Pre-service teachers' experience of inclusion.

Abstract

Internationally, the concept of "inclusion" has been much promoted (UNESCO, 1994; Pijl, Meijer & Hegarty, 1997) and there is a growing conversation amongst educators in Australia about how best to provide for children with differing developmental abilities and needs in our care and education institutions. A major part of this debate is the training needs of teachers who will work with these children and their families. The present paper addresses some of the tensions that exist among training, divisions within the literature and practical experience by analysing pre-service teachers' assignments that were collected during a semester course on inclusive practices.

Introduction

Staff in schools and early childhood settings in Victoria are being challenged by the issue of how best to provide for children who are different (Meyer, 2001). There are calls for teachers to promote more inclusive practices (Vlachou, 1997; DHS, 2002). This is a complex demand and there are many constraints that are barriers to more inclusive group settings for young children. Not least of these barriers is the tension between the rhetoric of inclusion in government policy documents and the existing funding models that do not support inclusion (Llewellyn, Thompson & Fante, 2002). In an attempt to bring about reform universities are currently engaging in the conversation of how pre-service teachers' knowledge and awareness of inclusion might be improved. As part of its contribution to this debate RMIT University, in the School of Education, has introduced a course "Inclusive Practices". This is a generalist teachers' course on inclusive education, including the population of gifted children. "Inclusive Practices" is delivered to pre-service teachers studying for the Bachelor of Education or the Graduate Diploma of Education (Early Childhood). The pre-service teachers are therefore third year students or graduates and the course concentrates on children in mainstream settings from 6 weeks to 8 years.

Contradictions between government policy and existing practice has been difficult for pre-service teachers who are told one thing in their university texts and lectures and often do not see the practices of inclusion represented in the "real" world. This is also a complex area of study as there are two distinct bodies of literature, reflecting differing philosophies, and this creates a tension. Much of the early intervention and special needs literature presents a remedial skills based model of withdrawal, training and exclusive assistance. The inclusive literature is more humanist in its approach and less prescriptive consequently providing less of a guide for the pre-service, or novice, teacher. Identifying differences in the literature and making informed choices about practice requires a sophisticated level of knowledge. This paper will focus on RMIT pre-service teachers' experiences to discuss problems encountered when course content, expectations and practice are not complementary.

Utilising a representative sample of pre-service teachers' work some of the confusion and contradictions pre-service teachers encounter in the area of inclusive education will be identified. This is an important educational issue as these pre-service teachers, as novices, will presumably be expected to have an active role in change within the workplace in relation to reacting to changing government policy direction and changing community standards. Therefore, pre-service teachers' understanding of the principles of "inclusion" is the focus of this research and three assignments were examined as a primary source of data. Assignment one consisted of group presentations within the university setting. With their peers as an audience pre-service teachers used this context to present their views on self-selected topics. These assignments were videotaped and used to examine pre-service teachers' intellectual understandings of "inclusion" before encountering these ideas in practice. Assignment two took the form of a research report. Pre-service teachers' use of the literature and their ability to identify the philosophical bases of differing strategies and recommended practices was the focus for this part of the study. Assignment three was a case study which combined direct observations in an educational setting, interview material and critical discussion. The case studies were examined to discover the relationship that existed between teaching practices in the workplace and those promoted within the "Inclusive Practice" course.

Principles of inclusion presented in the "Inclusive Practices" course

The course is concerned with current theory and practice in relation to "inclusive education" in early childhood settings (Birth--8 yrs). The background to the course is the growing international, and national, conversation about "inclusion" and the care and education of children with differing needs and abilities within our education systems (Sands, Kozleski & French, 2000; Armstrong, Armstrong & Barton, 2000; Foreman, 2001; Ashman & Elkins, 2002; Moss, 2003). Part of the Victorian state government strategy was to commission a report on provision for children with impairments and disabilities (Meyer, 2001). A major finding of the review identified:

   Loss of commitment to inclusive education, innovative practice,
   and strategic planning for quality public education, where
   insufficient professional development for general educators has
   resulted in a lack of knowledge and skills to support children
   with disabilities in their school and community (Meyer, 2001:30).

