Inclusive and Supportive Education Congress
International
Special Education Conference
Inclusion: Celebrating Diversity?
1st - 4th August 2005. Glasgow, Scotland
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Inclusive and Supportive Education Congress 1st - 4th August 2005. Glasgow, Scotland |
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Windyz Brazão Ferreira
Consultant in Inclusive Education
windyzferreira@edtodos.org.br
windyzferreira@aol.com
Introduction
Teacher training is a priority on the UNESCO international agenda to promote both education for all and inclusive education (UNESCO 1990, UNESCO 1994, UNESCO 2000). This agenda assumes that teachers have a crucial role in the process of combating exclusion by improving the quality of education for every pupil.
Responding to these international calls, the Brazilian government has made teacher education at levels from basic literacy to secondary education a priority on its agenda in order to combat educational exclusion of pupils from vulnerable groups. As a consequence numerous programmes and projects at federal, state and municipal levels have been implemented all over the country , particularly after the publication of the new National Educational Law in 1996 with the objective of supporting the development of more effective and innovative teaching methodologies. Despite this, the Brazilian pedagogic tradition in Basic Education is still predominantly teacher and formal curriculum-centred. So, most Brazilian teachers use teaching approaches that neither appeal to pupils nor assume that pupils are a part of the educational process.
From 1996 to 2000 the federal government's main target was to achieve basic education for all. Currently, according to official data, 97% of children of school age are enrolled, 88% of whom are attending public schools (MEC 2004). The consequences of this rapid growth in the number of children accessing education are significant for the Brazilian teacher training agenda because it means that state schools now have to respond to a range of learning styles of pupils from disadvantaged social groups who have had no access to early education at all; children who have different levels of educational experiences to which teachers do not know how to respond. Academic failure, which was already part of the educational panorama in Brazil, remains unchanged and can be said to be a chronic problem of the education system.
Against this background, the action-research pilot study Planning and teaching curricular content by using inclusive strategies was commissioned by the Secretariat of Education of the Municipality of São Paulo with the objective of :
- training teachers and teaching support staff from ten schools and six local educational authorities to use inclusive strategies to deliver the curriculum content in order to move teaching practices towards inclusion;
- producing a local teacher training material and a video to support the development of inclusive education in mainstream schools with a view to increasing pupil participation and improving learning for all in mainstream classrooms;
- testing the UNESCO material 'Changing Teaching Practices, using curriculum differentiation to respond to students' diversity' that will be published in 2004 in order to support the development of inclusive practices in mainstream schools all over the world. The training combined the UNESCO materials ´Teacher training Special Needs in the classroom´, the INDEX for Inclusion and the ´Changing Teaching Practices, using curriculum differentiation to respond to pupils´diversity, with the main focus placed on the inclusive strategies provided by the latter.
In this study we tried to answer the question what are the major factors that facilitate the process of changing teaching practices in teacher in-service training in order to respond to pupils´ diversity? Teachers' accounts of their experiences of both changing teaching practices and relating to pupils and colleagues as collaborators in teaching and learning processes show that a set of factors play a crucial role in their professional development and understanding. These factors include amongst others:
- the process of building up awareness about their own skills, abilities and knowledge as teachers;
- a growing sense of self-confidence which gives teachers a solid foundation from which to try pedagogic innovation in their classroom;
- the teachers´ acquisition of a new perspective about how important it is to have educational focus and a clear learning purpose when planning their lessons;
- the relevance of learning how to reflect upon practices in order to move forward;
- the development of teachers´ commitment to make better use of time in the classroom in order to increase participation and improve academic results;
- the teachers´ acquisition of an understanding of their competences, and enjoyment and celebration in sharing them with colleagues;
- and last, but not least, the teachers' recovery of their sense of worth within an education system that has undervalued them for many decades.
This paper first presents a panorama of the Brazilian education system. Secondly, it presents the conceptualisation of inclusive education and of special educational needs defined and adopted by those involved in the project. Then the project structure and its methodology are discussed in detail, including the activities held during the project, teacher training arrangements and school visits. Finally I present the findings and make comments about the sustainability of the project and empowerment of the participants.
Panorama of the Brazilian context
Brazil is the only country in Latin America that was colonized by the Portuguese, and thus official language is Portuguese. Brazil has the dimensions of a continent, with over 8,500 thousand square kilometers of territory and almost 180 million inhabitants. Like other Latin american countries, Brazil has had a history of years of military dictatorships supported by international economic and political interests. Brazil has many roots in cultures of wide diversity, from indigenous people, to Africans brought in by European colonisers, to the culture of those Europeans themselves.
In 1996, a new National Education Law was passed and changed the structure of the system. This legislation made education of children over the age of four compulsory and established a division of responsibilities such that municipalities are now in charge of grades 1 to 8 (Ensino Básico) and the state (the individual state within Brazil's federal structure) for years 9-10 of schooling (Ensino Médio). The Brazilian education system is still going through a process of adjustment to this new arrangement.
Presently, out of the total population fifty million are children and young people of school age and around 97 percent of them are enrolled in public schools located in the 28 states and approximately 5600 municipalities that make up Brazil. With many regional variations, some schools cater for different pupils in different shifts during the day. The school may have from two to four shifts, that run from very early morning (7:00am) to evening (as late as 10:40pm). The large majority of teachers work in two or three different schools in order to enhance their low salaries. Currently, non-graduate teachers are supposed to be studying in higher education institutions in order to get their certificates by 2007, as laid down by the same law of 1996. It is also the case that the large majority of head teachers work in that role in one school, and as ordinary teachers at other schools during other shifts.
