Toole, C., & Burke, N. (2013). Ready, willing and able? Attitudes and concerns in relation to inclusion amongst a cohort of Irish pre-service teachers. European Journal of Special Needs Education, 28(3), 239-253. Peebles, J.L., & Mendaglio, S. (2014). The impact of direct experience on preservice teachers' self-efficacy for teaching in inclusive classrooms. International Journal of Inclusive Education, 18(2), 1321-1336. Sharma, U., Forlin, C., Loreman, T., & Earle, C. (2006). Preservice teachers' attitudes, concerns and sentiments about inclusive education. International Journal of Special Education, 21, 80-93. Swain, K.D., Nordness, P.D., & Leader-Janssen, E.M. (2012). Changes in preservice teachers' attitudes towards inclusion. Preventing School Failure, 56(2), 75-81. Walton, E., & Rusznyak, L. (2014). Affordances and limitations of a special school practicum as a means to prepare pre-service teachers for inclusive education. International Journal of Inclusive Education, 18(9), 957-974.

Author Information

Órla Ní Bhroin (presenting / submitting)

St Patrick's College, Dublin City University, Ireland

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