Inclusive Education: Evaluation Of Qualitative Research Process

The article I will be examining in this piece is “The relationship between school culture and inclusion: How an inclusive culture supports inclusive education” by Nancy J. Zollers. In this piece I will be identifying and examining elements of the qualitative research process.

The broad social issue

The social issue primarily being addressed is inclusion within educational systems, Zollers outlines previous deficiencies within the older educational models or in other words ‘mainstreaming’ rather than inclusion, programs in which students with disabilities were being placed into classrooms that embodied the regular education model, disregarding their needs therefore creating a sense of not belonging. Zoller goes on to define an ‘inclusive’ education program that adapts to disabilities, modifying environments in order to fit particular students, without these, the educational system has therefore failed these individuals.

The Research Question

Zollers states that in recent years, researchers in this area of study mainly focused on; “identifying specific educational practices that contribute to successful inclusion”, although her study begun similarly, in order to identify “specific educational practices that contributed to the success of a model inclusion program in an urban elementary school, the Connolly Elementary School”, whereas during the year-long study they found that educational practices were only a small part of the overall culture that was “wholly supportive of inclusion”. Therefore we can conclude the research question is; How an inclusive culture supports inclusive education?

The theory they used to frame the study

As Gilbert states in Researching social life; “Theory highlights and explains something that one would otherwise not see”; to answer the question of ‘how an inclusive culture supports inclusive education’ to answer the research question it can be identified in two aspects; inclusion and school culture. Inclusion can be defined as “an educational program wherein students with disabilities learn alongside their age appropriate peers in general education classrooms with appropriate aids and services”, although up until recent years models such as mainstreaming and school integration were used, being criticised and eroded due to the lack of inclusion. Alternatively this allowed for the inclusive educational model, this has also been critised by individuals as it may hinder the learning of children who are not disabled. Therefore, Connolly School gives us a clear idea and helps us understand the level of inclusion in schools, identifying certain attributes such as culture, that might be the result of the success seen in the school. Alternatively, school culture consists of; tropological and organizational research. Research on school culture analyses various characteristics of ‘high performance schools’, within Zollers research the study highlights the development of this culture up until the present day whilst relating it back to inclusion, specifically regarding Connolly Elementary School.

The Research Design

Zoller, within the study used ‘The Connolly Elementary School” as the site in which the research took place, using various research methods in order to carry out their study. Firstly, due to the complexity of the school, as twenty-three per cent of students had a disability the method of research used was qualitative as it can get a more in-depth view into the school culture.

During this year-long study the researchers visited the school every week, “participating in the school, shadowing the principle, visiting classrooms and talking to parents”. Zoller states that informal interviews conducted one-to-one in common areas were beneficial whilst collecting data. They also conducted 18 formal interviews with faculty, parents and the principle; each group were asked different questions; depending on their position. Another element of study was reviewing school materials, newsletters, reports etc. as well as the write up of field notes after every visit to the school recording the interviews and activities experienced throughout the day. Some the key findings and concluding sociological explanation or ‘argument’.

As stated above, Zoller’s initial research was to identify educational practices that aided inclusion, however through research she came to realise that this was part of a bigger picture in school culture. As there are many elements to the creation of school culture she found that the school was not a bureaucracy rather a adhocracy; allowing each member to collaborate in the decision making process. With this open dialogue between faculty members, Zoller finds that inclusion as a school reform is succeeding as it requires openness.

Another finding was Connolly’s attitudes towards the local community, as the school and town were tightly knit; in the effort between the school and locals to share responsibility in order for the school to be successful. Zoller finds this no surprise that this inclusive school “included” both children with disabilities and the community.

Zoller concludes by highlighting the advantages to the inclusive culture, finding that it is “not merely a program, but a way of thinking”, as in Connolly Elementary school children with disabilities were not ‘intruders’ that needed to be integrated into the community but instead belonged. Through this research she believed that using this school as a template for future schools adopting this model would be extremely beneficial, due to its success and complexity.