Achievement and Inclusion in Schools and …

1 DRAFT ONLY, NOT TO BE REPRODUCED WITHOUT AUTHORS PERMISSION1 Achievement and Inclusion in Schools and Classrooms: participation and PedagogyPaper presented at the British Educational Research Association Conference,Heriot Watt University, Edinburgh, September 2008 Kristine Black-Hawkins, (University of Cambridge), Lani Florian (University of Aberdeen)and Martyn Rouse (University of Aberdeen)This paper discusses the nature of educational Achievement and Inclusion and considers whatmethodological approaches might support an examination of the relationship between them. Itreports on our continuing research, which addresses three contemporary concerns: the conceptof Achievement , meanings of Inclusion , and the use of evidence to inform educational policiesand practices.

2 The relationship between Inclusion and Achievement is important because someschools continue to resist becoming more inclusive on the grounds that that doing so will havea negative effect on the academic Achievement of other students and will lower overallstandards (Audit Commission, 2002). Furthermore,research on Inclusion and achievementthat has an over-reliance on some types of quantitative evidence, for example those providedby large-scale national data sets, may restrict the outcomes of that research, because theanalysis of such evidence may promote a narrower view of both Achievement and is, Achievement may be reduced to performance scores in core curriculum subjects, thusdisregarding achievements relating to others areas of the curriculum and aspects of children slives.

3 Similarly, Inclusion may be restricted to focusing on the perceived learning difficultiesof a small number of individual children, rather than looking more broadly at the contexts inwhich all teaching and learning takes place. Therefore the emphasismust be on gatheringevidence which is appropriate to the research focus and useful to the researcher (Black-Hawkins, Florian and Rouse: 2007).The primary purpose of this paper is to report on a project that we have recently completed,and with a particular emphasis on aspects of the methodological approach we used. However,we conclude our writing by discussing ways in which this work has contributed to our currentresearch, not only in term of developing our understanding of its substantive concerns butalsomethodologically.

4 The focus of our earlier research was to develop a deeper understanding ofthe relationship between Achievement and Inclusion in Schools (see for example, Rouse andFlorian, 2006; Florian, Rouse, Black-Hawkins and Jull, 2004; Black-Hawkins, et al: 2007).Building on these findings and other related work we are now examining the nature of thatrelationship in terms of teaching and learning in classrooms (see also Florian, 2007, Florianand Kershner, 2008; Rouse, 2008). Of course, Schools and classrooms are not experiencedseparately in the lives of children or teachers, and we acknowledge their inherentconnectedness. However, in our current research we are specifically exploring the nature ofteaching and learning approaches and strategies which are effective in supporting theachievement ofallchildren, including those who are designated as having special educationalor additional support is important to bear in mind that the school level research we report on here was based inEngland, whereas our current work is taking place in Scotland.

5 The reasons for thisgeographical shift are partly pragmatic (new academic posts in a Scottish university for two ofus) but also because it has allowed us to explore some differences and similarities betweentwo national education systems, and the possible effects of these on the development ofinclusive classroom pedagogies. It is too early for us to speculate on their significance,DRAFT ONLY, NOT TO BE REPRODUCED WITHOUT AUTHORS PERMISSION2although variations that we are interested in pursuinginclude differing national curriculumarrangements, school inspection procedures, and processes for pupil assessment. Readers willalso note some differences in the terminology used: for example, additional support needs (Scotland) and its nearest equivalent special educational needs (England).

6 To avoidconfusion and repetition we have generally used English terms when specifically discussingour earlier work and Scottish terms for our current begin the paper by examining some of the background to our research generally on therelationship between educational Achievement and Inclusion . We go on to describe our earlierproject and, in particular, the Framework for participation : the methodological tool wedeveloped to support thecollectionof detailed contextual evidence across case studies of fourschools. We then provide a brief discussion of the key findings from this research. In the finalpart of the paper we reflect on the ways in which we are building on this work, bothmethodologically as well as in terms of its findings, so as to support our interest in inclusiveclassroom pedagogies that support the Achievement of all to our research on Achievement and inclusionUnderstandings of educational Inclusion and Achievement are partly shaped by shifting social,economic and political circumstances, whether local, national or global in nature.

7 In Englandand Scotland, as elsewhere, politicians have been increasingly concerned about the costs andoutcomes of the educationsystem in terms of its contribution to the nation s economic wealthand well-being. Although governments in different countries have responded in a variety ofways to these pressures, the major structural reforms that took place at the end of thetwentieth century shared certain characteristics. These emphasised the principles ofcompetition and choice, which together were intended to raise the academic standards ofindividual students, Schools and nations. Mechanisms of accountability have also been anessential component of this marketisation of education (Power and Whitty, 1999).

8 InEngland, for example, these include the measuring of children s academic performance, atages seven, eleven, fourteen and sixteen, through standard tests and the publication of theresults in performance tables. Alongside these reforms another rather different set of largescale educational developments have taken place in many countries. That is, even whilstnational governments have maintained this emphasis on competition,choice, accountabilityand standards, they have also been enacting policies to promote more inclusive educationalsystems. Tensions have then emerged as a result of conflicts between principles that, on theone hand, underpin market based reforms and, onthe other hand, are based on values ofequity and social justice (Rouse and Florian, 1997).

9 Improving both Inclusion and Achievement are, clearly, worthwhile and important educationalaims and this dual focus on the most vulnerable students and on all students is a welcomedevelopment (Florian, 2007). However, a lack of clarity about meanings can make it difficultfor teachers to know how best to proceed in developing policies and practices that willencourage Schools to be both highly inclusive in their student intake whilst supporting thehighest achievements from all their students. Furthermore, such policies generally present aparticular and somewhat narrow interpretation of both concepts. That is, Inclusion is taken tomean the process of increasing the numbers of students attending mainstream Schools who, inthe past, would have been prevented from doing so because of their identified specialeducational, or additional support, needs.

10 Meanwhile, Achievement is usually seen in termsonly of raising academic standards as measured by national tests and examinations, ratherthan more broadly in terms of social, emotional, creative and physical ONLY, NOT TO BE REPRODUCED WITHOUT AUTHORS PERMISSION3 Researching Achievement and Inclusion in Schools : introducing the projectIn this research we explored the tensions in the relationship between Achievement andinclusion in Schools and considered how they might be resolved. We examined the concept ofinclusion: how it is understood by practitioners working in Schools and also how it ispresented in government documents and in recent research.