Time: Saturday, August 24th, 13:00-14:30
Place: Hvammur
Chair: Dóra S. Bjarnason
Paper Session 21: Schools IV
Dilemmas in inclusive education
Name: Susan Tetler
Title: Ph.d./Associate Professor
Organisation: The Danish University of Education
Postal Address: Emdrupvej 101
City: DK-2400 Copenhagen NV
Country: Denmark
E-mail: tetler@dpu.dk
Tel: +45 39 69 66 33
| In the field of inclusive education, tensions and dilemmas seem to be "eternal" in the sense that they are built into the very idea of inclusion. Discussing the nature of these tensions, the paper will present some of the dilemmas that educators are confronted with in their endeavours at creating inclusive classrooms - and the strategies of solutions they often seem to use: *considering the individual >< considering the classroom community, *special educators >< general educators, *differentiating teaching and learning >< differentiating the pupils, *the academic dimension of the school >< the social dimension of the school, *being like others >< being different, *recognising diversity >< respecting diversity. The crucial point is our understanding of that kind of dilemmas. Do we understand them as really contradictions, as dichotomies, that defy productive synthesis? Or do we understand them as competing perspectives, that, keeping maintained, can be a powerful tool for reflection and action? The analysis is based upon a study of four inclusive classrooms, and the data collection techniques have been participant observations and open-ended interviews with educators and pupils. |
How does the school resolve educational dilemmas related to pupil diversity?
Name: Gretar L. Marinósson
Title: Dr.
Organisation: Iceland University of Education
Postal Address: Stakkahlíð
City: 105 Reykjavík
Country: Iceland
E-mail: gretarlm@khi.is
Tel: 563 3832
| The dilemmas inherent in the practice of schooling partly explain schools' difficulties in responding to pupil diversity. The tensions stemming from these educational dilemmas are not resolvable except in the short term. They concern conflicting perspectives and basic values underpinning the diverse purposes of the school, which people are uncertain about how to reconcile or choose between. Thus e.g. the values of equality of the many (social inclusion) contest with those of quality of intellectual excellence (standards) for the few; professional interests conflict with pupil and family interests; and the values of caring for individuals clash with those of external control. Under conditions of limited resources schools come under pressure to resolve their value and power conflicts, such as those linked to pupil diversity. For this they utilise a number of strategies, often following expert advice, the choice of which is influenced by factors such as the dominant discourse, centralised policies and bureaucratic power. Hence medical-psychological diagnosis and placement, supported by bureaucratic arrangements, habitually become the final stages of labelling and aggregation of individuals in a process of technical resolutions of dilemmas that are fundamentally of an ethical nature. |
The Norwegian elementary school - for everybody or for nobody?
Name: Borgunn Ytterhus
Title: Researcher
Organisation: Norwegian University of Science and Technology
Postal Address: NTNU, Dep. of social work & health sciences, Dragvoll, N-7491 Trondheim
City: Trondheim
Country: Norway
E-mail: borgunn.ytterhus@svt.ntnu.no
Tel: + 47 73 59 14 73
Co-author:Jan Tøssebro
| The Norwegian compulsory school (10 years) is supposed to be and prepare for a social and cultural community both at school and in society. The principle of one school for all has legally and administratively been applied to all children since 1992. Special schools were reorganized into resource centres. But is it a school for all? Using a questionnaire to parents (N=312) and teachers (N=306) of children with intellectual disabilities in representative samples of Norwegian communities data have been collected. This presentation will focus on the organisational and social aspects of education for pupils with intellectual disabilities. How are the programs these children attend organised, and why are they organised the way they are? What organisation models make parents and teachers satisfied? Do pupils with intellectual disabilities visualise an inherent tension in compulsory school between a 'social collective logic' and an 'individual logic of knowledge'? The Norwegian Research Councils is funding the study. |
Meeting Pupils´ Learning Needs in Small Schools
Name: Kristín Aðalsteinsdóttir
Title:
Organisation: University of Akureyri
Postal Address: University of Akureyri, Þingvallastræti
City: Akureyri
Country: Iceland
E-mail: kada@unak.is
Tel: +354 463 0908 or +354 462 1275
| My paper will focus on the hypothesis that the low number of pupils in small schools creates opportunities that enable teachers to, a) consider pupils' individual needs, b) develop close teacher-pupil relationships, co-operation among staff and relationships with parents, c) apply teaching approaches suited for multi-grade classes. It is well known from the literature that teachers' behaviour has effects on pupils' self-consciousness, their social development and learning, not least the learning of pupils with special needs, who are in need for extended attention. The study was conducted in both small and large schools in Iceland in order to obtain comparison and to identify teachers' practice and views of small schools. The study was threefold, based on a postal questionnaire sent to small schools, and classroom observation and interviews, in both small and large schools. The above items constitute the nucleus of my unpublished PhD-thesis: Small Schools, Interaction and Empathy: A Study of Teachers' Behaviour and Practices, with Emphasis on Effects on Pupils with Special Needs. |
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