Inclusive Pedagogy: A Contribution From Two Unrelated Empirical Studies

The development of pedagogies that lead to a more inclusive experience of education for children and young people has been a major focus for the inclusive education movement. In addition, some countries, for example Scotland, Finland and Sweden, have reconceptualised special education away from a focus on individual deficit, in- or dis- ability, towards one of support and provision. The result is that much recent research and theoretical activity has sought to explore innovative approaches to the learning of all children and young people. This paper aims to contribute to our understanding of effective pedagogy and provision through drawing on the findings from two empirical research projects, neither of which had a prime focus on pedagogy but both of which produced data relevant to this developing context. The first study was a retrospective exercise based on moving image education in one Scottish primary school. In this study, pupils in the sixth and seventh years of their primary education were asked to engage with an archive of materials they had produced as part of a moving image education project in their first and second years in school. The project focused on children understanding and applying Skills for Learning, Life and Work to enhance their perceptions of what, how and why they needed to learn. The project was designed to allow young learners to explore and compare themselves as learners currently and five years previously in order to identity the skills they had, how they had developed (or otherwise) and to consider how they might use them in future. A paper reporting on this project was presented at ECER 2012 Findings significant for the current paper included data related to emerging learner and teacher identities and relationships that were different from and challenged those normally at play in the school. These were attributed largely to the changed context of the retrospective in which the pupils were more knowledgeable about the initial moving image education project and more familiar with the experiences and materials produced. The second study, completed in December 2014, consisted of seminars and interviews to explore how skills, abilities and talents were identified and developed in a range of contexts including sport, business, performing arts, visual arts and community/urban education. Significant findings for this paper again included matters of context and and identity but also the importance of mindset. These emerged as essential and overlapping factors in the successful development of athletes, sportsmen and women, artists, performers and participants in all of the contexts considered. This paper takes the findings of context, mindset and identity arising from both studies and explores their significance for the development of inclusive education and pedagogy