National Investigators Research Activities

Policy and Practice

Policy drives existing practice and must be revised based upon empirical outcomes. The implementation of inclusion varies across the country because of the provincial nature of education (CCL, 2007). In PEI, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, full inclusion is the only option; in other provinces a range of services is available. The result of this variation is that students with exceptionalities do not receive equitable access to education in Canada. With the mandate of the Centre to provide a national voice for inclusive education, cross-Canada studies will be undertaken. Two studies building on the work of current team members are proposed:

Comparing inclusion indicators from the 2001 and 2006 PALS.

Building on the work of Timmons & Wagner (2008) researchers will undertake an analysis of Statistics Canada’s 2006 Participation and Activity Limitation Survey (PALS), and compare the results to the 2001 PALS. We will use the tool entitled the Inclusion Index that was designed for the 2001 data to identify the involvement of children with disabilities in everyday school life. This comparison will determine if school involvement has changed as policy has moved toward more inclusive schooling.

Project on teacher union perspective.

Representatives from various teacher unions and federations in each province and territory will be interviewed in order to determine views and perspectives on inclusive practices, including the challenges and trials to implement effective policies that support inclusion. This project is supported by the Canadian Teachers Federation and the Canadian Association of Community Living. It extends current work done by Timmons, Thompson, and Lyons within the Canadian Alliance on Disability Policy, a SSHRC CURA grant.

Team Members - Policy and Practice

Instructional Techniques

The essence of Universal Design is accessibility for all. Applied to inclusive education, Universal Design for Learning (UDL) provides accessibility to the curriculum, learning activities, and social life of the classroom community for all students. Increasingly, research on the use of instructional, digital, and assistive technologies has produced results indicating that these approaches can significantly enable student access, engagement, participation, and independence in learning. A comprehensive, research approach is needed that pulls together each of the elements into a framework for educators of Kindergarten to Grade 12 students. A UDL framework proposed by Katz (2010) synthesizes decades of research on inclusive educational practice into a three-block model for UDL encompassing the cornerstones of education: developing community/social and emotional well-being, instructional practice, and systematic strategies and structures. Building on the work of Katz, this project will employ quantitative and qualitative research methods to undertake collaborative and integrated investigations that address key research questions:

What are the current instructional practices being used across Canada towards achieving UDL in Kindergarten to Grade 12 classrooms and post-secondary level teacher preparation? PALS.
When used within a framework of UDL, what is the impact of instructional, digital, and/or assistive technologies on students' engagement, independence, achievement, and sense of belonging to the classroom community?

Team Members - Instructional Techniques

Socio-cultural Inclusion

Socio-cultural studies focus on the communities to which individuals belong. It is very important to understand the complex lives that all humans experience. Many of us have investigated the interaction of stakeholders in inclusion, from students to teachers to educational assistants, parents, families, outside agencies, specialists, and school administrators. Some of us have studied the transitions that students experience as they move from elementary to secondary school. Some have found that involving students in helping others can aid them in feeling a part of the school, and developing their own self efficacy for future work and social life as part of society. Researchers in this group have explored Francophone and Aboriginal inclusion within local and mainstream cultural communities and learning environments. International studies have connected Canadian teachers and teachers in training to other cultures such as Belgium and Finland to see how inclusion plays out in other societies. This group intends to collaborate on a variety of research interests that they share, using qualitative and meta-analytic methods to explore deeply and compare the experiences of students and their workers and families as they move through the educational system. A pan-Canadian view of the social and cultural underpinnings of inclusion is long overdue. Canada is seen as a model of inclusion for the rest of the world, yet we, as scholars, have not connected as we could to piece together and better understand how the similarities and differences across our country speak to our unique cultural landscape. This research network's activities will inform our understanding of the complexity of inclusion as more than an issue of learning, but as a part of our social fabric as a country. We look forward to accessing various data to tell this story and share our successes and challenges with each other in order to improve our understanding and advocacy for inclusion countrywide.

Team Members - Socio-cultural Inclusion

Professional Education

The ultimate goal of inclusion is to create communities in which all members are valued for their contributions and participation. Education is a protracted pursuit of transition into the community and seeks to prepare individuals for their place therein. Educators model inclusion and support learners in an environment in which all students belong. Research has shown that educators perceive that they are well-supported when they engage in job-embedded professional learning alongside colleagues with slightly more competence and confidence (Mattatall, 2010; Villeneuve & Hutchinson, submitted). This research will examine the policies, procedures and promising practices of educators that encourage the inclusion of all students. Quantitative and qualitative methodologies will be used. The following research questions will guide our inquiry:

What are the skills, knowledge, dispositions, resources and supports that pre-service and practicing educators need to facilitate the successful inclusion of Kindergarten to Grade 12 students?
What are the skills, knowledge, dispositions, resources and supports that college and university instructors need to prepare educators to facilitate the successful inclusion of Kindergarten to Grade 12 students?
What are the skills, knowledge, dispositions, resources and supports that practicing educators need to facilitate the successful transition of students with exceptionalities into the community and adulthood?