The present project involved ten schools from the municipality of São Paulo, which is the largest city in the country with around twelve million inhabitants. São Paulo municipality is responsible for around 1,500 schools, 40,000 teachers and six million pupils. The majority of the schools involved in the project had four shifts a day (7.00-10.45am, 11.00am-14.45pm, 15.00-18.45pm and 19.00-22.45pm). A few teachers work in one school and the majority in two or three (e.g. municipal school, state school and private school)
Conceptualisation and Principles of Inclusive Education in the project
A workshop was held at the outset of the project, the main objective of which was to clarify the framework of reference we were adopting during the project and to start a process of building up a common understanding of inclusion. As also happens in other countries, in Brazil the term inclusive education has been historically linked to the field of special education. Therefore, the clarification of the terminology and principles of inclusive education was a key issue in the training process because it would provide the foundation of the educational action of each participant in their schools and classrooms.
The process of reflecting upon the meaning of exclusion - who is excluded and what ‘special educational needs’ are in the Brazilian context - led the group to identify the following:
“There are several social groups at risk of exclusion in our context including the poor, those with disabilities, the black child, the hyperactive and the child with high abilities, institutionalised childre and young people, migrant children from the Northeast and North of the country, children 'in 'conflict with the law', girls and children with terminal illness (e.g. cancer, HIV/AIDS)”
It was agreed that inclusive education is understood as a process of identification and removal of barriers that prevent any pupil at risk of exclusion from accessing schooling or the curriculum content. The foundation of this assumption is that education is a human rights issue, and therefore that no child should be excluded or discriminated against on the basis of their personal characteristics. The group defined inclusion as presented below:
“Inclusion means building up a school for all. A school that accepts, respects and cherishes diversity, while at the same time considering the individual background of every member of the school community. To build such a school, it is necessary to re-dimension the school and its educational practices in order to
Despite this agreement, the issue of disability was raised several times as the major focus of inclusion. On each of these occasions, our attention returned to the agreed framework, and we stressed the fact that a child with disability may need specific resources in order to have their rights to education fulfilled, but that this is different from discriminating against them by offering so called ‘special provision’, or isolating them from their classmates or even preparing a different curriculum content for them to work on their own.
The common framework of reference was consolidated by the principles of inclusion that were also negotiated and agreed upon by the group of educators throughout the training process:
This framework became a guideline for action towards inclusion. However, some educators incorporated it into their practices better than others, while others disregarded it and carried on with their conventional practices. In the same way, some schools incorporated the framework into their policy while others did not see them as a way forward.
Representatives from ten schools and six Regional Co-ordinations of Education participated in the project, including twenty teachers, ten head teachers, ten support teachers e ten school support workers, professionals who work at the regional coordination linked to the Secretariat headquarters.
During the first phase of the Project - from April to July 2004 - a series of activities were held as detailed below:
- Meetings with the Director of Technical Assistance/Special Education Team
The five meetings were aimed at analyzing, reviewing and establishing a compatible language consistent with municipal public policy and also a feasible timeline of action between the Project and the local municipal calendar. These meetings were extremely valuable in helping match the style and agenda of the consultant to those of the local municipality.
- Teacher training workshops
Workshop sessions were held on five consecutive Fridays between April and May and the principles of action-research methodology guided the selection of topics from the UNESCO material used in the workshops, that is, in each session teachers and teachers' supporters raised educational issues related to classroom and school that were relevant to the practices; these served as a guide to choose the unit for the next session. This approach was especially useful in valuing teachers' experiences and in engaging them in the task of employing the inclusive strategies used in the workshops in their classrooms during the following week. Teachers were also invited them to register their experiences in a diary.
The focus of the workshops was teachers: teachers' development, lesson planning and inclusive teaching methodologies. Therefore, those educators who were not working as teachers were trained to support teachers in their development.
- Workshops with the Management team
Two workshops focused on Indicators for Inclusion (CSIE 2000) and Leadership were held with the aim of involving Headteachers, Teachers' Support in schools and Supervisors from the local educational regional authorities in the project. The sessions were intended to ensure that teachers would find support for implementing inclusive strategies in their classrooms, as well as being valued for their initiative.
Supporting teachers in the process of moving towards more inclusive practices is a key element to promote steady changes in their styles of teaching and learning. The role of the school management team is, therefore, crucial in ensuring that teachers will feel recognized in their efforts and that their achievements will be shared and celebrated as a valuable resource for the school as a whole.
The UNESCO materials were presented and translated versions of the handouts on their strategies given to the participants in each session, with the aim of encouraging reading, learning and trials in the schools. Throughout the five weeks the following inclusive strategies (Box 1) were tried out and the related materials distributed (Box 2).
In Phase 2 of the project - August to November 2004 – the main activities were data gathering from the filed and supporting teachers in their classrooms, as detailed below.
- Visiting schools
The consultant and members of the regional local education authorities visited the ten partner schools of the project. These visits aimed at:
(a) observing classroom practices and the use of the inclusive strategies, supporting teachers in their lesson planning and providing models for reflection on practices for the support team
(b) gathering data (observation, interviews and photos)
(c) contacting members of the schools that were not taking part in the project, but which were interested in knowing more about it.
