I n c l u s i v e E d u c a t i o n series editors: Gary Thomas and Christine O’Hanlon EDUCATIONALINCLUSION AS ACTION RESEARCH an interpretive discourse In its detailed elaboration of action research as a basis for teacher E professional development, this book locates inclusive practice in a D discursive process that continually interprets its meaning while at EDUCATIONAL U the same time inevitably changing educational cultures. C A The book starts by linking government policy with social justice and INCLUSION T inclusion issues and argues that inclusion is currently promoted via I a democratic political process, which needs to be complemented at O a professional level through the demonstration of democratic and N AS ACTION inclusive procedures in the investigatory process itself. A L The text argues for: I N RESEARCH • Action research as a means of implementing and evaluating C inclusive practice in classrooms and schools L • Action research as an interpretive and discursive process U an interpretive discourse • Inclusion related to specific educational contexts S • Inclusion as responsive to change and improvement at any level IO N The book is ideal for postgraduate students, teachers and education professionals who need a basis for developing inclusive practice. A S Christine O’Hanlonis an Honorary Reader in the Centre for Applied A CHRISTINE O’HANLON Research in Education (CARE), School of Education and Professional C Development at the University of East Anglia. She was previously a T Senior Lecturer at the University of Birmingham and the University of I Ulster. She has an international reputation for her involvement in O education initiatives and research projects since the mid-eighties and N her associated writing about policy and practice in ‘inclusion’and R ‘special educational needs’. Her publications also develop ideas E related to action research, which she uses as a means of professional S development in education, from Certificate and Diploma level to PhD. E A Cover design: Kate Prentice R C H O ’ H A N L O N (cid:9)(cid:10)(cid:11)(cid:12)(cid:13)(cid:4)(cid:14)(cid:5)(cid:5)(cid:6)(cid:14)(cid:7)(cid:4)(cid:2)(cid:5)(cid:5)(cid:14)(cid:7) (cid:1) (cid:2)(cid:3)(cid:4)(cid:5)(cid:5)(cid:6) (cid:7)(cid:4)(cid:2)(cid:5)(cid:5)(cid:8) EDUCATIONAL INCLUSION AS ACTION RESEARCH Series Editors: Gary Thomas, Chair in Education, Oxford Brookes University, and Christine O’Hanlon, School of Education, University of East Anglia The movement towards inclusive education is gathering momentum through- out the world. But how is it realized in practice? The volumes within this series will examine the arguments for inclusive schools and the evidence for the success of inclusion. The intention behind the series is to fuse a discussion about the ideals behind inclusion with pictures of inclusion in practice. The aim is to straddle the theory/practice divide, keeping in mind the strong social and political principles behind the move to inclusion while observing and noting the practical challenges to be met. Current and forthcoming titles: Christine O’Hanlon: Educational Inclusion as Action Research: An interpretive discourse Darshan Sachdev: Inclusion at Large David Skidmore: Inclusion: The Experience of Teachers and Parents Gary Thomas and Andrew Loxley: Deconstructing Special Education and Con- structing Inclusion Gary Thomas and Mark Vaughan: Inclusive Education – A Reader Carol Vincent: Including Parents? EDUCATIONAL INCLUSION AS ACTION RESEARCH An interpretive discourse Christine O’Hanlon Open University Press Open University Press McGraw-Hill Education McGraw-Hill House Shoppenhangers Road Maidenhead Berkshire England SL6 2QL email: [email protected] world wide web: www.openup.co.uk First published 2003 Copyright © Christine O’Hanlon 2003 All rights reserved. Except for the quotation of short passages for the purposes of criticism and review, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher or a licence from the Copyright Licensing Agency Limited. Details of such licences (for reprographic reproduction) may be obtained from the Copyright Licensing Agency Ltd of 90 Tottenham Court Road, London, W1T 4LP. A catalogue record of this book is available from the British Library ISBN 0 335 20732 4 (pb) 0 335 20733 2 (hb) Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data CIP data applied for Typeset by RefineCatch Limited, Bungay, Suffolk Printed in the UK by Bell & Bain Ltd, Glasgow I wish to dedicate this book to my grandson Ben who has provided a healthy and active respite for me from writing. He has reminded me about the most important things of value in life. Contents Series editors’ preface ix Acknowledgements xi Prologue 1 ONE Policy, social justice and inclusion 8 TWO Action research for inclusive practice 23 THREE Getting started: the research focus and issue; finding the petrific mace 37 FOUR Action and constraints 50 FIVE Collaboration, a democratic and inclusive process: penetrating the black diorite 61 SIX Methods and techniques in action research 70 SEVEN The ethics of practitioner research 88 EIGHT The reflexive inclusion of the self 98 NINE Moving towards more inclusive educational practice 113 References 119 Index 127 Series editors’ preface ‘Inclusion’ has become something of an international buzz-word. It’s difficult to trace its provenance or the growth in its use over the last two decades, but what is certain is that it is now de rigeur for mission statements, political speeches and policy documents of all kinds. It has become a cliché – obligatory in the discourse of all right-thinking people. The making of ‘inclusion’ into a cliché, inevitable as it perhaps is, is never- theless disappointing, since it means that the word is often merely a filler in the conversation. It means that people can talk about ‘inclusion’ without really thinking about what they mean, merely to add a progressive gloss to what they are saying. Politicians who talk casually about the need for a more inclusive society know that they will be seen as open-minded and enlightened, and will be confident in the knowledge that all sorts of difficult practical questions can be circumvented. If this happens, and if there is insufficient thought about the nitty gritty mechanics (what the Fabians called ‘gas and water’ matters), those who do work hard for inclusion can easily be dismissed as peddling empty promises. This series is dedicated to examining in detail some of the ideas which lie behind inclusive education. Inclusion, much more than ‘integration’ or ‘mainstreaming’, is embedded in a range of contexts – political and social as well as psychological and educational – and our aim in this series is to make some examination of these contexts. In providing a forum for discussion and critique we hope to provide the basis for a wider intellectual and practical foundation for more inclusive practice in schools and elsewhere. In nothing that inclusive education is indeed about more than simply ‘integration’, it is important to stress that inclusive education is really about extending the comprehensive ideal in education. Those who talk about it are therefore less concerned with children’s supposed ‘special educational needs’ (and it is becoming increasingly difficult meaningfully to define what such needs are) and more concerned with developing an education system in which tolerance, diversity and equity are striven for. To aim for such developments is