European Journal of Inclusive Education

European Journal of Inclusive Education https://tidsskrift.dk/ejie The European Journal of Inclusive Education is the official journal of the Inclusive Education Network, founded in 1996 and affiliated to the <a href="https://eera-ecer.de" target="_blank" rel="noopener">EERA European Educational Research Association</a>. The European Journal of Inclusive Education provides an open-access forum for the exploration of issues associated with inclusive education across the age-range. Its focus is international and multi-disciplinary. It seeks studies that explore the ways in which our education systems impact upon the experience of a broad range of learners. We are interested in articles that are relevant to a wide audience and that contribute to discussions within the pages of this journal. We encourage studies approaching learners from a diversity perspective (rather than categorical view of learners). Finally, we aim to favour interdisciplinary and intersectional connections with research on diversity in education and, more broadly, in the social sciences area. Scope The journal is interested in promoting critical analysis of policy and practice that has relevance to a global audience. Since policy and practice of inclusive education are context-dependent, we are also interested in locally situated studies of inclusive education, which could be conceptually and/or methodologically generalisable. Each issue will primarily include research reports, but will also include theoretical contributions and methodological discussions. We also welcome creative and imaginative ways to explore and represent issues of inclusion. We will consider studies across a broad range of topics, including pedagogy, curriculum, assessment, policy, organisational processes, educational experiences and relationships. Peer Review Policy All research articles in this journal have undergone rigorous peer review, based on initial editor screening and anonymized refereeing by at least two anonymous referees. Publication costs Publishing in EJIE requires no article processing charges (APC) or other publication fees (e.g. article submission charges). Publishing is free of costs. Publication frequency Issues (online): bi-annually (January, July). Why publishing on the European Journal of Inclusive Education? EJIE is - open-access; - peer-reviewed; - initiated and run by representatives of the research community; - non-profit; - open for multidisciplinary perspectives on inclusive education. en-US This journal is licensed under a <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/" rel="license">Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License</a> (<a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/legalcode">full legal code</a>). eeranw04@gmail.com (Prof. Fabio Dovigo Editor-in-Chief) eeranw04@gmail.com (Dejana Mutavdžin) Thu, 01 Feb 2024 00:00:00 +0100 OJS 3.3.0.13 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss 60 Integration of a Disability Lens as Prerequisite for Inclusive Higher Education https://tidsskrift.dk/ejie/article/view/137271 PURPOSE. Occidental higher education often approaches disability as a disparate issue, failing to recognize that it is part of human diversity. Such an approach hinders inclusive education because it overlooks how disability is intertwined with other identities and concepts of exclusion. The overarching aim of this paper is to enhance understanding of (intersecting) disabling processes within education policy and practice and the impact thereof on students; and to raise educators’ awareness about how integration of knowledge from Disability Studies within pedagogy and their daily interaction with students, can positively influence disabled students’ wellbeing, their study opportunities and aid the overall process of inclusion. APPROACH. This paper offers a disability lens by (1) presenting a literature overview from a Disability Studies (DS) perspective about disability and exclusionary phenomena, in particular disablism and ableism; (2) substantiating how a current focus on accessibility hinders actual inclusion; (3) analysing a case-study through the presented perspective with attention to Dutch contextual factors. For the case-study, the first author and ‘Tess’ engaged in regular conversations during a year in which Tess shared her experiences as a student of higher education. In this paper, a selection of these experiences is presented from a reflexive perspective and with application of the presented frameworks. With this, the complex impact of exclusionary processes on interactions between students, educators and on the organization of university involved (social) events is illustrated. FINDINGS. The lack of nuanced, fluid and intersectional approaches to disability within mainstream education hinders the recognition of (epistemic) injustices. Exclusionary processes and practices in higher education remain unacknowledged, although they negatively impact disabled students and block their epistemic contribution. Moreover, the continued focus on accessibility hinders implementation of the international convention on the rights of persons with disabilities and deflects attention from the fact that inclusive education requires systemic change and a multi-layered approach. KEY MESSAGE. The current trajectory of disability inclusion is counterproductive without true systemic change. Integration of the presented disability lens is imperative for truly intersectional approaches to inclusion and offers educators a way to positively influence students’ wellbeing and identity development, even when policy changes are not yet achieved. <h2>Points of interest:</h2> <ul> <li>Knowledge and attitudes about disability in higher education systems, in policies and practice, often do not portray disability from the perspective of disabled people themselves. There is also a lack of understanding how disability is part of human diversity and is intertwined with other identity aspects.