Validating the British Index for Inclusion for the Australian context: stage one

Abstract

This paper presents a summary of outcomes from the first stage of a 3‐year project funded through the Australian Research Council Strategic Partnership Industry Research Training (ARC‐SPIRT) scheme and the Catholic Education Office in Victoria. This longitudinal study, in Catholic primary and secondary schools, will investigate the effectiveness and sustainability of a whole‐school approach to improving inclusive practice, strengthening transition networks outside the school and improving learning for students with disabilities. The first stage of the project evaluates the recently developed Index for Inclusion (2000). The Index clearly provides a valuable starting point, but as it was developed in the UK, there is a need to establish its validity for use in the Australian context. There is a need, therefore, to ensure its content fits with local ‘cultures’ including Commonwealth legislation and State and school‐level policy legislation. The paper reports on a six‐phase process of validation and modification including both quantitative and qualitative analyses and the resulting trial versions of four questionnaires.

Notes

Joanne Deppeler is a Senior Lecturer and the Coordinator of Special Education Programs at Monash University. She teaches professional practice to both special education teachers and educational psychologists at the postgraduate level at Monash University. Her research interests are in teaching and assessment approaches that lead to improved student learning and engagement, with emphasis on the support of teachers and students in inclusive settings. An example of this is a large school improvement research project on inclusive practices in partnership with Catholic Education Commission, Victoria. David Harvey is an educational psychologist with interests in the measurement of attitudes of teachers towards the enrolment of children with special needs into regular classes. He has been a primary school teacher and school psychologist and is presently engaged in pre‐registration training of educational and developmental psychologists in the Faculty of Education at Monash University. Correspondence should be addressed to: Dr Joanne Deppeler, Institute of Human Development & Counselling, Faculty of Education, Monash University, PO Box 6, Clayton, Victoria, 3800 Australia; e‐mail: [email protected]

See the Department of Education, Science and Training website www.dest.gov.au/schools/liter‐acy&numeracy/projects.html

See the Department of Education, Employment and Training website www.sofweb.vic.gov.au/pd/vpdn/about.html

Further details about this questionnaire are available from the authors.

Copies follow as appendices.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

JOANNE DEPPELER

Joanne Deppeler is a Senior Lecturer and the Coordinator of Special Education Programs at Monash University. She teaches professional practice to both special education teachers and educational psychologists at the postgraduate level at Monash University. Her research interests are in teaching and assessment approaches that lead to improved student learning and engagement, with emphasis on the support of teachers and students in inclusive settings. An example of this is a large school improvement research project on inclusive practices in partnership with Catholic Education Commission, Victoria. David Harvey is an educational psychologist with interests in the measurement of attitudes of teachers towards the enrolment of children with special needs into regular classes. He has been a primary school teacher and school psychologist and is presently engaged in pre‐registration training of educational and developmental psychologists in the Faculty of Education at Monash University. Correspondence should be addressed to: Dr Joanne Deppeler, Institute of Human Development & Counselling, Faculty of Education, Monash University, PO Box 6, Clayton, Victoria, 3800 Australia; e‐mail: [email protected]