It is worth noting that in the majority of the schools a group of teachers gathered after the shift and the consultant was asked to provide information on the project. Several of them had already heard about it from the teachers and the support team and were very interested in learning ´these kinds of methods´. In addition to this several teachers' supporters (professors-coordenadores) in the schools decided in agreement with the headteachers to institute a process of in-service training in order to develop more inclusive practices in the classrooms in the school as a whole.
- Classroom observation
The classrooms of twelve of the twenty teachers in the Project were visited during the first phase in order to observe teaching practices and changes made towards inclusive approaches. Interviews with teachers and pupils were also carried out with the aim of getting personal perspectives about the changes in teaching styles.
These visits were intended to obtain the following information:
- Project [currículo_inclusion] Network [in Yahoo]
Taking account of the importance of the use of new technologies of information and communication in teacher training programmes, the DOT/SE has set up a Yahoo Network in order to support and promote the exchange of information and experience as well as to stimulate continuous reflection on practice in schools and classrooms.
This phase provided valuable data for the development of the two main products of the study: a Research Report presenting the study and its findings, and a local Teacher TrainingMaterial entitled ‘What to do to teach all students? ‘Chat’ with teachers about inclusion in mainstream classrooms´ assembled by the co-ordinator of the project in partnership with two of the teachers who took part in it.
Methodology
The study was carried out as an action-research project because this methodology provides suitable foundations and tools. Action research is defined by Cohen and Manion (1994) as a small-scale intervention in the functioning of the real world and a close study of its effects. In this study, the real world is represented by the ten schools and the classrooms of those teachers that took part in this project. In this kind of research, both researcher and school partners seek to identify barriers to learning and ways to overcome them in order to ensure that all students are accessing the curriculum.
As a methodology, action-research can be applied to a classroom, a school or an education system. It can be led by a teacher or, as in this study, by a researcher in partnership with a group of teachers and educators who are jointly searching for evidence of factors that help change teaching practice and for successful experience that can support educational improvement for all. Whatever form the project takes, it remains its main aim to add to educational knowledge and to 'feed’ practitioners with practical knowledge.
In our case, the action-research aimed primarily at contributing to the development of the field of knowledge concerning practice in schools and classrooms, as well as to the theory of education and teaching (Stenhouse, 1994). As a qualitative study, it did not aim at the production of generalised findings, but set out as its goal to build local knowledge about those factors that might facilitate or hinder participation and learning for all pupils in the municipal classrooms. So, it looks at particular problems in particular contexts by using methods of data collection and analysis that ensure trustworthiness. In this sense, the researcher is committed to respond to the criteria of ‘quality’.
This methodology allowed, therefore, direct action in the field – classrooms – through teacher training and developing support for the teachers with the view to help them to implement changes, to identify barriers to pupils’ learning or participation and to reflect upon their practices in order to find ways to overcome them.
The UNESCO contribution: guideline documents and materials to support the development of inclusive education systems
As a sector of the United Nations responsible for Education, Science and Culture, historically UNESCO has contributed to the fight against educational exclusion. In the 1990s, however, the Education for All (EFA) and Inclusive Education movements have become major guiding forces upon the actions undertaken by governments around the world to promote and achieve quality education for all. Since then, UNESCO has held major conferences in various continents and has published relevant documents that particularly address the issue of education provision for social groups at risk of exclusion. Of these, the EFA Declaration (UNESCO 1990), the Salamanca Statement (UNESCO 1994) and the Dakar Framework for Action (UNESCO 2000) are especially important because they set the world educational agenda and the targets to be met by the nations.
To serve basic learning needs, the EFA Declaration tells us that ‘an expanded vision that surpasses present resource levels, institutional structures, curricula, and conventional delivery systems while building on the best current practices’ is needed (UNESCO 1990, p. 4). In addition to this, according to the EFA Global Monitoring Report - Education for All (UNESCO 2002, p.19), ‘well trained teachers are critical for good quality primary education and more are needed. High levels of grade repetition and drop out point to low levels of system efficiency and quality of learning.’
In the international arena, therefore, Teacher Education is a high priority on the education agenda because teachers have a crucial role to play in the process of improving the quality of education, and consequently in combating academic failure and drop out of vulnerable children and young people, who ‘should not suffer any discrimination in access to learning opportunities’ (UNESCO 1990, p. 05).
The Salamanca Statement was intended to strengthen opportunities for a quality schooling for all, and to respond to the basic needs of under-served groups such as ‘the poor; street and working children; rural and remote populations; nomads and migrant workers; indigenous people; ethnic, racial and linguistic minorities; refugees; those displaced by war; and people under occupation ... and the disabled’ (idem. p. 05). To do this, the Salamanca Statement introduces the principle of inclusion and asserts that inclusive schools:
‘should accommodate all children regardless of their physical, intellectual, social, emotional, linguistic or other condition ... many children experience learning difficulties and thus have special educational needs at some time during their schooling. Schools have to find ways of successfully educating all children, including those who have serious disadvantages and disabilities.’ (UNESCO 1994. p. 06)
Although the development of inclusive learning environments depends on several interconnected factors (e.g. inclusive cultures, policies, sharing of information and study findings), the teacher and the teaching style are key factors. Ultimately, teachers are responsible for creating an inclusive learning environment within their classrooms (or any other kind of educational settings). In schools, it is teachers who are in the best position to learn about students' learning styles and to create learning opportunities based on that knowledge about pupils. The UNESCO OPEN File (2001, p. 42) contributes to this understanding about the place and value of teachers in the process of developing inclusive education by stating that
‘for all countries, teachers are the most costly – and most powerful – resource that can be deployed in the education system. The development of the teaching force is, therefore, crucial, particularly in countries where other kind of resources are relatively scarce. As the systems become more inclusive, professional development is particularly important because of the major new challenges that face both ordinary school teachers – who have to respond to a greater diversity of the students needs – and special educators – who find the context and the focus of their work changing in major ways.’