</li> <li>Because higher education often focusses on including disabled people in existing systems by way of individual accommodations rather than on changing the design of the system, disabled students experience various forms of exclusion, varying from opportunities to study to the way they are approached by educators, that effect their wellbeing.</li> <li>The usefulness of disability studies theory is illustrated by applying them to the experiences of ‘Tess’, demonstrating how her personal and professional life was influenced by them.</li> <li>We argue that policies need to change and that educators themselves can work on true inclusion by recognising disability as diversity and by integrating up-to-date knowledge from the perspective of disabled people themselves in their approaches.</li> </ul> Nienke Spaan, Paul Van Trigt, Alice Schippers Copyright (c) 2024 Nienke Spaan, Paul Van Trigt, Alice Schippers https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 https://tidsskrift.dk/ejie/article/view/137271 Sat, 03 Feb 2024 00:00:00 +0100 Does Using Core Quadrants Lead to More Teacher Self-Efficacy and Less Perceived Problem Behaviour? https://tidsskrift.dk/ejie/article/view/137366 PURPOSE. The number of childhood psychiatric classifications and treatments have risen rapidly in Western countries over recent decades. Since child behaviour often arises as a problem in schools, it seems important to find ways to help teachers successfully engage with pupils whose behaviours they experience as challenging. The present study attempts to shift special education teachers’ focus from challenging pupil behaviour, or pupil mental disorder, to teachers’ self-efficacy and less negative perception of pupil behaviour. METHODS. Ofman’s core quadrant model was used to engage teachers in reflecting on their own key competences, and relate them to possible pitfalls, challenges and aversions in their teaching. The professional development intervention entailed three subsequent team meetings, each lasting two and a half hours. Forty-seven teachers undertook the training, of which half (the control group) were initially put on a waiting list. Via quantitative questionnaires at three different time-points and qualitative post-intervention interviews with teachers involved, we analysed the influence of the intervention on teachers’ perceptions of problem behaviour and the grip they experienced on pupil behaviour (via a measure of self-efficacy). In the interviews, room was also made for reporting other outcomes of the training intervention. RESULTS. Neither quantitative nor qualitative data analysis revealed an effect of the intervention on self-efficacy or perceived pupil behaviour. The interview data suggest that teachers ascribe pupil behaviour they cannot control to factors outside themselves, primarily child mental disorder. CONCLUSION. Core quadrant training does not seem to alter how teachers engage with challenging pupil behaviour, nor does it help to reduce disorder thinking in special education. Our findings flag up the importance of better educating teachers about disorder thinking on the one hand, while on the other hand seeking ways to reduce the likelihood that teachers run out of pedagogical options, and instead further build up a sense of self-efficacy. Points of Interest: <ul> <li>Childhood diagnostic classifications are on the rise in recent decades.</li> <li>Teachers often suggest diagnostic investigations of pupils, because they believe this will explain difficult behaviour or academic underperformance.</li> <li>A training aimed to shift the focus from disorder within a child to teacher’s own key competences, pitfalls, challenges and aversions, failed to change self-efficacy, behaviour perception and disorder thinking in teachers.</li> <li>To reduce disorder thinking in schools, simply educating teachers about what disorders are not and cannot explain, might be more effective than training programs, like studied in the present research.</li> </ul> Laura Batstra, Wietske de Vries, Ernst Thoutenhoofd Copyright (c) 2024 Laura Batstra, Wietske de Vries, Ernst Thoutenhoofd https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 https://tidsskrift.dk/ejie/article/view/137366 Thu, 07 Mar 2024 00:00:00 +0100 Stakeholders’ Views on Strategies, Measures and Policies Implemented in Education of Students with Disabilities during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Greece https://tidsskrift.dk/ejie/article/view/137372 PURPOSE. The pandemic crisis outbreak had a severe impact on all aspects of people’s lives worldwide. Educational systems applied across the globe, were forced to adapt to new, restricting conditions overnight changing abruptly the educational landscape, especially for students with disabilities (SwDs). The lack of central preparedness strategy and the unprecedented conditions called upon the experts, administrators, teachers and parents/carers to interpret and implement strategies, policies, and measures challenging progress conquered in the past years in inclusive education. The aim of the present study was to investigate the experiences and views of key-stakeholders in special and inclusive education in Greece (experts-regional coordinators, administrators, parents/carers) on strategies, measures and policies implemented in education of SwDs during the COVID-19 pandemic crisis and to explore potential perspectives emerged in safeguarding the special and inclusive