Developing a framework to facilitate primary school teachers’ change of professional discourse about inclusive pedagogical approaches

Abstract

According to recent research studies, teachers foster negative attitudes toward inclusive pedagogical approaches. These negative attitudes are the result of surface level training in inclusive pedagogical approaches and Inclusive Education (IE) policies implemented by the South African (SA) Department of Education (DE) and Department of Basic Education (DBE). A plethora of IE policies on addressing learning barriers and implementing inclusive pedagogical approaches in schools have been developed in recent years, however teachers are still unsure of how to implement these approaches in their classrooms. There is a limited professional discourse of inclusive pedagogical approaches in SA schools as a result of inadequate training, limited support from government structures and a lack of understanding of how to implement IE strategies in the diverse contexts of SA schools. This thesis addresses the identified gap by implementing a five-week Intervention Programme (IP) and investigating how comprehensive IE training may facilitate a change in discourse. This study has one main research question and addresses the aim of the research: “How can a framework which facilitates primary school teachers’ change of professional discourse about inclusive pedagogical approaches be developed?” The main research question was guided by five sub-questions: (i) What were teachers’ initial professional discourse on pedagogical approaches before the IP? (ii) How can teachers create a shared meaning (attitudes, values and skills) of inclusive pedagogy principles? (iii) How can teachers change their professional discourse through a process of reflective practice? (iv) Why do teachers change their professional discourse on inclusive pedagogical approaches? (v) How can teachers implement inclusive pedagogy principles in their own classrooms after the five-week IP? Theoretical and conceptual frameworks such as Engeström’s (1987) Activity Theory Framework (ATF), Garrison, Archer and Anderson’s (2000) Community of Inquiry (CoI) and Strampel and Oliver’s (2007) Levels of Reflection underpinned this research study. Research Question 1 was guided by the ATF and Research Question 2 to 5 were guided by the CoI (Garrison et al., 2000) and Strampel and Oliver’s (2007) Levels of Reflection. A critical interpretive paradigm, qualitative approach and collective case study design were used. The investigation was conducted in the Western Cape (WC), South Africa at three fullservice schools situated in the Metro Central Education District (MCED). The IP was presented at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology’s (CPUT) library. Twelve teachers with a range of teaching experiences and who actively worked with inclusive pedagogical approaches in their classrooms were involved in this study. The duration of the IP was from July 2019 to September 2019.The five-week IP was used as a diagnostic tool to facilitate a change in teachers’ discourse of inclusive pedagogical approaches. Relevant theory and practical knowledge, as stipulated in the IE policies, were presented. Pedagogical techniques such as participant collaboration, case studies, critical discussion and evaluative/reflective strategies were used during the IP to promote an active learning environment. An initial open-ended questionnaire, IP, an open-ended questionnaire used as a tool for reflective writing, observations, focus group discussions and individual interviews were the data collection methods that best suited the nature of this research study. The data was transformed by the researcher using category analysis, a deductive approach and an inductive approach. The researcher organised her data in accordance with the five research questions and the three theoretical frameworks. Following the organisation of the data under the headings of the research questions, the researcher used the indicators of the theoretical and conceptual framework to colour-code all of the data in a word-processor. In this study, there were five important findings, namely: (i) it was found that teachers had limited prior knowledge of inclusive pedagogical approaches and were unsure of their roles and responsibilities in implementing IE strategies in their classrooms; (ii) a shared definition of IE emerged during the IP and participants learned the value of IE's collaborative culture; (iii) for teachers to grasp IE theoretical and practical knowledge on a deeper cognitive level, focused instruction and reflective practices were required; (iv) an active learner-centred approach to the IP encouraged teachers to implement IE strategies in their classrooms; and (v) after the five-week IP teachers felt more confident in their abilities regarding IE implementation and subsequently changed their professional discourse on IE. Based on these findings, the Facilitating Discourse Framework (FDF) conceptual framework was developed to explain the complex process of facilitating change in professional discourse. The FDF is a significant contribution because it employs an in-depth training approach that equips teachers with a thorough understanding of how to successfully implement IE policies and strategies in their classrooms. Changes in the professional discourse surrounding inclusive pedagogical approaches are necessary for the implementation of IE strategies to be successful. These approaches are more likely to be used in classrooms by teachers who have a better understanding of and attitude towards inclusive pedagogy. Additionally, teachers who work together to address IE implementation issues are more likely to create IE plans that are viable in their particular school environment. As the focus of this study was solely on full-service school teachers interested in implementing inclusive pedagogical approaches in the MCED of the Western Cape Education Department (WCED), SA, this information cannot necessarily be generalised to other teachers or mainstream/full-service schools in SA or internationally. It is recommended that all IE policies be updated to include more specific inclusive pedagogical approaches rather than the broad strategies currently provided. It is recommended that the DBE and District Based Support Teams (DBST) provide in-depth training to teachers on inclusive pedagogical approaches using the FDF framework. Future research may be carried out in full-service and mainstream schools in SA. It is suggested that future research investigate how the FDF can be used to facilitate professional discourse in other areas of education.