So, no doubt teachers are – and should be considered – a sine qua non to transform the exclusionary features of the education system into inclusive culture, policy and practices, and this change means that diversity of learning styles demands a new teacher profile: a teacher who is capable of understanding the meaning of, and of welcoming human diversity; a teacher who is open to classroom teaching innovation in order to respond to differences in pupils' learning; a teacher who is able to get to know each child as an individual with different abilities, interests, background and who uses that ability to work towards the academic success of all; a teacher who understands and promotes collaboration and mutual peer support as major strategies to reach out to everyone in the class. In addition to this, this new teacher is also expected to be able to use ICT in his/her work and to support the sharing of information and knowledge to help the school move towards inclusion. The teacher with this new profile must also possess the skills and commitment to reflect upon his/her own practice as a important way to further professional development.
With the objective of contributing to the training of the new teacher, UNESCO has published school development and teacher training materials that have been field tested and shown to be effective in supporting the development of inclusive schooling and practices. These are:
4 UNESCO Resource Pack Teacher Training Special Needs in the Classroom (1993)
This material adopts the principle of inclusion as a fundamental orientation to develop schools for all. It aims to help mainstream schools to respond positively to pupil diversity and to address barriers to learning facing children with special educational needs. The material adopts a set of five principles that lay the basis of teaching approaches that can better respond to a diversity of educational contexts and are more likely to increase the possibilities of learning success in the classroom. These principles are:
This material is divided into four modules including (1) introduction to special needs in the classroom; (2) special needs: definitions and answers; (3) making effective schools for all; and (4) support and help. The material was designed to train trainers of teachers in the use of inclusive teaching methodologies and it is very helpful in the clarification of the meaning of the concepts such as inclusion, inclusive education, participation, special needs, collaboration, etc.
The study has been co-ordinated by Dr. Windyz Ferreira, who was responsible for the research and the teacher training workshops, and by the Secretariat of Education team/Directory of Technical Supervision (DOT) – Division of Special Education Claudia Vendramel F. Francisco, Ana Márcia F. Gianezi andRenata Alencar L. Garcia, in charge of the technical and administrative support.
That is 55 million students in basic education
A total of around eighty people took part in this debate including representatives from thirty one Co-ordinations of Education from the different regions of the city, representatives of the management team of the ten schools and forty teachers.
Each school has a ´Professor Coordenador ´, who provides support to other teachers in schools in several different tasks in a daily basis.
www.unesco.org/education/efa
4 The Index for Inclusion, developing learning and participation in schools (2000)
The Index for Inclusion was published by the Centre for Studies on Inclusive Education in collaboration with UNESCO and with two British Universities (Manchester and Canterbury). It is a ‘set of materials devised in England for supporting the development of learning and participation in schools.’ (UNESCO 2001, p. 1). By using these indicators, schools are able to review their culture, policy and practices in order to assess how exclusionary or inclusionary they are, and from this diagnosis they can go through a series of phases to develop inclusive schools. The material ‘encourages staff to share and build on their existing knowledge and assists them in a detailed examination of the possibilities for increasing learning and participation for all students.’ (p. 2). It is divided into four parts including: (a) an inclusive approach to school development; (b) the index process; (c) dimensions, sections, indicators and questions; and (d) questionnaires and further reading.
The Index for Inclusion was used in two workshop sessions held with the school senior management team and the representative from the local educational authorities. The sessions were used to reflect upon their role in supporting inclusive practices in the classroom, and inclusive culture and policies in the school as a whole. The same material was also shared with the teachers in the training workshops when they were informed about the session with the senior team.
4 Changing Teaching Practices, using curriculum differentiation to respond to students’ diversity (2004)
This material has been designed directly to support teacher development and changing practices in order to respond to the diversity in pupils’ styles of learning in their classrooms. The language of the material is the ‘language of practice’, that is, it creates a dialogue with the teacher about real, meaningful classroom contexts. It provides numerous examples from different countries of both the North and the South and, in this sense, it provides a wide range of views on how to teach all pupils in the classroom and how to provide support for students meeting barriers to learning.
Changing Teaching Practices was adopted as the main UNESCO material used in the present study and it will be further explored in the next session of this paper. The other two were additional materials used to strengthen the process of changing teachers' understanding and practices towards more inclusive ones. The material is divided into six units including: (unit 1) Curriculum Differentiation and Our Students; (unit 2) Environmental Strategies; (unit 3) Instructional Learning Strategies; (unit 4) Assessment; (unit 5) Curriculum Differentiation: Putting it Together, and it offers a series of practical classroom examples of teaching practices from all over the world.
Having presented the three UNESCO materials used in the project, I will now present the findings of the study with the aim of responding to the question: what are the major factors that facilitate the process of changing teaching practices in teacher in-service training in order to respond to pupil diversity?