Inclusive terminology has become accepted across the educational sector and parents have become more involved in the struggle for greater choice and freedoms within our institutions whilst at the same time there has been a recognised need to define and identify the philosophy and principles underlying era-rent practice Armstrong et al, 2000; Llewellyn et al, 2002; Moss, 2003). "Inclusive education" is defined as:

   ... first and foremost an attitude towards children with a
   disability, which accords them the right to participate along
   with other children in their local community childhood services.
   This is followed closely by practical--and often innovative--ways
   of ensuring that these children are part of the everyday,
   naturally occurring activities of the children's services setting
   (Llewellyn & Fante, 1999:92).

Inclusion is based on the principles of access and equity, least restrictive environment, educational programming for the individual, human rights (Ashman & Elkins, 2002) and social justice (DHS, 2002). Inclusive education differs from integration in that integration programs accommodate the child within existing organisations and practices.

   Inclusive education, by comparison, seeks to adapt systems and
   structures to meet needs, and fully involves the disabled or
   disaffected child ... in the process: adaptations to the school
   curriculum, to buildings, to attitudes and values, to language,
   images and role models are some of the changes required
   (LEA, 2002).

For pre-service early childhood teachers the principles of inclusion that can impact on practice are the following: 1) social justice, 2) least restrictive environments, 3) appropriate methods and materials, 4) belief all children can learn and 5) the principle of partial participation.

These principles will influence all aspects of the early childhood program and will take different forms from child to child and family to family. The following three examples of pre-service teachers' assignment work are presented in an attempt to unpack some of the tensions that are presently encountered between rhetoric, practical resourcing, beliefs, differing interpretations and everyday practice.

Presentation--Pre-service teachers role-play

Pre-service teachers were required to prepare a group presentation and deliver this to the rest of the tutorial. One group of three pre-service teachers prepared information on vision impairment and the early childhood teacher. The presentation was researched through the set text (Ashman & Elkins, 2002), visits to resource organisations, such as, the Royal Victorian Institute for the Blind, as well as integrating early childhood knowledge gained from other courses in the program. The pre-service teachers researched vision impairment and applied their research to the issue of including a specific child with vision impairment into an imagined early childhood setting. These pre-service teachers discussed their findings and presented a role-play to the tutorial as an illustration of how the general points under discussion might look in practice. The role play was videotaped.

The pre-service teachers took the pivotal roles of parent, teacher and a specialist teacher. The pre-service teacher who played the parent had researched the vision condition in the literature. She assumed parents would have sought detailed information about a situation that was so important to them and their child. She had also thought through the family social dynamics. These were extremely complex. She demonstrated worry for her child and at the same time a desire for the child to have a successful social experience. She also wanted some respite as her child was very dependent and she felt guilty about wanting this respite. The portrayal of the parent showed sensitivity and awareness of a variety of parental hopes, expectations and anxieties. The teachers' role had been equally well rehearsed. The pre-service teacher invited the parent to inform her about the situation, asked important and appropriate questions and welcomed the parent's questions about the program. The teacher reassured the parent and invited her to visit the program any time she wished. There was also an emphasis on the child's interests, social skills and play activities. The teacher then brought in the expert to assist her, and the parent, by discussing program goals and strategies. This was a collaborative effort with the parent and teacher taking dominant roles and asking for specific advice from the specialist.

Discussion of the pre-service teachers' role-play

Wills and Cain (2002) have identified five the characteristics for successful inclusion. They are as follows: 1) leadership, 2) collaboration, 3) assessment, 4) parent involvement and 5) inclusionary classroom practices. I suggest adding play-based curriculum to the list because of the age of the children studied in the "Inclusive Practice" course. In these early years play is a vehicle for understanding the world and self and also emphasises the social nature of learning. Collaboration, assessment and parent involvement were three characteristics that were most strongly modelled in the role-play. Each person participating had different knowledge and experience to share. This was done in a respectful way that gave a synergy to the exercise. The planning and discussion of strategies followed what the pre-service teachers considered early childhood notions of best practice by 1) starting with the child, 2) concentrating on the concept that learning occurs within social relationships and 3) focussing on what the child might desire to experience in a group social setting. The specialist was used to provide practical suggestions. She also made some suggestions about use of the environment that might facilitate easier visual access to people and activities. Assessment would be based on observations and a follow up date would be set.

