Creating Meaningful Inquiry in Inclusive Classrooms: Practitioners' stories of research

by Jones; Phyllis

• ISBN13: 9780415676175
• ISBN10: 0415676177
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Nonspecific Binding
• Copyright: 2012-07-17
• Publisher: Routledge

Summary

In recent years, the concept of teachers as researchers in both special and mainstream school settings has become part of our everyday language. Whilst many educational practitioners will see the need for research within their setting, many may not be familiar with the technical elements they believe are required. This book will shows how practitioners can engage in a wide range of educational research and explores its value to the practice of teaching and learning. The experienced contributors to this book introduce a new approach to practitioner research: The Accessible Cycle for Teachers (ARC-T), which empowers the practitioner by giving them a clear cyclical structure for the research process, using familiar language. By presenting a variety of case studies to support each phase of the cycle, the practitioner-research will gain confidence from real-life research studies within settings relevant to their own practice. The reader will be guided through each stage of the ARC-T process with a set of chapters presenting real stories of research in the field of special education. This book acknowledges that the challenge for teachers is to create a body of evidence-based practice to ensure teaching is informed, reflective and thoughtful, and it supports the teacher-researcher in this goal throughout. Supporting appendices will give access to further resources.

Author Biography

Phyllis Jones is Associate Professor in the Department of Special Education at the University of South Florida, USA. Teresa Whitehurst is an Independent Research Consultant who works with organizations and charities supporting children with disability. Jo Egerton is Research Project Co-ordinator for the Schools Network and the lead Research Coach for their Research Charter-Mark Award.

Table of Contents

List of illustrations	p. ix
Contributors	p. x
Foreword	p. xiii
Acknowledgements	p. xvi
Reclaiming research: connecting research to practitioners	p. 1
What do I want to accomplish through my inquiry? Raising practitioner awareness of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders	p. 17
What has been said before? Stand tall on the shoulders of giants	p. 30
What are the possible ways to investigate what I want to know? Understanding the family journey through a series of inquiry projects	p. 44
Informed consent and assent: an ethical consideration when involving students in research	p. 53
Voice for Choice	p. 68
Making sense of data: an analysis of alternate assessment	p. 83
Sharing discoveries about students' experiences of inclusive practice	p. 94
Relating discoveries to practice: student self-monitoring	p. 105
The ARC in action: practitioners' perspectives	p. 115
Back to the future: moving forward with practitioner research	p. 122
Index	p. 139
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