Inclusive Educational Practice: Results of an empirical study

Abstract

This article presents a Norwegian primary school teacher facing the challenge of realising the curriculum's vision of inclusive education. Ann teaches a third‐grade class with 22 pupils among which are pupils with special needs. Two of them are John and Paul. The article focuses on how the teacher deals with these two boys as she, at the same time, approaches the class as a whole. The analysis shows that the teacher's practice can be clustered into four themes. The themes are analysed in light of relevant theoretical concepts situated within the framework of socio‐cultural theory. It appears that the themes have some common characteristic traits and dilemmas that Ann encounters in her daunting work of realising inclusive education.

Keywords:

• Inclusive practice
• Children with special needs
• Individual and system approach
• Dilemmas

Notes

1. The report is “The Salamanca Statement and Framework for Action on Special Needs Education” (UNESCO, 1994) where it is stated: “The fundamental principle of the inclusive school is that all children should learn together, wherever possible, regardless of any difficulties or differences they may have. Inclusive schools must recognize and respond to the diverse needs of their children, accommodating both different styles and rates of learning and ensuring quality education to all through appropriate curricula, organizational arrangements, teaching strategies, resource use and partnerships with their communities” (pp.11–12).

2. The ideology or philosophy underlying the work of the support services is that its employees should spend as much time as possible out in the schools. The employees should be close to people that need them, children with special needs, their parents and teachers. Those who are working in the support services therefore know schools. They know the teachers, including those who could satisfy the criteria important for this study.

3. When the pupils in Ann's class sit with her in a semi‐circle facing her and the board, it is called the class circle.

4. Some months after the data collection period had been finished, the support services concluded that John has Tourette's Syndrome and Paul has AD/HD.