Thesis (Ed. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 1997. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 131-148). Also available on the Internet.

Thesis (D.Phil. (Curriculum and Instructional Design and Development))-University of Pretoria, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references. Available on the Internet via the World Wide Web.

Thesis (M.Ed.)--Regis University, Denver, Colo., 2006. / Title from PDF title page (viewed on Sept. 14, 2006). Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (D. Phil. (Curriculum and Instructional Design and Development))--University of Pretoria, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references. Available on the Internet via the World Wide Web.

This research investigates the practices of teachers in Nigerian classrooms where children with disabilities are being educated alongside their peers. The research objective was to develop an understanding of how teachers in Nigerian classrooms are developing their practice. Since the commitment the Nigerian government to the provision of universal basic and inclusive education for all children, research and reports on what the implementation of inclusive practice entails have been carried out. These have been largely quantitative, focusing on the percentage of children with disabilities who now have access to basic education and the percentage of these children in regular schools or classrooms. The research in Nigeria has used surveys to determine the attitudes and readiness of teachers and school administrators to implement inclusive practice. The problems of implementing inclusive practice have also received attention. It is against this background that this qualitative inquiry seeks to understand what is happening in classrooms with regard to the teaching and learning of all children. To address the main research question, how are teachers with experience of inclusive education developing practice in Nigerian classrooms? qualitative data was generated over eight weeks through the use of semi-structured (non-participant) classroom observations, which were followed-up by semi-structured interviews with 12 teachers from three different schools. To further enhance the understanding of the teachers’ developing practices, the schools’ administrators (either the principal or vice principal) and the resource persons were also interviewed. The overall design of the study was an instrumental-collective case study in which teachers were purposively sampled on the basis of their experience of inclusive education. This design was based on the understanding that inclusive practice is developed through an interaction of what teachers do, what they believe and what they know. Thus, a single factor of readiness and a positive attitude does not fully account for the development of practice (Rouse, 2008). The framework for participation, developed by Black-Hawkins (2010; 2014), guided the process of data generation and the analysis. This research is based on an understanding of inclusive practice as a process of addressing and responding to diverse learning needs that emphasizes how this response is provided. This understanding provided the premise within which the data was deductively (i.e. theoretically driven) analysed. An inductive approach to the analysis was also added to the deductive process of analysing the data generated in order to develop an understanding of the case teachers’ classroom practices. Three main findings emerged from this study. Firstly, teachers’ actions are influenced by their understanding of what teaching and learning are, as well as their knowledge and beliefs about the process through which children with disabilities are expected to learn. Case teachers’ knowledge was found to have significantly influenced their practices. Secondly, there was an absence of collaborative efforts between teachers and/or between teachers and resource persons available within the school context. This absence of collaboration is often associated with a lack of understanding or clarity with regard to the role of resource persons. Thirdly, this study identified barriers and opportunities that were embedded in teachers’ developing practice. The barriers include an absence of a sense of shared values in the classroom between all members of the classroom community, while the opportunities include the use of information from students with disabilities as a source of support to enhance classroom practice. This research contributes to the literature on inclusive classroom practice, especially the strand of literature that in recent years has called for investigations into what inclusive classroom practice comprises and when such practice can be identified on the basis of clearly stated underpinning principles (Florian, 2014b). In using clearly identified principles, it was possible to identify that both inclusive and exclusive practices can be present in the same classroom context and why this is so. Through the use of the framework for participation and theoretical ideas developed and used in researching inclusive education in a different context, this thesis has demonstrated the extent to which these ideas can be applicable in other contexts. In so doing some findings have been reasserted and new insight situated in a particular context has been developed. It is therefore argued that understanding the processes of developing inclusive practice requires a need to situate practice in the broader cultural assumptions, expectations and values of teaching and learning. The findings are discussed and recommendations such as the need for a more deliberate and collaborative efforts in working with resource persons to enhance classroom teachers’ ability to address learning difficulties while developing their inclusive classroom practice are made. The conclusion drawn is that teachers with experience of inclusive education in Nigeria are developing practice that meets some of the theoretical standards of inclusive classroom practice. Regardless of this, there are certain cultural assumptions, understandings and ideas that need to be reflected on and reviewed in order for practice to be further developed and improved upon in Nigeria.

