Disability discrimination is an ongoing problem in Australian schools. This study analyses the tension that exists between the requirements of the disability discrimination legislation and the way that principals make decisions about the inclusion of students with disabilities in Queensland state schools. The findings from the study suggest that principals believe the disability discrimination legislation is relevant but it is not helpful in providing a framework for discrimination-free decision-making. Instead, the democratic governance processes of inclusion and collaboration are identified as essential elements of the school principal's decision-making process if inclusive school cultures are to thrive and if discrimination is to be reduced or eliminated. Habermas's critical theory of lifeworld and systems world provides the conceptual framework to analyse the complex lifeworld of the principal and the systemic requirements of the legislation. A lifeworld model of decision-making interactions within the inclusive school is proposed from the data collected in this study. Data were collected using a mixed methodology in which 120 principals responded to surveys about their perspectives on inclusion. This was followed by a series of in-depth interviews with six principals who described their schools as inclusive. Focus groups also provided group perspectives and verified the data collected from the surveys and interviews. Together, the quantitative data and the qualitative information complement each other to provide comprehensive perspectives from principals about inclusion and the law. Recommendations are made in the final chapters that propose a new legal paradigm for disability discrimination legislation so that the discordance between the systems world of the law and the lifeworld of the principal may be reduced. More specific policy and governance recommendations promote collaborative decision-making models to facilitate shared understandings about complex issues that relate to disability.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ADTP/264971 |
| Date | January 2004 |
| Creators | Keeffe, Mary Bernice |
| Publisher | Queensland University of Technology |
| Source Sets | Australiasian Digital Theses Program |
| Detected Language | English |
| Rights | Copyright Mary Bernice Keeffe |
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