Critical Consideration of Participation in Three Different Educational Environments: (Preliminary) Results from a Research Project Focussing on Children with Disabilities
Author(s):
Margarita Schiemer (submitting) Michaela Kramann (presenting)
Michelle Proyer (presenting)
Conference:
ECER 2012
Network:
21. Emerging Researchers' Group (for presentation at Emerging Researchers' Conference)
Format:
Paper

Session Information

ERG SES B 01, Inclusive Education

Parallel Paper Session

Time:
2012-09-17
11:00-12:30
Room:
FCEE - Aula 2.1
Chair:

Contribution

The concept of participation, defined as “involvement in a life situation” in the ICF-CY (WHO, 2007; Simeonsson, Simeonsson et al. 2008), is a core theme in the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disability (UNRPCD) as well as a central issue of the human rights movement and its overall claim for equality in Europe and worldwide. Perceptions of participation receive special attention when the process of “being part of…” is associated with important societal processes like education, and even more inclusive education. Education for all is a political commitment that has been accepted as an important goal to be reached on a global level. Besides, defining participation as a core value in education, enhancement of participation has been regarded as a way to improve skill development of children with disabilites in different areas (Froude, McAleer, 2010, 119). Participation can therefore be regarded as an important concept in educational research.
Especially when looking at culturally diverse settings it is essential to clarify whether there is a global understanding and interpretation of participation as a term and in how far this understanding is being shared at different levels of stakeholders. The focus of the research project that will be presented lies on the participation of children with disabilities in schools in Vienna, Addis Ababa and Bangkok.
The fact that culture and gender make a difference regarding participation of children has already been discussed. (Engel-Yeger, Jarus, Law 2007) The questions that mattered in the course of ongoing field studies were how the concept of participation of children with disabilities (Egilson, Traustadóttir 2009; Coster, Kethani 2008) is conceived and how much relevance is attached to it in different cultures (Florian, Hollenweger 2006) among different people. Doing research in three countries which differ extremely in terms of culture and society, researchers face a multitude of challenges. The danger of not paying adequate attention to Western influences on concepts is one of the most demanding. Asking different individuals the same questions in different countries, in different settings does not necessarily lead to answers regarding the same content. Therefore, opening a discussion about the way a concept fits its surrounding and in which ways it can be understood is one of the major aims of this paper.

Method

In the course of field research within the international research project CLASDISA qualitative data was collected via varied types of interviews with children with different visual, hearing, physical and intellectual disabilities, their parents and teachers as well as experts and stakeholders in the field of disability. Through partly biographical, narrative, explorative and focus group interviews, researchers tried to examine factors influencing the level of involvement of children with disabilities in school in the capital cities of Austria, Ethiopia and Thailand. The perspective of children was gathered through different interview methods which were developed and adapted throughout the research process. The exploration of the lifeworlds of the children on the micro-, meso- and macrosystem should give an insight into their level of participation and exclusion. Interview data collected at different stages in the research process has been and is continuously being analysed using the software ATLAS.ti. Through constant comparison on the basis of Grounded Theory new concepts have been developed and compared among the findings from the three countries.

Expected Outcomes

Exploring factors hindering and enabling participation in education in different cultures, this comparative study examines cultural and societal factors accounting for inclusion and exclusion. Adding to a broader understanding of involvement of children with disabilities in different educational fields, results might provide a basis for further understanding of the implementation of rights based concepts in different societal and cultural contexts. By using examples from interviews and results from the ongoing process of analysis this paper seeks to give an insight on possible answers to the question: ‘What does participation mean for different people in different schools in different cities in different countries and consequently: what influence does a concept of participation have in different parts of the world?’ As there is no global definition of the term (Egilson, Traustadóttir 2009, 51), preliminary results show that participation has to be addressed from different perspectives. It is being influenced by the attitudes of individuals, possibilities for participation and choices children are offered. Dimensions of participation observed by the researchers differ to the ones parents and teachers ascribe to children due to the researchers’ cultural background. Levelling all this with the children’s perceptions might contribute to an enhanced intercultural understanding of participation.

References

Coster, W.; Khetani, M. A. (2008): Measuring Participation of Children with Disabilities: Issues and challenges. In: Disability and Rehabilitation, 30(8), 639-648 Egilson, S. T.; Traustadóttir, R. (2009): Theoretical Perspectives and Childhood Participation. In: Scandinavian Journal of Disability Research 11(1), 51-63 Engel-Yeger, B.; Jarus, T.; Law, M. (2007): Impact of Culture on Children’s Community Participation in Israel. In: American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 61, 421–428 Florian, L.; Hollenweger J. et al. (2006): Cross-Cultural Perspectives on the Classification of Children With Disabilities: Part I. Issues in the Classification of Children With Disabilities. Journal of Special Education 40(1): 36-45 Galvin, J. ; Froude, E.H.; McAleer, J. (2010) Children´s participation in home, school and community life after acquired brain injury. In: Australian Occupational Therapy Journal, 57, 118-126 Simeonsson, R. J.; Simeonsson N. E. et al. (2008): International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health for Children and Youth. A Common Language for Special Education. Disability Classification in Education. Issues and Perspectives. Florian L. and McLaughlin M. J. Thousand Oaks, Corwin Press: 207-226 WHO (2007): International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health. Children & Youth Version. Geneva, World Health Organization

Author Information

Margarita Schiemer (submitting)
University of Vienna
Department of Education
Vienna
Michaela Kramann (presenting)
University of Vienna
Department of Education
Vienna
Michelle Proyer (presenting)
University of Vienna
Vienna

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