**Inclusive Schoolwide Pedagogical Principles: Cultural Indicators in Action Indicators in Action**

**Inclusive Schoolwide Pedagogical Principles: Cultural** 

DOI: 10.5772/intechopen.70358

Lindy Abawi, Susan Carter, Dorothy Andrews and Joan Conway and Joan Conway Additional information is available at the end of the chapter

Additional information is available at the end of the chapter

Lindy Abawi, Susan Carter, Dorothy Andrews

http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.70358

#### **Abstract**

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

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96-111. DOI: 10.1108/IJSHE-06-2013-0065

"Inclusion!" is the catch cry heard across both educational and community contexts and yet the reality is often less than ideal. The diversity and complexity of student needs within regular classrooms are both an asset and a challenge for schools and classroom teachers. We believe, with Nelson Mandela, that "Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world" and in order for such a dream to be achieved, it is essential that the pedagogical practices that support the needs of diverse learners are clearly understood and supported by both teachers and school leaders. Most existing research emphasises the need to improve the skill sets of both teacher graduates and practising teachers as a means of enhancing student support. We suggest that it cannot stop at the individual classroom practice level. To maximise student outcomes, inclusive pedagogical practices must be school wide, and well understood, thus resulting in a culture of inclusion becoming embedded in school wide practices and maintained over the long term. Inclusive schoolwide pedagogical (SWP) frameworks and shared practices lie at the heart of the two case study examples used to illustrate the key messages from our research.

**Keywords:** schoolwide pedagogy, inclusion, student special needs, social justice, school culture, school improvement

#### **1. Introduction**

Australia's Disability Discrimination Act of 1992 [1] and the Disability Standards for Education [2] support the inclusion of all students into, what is often termed as, 'mainstream' classrooms. There is a philosophical acceptance that all students have the right of access to equitable learning experiences. It is this 'students with special needs' understanding of inclusion

Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. © 2018 The Author(s). Licensee IntechOpen. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

© 2016 The Author(s). Licensee InTech. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons

that is often thought of when the term 'inclusive school practices' is used. However, inclusion is far more than this. There is an increasing emphasis, in schools, on understanding and catering for the diversity of all learners in our classrooms, and rightly so. Australian demographics have been changing dramatically with increasing evidence of a richly diverse nation. According to statistics from the 2011 National Census, 26% (5.3 million) of Australians were born overseas and a further 4.1 million Australians have one parent who was born overseas. In 2011, 82% of the overseas-born population lived in capital cities [3].

reduction of barriers take place – at a school level? How can all students and staff be brought to an understanding and a valuing of diversity? Answers to questions such as these can lever pedagogical change and ways of working across a school enhancing school culture and out-

Inclusive Schoolwide Pedagogical Principles: Cultural Indicators in Action

http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.70358

35

The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities [9] states that education providers must ensure "persons with disabilities receive the support required, within the general education system, to facilitate their effective education". This statement is true not only in relation to students with different types of impairment, the more commonly interpreted understanding of the words 'special needs', but resonates with culturally diverse needs, unique learning needs, socio-economic diversity and indeed the full spectrum of individual student needs within classroom settings. Australia's Melbourne Declaration on the Educational Goals of Young Australians [10] requires that education systems "provide all students with access to high-quality schooling that is free from discrimination based on gender, language, sexual orientation, pregnancy, culture, ethnicity, religion, health or disability, socioeconomic back-

Such statements are indeed inspiring but perhaps practice is more in the 'aspiring' phase. Educational policy translation into practice continues to be problematic and never more so than in the rhetoric that exists around concepts of inclusion. Florian suggests "Special education's policy framework, which is intended to ensure the right to education for those who would otherwise be excluded from schooling, has paradoxically created problems of inequality within education" [11]. She goes on to say that if the discourse within schools is deficit by nature – what the students are not capable of rather than what they are – then "it cannot help

Research suggests that it is not possible to stimulate sustainable changes in practice without collaborative conversations based on activities, issues, solutions and epiphanies related directly to the act of teaching [12]. Key factors driving improvements in classroom practice

**b.** exploring and unpacking current practices at a collective level, thus developing a "com-

As a result, colleagues and individuals can more easily reflect in-action and on-action [15], about what worked, and why, as well as what did not work, and why. This includes developing a shared understanding of what inclusion should 'look like', 'sound like' and 'feel like'

In recent years, there has been much debate about just what it means to be an 'inclusive

comes for all students.

**2. The literature**

ground or geographic location".

can be seen as:

to resolve the dilemmas of difference" [11].

within the specific school context.

**a.** additional skill development on a needs level basis, and

mon language" for pedagogical action and reflection [13, 14].

school'. UNESCO's [16] definition indicates inclusion should be seen as:

As teachers, we are privileged to have the opportunity to work in diverse contexts and with diverse groups and individuals. The richness and opportunities within today's classrooms, to learn from and with our students, parents, community and colleagues by sharing perspectives and histories that may be unfamiliar to us, and to others, is an opportunity that must be embraced in order to break down the many social injustices that still exist. Such injustices limit the opportunities of students to fulfil their full potential. As educators, we have a moral and legal obligation to ensure that teaching and learning practices demonstrate respect and understanding of diversity [4]. So what types of school practices promote social justice? What sort of school culture encourages the embracing and valuing of diversity? How do school leaders and teachers advocate for each child in their care? Teaching should and can be an activist profession [5] because education is acknowledged as being fundamental to shaping our future. It involves "the formation of each new generation into the citizens of tomorrow…In this age of 'super-diversity', it is difficult to categorise or place people into neat boxes. It is therefore all the more important for us to sharpen up our thinking and practice by developing a critical understanding of issues of difference" [6].

The data underpinning the illustrations within our chapter were collected from two state primary (elementary) schools in a large regional city in Queensland, Australia. Queensland's 2005 Inclusive Education Statement [7] is a particularly insightful one and raises issues and approaches to education that require an immediate and ongoing response from school communities more broadly. The statement focused on:


The current statement [8] outlines inclusive school practices as: responding constructively to the needs of all students; viewing difference as a resource; ensuring all school members feel safe and free from discrimination; and, promoting locally negotiated responses to student, family and community needs.

Over the years, there has been much discussion about just what 'inclusion' looks like in the classroom but less on what this looks like across a whole school community. So what does responding constructively look like – at a school level? How do the identification and reduction of barriers take place – at a school level? How can all students and staff be brought to an understanding and a valuing of diversity? Answers to questions such as these can lever pedagogical change and ways of working across a school enhancing school culture and outcomes for all students.