education in crisis times. METHODS. An exploratory qualitative study using semi-structured interviews was applied. The participants of the study were 31 key-stakeholders in total (11 experts-regional coordinators, 10 administrators, and 10 parents/carers who have children with disabilities). Interviews were conducted via video conferencing platforms using three different interview protocols designed by the research team for the purposes of the study. Qualitative data were collected and analyzed using content analysis. RESULTS. The findings reveal both similar and diverging approaches among the stakeholders regarding the strategies, measures and policies as well as concerning the surfaced challenges and proposed recommendations. Emphasis by the stakeholders is given to the lack of systematic recording of needs and preparedness plan before the pandemic outbreak. The lack of central guidance and support is identified as a major aggravating factor regardless of the initiatives taken at individual or local level to promote learning of SwDs. All stakeholders acknowledged the need to develop and use an applicable preparedness plan for schools during crisis, in order to maintain and promote further equal access to education for all students. CONCLUSION. The key-stakeholders of the special and inclusive education in Greece have similar and diverging views on how the special education challenges were addressed during the pandemic crisis. However, all parties concurred on the pressing need for a preparedness plan to be applied to all schools in case of a future crisis. Points of Interest <ul> <li>The present paper presents the views of key-stakeholders regarding the strategies, policies, programs implemented for the education of SwDs during the pandemic crisis in Greece.</li> <li>The importance of the study lies in the fact that primary data were collected from the full range of key-stakeholders (teachers/professionals, administrators as well as parents/carers) in inclusive education.</li> <li>The results show views on the following central themes: preparation and operation of schools, educational practices and material, measures, services, educational programs, interventions, emerging needs of SwDs, as well as challenges, recommendations, and feedback.</li> <li>The results reflect an interesting canvas of similar and diverging views across the involved key stakeholders in the education of SwDs during the pandemic crisis.</li> </ul> Theodora Papazoglou, Stavroula Kalaitzi, Filippos Papazis, Anastasia Vlachou, Lia Tsermidou, Anastasia Toulia, Aristea Fyssa Copyright (c) 2024 Theodora Papazoglou, Stavroula Kalaitzi, Filippos Papazis, Anastasia Vlachou, Lia Tsermidou, Anastasia Toulia, Aristea Fyssa https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 https://tidsskrift.dk/ejie/article/view/137372 Sat, 09 Mar 2024 00:00:00 +0100 Think Carefully, Let’s Bond, and Other Tutoring Strategies: Socio-academic Participation Patterns in Peer Tutoring https://tidsskrift.dk/ejie/article/view/137726 CONTEXT. This article investigates how an intervention called SYKL (SYstematiseret Klassekammerathjælp), which used systematized reciprocal peer tutoring in mathematics in the fourth grade, affected student participation and socio-academic inclusion. APPROACH. In contrast to most international peer tutoring projects, SYKL simultaneously focuses on social relations and academic inclusion. Teachers recruited to conduct SYKL lessons attended a four-day course to learn how to apply SYKL peer tutoring techniques, which touch upon social, organizational, and subject matter-related perspectives. Following students are specifically taught how to help each other, and engage in academic conversations when working in pairs. SYKL is specific instruction in how students can become better at helping each other and engaging in academic discussions when working in pairs. Students are assigned one of two positions, either as a tutor or a tutee. To fulfill the role of the tutor, the student receives Scaffold Cards and academic Hints for task completion. The Scaffold Cards remind students to, for example, listen, acknowledge tentative answers, and identify connections. Hints are specific ideas for task completion developed by professionals with the assignment in mind. Based on 15 video-recorded, peer-to-peer conversations, the analysis explores what characterizes the various participation strategies of students who play the role of tutor. FINDINGS. The analysis identified four typical strategies: ‘Let’s bond,’ ‘I’ll wait for you,’ ‘Think carefully,’ and ‘Let’s go.’ The study highlights that these strategies are all potentially conducive to inclusion. The current research supports earlier studies indicating that peer relationships significantly contribute to learning and active participation in mathematics classes. KEY MESSAGE. Teachers can work simultaneously with the social and academic skills of students. The SYKL approach promotes synchronous development of their social and academic skills. Points of Interest <ul> <li>New Danish teaching program in math and science is designed to support student well-being and collaboration in fourth grade.</li> <li>Students help each other through peer tutoring.</li> <li>Four tutoring strategies typically occur: ‘Let’s bond,’ ‘I’ll wait for you,’ ‘Think carefully,’ and ‘Let’s go.’</li> <li>Teacher awareness of these strategies allows them to spot inclusion and exclusion processes to better assist students in helping each other.</li> </ul> Maria Christina Schmidt, Stine Thygesen Copyright (c) 2024 Maria Christina Schmidt, Stine Thygesen https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 https://tidsskrift.dk/ejie/article/view/137726 Sat, 03 Feb 2024 00:00:00 +0100