Inclusive and Supportive Education Congress International Special Education Conference Inclusion: Celebrating Diversity? 1st - 4th August 2005. Glasgow, Scotland

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Inclusion in the early years: myth and reality

Dr Colette Gray, Stranmillis University College: A College of Queens
University Belfast
C.Gray@Stran.ac.uk

Introduction

Inclusive education is at the centre of government policies in special needs education and pivotal to government attempts to address educational underachievement (DfEE, 1998; Dyson et al. 2002). It also forms part of a central global agenda with Articles 12, 13 and 23 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, ratified by the UK in 1991, specifically addressing the participation rights and provision of children with disabilities in mainstream education. In practice this has caused a shift from provision in special schools to provision in mainstream schools, along with a shift from support systems characterised by children's withdrawal from the classroom to those based on in-class support. Despite a considerable body of research focusing on inclusive educational policies, there is little systematic research on its many facets. This paper aims to address one aspect of the debate that receives scant attention, specifically the inclusion of children with VI in preschool settings. The paper draws on the qualitative findings of an investigation into the training needs of professionals working with early years children (for a full review see Gray et al., 2004 and Gray & McIlmoyle, 2005). Questions are also raised regarding the benefits of inclusive education for children with VI.

Visual Impairment

The term ‘visual impairment’ encompasses a broad spectrum of eye conditions and visual acuity levels. Typically, terms such as partially sighted, low vision, legally blind, and totally blind are used in educational contexts to describe pupils with a VI (National Information Centre for Children and Youth with Disabilities: NICHCY, 2001). In contrast health professionals prefer the definition supplied by the World Health Organisation (1992), which makes a distinction between blindness - visual acuity level of less 3/60 in the better eye for corrected vision, wearing spectacles or lenses - and low vision - an acuity level of between 3/60 and 6/60. According to Russell and Stobbs (1999), the last decade has witnessed a fourfold increase in the incidence of VI in children under the age of five. In 1997, there were an estimated 23,000 children with VI in the UK, including those with low vision and those with additional disabilities, with approximately 9,000 in primary school (Clunies-Ross & Franklin, 1997). More recently Vale (2003) placed the figure at 1 in 5 for children below the age of 5, but had difficulty determining the exact proportion of children with VI in mainstream schools. According to Gray et al. (2004), the collation of accurate data is complicated by problems with the interpretation of statistical reports. They claim that, irrespective of the degree of impairment, some statisticians exclude children with glasses and eye patches from the data on the basis that these corrective devices restore their sight. Similarly, while researchers acknowledge that more than 10% of all preschoolers have an undiagnosed VI, few include this number in their data (Vale, 2003). Despite these anomalies, the emergent pattern is indicative of a sustained increase in the incidence of VI among young children in the UK.

Visual impairment & child development

Children with blindness and VI learn differently, for no other reason than the fact that in most cases they cannot rely on their vision to provide information. The information they obtain through their other senses is often fragmented, inconsistent (objects are not always safe to touch, do not always make noise or always produce an odour) and passive (are not under the child's control). Consequently the child’s physical development often lags behind that of their sighted peers. Since vision also plays a part in the child’s social interactions, children with VI may have problems in interpreting facial cues, body language and in making friends (Fazzi, 2002; Bruce & Meggit, 2002). In the main, researchers attribute developmental delays and gaps in conceptual development to the child’s VI. A notion challenged by Webster and Roe (1998) who consider it a simplistic theory which fails to acknowledge the influence that other factors have on child development. According to them, development is shaped by a range of factors including: the child’s personality, family support, the ethos of the school and the extent of the child’s visual acuity. Contention also surrounds the use of developmental norms based on observations of sighted children in the assessment of children with a VI. On the one hand, it might be argued that the more sight a child with VI has the more likely they are to develop at a normal rate. On the other, there is no evidence to support the view that sighted and VI children progress at similar rates. In fact, current research suggests that children with VI have their own set of norms i.e. they may deviate from the developmental sequences established on sighted children (Lewis, 2003). Therefore, it is seems likely that a suspected delay is normal development in a child with VI. However establishing norms for low incidence disorders such as VI would require the collation of data from large samples of babies and children with VI in the developed world. However, this appears unlikely given the financial cost involved; consequently child assessments will be based on existing developmental norms. The benefits of an enriched early childhood experience are well documented (Quinn et al. 2003; Department of Education (NI), 2000; Kellaghan & Greaney, 1993), particularly for children with a sensory disability (Chen, 1999). Blakemore (2001), for example, believes that a ‘normal’ environment – one that is neither enriched nor impoverished – will provide sufficient sensory information for early development. The issue for the child with a VI is how the environment is modified to make it accessible through other sensory channels. To ensure that children don’t miss out on the incidental learning experiences which take place through vision, Jennings (2002) advises early years professionals to provide a structured, consistent and meaningful learning experience in an ordered environment. Davis (2004) also offers a number of strategies for facilitating the inclusion of children with special needs in mainstream settings. For example, she proposes that children should be provided with as many opportunities as possible, both formal and informal, to develop their social skills through interaction with others. Consistent with this view, a recent report by the Royal National Institute for the Blind (RNIB) entitled ‘Shaping The Future’ (2000/1), implicates the school ethos and staff awareness in the development of socio-emotional skills in children with a VI. They recommend awareness training for staff and sighted pupils to reduce playground bullying and pupil isolation. Similarly, the Northern Ireland Council for Integrated Education (2002) recommends staff training in the organisation of a safe and stimulating environment equipped to meet the needs of early years children with

