This thesis provides a synthesis of knowledge about inclusive networking in an international context, derived from the experience of stakeholders in education in countries of the South. It is suggested that inclusive networking facilitates the telling of stories, challenges stereotypes, humanises headlines and promotes contextually relevant research. The research question: “What are the key principles for the development of an inclusive international network?” was developed as a guide to this study. Using a process of autoethnographic analysis, I identified my tacit knowledge of inclusive networking through a continual analysis and cross-referencing of the ten publications presented here, and a wider search of the literature. This thesis is presented as a narrative in three parts. In the first part I trace my motivation for becoming involved in international networking as a strategy to address global inequality, review the literature on networking most relevant to this thesis, and identify some of the barriers to publishing faced by education stakeholders in the South. In the second part, a case study of the Enabling Education Network (EENET) is presented and a wide range of networking dilemmas identified, related to the way information is collected and shared across diverse Southern contexts. The overarching dilemmas of northern dominance and deficit thinking are discussed in the context of oral culture and the global digital and communication divide, and the difficulties in promoting genuinely critical conversations. In the third part, it is argued that contextual detail and transparency about authorship are critical to the construction of stories and accounts if they are to be meaningfully networked across diverse contexts. However, it is suggested that investing resources in the development of documentation, reflection and analytical skills in education stakeholders is an essential part of inclusive networking, if ‘promising’ practice is to be captured from a Southern perspective. Following this, the penultimate chapter puts forward four key principles relating to the development of an inclusive international network that emerged from the analysis of publications and the wider literature: 1. sharing of information, knowledge and stories between contexts; 2. knowledge creation: through reflection, documentation and analysis; 3. balancing insider and outsider knowledge and perspectives; and 4. developing appropriate responses at community level. I conclude with some possible future directions for research, and with a personal story which encapsulates the theoretical framework of this thesis.

Considering the significance of integrating students with disabilities into general education classes in Mississippi, it is critical to identify the methods by which co-teachers report working together, whether they have obtained the needed professional development, and which teaching model they employ in the inclusion classroom. This data can facilitate the assessment and efficacy of inclusive practices and offer valuable insights into potential areas requiring enhancement. Furthermore, by gaining insight into the experiences of co-teachers, future training initiatives and assistance for educators in advocating for the effective integration of students with disabilities can be enhanced. The purpose of this research was to determine the manner in which inclusion general and special education teachers in Mississippi public schools collaborate, whether they have participated in professional development, and which instructional approach they employ in the inclusion classroom. A mixed methodologies research study was conducted utilizing a SurveyMonkey survey. The frequencies and percentages of the responses to the multiple-choice questions were determined via quantitative analysis. To ascertain codes and themes, open-ended responses were subjected to qualitative analysis. The study's findings offered valuable insights into how inclusion instructors in Mississippi recount their experiences in an inclusion classroom.

The aim of this research was to investigate stakeholder attitudes towards people, with dyslexia, training to be primary classroom practitioners. The study examined stakeholder awareness and understanding of the term dyslexia; their perceived strengths and challenges, of those training to be teachers, with dyslexia. The study explored the impact of attitudes on disclosure of dyslexia and the potential of their employability as primary teachers in light of inclusive legislation and whether attitudes, held by a range of stakeholders, were on a neutral to positive or neutral to negative spectrum. The research entailed the implementation of an online questionnaire completed by 214 current stakeholders (including Initial teacher Education lecturers, school staff, Initial Teacher Education students and parents) and 11 semi-structured interviews. Findings suggest that there is uncertainty and confusion about the term dyslexia, its associated characteristics and its causes. Many stakeholders perceive dyslexia negatively with key characteristics being linked, predominantly, to deficits in reading, writing and spelling. This research has found that stakeholders identify a number of strengths that those with dyslexia bring to the teaching profession. These key strengths include empathy, inclusive practice and ease of identification of children with dyslexia. The main challenges/concerns identified by stakeholders, of those entering the profession, with dyslexia, were - the demands of the profession; the inability to teach particular age groups/subjects and the level of support needed to ensure success and retention following qualification. This latter concern constitutes a key finding of this research, as the level of support afforded by universities is perceived as being unrealistic in the workplace. The ethical responsibility that universities have, in preparing students for the demands and reality of the workplace, has emerged. The notion of what constitutes ‘reasonable adjustments’ is questioned by many stakeholders. This research concludes that a number of ‘reasonable adjustments’ are perceived as being unreasonable within the teaching profession due to the professional roles, responsibilities and requirements of being a teaching professional. Furthermore, uncertainty about legislation exists with regard to reasonable adjustments, whose responsibility it is to enforce reasonable adjustments and how schools can actually support those with dyslexia, in light of professional standards. Overall, this research has found that 16.1% more stakeholders display attitudes on the neutral to positive spectrum than neutral to negative with regard to those with dyslexia training to be primary classroom teachers. However, this masks major differences between stakeholders and between responses to particular statements/questions. A significant majority of stakeholders demonstrated a negative attitude towards the notion of people with dyslexia entering the teaching profession, believing that parents should be concerned if their child is being taught by someone with dyslexia. Both of these findings could have serious implications on the future disclosure of those with dyslexia. This research has found that a fear of stigmatisation and potential discrimination, which deter those with dyslexia from disclosing on course and job applications are justified and real. This research concludes that employability chances are lessened upon disclosure of dyslexia.