Factors that facilitate planning and teaching for inclusion
Adequate training of teachers to respond to the growing diversity of students is, perhaps, the major challenge facing mainstream education systems around the world. In Brazil, the rapid increase in the number of students enrolled in state schools in the last decade has meant the rapid increase of cultural, intellectual, social, economic and other forms of diversity in the classroom. The concept of ‘special educational needs’, accordingly, has been steadily moving towards a broader definition that embraces, as we have seen earlier, a wide range of students from marginalized groups, as in the story a fifth grade history teacher told me:
“it is getting more difficult to be a teacher … this year I have in my classroom a young boy who was caught by the police and is ‘in conflict with the law’ and ‘assisted liberty’, as they call it. Another one is a boy who is said to be mentally handicapped, who is OK, he does not create many problems for me. Two boys are from China and cannot speak Portuguese yet. Some of my pupils are involved with drugs. Some of them keep challenging me all the time. Many seem to like to threaten me, they shout, they run about all the time and are not interested in learning History at all ... There is a total of around 40 pupils aged between 10 and 13 years old in the class. Recently, they started to fight in the classroom and I had no choice but to look for help from outside the classroom. How can one possibly believe that it is possible to teach them properly?”
Referring also to diversity of pupils in her classroom, a first grade teacher told me:
“In my classroom I have children that have never used a pencil or pen and who cannot name colors ... Others are able to use a pencil properly and others already have some notions of literacy. The large majority, though, come from very poor backgrounds and has serious difficulties within their families, such as domestic violence, abuse, etc. It is not easy to deal with such level of ‘differences’ ... I feel scared and incapable of doing so ...”
These two brief statements indeed represent the day to day experience of many teachers in Brazil; large groups of students with different backgrounds and no support available in the school to deal with this social diversity. Despite the growing awareness of this broader meaning of special educational needs, the term ‘inclusion’ is still narrowly linked to the idea of ‘integration’ of children with disabilities in mainstream schools, and therefore, it can contribute to generating uncertainties. For instance, it is still fairly common to hear teachers referring to pupils with disabilities as ‘someone who should be segregated in special settings’ because. As they say ‘ we are not prepared to teach them in our classrooms, they need someone specialized’.
This study shows that, parallel to the challenge of living with, learning about and responding to diversity in their classrooms, teachers, in general, have a sense of uncertainty about the changes they are supposed to go through to promote inclusion. Teachers are called upon to change, but ‘no one knows exactly what that means,’ as they say. So, within an education system that is full of dilemmas and uncertainties, the present study illuminates some of the relevant factors that can contribute to the development of teachers prepared to support and promote inclusive education, as the following shows.
Developing a common frame of reference for inclusion and inclusive education
All over Brazil the field of education has been buried in a kind of ‘inclusive jargon’ that includes terms such as diversity, differences, special needs, learning needs, disability, poverty, access, etc. So, we are embedded in a context that is pushing us towards the understanding of ‘inclusion’ as a means to respond to diversity. So, educators exchange these terms from time to time in their discourse and tend to avoid the term ‘deficiency’, which is still very much in use in the country. In line with what happens in other contexts (Ainscow and Ferreira 2003), this study reveals that, in the municipality of São Paulo, inclusive education and inclusion are mainly understood as synonyms for ‘integration of disabled children’ in mainstream schools. Currently, in the context of the municipal network of schools, teachers frequently refer to children with disabilities as ‘pupil of inclusion’.
On several occasions during the project it was possible to identify types of discriminatory and exclusionary attitudes towards children who are perceived as a ‘problem’ by the school community. For instance, a child that is regarded as ‘intellectually limited’; those that do not show interest in learning; students that are aggressive and hostile to others; pupils that present challenging behaviour, etc. These findings are in line to those found in studies about discrimination and violation of the rights of children from vulnerable groups (SCS 2003) These attitudes should be understood, assessed and addressed within a common frame of reference which is guided by agreed assumptions. In the case of inclusive education, it is fundamental that educators understand inclusion as a human rights issue, and that therefore discrimination and exclusion should be seen as major barriers to inclusion and to participation.
The study indicated that there is a need to establish a common frame of reference of inclusion in the municipal network of schools because this will provide a common understanding and language among educators. Regarding this issue, the approach adopted in the project was to ensure that right from the beginning of the work with the participants these concepts were addressed within the local context in order to support a gradual process of clarifying and building up understandings of special needs, inclusion and exclusion. This clarification is crucial in order to build the foundation of a new inclusive culture, policy and practice in the schools and classrooms insofar based on which teachers can orient attitudes and measures to combat exclusion.
Valuing teachers as a resource for educational improvement and development
In Brazil, as in other countries, for the last thirty years teachers have been blamed for the failure of the education system. Media, academics, publications, government, NGOs and others have all been pointing to teachers as the group largely responsible for academic failure and drop out. Sadly, teachers seem to have become the ‘scapegoat’ of the system … Such a belief pervades policies and actions of teacher training initiatives. In the municipality of São Paulo teachers are pushed towards participating in extra-mural training, diploma courses and related activities in order to accumulate points that will allow them to move up in their career in two yearly increments and to get a five per cent increase in their salary. These activities must be attended when teachers are not in their school time.
Although there is a focus on ‘teachers’ lack of training’, there are other factors - equally important – that are not so often and openly addressed. For instance, teachers’ low wages and dreadful working conditions; the high number of pupils in bleak schools and unattractive classrooms; the scarcity of qualified staff to support teachers in dealing with existing matters related to social and economical disparities that pervade the life of the school communities; teachers having to work in two schools or more in order to have an adequate income; the lack of leadership and managerial skills of the schools’ senior teams, which seem unprepared to administer schools as organizations, the centralization of power in the local education authorities and the lack of school autonomy in making decisions, among many other issues.