Violent conflicts related to tribal-political differences have characterised the Kenyan society since the declaration of multi-party democracy in 1991. The 2007/8 post-election violence (PEV) in particular resulted in the displacement of many Kenyans. Scattering of families saw some children losing months or years of schooling with others permanently excluded from education, while the participation and achievement of those arriving in school was characterised by complex needs and experiences. This PhD study explored pupil and teacher perceptions of the learning and development needs of conflict-affected children in one primary school in Kenya. In particular, this study sought to understand how school leadership practice was developed and leadership roles negotiated, in order to meet pupils’ needs and develop an inclusive ethos. The study addressed the connection between leadership, inclusion and post-conflict education. A single intrinsic case study with aspects of ethnography was undertaken adopting an interpretive approach. Sixteen pupils (9–12 year-olds) shared their views of their learning and development needs through two activities. The headteacher, deputy, senior teacher and six teachers were interviewed (n=9) and asked to reflect on the challenges they experienced in addressing pupils’ needs. Their perceptions of the roles for school leadership were sought, and observations of their everyday practices were conducted in classrooms, assemblies and school ceremonies. Data from these interviews, observations, texts-on-walls, and pupils’ activities were thematically analysed. The participants identified the following as pupils’ learning and development needs: access to, acceptance in, and predictability of their new school; ‘peer-connectedness’, social development, and social inclusion. Children emerged as active agents in their own education, combating adversity through supportive peer relationships. Eurocentric and African perspectives on leadership, and Davies’ (2004) work on education and post-conflict reconstruction were particularly useful in making-sense of how leadership unfolded in practice. Three areas of educational reconstruction in particular were identified as significantly underpinning leadership roles: i) reconstruction of leadership structures allowed shared leadership which facilitated the meeting of pupils’ needs at different levels; ii) reconstruction of relationships targeted repairing children’s emotional, social and moral distortion, and iii) reconstruction of learning cultures encouraged collaborative learning initiatives that improved academic standards. The study found that the connection between school leadership and inclusion in post-conflict schools can be understood along three themes. The first is ‘post-conflict conflict’. I have used this term to reflect that the cessation of overt tribal violence, coupled with movement of pupils into this new settlement ushered in a new phase of conflict for pupils, teachers, schools and their communities. Schooling was characterised by poverty, fragmented/mobile families, distorted social values associated with post-election atrocities, alongside, structural barriers linked to government and sponsor-related needs. Second, ‘connectedness’: while societal fragmentation produced divisions, fear and suspicion of ‘others’, reversing the situation required school leadership to foster social connectedness. Finally, ‘Africanised school leadership’: fostering connectedness required enlisting communal responsibility and mutuality in undertaking emerging roles, thus, employing aspects of local indigenous heritage. The study contributes to knowledge in the emerging field of educational leadership in post-conflict settings (Clarke and O’Donoghue, 2013) whilst addressing the less investigated connection between teachers, leadership and inclusive education (Edmund and Macmillan, 2010), particularly in post-conflict circumstances. The research is timely in informing leadership programs that the government of Kenya is advancing e.g. in decentralising decision-making (MOE, 2012b/c) and, re-alignment to its obligations in the IDP Protocol of the Great Lakes Pact (Kigozi, 2014). Recommendations are made for policy, practice and further research. The conclusion to my study argues for a reconceptualisation of school leadership practice beyond single-leader paradigms, whilst revisiting prioritisation of roles for school leadership, especially, towards fostering inclusiveness in the conflict-prone Kenyan society.

