**3. The methodology**

A phenomenological case study approach was adopted where the phenomenon was 'inclusive practices supporting students with special learning needs'. This approach answers the question:

In two inclusive school settings, what key school wide pedagogical principles and actions underpin the support of all students especially those with special learning needs?

and difficult to pinpoint, an inclusive culture lies at the heart of quality school practices. It is the 'way we do things around here' that is indicative of deeply embedded practice and the principles that inform such practice. For the astute observer these surface in everyday discourse and in the general acceptance of school processes and structures. So the language of inclusion should be clearly heard across a school, in staff meetings, parent meetings, the playground and classrooms. Therefore, in our research, the collection of data from students, teachers, teacher aides and school leaders allowed for the identification of themes indicative of ways of working, which was the core of our quest to identify pedagogical principles that support

38 New Pedagogical Challenges in the 21st Century - Contributions of Research in Education

We started our research by acknowledging that there were a number of already existing indicators (EIs) of inclusion from the current literature that needed to be considered. These

thereby eliminating exclusion within and from education. Additional existing indicators

In the context of our research we were conscious that the above 10 existing indicators should be apparent somewhere within the school artefacts of an inclusive vision, as well as in the clear articulation of values and beliefs about the need to celebrate diversity, difference and inclusion, and ultimately in the norms and assumptions underpinning a school's 'ways of working'. Such evidence would particularly be reflected in a school's everyday language-in-use

A phenomenological case study approach was adopted where the phenomenon was 'inclusive practices supporting students with special learning needs'. This approach answers

the needs of diverse student cohorts.

• a process;

• aligned to a vision;

**3. The methodology**

the question:

included the understanding that inclusion is:

• promoting locally negotiated responses; and

• involving changes and modifications; which

• increase participation and maximise outcomes;

• questions and challenges current practice; and

• adults value difference as a resource; and

detail inclusion lies at the heart of a learning community that:

• ensures that all students understand and value diversity; that

• practices engender feelings of safety and belonging; this means

[24] and epitomize the school's organisational culture [23].

• supporting and working with students, staff, parents and communities.

Data collection focused on the lived experiences of stakeholders working within an inclusive school context combined with observations by researchers and their interpretation of artefacts.

Phenomenological research seeks to "study how human phenomenon are experienced in consciousness, in cognitive and perceptual acts" [25]. Phenomenology, a qualitative research approach, seeks to "locate the observer in the world" [26]. Husserl, Heidegger, Sartre, Merleau-Ponty, and others, believed that understanding a phenomenon involves collating the views, stories and perspectives of those experiencing it, with the researcher seeking to construct meaning from the messages shared [27].

Case study enabled the exploration of the phenomenon within its natural setting [26]. Two sites were purposively selected as these sites had been identified by the education system as offering effective examples of inclusion. Therefore, a variety of data sources should provide evidence of various aspects of the phenomenon to be exposed, interpreted and understood. VanWynsberghe and Khan [28] suggest that the interpretivist paradigm assumes that there are numerous points of entry into any reality, therefore participant perspectives and lived experiences within each context must be viewed both separately and as a whole, allowing the researcher to fully explore a particular reality relevant to the case study phenomenon. The research questions were developed collaboratively to focus on collating the lived experiences of a wide range of school leaders, staff, parents and students. The overarching research question fore-fronted the necessity to take into account the context within which inclusion occurred in order to develop an understanding ofthe phenomenon. The case was in its simplest terms inclusion in two school settings and the overarching research question was explored through two sub-questions:


We define 'special learning needs' as: disabilities; enhanced abilities, diverse cultural backgrounds; first language diversity; learning difficulties or disorders; and/or emotional, behavioural, physical, and spiritual special needs.

Two authors spent several months, collecting data – one in one school and one in the other. Triangulation of data sources (verbatim transcripts from semi-structured interview questions, observations as noted in researcher journals, and artefacts collected on site) enabled the researchers to view and investigate the phenomena from multiple perspectives and provide an understanding of school culture at each level [23]. In this study researchers independently coded a set of data and then met together to reach consensus on the emerging codes and categories. Researcher interpretations of practices and understandings were checked with participants and an initial report sent to each school principal for comment to ensure credibility and cross check that the interviewee's intent had been appropriately captured.