In spite of all these other relevant educational factors, the ingrained belief in the responsibility of teachers for the academic failure of their students has become more pronounced and generated low self esteem in the profession. Teachers seem to be skeptical about being able to change their practices to respond to diversity, even though the majority seems to be willing to try. A major factor in the process of training teachers to work towards inclusion, therefore, should involve a process of building up awareness about their own value as teachers. It is crucial to use strategies to help teachers to re-discover their skills, abilities and knowledge and to raise awareness about their rich repertoire of abilities as educators (Ainscow etal. 1995). This knowledge is a powerful source for the professional development of all, as the teachers’ statements below illustrate:
‘The teacher should not be afraid of valuing his/her practices and stressing the positive aspects of being a teacher, so that they can grow alongside colleagues in the school.’
’Listening to other teachers’ experiences made me realize that I am a good teacher. I undertake many activities that are effective and many others that are not. But I do good things as well and have to remember and acknowledge them…’
The opportunity provided for teachers to review their own abilities together with the chance to share ‘their best’ with others, showed itself to be a key factor in fighting the widely recognised working isolation and individualism (Little and MacLaughlin 1993) of teachers, while at the same time provided a soil in which to grow comprehension about the power of partnerships, about learning from each other, about collaborating and reflecting upon practice without fear of exposing weaknesses or of making criticism. As a primary teacher said:
“ Here, in this project I have found out that I have left behind my enchantment with the educational process. I have realized that I have forgotten how good and creative I am ... I was in the past, and how I just allowed the system to put me down as the years passed by. But now I have understood this, I will recover everything I lost and do my best again. It is interesting (but sad) to see how we can be more creative, happier, committed when teaching the little ones, and how we lose all these qualities when we teach the older students ...”
This growing sense of self-confidence and self-worth seems to provide teachers with the basis for trying pedagogic innovation in their classroom and for engaging themselves in their own professional development. The study illuminates that teachers are willing to change and support inclusion, many of which are even enthusiastic, but most of them feel unclear about how to do it. So, valuing teachersas professionals with worthwhile experiences seems to be an important step towards making them to feel more committed and confident regarding their abilities to promote inclusion.
Promoting partnerships with students: Listening to and getting to know pupils to promote inclusive practices
Spontaneous statements from teachers and the information provided during my visit to the schools (observation and interviews with teachers, pupils) show that teachers have realized the real importance of getting to know their students in order to plan their lessons. Knowing pupils’ personal interests, abilities and needs, background, family history, etc, helps the teacher to review his/her teaching practice based on this information, as the statement bellows illustrate…
I have learned
“I have learned that I am not the 'owner of the knowledge' in the classroom”
“…how to modify teaching strategies in order to allow students to be more responsible for their own learning and effectively participating in the process.”
“…the teacher must engage students in the construction of knowledge by using differentiated activities.”
By learning from each other’s experiences and using the strategies provided by the UNESCO materials, these statements shows that teachers understand how important it is to know each pupil as an individual, and to write down this information for later use in planning lessons. Knowing the informal knowledge that a child possess, the teacher learns how to bring it into the classroom and into the lesson plan, with the objective of creating equal opportunities to participate. Other statements illustrate the understanding acquired about the importance of recalling and using such information in their activities in schools:
“I am learning that planning, registering and organizing [information] is fundamental if one wants that inclusion happen in practice.”
“I need to organize and register what I do as well as I need to learn how to differentiate...”
“Now I understand how important is the organization of the strategies and the management of the time for me to be able to get to know my pupils, so I can introduce this into my planning …’
The project findings shed light on the development of a new understanding about pupils as a resource to promote inclusion. During the assessment activities at the workshop sessions, when teachers were asked to reflect on their learning about this issue the responses reveal that the majority of teachers (and educators) realised the importance of listening to pupils and of systematically registering relevant information for them to be able to continuously review their practice in the classroom. The question raised for the teachers at the session was: What have I learned today that is important to my work as a teacher?
I have learned …
“New strategies to work with my pupils and the importance of always listening to pupils' voices, as well as of engaging other teachers in the same process.”
“To listen and to be heard. I have learned the importance of exchanging experiences about our educational practice in an informal way.”
“I learned to mobilise people's awareness to the differences between each person and styles of learning.”
“To create opportunities to get to know each pupil better and to respect him or her more …”
“To know the name of each pupil in the classroom and to give them all the opportunity to express themselves.”
“... that it is important to know the group we are going to work with.”
The statements above reveal that teachers have discovered the human resource existing in the classroom as a valuable tool for their work, that is, a resource that can be used as an integral part of the curriculum and the teaching-learning processes of the classroom as a whole. This is a valuable resource because it exists in each school and it is always available, so we just need to learn how to identify it and make appropriate use of it as a valuable pedagogic resource for those involved in the education process.
Being able to comprehend the pedagogic value of listening to the students, exchanging experiences, recognising that the teacher is not the 'owner of the knowledge', and creating opportunities for participation for all members of any group in educational settings points to the beginning of the achievement of a new understanding about teaching and learning for inclusion.
