Reforming Teacher Education for Inclusive Education

STEC Conference 2009

Lani Florian (l.florian@abdn.ac.uk)

Martyn Rouse (m.rouse@abdn.ac.uk)

Background to the Inclusive Practice Project

Concerns about underachievement and lack of participation of certain groups of pupilsInternational research suggesting that teachers are not sufficiently well prepared to deal with issues of diversityThe belief that inclusion should be the responsibility of all teachersOn-going reforms of teacher education at AberdeenFunded by Scottish Government

Some questions about ITE and inclusion

What do beginning teachers need to know and be able to do?

What stops them from doing it when they know what to do?

What are the tensions between what they learn in the university and what they learn in schools?

How might these tensions be resolved? What is being done at Aberdeen in the IPP?

The Inclusive Practice Project

Aims to develop new approaches to training teachers so that they have

a greater awareness and understanding of the educational and social problems/issues that can affect children’s learning

developed strategies they can use to support and deal with such difficulties

The IPP

Inclusive education -

the process of accommodating individual differences within the structures and processes that are available to all learners

rethinking ‘additional support’ by extending what is ‘generally available’

Initial focus of the reforms

Some barriers to inclusion -

Biological and social deterministic thinking

Specialist knowledge and professional identities

Forms of provision

Three key assumptions

Difference must be accounted for as an essential aspect of human development in any conceptualisation of learning

Teachers must be challenged in their thinking that they are not capable of teaching all children

Learning new strategies for working with others

The PGDE

Reforms involve: School of Education staff Local authority staff and teachers Recent course graduates Project advisory group International reference group

The PGDE

Major changes include: Merging primary and secondary students for

professional studies Inclusion addressed from start of course For all, not just some A new FPS course: Learning without Limits

PGDE Programme - Components and ConnectionsPGDE Programme - Components and Connections

Learning Through the Curriculum

School Experience

Professional Studies

Further Professional

Studies

School ExpAssessments

Learning & Teaching in Schools Summative Assessments 1 & 2

Induction Year

APS & CPD

SITE

Pastoral Support

Ways of Working

University of Aberdeen PGDE course overviewUniversity of Aberdeen PGDE course overview

Research strategy

4 areas of research activity

The content and reform of the curriculum PGDE students’ attitudes and practices Teacher educators’ attitudes and practices Follow-up studies of graduates in schools

Study Procedures: curriculum reform

Research questions related to key challenges

Video and audio taping

Full transcription and field notes

Coding

Member checking

Transana

IPP coding frameIPP coding frame

Students’ attitudes, beliefs and practices

Entry/exit survey Overwhelmingly pro-inclusion Some demographic and subject differences Pro-inclusion attitudes mostly survive school

placement - particularly for the ‘Learning without Limits’ group

Reform is complex and long-term process The relationship between teacher education and educational equity requires examinationReform of ITE is but the first stepThe need to explore the tensions between what students learn in the university and what they learn in schoolProgressive, coherent CPD and school development is also requiredSee Teaching and Teacher Education 25 (4) a special edition on teacher education and inclusion, May 2009

Some concluding thoughts