Prior to the advent of the new democratic political dispensation in 1994, South African education had laboured under racially motivated discriminatory practices of active exclusion of the majority of learners. The authoritarian system located educational problems in the perceived deficiencies of the learner rather than in the repressive, top-down, non-participative, unreflective and uninclusive practices of the prevailing educational orthodoxy of the time. After 1994, the broader reconceptualisation of South African education sought to redress the imbalances of the past by creating equal opportunities for all learners, irrespective of race or creed. However, the difficult conundrum was how such a complex systemic change could be driven by teachers who had not only been trained in a heavily segregated educational system but formed part of it. Therefore, the aim of the thesis was to determine how teachers conceptualised inclusive teaching, explore the teaching practices that were believed to be effective in promoting inclusion in the South African secondary classrooms, and determine how they could be developed. The two-dimensional research study firstly took the form of a qualitative collaborative action research project conducted with a team of fifteen teachers at a single South African secondary school. The project was non-positivistic, critical, emancipatory and allowed the participants jointly to define the constructs of inclusive education, inclusive teaching and inclusive class; to identify practices of inclusion through observation; to adopt other practices in their classes; to determine the effect of such practices on inclusive teaching and learning; and finally to draw conclusions about the specific practices that were clearly effective in the context of their school. Secondly, an inductive analytical framework was used by the researcher to determine the theoretical contribution the study would make to the notion of developing inclusive teaching practices and determining the way this could be achieved within the South African school context. Data were collected through a series of meetings, participant observations, focus-group interviews, and one-on-one semi-structured interviews during the action-research stages of planning, action and reflection. Limitations were the teacher-researchers' lack of experience in conducting research and the limited time the research team had to complete the research tasks. The findings indicate that, at the time of the research, the conceptualisations of inclusive teaching and inclusive pedagogy were varied and continued to be influenced by the former special-needs education system. Moreover, the findings show that, while the inclusive practices identified by the teachers in this study are popular in the international literature, they need to be contextualised in and made relevant to the South African situation. However, it is clear that the teachers' experience of participating in the action-research process had raised their awareness of the importance of inclusive teaching, promoted a sense of emancipation, and held out the prospect of successful and possibly lasting change. These findings clearly imply that the reconceptualisation of inclusive pedagogy should always take place within a specific context, and that South African teachers in particular should form communities of inquiry to reflect on and develop their inclusive practices. The study has captured the essence of inclusion within the South African school context and has identified areas that need further research, for example the impact of different cultural beliefs on both teachers and learners in relation to inclusion. In conclusion, the study has demonstrated the unique contribution of action research in promoting continuous reflection, revision and intervention as indispensable procedures in the process of improving inclusive teaching and learning.

Par le biais d’une étude de cas portant sur un conseil scolaire anglophone ontarien, la recherche entreprise avait pour objectif l’analyse de la mise en œuvre de politiques touchant l’éducation des élèves réfugiés du niveau secondaire en Ontario, soit la politique à l’égard des élèves English language learners de 2007 ainsi que la Stratégie ontarienne d’équité et d’éducation inclusive de 2009. La réalisation d’entrevues semi-dirigées auprès d’informateurs clés du conseil scolaire, du ministère de l’Éducation de l’Ontario et d’un organisme local d’aide à l’établissement des nouveaux arrivants, l’analyse de documents publiés par les deux premières entités ainsi que l’observation non participante à des réunions de comités consultatifs du conseil scolaire ont permis l’exploration de l’impact constaté ou potentiel de la mise en œuvre de ces politiques sur la mise en place d’un modèle de système inclusif de prestation de programmes et services en matière d’éducation des élèves réfugiés du niveau secondaire.

Par le biais d’une étude de cas portant sur un conseil scolaire anglophone ontarien, la recherche entreprise avait pour objectif l’analyse de la mise en œuvre de politiques touchant l’éducation des élèves réfugiés du niveau secondaire en Ontario, soit la politique à l’égard des élèves English language learners de 2007 ainsi que la Stratégie ontarienne d’équité et d’éducation inclusive de 2009. La réalisation d’entrevues semi-dirigées auprès d’informateurs clés du conseil scolaire, du ministère de l’Éducation de l’Ontario et d’un organisme local d’aide à l’établissement des nouveaux arrivants, l’analyse de documents publiés par les deux premières entités ainsi que l’observation non participante à des réunions de comités consultatifs du conseil scolaire ont permis l’exploration de l’impact constaté ou potentiel de la mise en œuvre de ces politiques sur la mise en place d’un modèle de système inclusif de prestation de programmes et services en matière d’éducation des élèves réfugiés du niveau secondaire.

Title from second page of PDF document. Includes bibliographical references (p. 118-123).