Exercising and promoting collaboration in the classroom to foster learning for all
During the workshops, teachers were led to reflect on how to create an environment that made everyone feel welcome at the school and in the classroom and also feel involved in collaborative work. The concepts of welcoming schools and collaboration were addressed, and teachers were challenged to rethink their own teaching practice by adopting new educational assumptions about how they could support the development of a new way of dealing with classroom arrangements in order to make them more inclusive. These assumptions are:
- creating a classroom environment within which everyone is known to everyone else, and is recognised by the members of the groups and valued in his/her own differences and individuality,
- promoting a teaching practice that is not teacher-centred, but pupil-centred, that is, one which places students at the very heart of the whole teaching and learning process by increasing their participation and reducing the teachers' domain,
- stimulating and promoting the sharing of power with pupils by negotiating decisions related to every single matter or issue that emerges in the classroom.
The workshop sessions were demonstrative of inclusive strategies. I used inclusive strategies to create an inclusive environment in the sessions so that teachers were able to experience them, and to think how they could apply what they have learned in lesson planning in their own classrooms. This is the approach adopted by the UNESCO Resource Pack Special Needs in the Classroom.
By experiencing the strategies, the participants began to understand that classrooms are like living organisms that need a 'central management system' to work well. Teachers developed a new understanding about their classrooms, where human and material resources resources must be identified and organized in order to allow the teaching-learning process to work effectively. Teachers are the ´managers´ of this system and responsible for ensuring participation and fostering collaboration among the members of the classroom. Teachers described by the in the evaluation session:
“Collaboration and experience exchange are relevant factors to enrich our practices in the classrooms. We must look for new strategies (changes) and ways to improve our lessons.”
“It is important to provide an environment that will lead every pupil to work collaboratively in the classroom.”
“I came to understand that I need to learn how to improve time management skills in order to consider every child in the classroom.”
“These strategies are important for me because they help to create a collaborative climate in different educational settings. Furthermore, it is always very important to celebrate what has been done and said and achieved by adopting a positive attitude towards both the pupils and our colleagues in the school.”
“I realized that interpersonal relationships and the school climate are very important. I think that it is necessary to find ways, time and space to gather teachers, headteachers, pupils, teaching support staff, and every member of the school community to speak and to listen about each others experiences in order to try to find solutions for the problems instead of remaining just complaining about them.”
It is worth to note that teachers' statements reflect, in general, changes in their ways of understanding their own pedagogic activities in the classroom. Imperative statements such as ´we must look for´, ´it is important to improve´, ´I understood´ or ´I realised´ indicate an awakening to a new practice, that is, a new style of teaching and interacting in the classroom. The evidence points to the fact that teachers achieved a new comprehension about the central importance and role of the classroom environment in implementing effective changes.
Assessment as a tool to overcome barriers to learning
Periodic tests are still the main instrument for assessing pupil performance in Brazilian schools. In the context of promoting inclusive classrooms, assessment can help teachers to review their planning as well as their teaching style by collaboratively assessing pupils’ performance day after day (UNESCO 2004). So, regular assessment of pupils' learning is a valuable tool for teachers to support those who are meeting learning difficulties and help them to overcome these barriers.
The work with the teachers indicates that assessment is a central issue to be dealt with in teacher training initiatives in the municipality of São Paulo, and that teachers need a lot of support to move towards an inclusive approach to assessment. In this sense, it is important that teacher training initiatives should support teachers to develop their thinking towards a new understanding of assessment not as only a tool for measuring pupils' learning, but as a tool for reviewing whether the teaching is reaching every child in the classroom.
Final words…
As a consequence of significant changes in the mainstream system over the last ten years and the belief that teachers should obtain better qualifications there has been a significant growth of ‘extra mural’ courses that aim to respond to this demand. These courses are, in general, organized and delivered by liberal professionals; by academics from public and private universities, by professionals working in NGOs - an ever growing type of organization in the country, and by others. This kind of course can be seen as a new ‘business’ in the field of education.
This practice is so wide spread in Brazil that I can say without fear of contradiction that at present anyone who considers him or herself to possess knowledge that may be relevant to teachers can organize, advertise and deliver a ‘course’ and to charge for it. This sort of ‘training’ tends to be based on theoretical analysis of the reality in schools and adopts approaches that are thoroughly disjointed from real life in schools. (Ferreira 2005). If not tackled by the government this growing ‘business’ will, in my view, aid the perpetuation of the existing grave problems that affect the Brazilian education system.
This study sheds some light on factors that facilitate the process of changing teaching practices in both in-service and in initial teacher training in order to respond to pupils´ diversity.
Having remarked upon the importance of learning from teachers, let us read about what they think about the project:
‘For the first time, we are taking part in training in which WE are the focus of its content, that is, our needs and practices in the classroom are at the heart of what we are working on here.’
‘These workshops have been valuable for us because they helped us to think about new ways to support teachers in their planning, and to re-think our practice.’
‘These meetings have been like an injection of energy and incentive for me. They stimulated me to bring innovation into the classroom. Being here, talking about practice in the classroom with colleagues makes me remember myself ten years ago, when I was highly involved with my pupils and in planning my lessons.’
To hear these views is fundamental for those who are planning to implement teacher-training programmes or projects. These statements stress that teacher training in Brazil should move towards a focus on teachers’ need and practices, their views and experiences. Those working with teacher education, mainly in the area of in-service training, should lead teachers to share detailed accounts about activities undertaken in their classrooms and valuing these experiences as a fundamental source for reflection and professional development. Ainscow (1999) asserts that in his experience working with teachers, they often gradually realize that they know much more than they were aware of. So, teachers must feel they are at the centre of the training and that their experiences are a valuable resource to be used in improving everyone’s practice.