These were three capable, articulate pre-service teachers listening to each other and working together for the best interests of this child and her family. Each was acting the role their training had taught them to expect of themselves if they were in this everyday situation. The parent was seeking to provide knowledge about her child and to be given trust that someone as vulnerable as a four-year-old child with a vision impairment would be happy in a pre-school setting. The teacher explained practices in the pre-school as she would for every parent and also addressed the particular concerns of the parent and asked focused questions to find out more about the child and her likes and dislikes. The specialist sat quietly through the first half of the interview and came in when invited. Whilst the pre-service teachers were with their peers and the lecturer in the tutorial they discussed the relationship between the professionals and the parent and this discussion reflected a strong early childhood philosophy about the importance of reciprocal relationships. The relationships presented in the role play most closely represented the two higher order relationships in Porter's (2002) taxonomy of collaboration and an employer-employee relationship. This focus became somewhat diluted when the pre-service teachers individually researched the literature for their report assignments.

Pre-service teachers' use of the literature in report writing

In addition to the presentations pre-service teachers were asked to either carry out a case study in an early childhood setting or complete a report on one of the topics covered in the course. As the case study required levels of access that many pre-service teachers did not have and considerable forward planning was needed to organise the observations and interviews; a number of pre-service teachers chose to present a report. For this part of the study seventeen assignments were examined.

The Inclusive Practices reports

This was an optional assignment for pre-service teachers not able to complete the major assignment of the case study. A formal report on one of the weekly topics covered in the course was required. Areas that could be addressed in the report included the following: Principles of inclusion; General information on the topic chosen; Children's rights; Play based curriculum; Working with families; Role of the teacher, community, specialists The topics chosen by the seventeen pre-service teachers were: Inclusive education--2; Social/emotional difficulties--1; Learning difficulties--1; Autistic spectrum disorder--3; ADD/ADHD--3; Hearing impairment--6; Working with families--1. To support a discussion on the pre-service teachers' use of the literature, the following information was collated. The bibliographies from the assignments were listed in the following way. Each assignment was labelled alphabetically. Then the references were listed to show the overall number and whether they were books, journals, or websites. The DHS website had a separate column. These were further divided into three categories. The book or article was directed at the general early childhood field (eg. Dockett & Fleer, 1999) with topics including special needs or early intervention (eg. Schopler & Mesibov, 1994) and inclusive education (eg. Fleming & Mclvor, 1999).

The content of the seventeen assignments was summarised by listing which of the weekly topic areas had been chosen for the report and which one had been given the greatest emphasis. Emphasis was decided by the order of presentation that had been chosen and the proportion of the report that was given over to that particular topic. A final categorisation looked at one topic area the role of the teacher. Fourteen of the assignments included this topic. Statements about the role of the teacher in relation to general principles and specific strategies were written down and ordered according to popularity. There was such an accord here that towards the end of the exercise there were some assignments that offered no new statements. Only statements that appeared more than once have been included. The statements that have asterisks next to them had previously been identified by pre-service teachers as belonging more to an "Early Intervention" approach than to "Inclusion" (Foreman, 2001). Statements of general principle

* Attitudes are the most important contributing factor to successful inclusion.

* When teachers embrace diversity they will have the confidence to realise they can include all children who are different.

* Teachers should provide achievable and challenging activities for all children.

* Parents know most about their child.

* Children with special needs should be in groups with typically developing peers as much as possible.

* The environment should be one of acceptance that will help the child achieve success and will improve self-esteem and self-concept

* Children learn best through play.

* Teachers need observational skills in order to be able to identify children with additional needs.

* Teachers need to be aware of methods for dealing with problem behaviours. *

* Teachers should advocate for children's rights.

* Teachers should encourage social and functional independence.

* Teachers should keep abreast of legislation.

Statements of strategies:

* Consultation with appropriate professionals

* Use concrete materials

* Allow time and opportunities for practice

* Provide positive feedback, in the form of praise, frequently *

* Adapt materials where necessary

* Avoid labelling

* Meet regularly with families

* Planned ignoring of minor undesirable behaviours *

* Remove child from group if necessary *

* Use direct instruction. Speak clearly and slowly and repeat instructions *

* Attend professional development

* Eliminate distractions like too much noise or visual stimulation *

* Have consistent routines and clear rules *

* Provide clear disciplinary consequences such as time out (18 months-6 years). *

In relation to the last statement one pre-service teacher put a comment in brackets: "The use of time-out is contentious, and, it could be argued, not reflective of the principle of inclusion (Report J.)" This was the only stated recognition that there might be incongruence between the philosophy of "inclusion" and suggested strategies for practice contained in the literature.

