Beyond ADHD: a consideration of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and pedagogy in Australian schools

Abstract

A psycho‐medical discourse that explains behavioural dysfunction through neurological deficit has dominated debate about attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). However, if only medical questions are asked, only medical answers will be found, resulting in more or less drug treatment. When behavioural dysfunction results in impairment within home, school and work settings, it is also important to include educational and sociological considerations of what defines these differences as deficit. This paper notes the influence of recent Australian education priorities on ADHD, traces the relationship between traditional pedagogies and ADHD diagnostic criteria, and documents research into the schooling experiences of secondary students diagnosed with ADHD. It does so to argue that current pedagogical practices around ADHD focus on integrating students rather than inclusive education. In response, the paper proposes possible pedagogical resources that might help educators move beyond asking why students are failing at school, to consider how schools may be failing an increasingly diverse generation of students.

Acknowledgements

This publication is an outcome of a collaborative research project, funded by the Australian Research Council (LP0454869), between the Centre for Studies in Literacy, Policy and Learning Cultures (University of South Australia), the Northern Adelaide State Secondary Principals Network, the Australian Education Union (SA Branch), and the South Australian Social Inclusion Unit. The Research team includes Associate Professor Phillip Cormack, Professor Barbara Comber, Professor Marie Brennan, Dr Lew Zipin, Professor Alan Reid, Dr Kathy Paige, Dr David Lloyd, Associate Professor Helen Nixon, Bill Lucas, Dr Faye McCallum, Dr Brenton Prosser, Philippa Milroy, and Sam Sellar. The author would like to acknowledge the contribution of the members of the research team in the development of the pedagogical conceptual resources that are detailed in this paper.

Notes

1. The process of recruitment relied on school records of students having previously received a documented medical ADHD diagnosis and psychostimulant treatment. Thus, each participant had been exposed to, and to some extent accepted, the dominant psycho‐medical discourse.