Different Times, Different Thinking
Inclusion Ireland
Killarney
Prof. Tom Collins
April 24th 2010
What we are Facing
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Crisis in – Economy
Crisis in- Environment
Crisis in - Confidence
Crisis in - Leadership
Crisis in - Knowledge
Crisis in - Self image
Global Challenges
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Environment and Energy
Shifting centre of Gravity
Living with Difference
Nourishing the Soul- Identity and wellbeing
• Appreciating the Civic
The Rogerian Approach
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Rogers started out as an agriculturalist
Considers people as basically good or healthy
The actualising tendency
Organisms know what is good for them
Culture intervenes with conditional positive
regard
• Incongruence emerges where there is
dissonance between the real self and the ideal
self
Experience of Childhood in Ireland
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The Stolen childhood-reality to virtual reality
Depletion in roles of Family and Neighbourhood
Overwhelming presence of Media
Children as Consumers
Depletion of ambient environment for childrenfewer imaginative neighbourhoods
• Children and mental health
Elements of an inclusion agenda
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Community-Build social capital
Cohesion-Reduce class differences
Competitiveness-Employability
Citizenship-Civic awareness and
responsibility
• Consciousness-Capacity for ongoing
interrogation
Ensuring children reach their
true potential
• Increased pre-school education
• Tackle literacy difficulties in primary
schools serving disadvantaged
communities.
Child literacy and social
inclusion (NESF, 2009)
• Levels of child literacy problems in
disadvantaged areas three times national
average
• 30% of first and sixth class students in national
sample of designated disadvantaged schools
had serious literacy difficulties (Eivers et al,
2004)
• 22% of primary schools come under DEIS
– Many disadvantaged children not covered
Responses of 5-6 year old boys to the
question: “What would you like to be
when you grow up?”
Affluent Neighbourhood
• ‘Professional skateboarder’
• ‘Doctor’
• ‘Jet pilot’
• ‘Racing car man’
• ‘Scientist’
• ‘TV presenter’
• ‘Artist’
• ‘A person who finds dinosaur
bones and fossils’
• ‘Sea-diver’
• ‘Policeman’
Economically Deprived
Neighbourhood
• ‘Build houses’
• ‘Fix cars’
• ‘Footballer’
• ‘Kill rats and get a gun’
• ‘Work with my daddy’
• ‘Make stuff with wood’
• ‘Join the army’
• ‘Fireman’
• ‘Clean carpets’
• ‘Just go to work’
(Source: Connolly, P. (2004) Boys and Schooling in the Early Years (London: Routledge).
Health - Smoking
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Smoking – Children 8-17
– ABC1F: 14.1%
– C2DE: 17.2%
– Overall Children: 16.3%
(Source: Office of Tobacco Control)
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Children who smoke are less likely to find it easy to talk to their mother (67.8% vs.
82.9%) and father (47.9% vs. 66.8%) than those who do not.
Children who smoke are more likely to report feeling pressured by schoolwork
(49.9% vs. 39.3%) and less likely to report liking school (45.0% vs. 72.0%) than
those who do not.
Children who smoke are more likely to spend more than four evenings a week out
with friends than those who do not (57.8% vs. 39.4%).
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HBSC Ireland 2006: Research Factsheet No. 1
Sample of Prisoners in Mountjoy
S ample of Prisoners in Mountjoy
50% left school before 15
75% never sat State Examination
4% Leaving Certificate or beyond
29% had literacy difficulties
(Source: O’Mahony, 2002)
Health - Alcohol
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Irish children report being drunk more often than those in most other countries
(26% in the past month compared to a European average of 18%)
• More girls (44%) than boys (42%) reported heavy drinking (5+ drinks on one
occasion) during the previous month
• Over half (54%) reported being drunk at least once by the age of 16
• Roughly three-quarters said it would be easy for them to obtain alcohol
(ESPAD: 2007)
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Children who have been drunk are less likely to find it easy to talk to their
mother (70.8% vs. 85.2%) and their father (51.6% vs. 69.7%) than those who
have not.
Children who have been drunk are more likely to spend 4 or more evenings per
week with their friends (51.5% vs. 38.0%) than those who have not.
Children who have been drunk are more likely to report feeling pressured by
schoolwork (50.7% vs. 36.4%) and less likely to report liking school (51.2% vs.
75.6%) than those who have not.
Children who have been drunk are less likely to report excellent health (23.9%
vs. 37.7%) and feeling happy with their lives (36.1% vs. 56.0%) than those who
have not.
HBSC Ireland 2006: Research Factsheet No. 5
National Action Plan for Social
Inclusion (2007-2016) - NESF
High Level Goals
• Ensuring children reach their true potential;
• Supporting working age people and people with
disabilities, through activation measures and the
provision of services toIncreased
increase employment and
participation;
• Providing the type of supports that enable older people
to maintain a comfortable and high-quality standard of
living;
• Building viable and sustainable communities, improving
the lives of people living in disadvantaged areas and
building social capital.
