04. Inclusive Education
Research Workshop
The Scottish National Framework for Inclusion – an invitation for shared reflections and experiences across international contexts
Kirsten Darling-McQuistan1, Yuchen Wang2, Stella Mouroutsou3, Di Cantali4
1University of Aberdeen, United Kingdom; 2Strathclyde University, United Kingdom; 3University of Stirling, United Kingdom; 4University of Dundee
Presenting Author: Darling-McQuistan, Kirsten;
Wang, Yuchen;
Mouroutsou, Stella;
Cantali, Di
Ensuring inclusive and quality education and reducing inequalities are key Sustainable Development Goals for our global society. Teachers, nevertheless, may face challenges in enacting an inclusive pedagogy that responds to the increasing diversity in our classrooms (Florian and Pantić, 2017). It is observed that more and more countries have started to purposively support teachers’ professional development for inclusion (Kubacka and D’Addio, 2020).
Inclusive education is recognized as being the cornerstone of Scottish education (Scottish Government, 2017) and there is clear recognition of the important role that teachers play in ensuring that barriers to pupils’ learning are addressed. The Framework for Inclusion (Scottish Universities Inclusion Group, 2022), now in its third edition (https://www.gtcs.org.uk/professional-standards/national-framework-for-inclusion/), is intended to support teachers at all stages of their career journey to develop and sustain inclusive practice within their diverse professional contexts. The Framework is internationally unique, by recognizing teachers as autonomous and creative professionals who have the capacity to critically reflect on their pedagogical decisions and identify approaches to promote learners’ inclusion. It differs from other policy and practice documentation which provides teachers with materials to deliver, and, sometimes, direction in how to teach it but without a discussion of why this direction is best practice. It is closely linked with the latest Scotland’s Professional Standards for Teachers (GTCS, 2021) and Education Scotland’s ethos of empowering teachers as autonomous, creative professionals (Scottish Government, 2019).
The Framework was first developed as an output from the Inclusive Practice Project (IPP, Rouse and Florian, 2012). The three underlying principles for the Framework, namely the Inclusive Pedagogical Approaches in Action (IPAA), were developed during the IPP, and they can be summarized as:
The Framework is comprised of reflective questions such as ‘What role do I play in ensuring my school maintains a rights-respecting culture?’ and ‘How do I ensure a holistic approach to learning and teaching for everyone?’ (SUIG, 2022). The questions are organised into the categories of Student Teachers, All Teachers, and Experienced Teachers, addressing the need of scaffolding by taking into account of the varied roles, experiences and contexts that shape teachers’ work. This new edition was also revised cognizance being taken of recent developments within Scottish education including the increased focus on sustainability and the need for diversification of the curricula.
Developing the Framework was an ambitious endeavor shared by all 11 teacher education institutions in Scotland to co-create the much-needed resources in supporting teachers’ development for inclusion. Teacher educator representatives from the Scottish Universities Inclusion Group (http://www.scde.ac.uk/networks/inclusion-group/) participated in various stages of collaborative and critically reflective discussions.
Methodology, Methods, Research Instruments or Sources UsedThis participatory and interactive workshop will appeal to teacher educators, researchers and practitioners who are interested in supporting inclusion and diversity in education. It will bring together participants from different international contexts to learn about and reflect on the Scottish experience of developing the National Framework for Inclusion (3rd edition). The workshop will start with a short presentation of the rationale and background of the Framework for Inclusion, highlighting the unique Scottish educational context. The process of co-creating the Framework will be introduced as well as some examples of the reflective questions from the Framework. Practical examples of how the Framework is used within the context of teacher education in the form of short vignettes will be shared to prompt discussions and reflections. For instance, we will share how questions, such as ‘Are some learners more valued than others, and, if so, why?’ and ‘What groups of learners may be excluded from my classroom and learning context? can be used in small-group discussions on an undergraduate MA Education course to support students’ reflections and meaning-making in relation to aspects of their inclusive practices and past and future placements experiences. The participants then will be invited to consider key ideas and questions relating to these examples on how we can support student teachers and teachers’ understandings and enactment of inclusive practices. We will encourage further dialogues about important take-away messages from this workshop that stimulate considerations of possible actions in their own contexts. Postcards will be provided for the participants to document key reflections from the workshop to travel home with.
Conclusions, Expected Outcomes or FindingsInclusive education is a shared global goal of our times. This workshop will usefully inform the participants’ understandings of inclusive practices, which can therefore influence policy and practice in broader international contexts to work thoughtfully towards the UN SDGs.
ReferencesFlorian, L. and Pantić, N. (2017). Teacher education for the changing demographics of schooling: policy, practice and research. In Florian, L. and Pantić, N. (eds) Teacher Education for the Changing Demographics of Schooling. 1-5. Cham: Springer. doi: 10.1007/978-3-319-54389-5_1
Florian, L. and Spratt, J. (2013). Enacting inclusion: a framework for interrogating inclusive practice. European Journal of Special Needs Education 28, 119-135.
General Teaching Council for Scotland. (2021). Professional Standards for Teachers. Edinburgh, The General Teaching Council for Scotland.
Kubacka, K. and D’Addio, A. C. (2020). Targeting teacher education and professional development for inclusion. Journal of International Cooperation in Education. 22-2/23-2: 89-106.
Rouse, M. and Florian, L. (2012). Inclusive Practice Project: Final Report. Aberdeen, The University of Aberdeen.
Scottish Government. (2019). Achieving Excellence and Equity. 2020 National Improvement Framework and Improvement Plan. Edinburgh, The Scottish Government.
Scottish Government. (2017). Consultation on the Presumption of Mainstreaming. Edinburgh, The Scottish Government.
Scottish Universities Inclusion Group (SUIG). 2022. National Framework for Inclusion 3rd edition. Aberdeen, The Scottish Universities Inclusion Group.
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