Understanding inclusion in teacher education – a view from student teachers in England

ABSTRACT

Policies on inclusion are being increasingly embedded within education systems and teacher education across the world, with schools and teachers called upon to add ‘inclusion’ to their already large set of skills and tasks. There is, however, no consistent definition of what inclusion means or how it can be best promoted. The purpose of this paper is to explore the dilemmas that student teachers face when they encounter policy requirements to practice inclusion, and how they mediate the tensions. Drawing on two exploratory studies with science student teachers in two Initial Teacher Education programmes in England, we focus on the conceptions of inclusion held by the student teachers and the links between inclusion and teacher education. Our findings suggest that conventional understandings in relation to ability still dominate, with ability-based differentiation viewed as the key teaching strategy to promote inclusion. In addition, student teachers find themselves having to negotiate contradictory and often conflicting approaches to inclusion, diversity, and academic attainment. The discrepancies highlighted by this study have implications for how teacher education courses need to be organised to promote the practice of inclusion.

KEYWORDS:

• Initial teacher education
• fundamental British values
• inclusive education
• education policy

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1 PGCE – a one-year course for graduates that train to become teachers in England. Successful completion of the course leads to Qualified Teacher Status (QTS), needed to teach in state schools.

2 Pupil Referral Units are alternatives to mainstream school. Introduced in 1993, there are about 400 in England and Wales and they educate children who have been excluded from other schools – usually for reasons related to disciplinary problems, but also special education needs. In 2017/18 there were about 16,700 pupils in such units (DfE 2018b)

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Forskningsradet om Halsa, Arbetsliv och Valfard: [Grant Number 5509].

Notes on contributors

Jane Essex

Jane Essex works in initial teacher education at the University of Strathclyde. Her major focus has been the disciplinary demands of science and the opportunities it provides for diverse learners, focusing on those with additional support needs, specifically learning difficulties. She is the recipient of Royal Society of Chemistry’s 2019 Inclusion and Diversity Prize for her impact, both directly upon science learners with additional support needs and through work with their teachers.

Nafsika Alexiadou

Nafsika Alexiadou is Professor at the Department of Applied Educational Science at Umeå University, Sweden. Her research interests are in the area of education policy and governance, with a particular focus on the European Union, inclusion, and comparative studies.

Paula Zwozdiak-Myers

Paula Zwozdiak-Myers is a Senior Lecturer and Programme Director for the Doctor of Education (EdD) at Brunel University London. She is also the specialist pathway lead for Social Justice, Equity and Inclusion on the Masters in Education programme. Particular research interests include reflective practice for professional development in teacher education, inclusive education and pedagogical strategies for cultivating virtuous children in school.