Key Findings of the High/Scope
Perry Preschool Study
Differences in outcomes for those who received preschool
education and those who did not (%)
IQ 90+ at age 5
Homework at 15
Basic Achievement at 14
Did not Receive Pre-School
Received Pre-School
Graduated High School
Earned $20K+ at 40
Arrested 5+ Times by age 40
0
20
40
60
80
(Source: Schweinhart, L. et al (2005) Lifetime Effects: The High/Scope Perry Preschool Study
Through Age 40 (Ypsilanti, MI: High/Scope Press).
Why do Kilkenny win All-Irelands?
Laying the Foundations
Year
Kilkenny
Kilkenny
Tipperary
Tipperary
Senior
Minor
Senior
Minor
2000-2009
7
3
1
2
1990-1999
2
3
1
1
1980-1989
2
2
1
2
1970-1979
4
4
1
1
1960-1969
3
3
4
0
1950-1959
1
1
3
6
Some challenges for Schools
• Cultural challenges re traditional beliefs and
approaches teaching and learning-from
prescription to negotiation
• Focus less on preparation for the future than on
current developmental challenges; understand
the significance of lifelong learning
• Schools creating knowledge rather than
delivering it
• Adapt systems , not people--learning from SEN
• Integrate learning from outside into mainstream
• Celebrate new Curricular opportunities
Turning Inheritance into
Achievement
• Class basis of Leaving Cert Outcomes
Leaving Certificate Completion
by Social Class Background
(School Leavers’ Surveys 2006, 2007)
100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Higher
Prof.
Lower
Prof.
Inter/Other
nonmanual
(Source: Investing in Education: ESRI, 2009)
Farmer
Skilled
Manual
Semiskilled
Manual
Unskilled
Leaving Certificate Examination
Performance by Social Class
(School Leavers’ Surveys 2006, 2007)
100%
80%
4+ honours
60%
1-3 honours
40%
5+ passes, no honours
<5 passes
20%
Pr
of
.
on
-m
an
ua
l
Fa
Sk
rm
ille
er
Se
d
m
M
i-s
an
kil
ua
le
l
d
M
an
ua
l
U
ns
ki
lle
d
rn
we
r
In
t
er
/O
th
e
Lo
H
ig
h
er
Pr
of
.
0%
(Source: Investing in Education: ESRI, 2009)
Admission Rates to Higher
Education by Dublin Postal District
(2004)
Dublin 14 (Rathfarnham-Clonsk.)
Dublin 6 (Rathmines-Terenure)
Dublin 18 (Foxrock-Glencullen)
Dublin 4 (Ballsbridge-Donnybrook)
Dublin 3 (Clontarf-Marino)
Dublin 16 (Ballyboden-Ballinteer)
Dublin 15 (CastleknockDublin 9 (Whitehall-Beaumont)
Dublin 5 (Raheny-Harmonstown)
Dublin 13 (Howth-Sutton)
Dublin 24 (Tallaght-Firhouse)
Dublin 8 (Kilmainham-Inchicore)
Dublin 2 (South Inner City)
Dublin 12 (Crumlin-Kimmage)
Dublin 7 (Cabra-Arran Quay)
Dublin 11 (Finglas-Ballymun)
Dublin 20 (Palmerstown)
Dublin 22 (Clondalkin-Neilstown)
Dublin 1 (North Inner City)
Dublin 17 (Priorswood-Darndale)
Dublin 10 (Ballyfermot)
Total (Dublin)
86.5
85.5
83.2
69.9
65.6
63.7
55.5
55.3
47
42.1
40
32.6
29.5
29.3
28
27.6
24.4
22.8
22
16.6
11.7
50.8
0
(Source: DoE&S web-site)
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Top 20 Feeder Schools in Ireland: by
adjusted grade point average*
1 – The High And Diocesan School, Zion Rd, Rathgar, Dublin 6
2 – St Andrew’s College, Booterstown Ave, Blackrock, Co Dublin
3 – Coláiste Fhlannain, Inis, Co An Chláir
4 – St Louis High School, Rathmines, Dublin 6
5 – Gonzaga College, Sandford Road, Dublin 6
6 – St Mac Dara’s Community College, Templeogue, Dublin 6 W
7 – Alexandra College, Milltown, Dublin 6
8 – Loreto College, St Stephens Green, Dublin 2
9 – St Michael’s College, Ailesbury Road, Dublin 4
10 – Marian College, Ballsbridge, Dublin 4
11 – Dominican Convent, Muckross Park College, Donnybrook, Dublin 4
12 – Terenure College, Terenure, Dublin 6W
13 – St Mary’s College, Rathmines, Dublin 6
14 – Our Lady’s School, Templeogue Rd, Terenure, Dublin 6 W
15 – Rathmines College, Town Hall, Rathmines, Dublin 6
16 – Templeogue College, Templeogue, Dublin 6W
17 – Wesley College, Ballinteer, Dublin 16
18 – Gorey Community School, Gorey, Co Wexford
19 – Christian Brothers College, Monkstown Park, Dún Laoghaire, Co Dublin
20 – Catholic University School, 89 Lower Leeson Street, Dublin 2
(Source: University of Ulster and the Kemmy Business School at the University of Limerick)
*Taking socio-economic background into account
Ways of Learning
• All people want to learn
• Are capable of learning to the limits of their
experience
• Learn better by doing than by listening or
watching
• Learn by interacting, exploring and investigating
• Learn in being accompanied
• From lifelong learning to lifelong exploration
Future Minds - Gardner
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The Disciplined Mind
The Synthesizing Mind
The Creating Mind
The Respectful Mind
The Ethical Mind
The Medium and the Message
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Curriculum as subjects
Proliferation of learning objectives
Curriculum as experience
Pedagogy as Enquiry and Exploration
School as emancipatory organisation
School as Asylum
An agenda for Irish Primary
schools
• Develop a coherent vision of a good
education -with the needs of the child at
the Centre
• Work towards a coherent vision of a good
society-where principles of Justice and
Inclusion are integral
• Concentrate on learning as joy rather than
as task
• Interrogate everything we do
The Policy Priorities in Early
Childhood Education
• Need to increase funding to OECD average
• Place the Child at the Centre of the Curriculum
• Accentuate the social, cultural and moral purpose of Education as
well as the instrumental
• Shift funding emphasis to early years education-bearing in mind
public and private returns
• Develop a system of universal pre-school provision
• Cultivate a culture of active learning-based on the multiple
