Overview

last updated:October 2009

Why is the issue important?
Many schools wrestle with issues relating to inclusion. They want to ‘include everybody in school life’ and to ‘reduce barriers to participation and learning’. These complex challenges call for a variety of sustained responses. This study looked at 7 schools that had tackled inclusion by running small teacher action research groups. The groups were facilitated by educational psychologists. The action research groups all tested and refined innovative classroom practice to improve inclusion.

What did the research discover?
The research revealed many potential benefits to teachers, pupils and schools from this facilitated action research model. Benefits to teachers included:

• increased motivation and enthusiasm
• improved understanding of inclusion, and
• clarity about innovative practice tested in the classroom.

Benefits to pupils included:

• improvements in motivation and achievement by targeted pupils
• more opportunities for active involvement in learning
• better understanding of work, and
• having and making more choices.

Benefits to schools included:

• diffusion of innovative and tested practice across the school
• improved profile of enquiry and research across the school, and
• development of the school as a ‘learning community’.

How was this achieved?
The benefits were achieved through the facilitated action research model. Small groups of teachers were supported by educational psychologists. Teacher focus groups began the reflection on issues of inclusion. Pupils were asked what inclusive learning meant to them. The teacher groups then spent time choosing a focus for their research, based on a particular group of pupils who were disengaged, or on a particular issue which the teachers wanted to tackle.

Areas of focus included use of pupil whiteboards, peer mentoring, positive marking in science, engaging girls in history and developing kinaesthetic tools for maths.

The teachers developed new practice and tried it out. Following periods of reflection and evaluation the teachers reviewed what had worked and made changes where appropriate.

The facilitator of each group was supportive and encouraging without being too directive, ensuring collaboration and keeping a balance between action and reflection.

Several school conditions needed to be in place in order for action research to thrive. These included; time set aside for the teacher action researchers, active support and encouragement from senior managers in school and linking the action research to other school priorities.
 
How was the research designed to be trustworthy?
The research used different approaches at three levels to monitor impact and assess what had worked:

Teacher level
Teachers’ knowledge and opinions about action research and inclusion were assessed by questionnaire and focus groups at the start of the project (46 teachers). Researchers interviewed teachers during and at the end of the project and there were four networking days for the teachers with video conferencing between the English and Welsh groups.

School level
The researchers interviewed the seven headteachers at the start and finish of the project. The researchers also observed classroom practice and staff discussions during school visits. Each local authority provided background information on each school.

Pupil level
Pupils completed three questionnaires before and after the teacher-led projects. These explored pupils’ assessment of the inclusivity of lessons. Altogether, 649 pupils were involved in the research.

What were the researchers’ conclusions?
The researchers concluded that:

• collaboration by teachers is important in improving practice
• the focus on inclusion encouraged teachers to look for innovative ways to engage and motivate pupils and to respond to their needs
• the action research model brought both personal and professional benefits to teachers which were as important as improvements in classroom practice
• headteachers can see the value of long-term action research, as opposed to more traditional ‘quick fix’ one-off inset training, and
• the research showed the importance of deep thinking, honest reflection and listening to pupils.

What do the case studies illustrate?
The four case studies showed:

• the benefits which two teachers found from mentoring each other’s action research
• a school which used action research to improve lesson planning and pupils’ thinking skills
• the most useful support mechanisms for action research identified by a network of schools, and
• a secondary school which established a research culture across the whole school.