No description available.

No description available.

The aim of this study was to investigate the role of personal, social and citizenship education (PSCE) in fostering positive self-esteem in two instrumental case studies which took place in two classrooms of 7-10 year old children (N=40) in France during the 2007-2008 school year. The study used a mixture of quantitative and qualitative methodologies including a self-esteem survey administered to pupils in the two case-study classrooms as well as to students in two control classrooms (N=47) at the beginning and end of the school year. Throughout the course of the year a series of semi-structured interviews was also conducted with six focus children selected from each class (2 high, 2 medium and 2 low self-esteem children) as well as with the two class teachers and the parents/step-parents of the focus children. In addition, the study included non-participant observation which focussed on the participation and behaviour of the focus children during PSCE lessons and other lessons through the use of three separate observation schedules. The study found evidence of the important influence of significant others, in particular, parents, peers and teachers, on the focus children’s self-esteem. Although the quantitative analysis of the self-esteem questionnaires showed no statistically significant increase in self-esteem at the group level over time, the qualitative findings indicate that teachers’ relationship with their students, their promotion of responsibility and self-efficacy, and their careful implementation of PSCE practices contributed to increases in individual children’s self-esteem. There was also evidence that the implementation of PSCE activities contributed to improvements in children’s peer relations.

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

No description available.

The work presents Romani women as one of the disadvantaged groups for whom, according to transnational organizations, lifelong learning should be an opportunity to improve employability and improve social position in society. Today's society is working to make primary, secondary and terciary education accessible to disadvantaged children and youth, and adult education should also be prepared for diverse groups of learners. Inclusive education should respect the specific needs of its target group. The diploma thesis, based on fifteen years of experience in the education of Roma women, available data and knowledge gained through quantitative and qualitative research, specifies the perceived educational needs and expectations of this specific disadvantaged group in relation to further education. The thesis describes the intersectionality with which Romani women cope in life, and which must be perceived as the background and cause of the barriers they face in accessing further education. The last chapter outlines appropriate methods of making further education accessible to adult Romani women. Findings captured at work can also be related to other groups on the margins of society and at risk in the labor market. Key words: Roma, women, lifelong learning, further education, education, inclusion in...

Thesis advisor: David Scanlon / Despite the often-claimed purpose of equity, inclusive education has been defined and interpreted in different ways that paradoxically marginalize students. Teachers play a primary role in enacting inclusion, their concept of inclusion is, therefore, critical to inclusive practices and outcomes. This qualitative case study explored the impact of dialogue on preservice teachers’ understanding of inclusive education, using three major research questions: a) How do five preservice teachers conceptualize inclusive education before and after participating in a series of group dialogue? b) How do preservice teachers negotiate meanings of, perspectives on, and beliefs toward inclusion during the group dialogues when they face challenges around the concept and practice?, and c) How do facilitations—content/topics, guiding/follow-up questions, and supplementary materials and activities—mediate those negotiations?The participants were five female under-/graduate students in a teacher education program at a private Catholic University in the Northeastern United States, who were completing practicum at the time of the study. Data were collected from multiple sources, including surveys, follow-up conversations, pre/post-dialogue journal entries, individual semi-structured interviews, six group discussion sessions and accompanying artifacts (mind-maps and self-reflections), and field notes. For the first research question, qualitative content analysis and pre/post comparisons of individual participants’ journals and interviews were examined, to identify how the pre-service teachers changed their conceptualizations of inclusive education through their participation in the dialogue series. The commonalities and variations in their conceptualizations following the dialogue series were synthesized through cross-case analysis. For the second and third research questions, discussion segments and post-dialogue interviews were analyzed via constructivist grounded theory along with review of the supplementary artifacts. The findings suggested that group dialogues provided a learning space for the preservice teachers to deepen their understandings of inclusive education. A synthesis of the five single case studies revealed that, after the dialogue series, the preservice teachers conceptualized inclusion as a) a channel to prepare students for transition from the classroom/school to society, and b) a means to empower marginalized students under the rhetoric “for all,” as well as c) viewed teachers as a mechanism of inclusive action/enactment. Five themes emerged, revealing the ways in which the preservice teachers negotiated meanings of, perspectives on, and beliefs toward inclusion as they addressed challenges around the concept and practice through interactions, as well as the ways in which the facilitation mediated their negotiations. The five themes included: a) Convergence, b) Expansion Through Convergence, c) Divergence, d) Inconclusiveness, and e) Multiple Patterns. Further, the facilitation set the context where the preservice teachers could think through concrete examples in practice, provoked them to develop new ideas and perspectives and to (re)think about the issues critically enriching the discussions, and fostered their collective and individual sense-making. This study adds to knowledge on inclusive education and teacher dialogue as a learning tool, providing in-depth descriptions of how pre-service teachers developed a deeper understanding of inclusive education through facilitated group discussions that problematized taken-for-granted notions and practices of inclusion. It also provides a new instructional method of research that elucidates preservice teachers’ negotiation processes in dialogues. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2022. / Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education. / Discipline: Teacher Education, Special Education, Curriculum and Instruction.