Teacher Education for Inclusion: - a necessary - a necessary condition to ensure equality of opportunity for all condition to ensure equality of opportunity for all

pupils pupils

Lani Florian

Workshop 5: Workshop 5: How to leave no one behind? Essential teaching competencies for inclusive How to leave no one behind? Essential teaching competencies for inclusive

education and diversity teachingeducation and diversity teaching

HRK German Rectors’ Conference

Key Questions How can a common understanding of

inclusion in teacher education and profession be achieved?

What kind of teachers do we need for an inclusive society in a 21st century school?

Which are the essential teacher competences for inclusive education and diversity teaching?

Can a competence or standards model facilitate an inclusive approach to teacher education?

What kind of teachers do we need What kind of teachers do we need for an inclusive society in a 21st for an inclusive society in a 21st century school? century school? Which teachers?

Teachers who: Understand difference as an essential aspect of human development in any

conceptualisation of learning;

Believe that they are competent to teach all children;

Work collaboratively with others in support of everyone in the learning community of the classroom

Which are the essential teacher Which are the essential teacher competences for inclusive competences for inclusive education and diversity teaching? education and diversity teaching?

European Agency for Development in Special Needs and

Inclusive Education TE4i project

Profile of Inclusive Teachers

http://www.european-agency.org/agency-projects/Teacher-

Education-for-Inclusion

Can a competence or standards Can a competence or standards model facilitate an inclusive model facilitate an inclusive approach to teacher education? approach to teacher education?

Necessary but not sufficient

Some problems

◦ dilemmas of difference

◦ contested knowledge base

◦ ‘add-on’ and ‘infusion models’

Scottish Teacher Education Committee Scottish Teacher Education Committee (STEC) Framework(STEC) Framework

http://www.frameworkforinclusion.org

How can a common understanding How can a common understanding of inclusion in teacher education of inclusion in teacher education and profession be achieved?and profession be achieved?

INCLUSIVE PRACTICE PROJECT – INCLUSIVE PRACTICE PROJECT – PGDEPGDE

Thirty-six week course - integrated elements

o 18 weeks in school experience placementso 18 weeks of university based learning

Programme reforms

oSchool staff, local authority and classroom teachers, recent course graduates

Four elements of Inclusion: Framework for Participation - access, diversity, collaboration and achievement….enabling “increasing participation and decreasing exclusion from the culture, curricula and community of mainstream schools”

PGDE Programme ArchitectureA vision of the Inclusive Practitioner - The 4 elements of inclusion integrated with the 7 design principles of ‘Curriculum for Excellence’

Both aim to improve opportunities for learning, recognise the importance of learning and working together, value diversity and a wider interpretation of achievement.

Aims of ‘Curriculum for Excellence’ - “The purpose of the programme is to improve the learning, attainment and achievement of children and young people in Scotland. It is also about ensuring that pupils achieve on a broad front, not just in terms of examinations. It is important to ensure that children and young people are acquiring the full range of skills and abilities relevant to growing, living and working in the contemporary world. Curriculum for Excellence aims to ensure that they will enjoy greater choice and opportunity to help realise their individual talents.”

The relationship between the principles of inclusive pedagogy and the PGDE core themes

Principles/UnderlyingAssumptions

AssociatedConcepts/Actions

Key Challenges* PGDE Course Themes

Outcome(programme graduates)

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

Replacing deterministic views of ability with a concept of transformability

‘Bell-curve thinking and notions of fixed ability still underpin the structure of schooling

Understanding Learning

Rejects deterministic views of abilityAccepts that differences are part of human conditionRejects idea that the presence of some will hold back the progress of othersBelieves that all children can make progress (if conditions are right)

2. Teachers must believe (can be convinced) they are qualified/capable of teaching all children

Demonstrating how the difficulties students experience in learning can be considered dilemmas for teaching rather than problems within students

The identification of difficulties in learning and the associated focus on what the learner cannot do often puts a ceiling on learning and achievement.Teachers must be disabused of the notion that some children are not their responsibility

Understanding Social Justice

Commitment to the support of all learners. Belief in own capacity to promote learning for all children

3. The profession must continually develop creative new ways of working with others

Modelling (creative new) ways of working with and through others

Changing the way we think about inclusion (from ‘most’ and ‘some’ to everybody)

Becoming an Active Professional

Willingness to work (creatively) with and through others

Lessons learned from Scotland’s Lessons learned from Scotland’s IPPIPP

Teacher education has an important role to play in ensuring that mainstream class teachers are prepared to deal with human differences in ways that include rather than exclude from the culture curricula and community of mainstream schools.

By building on and making links with practices in school, ITE can fulfill its obligation to work in partnership with schools in ways that respect and challenge the status quo.

Professional development for teacher educators is also needed.

Key findingsKey findings

Students maintain positive attitudes

Course reforms are embeddedcontent and delivery still some contradictions/tensions

Teacher educators may feel uncomfortable being asked to train teachers in ways they themselves did not work

Programme graduates are using an inclusive pedagogical approach in their practice

Journal of Teacher Education (2013), Unsettling conversations: Diversity and disability in teacher education, 63(4). 

Prospects (2011), Teacher Professional Development for Inclusion, 41(3).

Journal of Research in Special Educational Needs (2010), Teacher Education for Inclusion, 10(Supplement).

Teaching and Teacher Education, (2009), Teacher Education for Inclusive Education, 25(4).

Special Issues Special Issues

Florian, L. & Linklater, H. (2010) Preparing Teachers for Inclusive Education: Using Inclusive Pedagogy to Enhance Teaching and Learning for All. Cambridge Journal of Education, 40(4), 369-386.

Forlin, (2013) (Ed.). Future directions for inclusive teacher education: An international perspective, London: Routledge.

Lindsay. B. & Blanchett, W. (2011) (Eds.). Universities and global diversity: Preparing educators for tomorrow. New York: Routledge

Rouse, M. & Florian, L. (2012) Inclusive Practice Project: Final Report. Aberdeen: University of Aberdeen.

Some ReferencesSome References