Discussion--Reports

Choice of topics for these seventeen case studies was somewhat limited. Fourteen dealt with specific difficulties or impairments with six reports on hearing impairment. A surprise in the group that reported on hearing impairment was the absence of any discussion of the Deaf community or the possibilities offered by the existence of Auslan (Australian sign language). The reports emphasised technical information about how the ear works and types of hearing loss and there was little discussion of language and communication. There were a number of curriculum and program specific topics offered in the study program that were not represented in the assignments. Also, the topic of gifted children was not chosen. Students in any course will presumably choose topics motivated by such concerns as revel of interest, how much understanding they feel they have of the subject and access to resources. Another motivation could be anxiety about the future. Vlachou (1997) reported many teachers stated they felt ill-prepared to include children with disabilities in their classrooms. Pre-service teachers aware of these issues might consider they are making a practical choice by trying to learn about the unfamiliar.

The pre-service teachers' use of the literature indicated that more references in the special needs category were used than the inclusive education literature (ninety-three versus sixty-nine), or the early childhood literature (ninety three versus forty-four). There are a number of reasons why this might be the case. The university library has a much stronger collection of books and journals in the special needs, early intervention category than in the inclusion category. One reason is that much of the literature on inclusion is fairly recent. There are also not clearly defined differences between a special needs, early intervention or inclusive approach. In many cases the differentiation between the models can be confusing or terms are used interchangeably. The early childhood literature was strongly used indicating pre-service teachers could generalise information across courses. The content chosen illustrated this point. The role of the teacher was the most discussed with eighteen sections on the teachers' role appearing across fourteen reports. However, only one report had the teachers' role as its main emphasis. Most put emphasis on the chosen topic, which was the child's difficulty or disability in most cases. The early childhood literature emphasises the concept of children's rights, the importance of the family as a developmental context and play-based curriculum. Fourteen of the seventeen bibliographies had mainstream early childhood references but only one report had an early childhood orientation in its main emphasis. Even the assignment on working with families gave most attention to the role of specialists.

From the sections on the role of the teacher, statements of general principles and statements of teaching strategies were recorded. With the exception of statement nine, "Teachers need to be aware of methods for dealing with problem behaviours", all the principle statements reflect ideas of good quality early childhood practice (eg. Nutbrown, 1996) and inclusion (Ministry of Education, Te Tahuhu o te Matauranga, 2000). However, seven of the statements of strategies, four, eight, nine, ten, twelve, thirteen, fourteen, were more to do with the changing of behaviours in a situation of aversive control than with the development of empathy and self regulated action. The pattern that emerges here is that the pre-service teachers have used a balance of literature, shown a strong interest in specific conditions as opposed to general principles, have identified humanist principles of practice and have at the practice level introduced into half their suggested practices strategies that belong to a cognitive behavioural model. This pattern is even stronger in the case studies carried out in early childhood settings.

Case studies

Seven case studies were examined in order to explore pre-service teachers' understandings of inclusive principles and practices in the workplace. Pre-service teachers were to observe a child in a mainstream educational setting, for example, preschool, child care, or early years of school. There were to be at least ten observations and five would show the child in an interactive situation if possible. One adult involved in the child's life would be interviewed. Either parent or a teacher who had worked with the child for some time would be suitable. A developmental profile would be drawn up based on the interview material and the observations. Source of information had to be clearly referenced in the profile. The pre-school teacher would then discuss programming and planning for the child within the particular context.

The case studies have been summarised giving the following information; 1) the child's diagnosis, 2) whether the interview was with the teacher of the parent, 3)number of observations, 4) teacher strategies presently used and 5) the major recommendation from the pre-service teacher.

Discussion--Case studies

One of the underlying principles of inclusion is the principle of social justice (Dempsey, 2001) and this also includes issues of access and equity. Dempsey takes the notion of social justice to mean "the elimination of injustice" (p. 36). When the case study summary is examined there are some genuine concerns about teacher practices and pre-service teachers' recommendations that would suggest some of the children observed were being constrained by teacher perceptions of them and their competence and pre-service teachers were hesitant, or unable, to be reflective in some instances.

