A New-Institutional Analysis of Inclusion Policy Enactment in Teacher Education: A Case from Ontario

Ayman Massouti

doi:10.7202/1075670ar

Abstract

This qualitative single case study aimed to examine the logics of one teacher education program towards preparing pre-service teachers for inclusive teaching from the perspectives of the program’s coordinators. In particular, the study aimed to understand the practices of these coordinators and how these practices are influenced by inclusive education and teacher education policies. This examination would reveal how education policies are enacted in this particular case. New-Institutionalism (NI) theory (DiMaggio & Powell, 1991) constituted the theoretical framework that guided the methodology as well as the analysis of the findings. The study revealed that the coordinators’ understanding and practices around the existing inclusion and teacher education policies emerge from their own experiences in this particular program, intermingled with their beliefs about how inclusion should be enacted in teacher education and schools. Key findings included coordinators developing inclusive mindsets among pre-service teachers, negotiating their logics towards inclusion through modeling inclusive teaching practices in the university classroom, and engaging them in critical discussions around inclusion policy practice in schools, and coordinators calling for a curriculum policy change. Recommendations for future teacher education programming in response to the evolving inclusive education are offered.

Highlights

Inclusion and its challenges continue to be central to education policy research that seeks to promote access for all learners (Forlin, 2010)
The findings describe the three major themes that emerged during data analysis, illuminating the various perspectives and institutional practices of the program coordinators in relation to inclusive education and how inclusion-related teacher education policies are embodied in the examined teacher education program
The findings bring forward the structural issues around the design of the examined program, the challenges faced by the coordinators to support pre-service teacher preparation for inclusion, as well as some recommendations for future teacher education programming

Summary

Introduction

Inclusion and its challenges continue to be central to education policy research that seeks to promote access for all learners (Forlin, 2010). Understanding the position of teacher education programs in preparing future teachers for inclusive teaching practices is critical for supporting a growing and diverse student population in Ontario classrooms. According to Forlin (2010), a review of teacher education programs concerning inclusion is a significant priority to warrant that future teachers are ready to respond to the needs of diverse learners in the classroom. This priority could be evidenced by the fact that teacher preparation has been a central key component in education policy reform. Bransford et al (2005) noted that future teachers need new and innovative ways of preparation, which allow them not to cover a given classroom curriculum but rather to enable multimodal learning for students of diverse learning needs

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Discussion

Conclusion