Christopher Boyle

Teachers’ attitudes towards inclusion in high schools

This study investigated the attitudes of secondary teachers to inclusion in schools. Three hundred and ninety-one teaching and management-level staff from 19 mainstream and 6 special schools in one local authority in Scotland completed a survey. Overall, teaching staff were pro-inclusion, conditional on adequate support and resources. There was a significant gender difference, with female teachers being more inclusive than their male colleagues. Head Teachers (School Principals) were the most inclusive group overall, followed by Deputy Head Teachers (Vice-Principals). Both were significantly more inclusive than teachers. There was no significant difference between practical and non-practical subjects, but there were differences between departments, with the Special Needs/Support for Learning department being the most inclusive. After the first year in teaching, there was a significant negative change in the attitude towards inclusion. However, length of service was not a significant factor in attitude. Whilst 68% of teachers indicated that they had no qualification in special education, studying for a module in special education after qualifying had a significantly positive impact on attitudes to inclusion. These findings suggest that inclusive education policies have to be more in tune with the views of practising teachers in order to work effectively. Suggestion is also made of the importance of studying inclusive education effectively at the teacher-training stage, and this finding has implications for how institutions prioritise inclusive education.

My School? Critiquing the abstraction and quantification of Education

This paper draws upon and critiques the Australian federal governments website My School as an archetypal example of the current tendency to abstract and quantify educational practice. Arguing in favour of a moral philosophical account of educational practice, the paper reveals how the My School website reduces complex educational practices to simple, supposedly objective, measures of student attainment, reflecting the broader ‘audit’ society/culture within which it is located. By revealing just how extensively the My School website reduces educational practices to numbers, the paper argues that we are in danger of losing sight of the ‘internal’ goods of Education which cannot be readily and simply codified, and that the teacher learning encouraged by the site marginalises more active and collective approaches. While having the potential to serve some beneficial diagnostic purposes, the My School website reinforces a view of teachers as passive consumers of information generated beyond their everyday practice.

Applying Cognitive Behavioural Methods to Retrain Children's Attributions for Success and Failure in Learning.

This study involves the use of methods derived from cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) to change the attributions for success and failure of school children with regard to learning. Children with learning difficulties and/or motivational and self-esteem difficulties (n = 29) were identified by their schools. The children then took part in twelve 30-minute group sessions with an educational psychologist, in which the childrens attributions were retrained using methods derived from CBT. The intervention appeared to accelerate the childrens progress in reading but not in spelling. Significant improvements in motivation and self-esteem were reported by the children and their parents. These changes were less apparent to the teachers. The findings point to a potentially fruitful way of offering additional intervention and support to children with learning difficulties and of increasing attainment. The cognitive behaviour methods complement more directly focused curricular work in a positive manner.

Applied psychology and the case for individual casework: some reflections on the role of the educational psychologist

The authors consider the changing role of educational psychology in the current era and emphasise the importance of casework‐based interventions not only for influencing systemic work but also for maintaining credibility within the educational marketplace. With in‐school counselling and intervention becoming more popular, the natural providers of this service should be educational psychologists but this may not be the case in many local authorities. The authors consider the possibility of the profession becoming obsolete if there is a continuation of the move away from individual interventions to a more consultative based approach.

The importance of peer-support for teaching staff when including children with special educational needs

Policies of inclusion in schools now transcend national boundaries; but much less is known about how teachers interact best with each other in order to establish a successful inclusion environment. School psychologists cannot work in isolation and require being fully conversant with this perennially polemic topic. This article reports on a study in which 43 teachers in three secondary schools across one local authority in Scotland were interviewed on a range of topics related to inclusion. One of the important themes to emerge was the importance of peer-support within staff groups. It was found that teachers could still hold positive attitudes towards inclusion, even if the management team and heads of department within the same school were not regarded as being particularly supportive. Peer support was highlighted as a valuable component enabling teachers to feel that they were able successfully to include children with special needs. Moreover, the importance of peer support was perceived as superseding other support across the three high schools. Some implications for a possible role for school psychologists in helping to establish peer support networks for teachers are considered.

Pre-service primary teachers’ attitudes towards inclusive education

Research has demonstrated that an important factor in the success of inclusive education is dependent upon teachers’ attitudes. Based on this evidence, the present study investigated the impact of a range of teacher variables in association with training on primary pre-service teachers’ attitudes by examining total inclusion scores, positive affect, training and perceived competence, and negative affect. Three-hundred and forty-two participants from a metropolitan Australian University studying primary school education completed the Teacher Attitudes to Inclusion Scale (adapted). Comparisons were made between participants who had received training on special education, compared with those who had not. The analyses revealed that overall, studying an elective unit on inclusive education had a positive influence over pre-service teachers’ attitudes. It was found that teaching experience had a significantly negative impact on pre-service teachers’ attitudes. The present study demonstrates the vital role that training institutions play in developing appropriate attitudes to inclusive education with significant issues around teacher training being examined. The research has important implications for training institutions, with future research being discussed.