The children in the case studies had been diagnosed with the following; 1) autism, 2) Down Syndrome, 3) Cerebral palsy, 4) global delay, 5) Cerebral palsy, 6) vision impairment and 7) gifted. The teacher strategies could all be categorised as behavioural in approach. This may be in keeping with the on-going popularity of cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT). It raises the issue of what type of knowledge and expertise is most listened to in our care and education institutions. Is behavioural psychology seen as science and therefore more privileged than a reliance on human relationships? Are there general attitudinal and ideological influences that make generalist teachers look for answers outside their own training and knowledge base? Early childhood trained teachers who have been educated at institutions where Vygotsky's work is emphasised, currently common in Australia, should be especially uneasy about an approach that comes from a model where a behaviour is something to be identified and fixed and also, is a model that uses strategies that inappropriately emphasise the individual. The emphasis on observed behaviour often only addresses superficial problems and children's understandings, intentions and competence are therefore not recognised. In the seven case studies not one of the teacher's strategies could be recognised as culturally or developmentally appropriate. In the case of the students four moved towards a more humanist approach in their recommendations for practice, one needed more study and two were uncritical of practices that would not be recommended in their text (Ashman & Elkins, 2002).

The observations and interview material were not related to strategies and]or recommendations in a number of the case studies. In the first centre the child had been diagnosed as having autistic tendencies as he was not talking with adults and his peers. Staff were using a system of reinforcement and rewards to encourage this child to communicate. The pre-service teacher was able to interview the mother in her home language and found the mother's knowledge of the child's language competence to be very different to the impression the educational setting had. This child was talkative and lively in his first language in the home setting. In the second instance an assistant was using remedial and augmentive communicative strategies, Makaton sign and a picture exchange communication system, with a child with Down Syndrome and there were no individual records to justify this. The pre-service teacher suggested observations and individual planning based on observations could be a beginning. Number three centre was responding to a child, who was confident with adults and shy of peers, as a behaviour problem and had instigated a behaviour modification program with this child. In the case of number four the child had been diagnosed with global delay and was attending an outside intervention program. The centre was pleased with the support the child received and there was no collaboration between the external program and the centre staff. The fifth study was on a child diagnosed with cerebral palsy. The centre were generally encouraging the child using strategies like praise. The pre-service teacher felt unable to contribute in this instance. In case study six a child with vision impairment was experiencing shaming about her lack of confidence. The pre-service teacher suggested behaviour modification. The child in seven had asynchronic development and this concerned staff who responded by trying to control this. The pre-service teacher approved a program of confrontation and firmness with a child who was thought to be gifted.

A question that occurs in all seven cases is why have all these teachers completely ignored their own knowledge base? One answer could relate to the earlier discussion on professional partnerships. Teachers have been seen as carrying out the plans of expert others. Teachers, next to parents, will spend most time with the child. The teacher is also a facilitator of the group context that in social learning terms has tremendous potential. The pattern that emerged from the summary of the case studies suggests an urgent need to bring together the different players in the child's life in a more inclusive way.

Conclusion

This paper has discussed RMIT pre-service teachers' assignments from an inclusive education course. The pattern that emerged was that the further the pre-service teachers moved from the university classroom the less their ideas and practice were informed by either early childhood theory or inclusion principles. This pattern is indicative of the tensions that presently abound in the area of inclusive education as well as the tensions that exist between the different groups of professionals who work with young children and their families. The Meyer report referred to general educators having "a lack of knowledge and skills to support children with disabilities" (2001:30) but the problem would appear to be deeper than that. The early childhood teachers and pre-service teachers in this study did not appear to have trust in theft own early childhood knowledge base. This is a philosophy and knowledge base which should fit comfortably with the principles of inclusion.

References

Armstrong, F., Armstrong, D. & Barton, L. (Eds.) (2000). Inclusive education: Policy, contexts and comparative perspectives. London: David Fulton Publishers.

Ashman, A. & Elkins, E. (Eds.) (2002). Educating children with diverse abilities. NSW: Prentice Hall.

Dempsey, I. (2001). Principles and policies for integration and inclusion. Foreman, P. (Ed.) Integration and inclusion in action. Victoria: Nelson. Pp. 35-86

Department of Human Services (DHS) (2002). Victorian State disability plan 2002-2012. http://www.dhs.vic.gov.au/disability

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Wills, D. & Cain, P. (2002). Workshop to identify key competencies required for teachers to work in and foster inclusive school communities. Joint discussion paper. Edith Cowan University, November 13th.

Berenice Nyland, RMIT University, Australia

Nyland lectures in early childhood education. She has an on-going interest in children's rights and has published and presented in this area for more than a decade.