‘In this project I have learned that inclusion means reaching out to every pupil in my classroom, and by reflecting on my lessons I realised that I was not creating equal opportunities for learning for many of my charges. So, I understood that something had to change, and that involves how I plan my lessons considering each child as a unique individual.’
‘Today I diversify the activities during the lesson in order to promote inclusion. I used to do this before, but it was something I did spontaneously, without planning … To have learned inclusive strategies helped me to keep focus and to use the time in a better way so that everyone can participate.’
‘I consider the organization of strategies and time management in the classroom very important, as is knowing the group [of students] with whom we are going to work with. Also, the planning must have clear objectives.’
Inclusive education brings the challenge of creating a break with the traditional way of teaching and learning. Teachers working towards inclusion in classrooms are expected to be committed to increasing participation and reducing exclusion. Day to day life in school and in the classroom become an opportunity to reflect upon practice and to develop professionally. Investigating what is going on in the classroom is the begining of a process of an enriching change, that will sometimes bring turbulence, but that is also rewarding for teachers. In one of the training sessions, a teacher confided to us all:
´after we started this training, I began continuously to reflect on my classroom practice, and I ask myself all the time whether I could be doing things differently and better, whether I could be reaching out to more pupils, whether my lessons are enjoyable, whether pupils are happy, whether I am satisfied with my work ... I just can’t stop, so sometimes I feel tired, sometime I feel a lack of confidence, but most of the time I feel good because I know I am trying to do my best for every student.’
This statement seems to highlight the challenge that each teacher will meet as an individual, but it also highlights the value of teachers as a powerful resource to move towards more inclusive education systems. Teachers have a crucial role in combating educational and social exclusion, particularly in a country whose very size is in itself a major barrier to reaching out to all. So, each teacher can make a difference through individual effort to many children that otherwise would be pushed towards the margins of society.
References
Ainscow, M., Ahuja, A., Chen, Y., Commuzzi, N., Duk, C. and Echeita, G. (1995). Unesco ‘Teacher Education Project: Special Needs in the Classroom’. Prospects, Vol. 25 (2), June, pp. 273-286.
Ainscow, M. (1999) Understanding the Development of Inclusive Schools. London: Falmer Press. (Series Studies in Inclusive Education)
Ainscow, M. e Ferrreira, WB (2003) ‘Compreendendo a educação inclusiva: algumas reflexões sobre experiências internacionais’ (Understanding Inclusive Education: reflections on international experiences). In: Rodrigues, David (2003)(Org.) Perspectivas sobre a Inclusão: da Educação à Sociedade. Lisboa: Editora Porto.
Cohen, L. and Manion, L. (1994) Research Methods in Education (4 th ed.) London: Routledge.
CSIE – Centre for Studies on Inclusive Education (2000) Index for Inclusion. Developing learning and participation in schools. Bristol: CSIE/University of Manchester/ Canterbury Christ Church University College.
Ferreira, WB. (2005) “Enquanto alguns ‘rebeldes’ lutam pela inclusão, as universidades formam ‘exércitos’ para excluir: reflexões sobre a formação docente dez anos após Salamanca” (While ‘few rebels’ fight for inclusion, universities are preparing ‘armies’ to exclude: reflections on Teacher Education ten years after Salamanca). In. Rodrigues, David (2005) Doze olhares sobre a inclusão. Summus Editorial. (in Press)
Little, J.W. and McLaughlin, M.W. (1993) Teachers Work: Individuals, Colleagues and Contexts. New York: Teachers’ College Press.
MEC – Ministério da Educação e Cultura (1996) Lei de Diretrizes e Bases da Educação Brasileira - N° 9394-20/12/1996 (Guidelines and Bases of Brazilian Education Law). Brasil, Brasilia: MEC. www.mec.gov.br
SCS (2003) Aprendendo sobre os Direitos da Criança com Deficiência, Guia de Orientação à Família, Escola e Comunidade (Learning about Rights of Children with Disabilities: a SChool, Family and Community Guide). Co-ordination: Windyz B. Ferreira. Save the Children-Sweden:Recife, Brazil. postmaster@scs.org.pe
Stenhouse, L. (1990) ‘What is Action-Research’, Norwich C.A.R.E., University of East Anglia, Norwich (mimeo.), 1979. In: Cohen, L. and Manion, L. (1994) Research Methods in Education (4 th ed.) London: Routledge.
UNESCO (1990), World Declaration on Education for All and Framework for Action to Meet Basic Learning Difficulties. Paris: UNESCO.
UNESCO (1993) UNESCO Resource Pack: Teacher Training, Special Needs in the Classroom. UNESCO:Paris.
UNESCO (1994) The Salamanca Statement and Framework for Action on Special Needs Education , adopted by the World Conference on Special Needs Education: Access and Quality (Salamanca, Spain, 7-10 June, 1994), Paris, UNESCO, 1994.
UNESCO. Dakar Framework for Action. Education for All, Meeting our Collective Commitments. 2000a (Disponível em : efa@unesco.org)
UNESCO (2001a) Open File on Inclusive Education, support materials for managers and administrators. UNESCO-Paris.
UNESCO (2001b) Developing learning and participation in countries of the South. The role of INDEX for Inclusion. UNESCO Paris,
UNESCO (2002) Education for All. Is the World on Track? EFA Global Monitoring Report. UNESCO: Paris.
UNESCO (2004) Changing teaching practices, using curriculum differentiation to respond to students’ diversit. Paris: UNESCO (pdf: http://portal.unesco.org/education/en/ev.php-URL_ID=7939&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html)
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