Exploring the Contribution of Attribution Retraining to Student Perceptions and the Learning Process.

This paper looks at current research into how thinking influences learning. How people explain to themselves why they fail and succeed inevitably impacts on how well they learn new skills. Researchers have been developing attribution retraining programmes targeted at improving student academic achievement and learning experience through the promotion of positive thinking. These findings can often be found in scientific psychological journals far removed from the educational practitioners and learning environments they attempt to influence. This paper introduces the educational practitioner to the principles underlying attribution theory. The potential benefits of incorporating attribution retraining programmes into the school curriculum are then outlined and the future of this area for both researchers and educational psychologists alike is discussed.

Attitudes of Preschool and Primary School Pre-Service Teachers towards Inclusive Education.

Teachers’ attitudes towards inclusion are important as they have the primary responsibility of implementing inclusive education. Attitudes at the beginning of teaching careers are likely to predict future attitudes. Some studies show a drop in attitudes after leaving university education. Using the Teachers’ Attitudes Towards Inclusion (Amended) questionnaire, 465 pre-service teachers (located in Victoria, Australia) from primary school and preschool streams were examined to determine the effect of a number of independent factors on Total Inclusion Score; a measure of attitudes towards inclusion. Two-way ANOVAs revealed module (unit) and year of study to be significant factors. A multiple regression showed the factors combined accounted for 10% of the variance in Total Inclusion Score. Participants who had studied a module (unit) on inclusive education or were in later years of study were more positive towards inclusive education based on Total Inclusion Score from the questionnaire. No significant differences for Total Inclusion Score were found between pre-service teachers that study primary school teaching or preschool teaching. It is concluded that studying a module on inclusive education is a particularly important factor in the development of pre-service teacher attitudes towards inclusion.

Inclusive education in pre-schools: predictors of pre-service teacher attitudes in Australia

Teachers’ attitudes have been identified as being vital to the success of inclusive education (IE). With pre-school student populations becoming increasingly diverse, and many children experiencing this as their first involvement in formal education, the attitudes towards IE of pre-school teachers are more important than ever. This study investigated pre-service pre-school teachers in an attempt to identify the factors that contribute to the formation of positive attitudes towards IE in this population. Participants were 139 undergraduate and postgraduate early education students studying at a metropolitan university in Australia. Results indicated that participants generally held positive attitudes towards IE, despite having concerns regarding their ability to implement the construct. Attitudes did not significantly vary through years of study of the undergraduate degree; however, postgraduate participants reported significantly lower attitudes. While those who completed a tertiary-level unit on IE were significantly more likely to display positive attitudes, neither personal experience with persons with special needs nor practical classroom experience significantly influenced attitudes. Experience, however, was found to significantly increase perceptions of self-efficacy. Findings imply the presence of unique factors associated with the attitudes of pre-service pre-school teachers. Implications for the structure of pre-service pre-school education programmes and directions for future research are discussed.

The lived experience of volunteering in a palliative care biography service

OBJECTIVE Many patients approaching death experience hopelessness, helplessness, and a depressed mood, and these factors can contribute to a difficult end-of-life (EoL) period. Biography services may assist patients in finding meaning and purpose at this time. The aim of our study was to investigate the lived experience of volunteers involved in a biography service in Melbourne, Australia, using a qualitative methodology. METHOD The participants were 10 volunteers who had participated in a biography service within a private palliative care service. Each volunteer was interviewed separately using a study-specific semistructured interview guide. The transcripts of these interviews were then subjected to thematic analysis. RESULTS Analysis yielded the following themes: motivations for volunteering; dealing with death, dying, and existential issues; psychosocial benefits of volunteering; and benefits and challenges of working with patients and their families. Our results indicated that volunteering gave the volunteers a deeper appreciation of existential issues, and helped them to be more appreciative of their own lives and gain a deeper awareness of the struggles other people experience. They also suggested that volunteers felt that their involvement contributed to their own personal development, and was personally rewarding. Furthermore, the results highlighted that volunteers found that encounters with family members were sometimes challenging. While some were appreciative, others imposed time limits, became overly reliant on the volunteers, and were sometimes offended, hurt, and angered by what was included in the final biography. SIGNIFICANCE OF RESULTS It is hoped that the findings of the current study will provide direction for improvements in the biography services that will benefit patients, family members, and volunteers. In particular, our findings highlight the need to provide ongoing support for volunteers to assist them in handling the challenges of volunteering in a palliative care setting.