VI.

The Present Study

Participants: A total of 6 parents participated in this qualitative study. Although technically a self-selecting group, names were supplied from a listing held by RNIB.

Methods: Initial contact with each parent was made by the RNIB who, having ascertained their willingness to participate in the project, passed details to the research team. After an initial introductory telephone call, a letter was forwarded to each participant outlining the aims of the study. Each interview session lasted approx. 90 minutes and was tape recorded for themetic analysis.

Results:

In an era where inclusion has become the buzz word, some children find themselves excluded for financial reasons.   For example one parent was concerned with the type of educational experience available in special units and sought to have his child taught in a mainstream school, however, this proved more difficult than anticipated, he recalled:

‘the special school doesn’t offer the breadth of GCSE exams available in mainstream schools. But we can’t get our son into mainstream because they say there’s no money for a classroom assistant. They forget he’s going to need a job later and has to be employable’.

Frustration with the type and level of education available to children with a VI was a recurring theme. Another mother felt she had no option but to send her child to a sixth form college for the VI in England so that her bright daughter could take A’ level exams.

She pointed out that the special school mixed children who were bright but had a VI with children with learning disabilities; consequently clever children were held back. She also thought these schools focused on care rather than on education. The school she chose in England is focused on both and her daughter will complete her A’Level exams this year.

Asked about mainstream she pointed out that so poor were their early experiences that they never considered it a viable option. Lack of training on the part of the early years professionals caused them, she claimed, to over police her child.

‘They never encouraged her to explore, to try new things. She became bored and frustrated, so was I but they don’t listen. As soon as a place was available she went to special school.’

Consistent with her experience, the findings from an interview session with the mother of a six year old child make poignant reading. They suggest that some early years professionals adopt an exclusionary policy in an inclusive environment. For example, one parent recounts how her daughter’s behaviour regressed after starting at a local nursery school. Previously bright and articulate Emma* would cry for long periods of time and roll into a tight ball in a corner of the room.

She recalled how:

within weeks she’d gone from a happy wee thing to one who rocked and cried. The teachers said she was doing fine, but I had a child who cried and clung all the time, it was awful. I called at the nursery and there she was eating lunch all by herself. The others [children] were eating together and laughing and having a great time. She could hear them but couldn’t join in. I asked the teacher why she was on her own and she said they thought it was safer in case the others accidentally hurt her; so much for inclusion. I was so upset, I told her teacher she wouldn’t be back. She goes to a special school now and loves it there’.

Another mother thought inclusion could be beneficial but was concerned that it should not be viewed as the only form of education:

‘where appropriate, inclusion can have a number of benefits for children such

as offering these children the same educational experience as their sighted

peers’ and ‘ensuring that through exposure sighted children can learn to

understand the needs of the VI’.

However, she believes that ‘inclusion it is not a panacea’ and that ‘some children might

benefit from specialist schooling’ .

Conclusion

Although the rights of children with a disability to be educated in mainstream

schools are widely acknowledged (DfEE, 1997; Dyson et al. 2002), it is interesting to

note that some parents’ chose specialist education and not always within NI. One mother recounted her weekly experience. On a Sunday evening she travels by taxi to the airport where she and her 6 year old daughter catch a plane to Edinburgh. She boards her child at a special school for the VI and returns home. On Friday evening she returns to collect her child, taking her home for the weekend. This pattern is repeated throughout the year. The reason, on the grounds that it was too expensive, the local school was refused permission to have a teacher trained in the needs of the child with a VI. That same authority now pays the cost of boarding and travel for mother and daughter. For others, specialist units can offer trained staff who have an expertise that is lacking in mainstream.

The evidence suggests that while inclusion can be beneficial it may not prove the most appropriate form of education for some children with a VI; particularly those who hope to take higher qualifications. Based on these findings it appears that specialist units will continue to offer a form of education that best suits the needs of some children with a VI.

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