Challenges in Education – Policies, Practice and Research

Laura Nicoleta Bochiș, Carmen Alina Popa, Gianina-Estera Petre, Simona Laurian Fitzgerald, Adina Vesa

In the context of learning, Ashman and Elkins (2005) attaches a broader meaning to the concept of diversity incorporating talent, gender, social environment, different learning rhythms and styles, behavioral manifestations, as well as cultural differences, linguistic differences, and disability. Graham (2007, as cited in Petriwskyj, 2010) believes that diversity in children’s groups has changed in approach, building on the varied meanings of the concept of inclusion. That is why it is not yet known how teachers understand diversity and inclusion or how they act on the basis of emerging ideas (Petriwskyj, 2010). Schuelka, Johnstone, Thomas, and Artiles (2019) emphasize the idea that inclusive education must take into account the diversity of students, disciplines, and the learning context.

The diverse needs of growth, development, or support of students with intellectual disabilities in special and/or inclusive education classes require a differentiated and individualized approach to teaching and, at the same time, a good ability to work together in case teams to identify the best solutions in learning activities to achieve school progress. The importance of studying diversity in the classes of pupils with CES in special education is apparent in the applicative nature of the research aims of the master’s students to display presence of diversity classes that include students with special education needs.

In Romania, in accordance with the provisions of Article 51 (1) (a) and (b) of Regulation (EEC) No 2081/92 (2) of the Law on National Education No. 1/2011 and in accordance with Judgment No. 564 of August 4, 2017, on how to grant the rights of children with special educational requirements in the pre-university education system, students with CES are oriented in mainstream or special education, depending on the diagnosis/deficiency and its degree as follows:

a) children with CES integrated into mainstream education, who follow the curriculum of mainstream education.

b) children with CES integrated into special classes/groups organized in mainstream education;

c) children with SPECIAL Education CES;

(d) children with CES requiring hospital stays of more than four weeks for which groups or classes are organized, as appropriate, within the health facility in which they are admitted;

(e) children with CES who, for medical reasons or because of a disability, are non-displaceable, for whom home schooling is organized for a specified period.

The report posted on the Bihor County Inspectorate’s website for the 2017–2018 school year states that 1,399 pupils with special educational requirements are enrolled in the Bihor special education, 53 more than in the previous school year, which highlights a slight increase in the number of pupils with schooled CES, the tendency to increase the number of pupils with CES being in line with the data illustrated in the national reports, from several countries. Thus, one of the challenges that education specialists should respond to is to be consistently involved in solving the diverse difficulties faced by teachers in pre-university education in the classroom (Popa & Bochiş, 2016).

From Jelas’s point of view (2010), regardless of whether future teachers will practice in traditional or special education, they must be formed together at the level of university studies in such a way that they can achieve the integration and inclusion of pupils with special educational requirements in classes. In Romania, the training at the level of undergraduate studies of future teachers who will work with pre-school or primary school students from traditional, inclusive, and special education, is carried out within the framework of two separate curricula: Primary and Pre-school Education Pedagogy and Special Psychopedagogy, respectively. Sales (2006) emphasizes the need to prepare students enrolled in education science programs for a fair and positive approach to school diversity and inclusion. This, from Arnaiz’s point of view (2003), means not only assimilating a volume of expertise but also training skills necessary to achieve inclusive education. Given that students are aware of the importance of values such as equality, compassion, collaboration, and respect for cultural diversity and respect for human rights, they would be more likely to apply them later in the classroom (Morris, 2005; Noddings, 2006; Thomazet, 2009).

At the University of Oradea, at the Faculty of Education Sciences, at the level of the master’s studies, the educational offer is part of the integrated education study program for primary and pre-school education, in order to meet the training needs of graduates and teachers working in classes in inclusive or special schools. In this program, in the discipline of Teaching Strategies in support of the integration of children with CES, we have fostered the framework of collaboration by groups of master students, on aspects related to identifying the strengths and weaknesses of the educational process in educational institutions, with students or preschoolers with special educational requirements, using the Photovoice method. The Photovoice method is a participatory research method that combines photography and group activity giving participants the opportunity to record and reflect on the surrounding reality (Lal et al., 2012).

