Unidad

As well as theoretical perspectives, some other considerations guided my choice of methodology. Personal professional philosophy, the locus of the research and a concern with translating research into classroom practice, were some of the considerations that are now discussed.

3.3.1 Ecological Framework

As a professional working for disabled children, their parents and their teachers over a period of twenty years, I have learned that to focus on the specific impairment is to look for ways and means to ‘fix’ or overcome it. To do so, is to consider that the problem lies within the impairment and the child who has it. Alton-Lee and colleagues (2000) refer to this model of disability as the personal tragedy model which “has it origins in the medical model in which disability is a pathology to be remediated through a focus on the individual.” (Alton-Lee et al., 2000, p. 182) Traditionally, the assessment focus around special education has also been on student performance on standardised or criterion referenced tests when determining whether a programme or activity has been successful.

In an ecological framework, however, the focus is equally on the interactions between the student and their environment, the nature of those interactions in promoting or limiting the progress of the student and the pedagogical assumptions of the teachers and other adults working in the learning environment (Wallace, Anderson, Bartholomay and Hupp, 2002). It is crucial, therefore, when researching factors relating to inclusion that an effort is made to determine where teachers believe the problems around educational difficulties, including disabilities, lie (T. Booth, personal communication, August 18, 2003). Ascertaining such teacher assumptions, philosophies and prejudices assists with identifying factors which both advance and hinder the practice of inclusion. Student behaviour, teacher behaviour, environmental events such as physical arrangement or instructional grouping, and instructional planning and execution are also some of the other pedagogical factors that need to be researched. Adopting an ecological framework is consistent with critical theory, in that it

allows for the consideration of the four elements which characterise critical theory.

3.3.2 Classroom Focus

In an article discussing the sociologies of disability, Slee (1997) suggests that it is possible to “argue for education’s reconstruction as the only avenue for inclusion.” (Slee, 1997, p. 411) Whilst this idea is novel and contains some inviting challenges for research around inclusion, it is a study of immense proportions. However, from the outset this current research study was focused on the individual classroom and how the pedagogical decisions of the teacher might develop their practice of inclusion. Naturally, there are decisions made at a schoolwide and national level that influence teacher decisions, and where these are identified they will be reported on. Factors which influenced this decision to focus at the individual class level included: keeping the research manageable with only one researcher, the time frame for the research, the availability and willingness of teacher participants, and the focus of the study with its research questions. Most importantly, the classroom is the intersection at which teachers and advisors meet and, as previously mentioned, a personal driving force behind this research was a wish for advisors to be better able to meet the needs of teachers and their students. In an earlier article around school organisational development and change, Slee suggests that research around inclusion should start with an analysis of local level initiatives and approaches (Slee, 1995). The ‘local level’ classroom was the major focus of this research study and, therefore, set the research boundaries.

A further consideration around the type of methodology, related to the primary focus of the study which was, as described earlier in the thesis, to look at ways that would facilitate teachers to teach all the children in their class. A focus on practice in the classroom is considered by some authors as a method to enhance inclusive pedagogy (Mick, 2002; Sebba & Ainscow, 1996). Also, literature presented by academics and researchers working in the area of inclusion consider that this research’s focus could best be met by working alongside teachers in their classrooms (Ballard, 1995; Salisbury et al., 1997). Such an approach would

teacher and children. Working inside a classroom would also facilitate a more thorough examination of factors that impact on the ability of teachers to provide for the educational needs of their students, and to discover any changes in pedagogy that would improve that provision (Ainscow, 1995; Mamlin, 1999).

3.3.3 Translating research into classroom practice – bridging theory into practice

Considered also were the difficulties that arise around teacher translation of educational research and innovation into classroom pedagogy. These difficulties have been highlighted in the literature as the research into practice dilemma (Ainscow, 2003; Elliott, 1990; Meyer et al., 1998). Regardless of the worth of a new teaching method, curriculum modification or research finding, there often appear to be barriers among the teaching profession to their adoption. Several writers consider that researchers working alongside, and in collaboration with, teachers will assist in ameliorating the dilemma (Ballard, 1996; Elliott, 1990; Mamlin, 1999; Meyer et al., 1998).

To assist researchers to develop research which was going to bridge the gap between research and practice, Fisher and her colleagues developed a set of guidelines for the development of naturalist interventions (M. Fisher, Bernazzani and Meyer, 2001). Their guidelines offer a form of checklist for the researcher to ensure that findings from a proposed research are going to be better accepted and maintained by the participating teachers. The guidelines suggest that: the research should be doable in context without any large scale reorganisation of the environment, the available resources should not be dependent on external funding, the research must be sustainable over time, and the research must be constituency owned and operated, naturally inclusive and intuitively appealing. These guidelines are suggested as helping with the research into practice dilemma which is an important aspect of this current research.