intelligences of the learner at all levels
• Recognise the imperative of learning to learn as the critical
foundation for a life of exploration
• Develop a funding model which supports socio-economic and special
needs integration and penalises segregation
• Address continuing professional development of teachers
Teaching as an Aesthetic Activity
'It is the mark of an educated man to look for
precision in each class of things just so far
as the nature of the subject admits; it is
evidently equally foolish to accept
probable reasoning from a mathematician
and to demand from a rhetorician scientific
proofs.' (Ethics, BkI. 1094b24)..
The Choice Domains For Catholic
Primary Education
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Positonal Power ========Moral Authority
Sacred ==============Profane
Battery ==============Free Range
Intrinsic value =========Extrinsic value
Elitism ============== Inclusion
Individual ============Communal
Holistic ==============Partial
The Alberta Experience
• The need to challenge assumptions about the very nature of
developmental disabilities
• The desire to test the perceived limits of inclusion (who can be
successfully included and in what contexts)
• The intention to advance inclusion and reduce marginalisation
• The necessity to extend existing knowledge and practice in
supporting people with disabilities
• The desire to explore radical change in contrast to incremental
change and to learn more about social change
• To utilise natural supports already available in the community
• To facilitate inclusion where no history of special education practice
or knowledge existed
• To innovate in a place where no human service infrastructure
existed to provide therapeutic intervention
• To capitalise upon generic resources available to students who are
not disabled
Shared Assumptions
All agreed that the objectives were to:
• increase relationships;
• participate in life-enriching experiences;
• have opportunities for meaningful learning &
knowledge;
• experience personal growth;
• enhance ones’ own identity and access to
careers; and
• To get and keep employment
Success – Students and Parents
Students
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Meeting new people and making friends (with and without disabilities)
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Doing and trying new things (e.g., courses, extra-curricular activities, campus life)
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Gaining Confidence (e.g., from academic work, assignments, tests, getting feedback)
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Independence
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Having a career/job and earning a salary
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Developing a personal identity
Parents - Successes they described related to their sons and daughters
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Independence and confidence
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Improved communication
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Finding and exploring personal identity
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Opportunity for authentic challenges
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Learning transferable skills & knowledge (academic and social)
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Surpassing parents’ expectations of what was possible
Parents - Successes they described related to the larger community:
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Sets an example for what an inclusive society can look like
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Community is improved by participation of all
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Increased acceptance over time of diverse students and of inclusive education
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Provides hope for other parents
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Other students learn tolerance and how to invite inclusive participation
Contributions to Success
Students
• Being treated like an adult
• Opportunity to make choices and decisions in an inclusive environment
• Support from facilitators in doing course work and meeting people
• Getting to know faculty
• Working and learning with peers
Parents - What Contributes to Success
• Individual attention and support
• Facilitator qualities and abilities
• Unique and diverse opportunities available at college and university
• Opportunities for independence related to post-secondary contexts (e.g.,
leaving home, using community resources)
• Parent involvement in supporting students and the inclusive post-secondary
initiatives
Lessons Learned
• Small, individualised and personalised initiatives
overcame ‘programmatic’ approach to generate
‘natural/invisible’ support
• Greatest challenge for all initiatives lies in
learning more ways to foster and sustain
relationships between students with severe and
multiple disabilities and their classmates/peers
• High expectations and creativity are required in
looking for meaningful ways for students to be
fully included in post-secondary education,
particularly across all social aspects of campus
life
View of Exclusion
Exclusion
Image
Client
Untrustwort
hy
Desired
Provide
Outcomes services
Approach
State
by State
decrees
Approach
Needy
to solutions individuals
View of
Dependent
client
Partner
Participant
Deserving
Capable
Cooperation
State coopts
Needy
Groups
Dependent
Solidarity
State
supports
Active
groups
Agentic