These skills we consider to be necessary to be developed by students or master’s students, but despite new trends in education reform, teaching and learning in universities remains teacher-centered, curriculum-centered, or both, and students are rarely actively involved in courses (Popa et al., 2018). In the process of carrying out this research, we created the context in which the master students engaged in efforts to know the reality of the state of education, reflect personally, and dialogue with others regarding the identification of the strengths and weaknesses of the way of organizing the education system, the conduct of the educational process, the policies and legislative provisions in force, etc., on the basis of an own investigative and documentation approach, plus the ability to group with other colleagues and engage in actions that produce qualitative changes in education.

1.2. Literature review

With regard to the use of the Photovoice method in order to contribute to the production of a change in education, we have identified few studies in the literature. Meyer and Kroeger (2005) outline aspects of how Photovoice can serve teachers in creating a critical approach in educational institutions/classes, which can bring about a change or transformation conducive to both teacher and students. Kroeger et al. (2012) believe that at the level of university studies, future teachers must be prepared to successfully achieve the inclusion of students with CES in classrooms, proposing an applicative approach that involves having students from different study programs and different specialists work together. Co-teaching and Photovoice methods were used in this process, without providing much further details on how the Photovoice method was implemented.

Referring to the beginnings of the use of the Photovoice method, Wass et al. (2020) stated that it was introduced for research in areas such as palliative care (healthcare contexts) and early education and was subsequently used in various contexts and for different purposes, such as exploring the impact of domestic violence or homelessness.

The study by Wass et al. (2020) involved 33 students to explore their beliefs about effective teaching-learning methods in the university, using several research methods, including Photovoice. Most student participants gave high ratings for the use of the Photovoice method in the study, while some described the method as restrictive and sometimes challenging.

Our research can arouse the interest of other researchers in using an active participatory method such as Photovoice in investigating aspects of diversity and the success of integrating students with intellectual disabilities into special education classes. In this study, the modality of the exposure of information in the research methodology part may provide other interested researchers with a model on how to utilize the Photovoice method in practice in the field of education and special education, but less data related to highlighting the impact of the results achieved on the community, due to the impossibility of completing the final stages of the study in the context given of the pandemic in 2020. The study highlights the strengths identified in the process of integrating students with intellectual disabilities into special education, pointing out eight broad categories of topics in which the photos taken were framed. In the results of the study, from the analysis of photographs, student reports, and the interview, a positive picture was illustrated on how master’s students captured diversity in classes of pupils in special education, as well as the possibilities of recovery and intervention in school or extracurricular activities.

1.3. Research questions/aims of the research

Two research questions guided this study:

1. What are the MEd students’ experiences regarding the strengths of inclusive education?

2. What are the MEd students’ recommendations regarding the weaknesses of inclusive education?

1.4. Research methods

The present chapter used qualitative research methodology as the aim was to understand the phenomenon of inclusive education through the participants’ perspective and experiences (Clark & Creswell, 2015; Glasser, 2006; Merriam & Tisdell, 2016, , by following specific stages and patterns in research (Saldaña, 2015), and exploring the topic of inclusive education in an in-depth way (Yin, 2016).

An intra-paradigm mixed research design was applied (O’Reilly & Kiyimba, 2015), of action research and Photovoice. The type of action research was Participatory Action Research (PAR) goals of which are (a) to improve the quality of people’s organizations, communities, and family lives; and (b) to empower individuals in schools, systems of education, and school communities (Creswell, 2012). By using PAR, the study aimed to empower MEd students in their experiences and practices regarding special education. The second research design was Photovoice. The aims of Photovoice are (a) to record and reflect on positive/negative aspects of a community, (b) to promote dialog on important issues, and (c) to reach policymakers (Wang & Burris, 1997). The three goals of Photovoice were followed in this study, together with the goals of PAR.

1.4.1. Procedure

The study took place from October 2019 to February 2020. Data collection was conducted by following the Photovoice steps used by Wang et al. (1998). We describe how each step was applied in this study, the sampling procedure, data collection, and data analysis.