Session Information
04 SES 01 A, Construction of Differences
Paper Session
Contribution
The topic of inclusion is often associated with the idea of teaching children with special educational needs and those without together. The international educational discourse goes far beyond the differentiation line of disabled and non-disabled when talking about inclusive education (cf. Ainscow, 2008) when conceptualizing it as “a reform that supports and welcomes diversity among all learners” (Ainscow, 2008, p. 241). So far little is known about the conceptions and process of generating differences in class and/or teaching practice. To understand more about these concepts in teaching practice is an important factor in order to sound options for an inclusive idea of schooling. Knowing about the concepts opens the possibility of reflecting them in both teacher training and in-service training. In order to gain more knowledge, the questions are raised: How do teachers construct differences among students? and How do these constructs interrelate to their understanding of teaching?.
The theoretical framework is characterized by the understanding of differences and the concept of practice. They are combined in the project. Differences are understood as constructed in interactional processes, characterizing a relation between at least two compared aspects. Furthermore they are being connected to the meaning of a certain field and/or milieu (cf. Prengel, 2009; Wenning, 2007). Therefore differences are understood as socially constructed and (re)produced in interactions. In order to identify differences it needs a common aspect along which things can be compared. Aspects need something in common otherwise it is not possible to characterize them as different or as similar. Considering children and youth as students makes them comparable to one another. Usually the attribute student is connected to expectations in curriculum and behavior within the field of school (cf. Wenning, 1999). The result of comparing describes a relation between the contrasted aspects or attributes.
The second aspect of the theoretical framework is Pierre Bourdieu’s (2009) theory of practice. The French sociologist conceptualizes practical knowledge in the concept of habitués (cf. Bourdieu, 1987, p. 97 ff.). The habitué is like a pattern with which people are seeing the world and are organizing their action or practice. The pattern guides in a way that it opens a variety of actions in form of orientation, while it is not leading to a certain way of acting. In the very early life the habitué starts to develop and it keeps differentiating. Mainly it is constituted within the frame of social, cultural and economic capital that one is funded with by his/her family background. People are sharing habitués when referring to similar experiences, such as growing up in the same generation or sharing gender. Second habitués are developed when entering a profession, such as the teaching profession. People share same experiences and hence their approach of the world is similar, although not identical.
Method
Expected Outcomes
References
Ainscow, Mel (2008). Teaching for diversity. The Next Big Challange. In F. Michael Connelly, Ming Fang He & JoAnn Phillion (Eds.), The Sage Handbook of Curriculum and Instruction (1. ed., pp. 240-258). Los Angeles, London, New Delhi, Singapore: SAGE Publications. Bohnsack, Ralf (2002). The Documentary Method. Exemplified by the Interpretation of Group Discussions. http://csn.uni-muenster.de/women-eu/download/BohnsackCP02_02.pdf Bourdieu, Pierre (1987). Sozialer Sinn. Kritik der theoretischen Vernunft (Günter Seib, Trans. 1. ed.). Frankfurt am Main: Suhrkamp. Bourdieu, Pierre (2009). Entwurf einer Theorie der Praxis (Cordula Pialoux & Bernd Schwibs, Trans. 2. ed.). Frankfurt am Main: Suhrkamp Verlag. Prengel, Annedore (2009). Zur Dialektik von Gleichheit und Differenz in der Bildung. Impulse der Integrationspädagogik. In Hans Eberwein & Sabine Knauer (Eds.), Handbuch Integrationspädagogik. Kinder mit und ohne Beeinträchtigung lernen gemeinsam (7. durchgesehene und neu ausgestattete ed., pp. 140-147). Weinheim, Basel: Beltz Verlag. Wenning, Norbert (1999). Vereinheitlichung und Differenzierung. Zu den "wirklichen" gesellschaftlichen Funktionen des Bildungswesens im Umgang mit Gleichheit und Verschiedenheit. Opladen: Leske und Budrich. Wenning, Norbert (2007). Heterogenität als Dilemma für Bildungseinrichtungen. In Sebastian Boller, Elke Rosowski & Thea Stroot (Eds.), Heterogenität in Schule und Unterricht. Handlungsansätze zum pädagogischen Umgang mit Vielfalt (1 ed., pp. 21-31). Weinheim, Basel: Beltz Verlag.
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