4.2 Just for a change
This final activity is an opportunity to bring together a range of issues raised in this course and to provide another example of possible ways of disrupting our everyday practices. Choose one of the three papers below.
Activity 9: Just for a change
As you read consider:
- What strategy is the paper suggesting will enable a greater sense of participation, inclusion and/or belonginess?
- How might practitioners you know be able to develop this way of working?
- How might you be able to engage in this way of working?
- What would you look for to be supported and to support others to develop this way of working?
The first extract presents a systematic review of pedagogy which is situated in the lives and experiences of indigenous communities, with a particular focus upon the use of drama in various forms. The second extract presents a process of bringing Maltese students together with a group of African unaccompanied minor asylum seekers. This process aimed to encourage the fostering of dialogue and of understanding among themselves. The third extract presents an exploration of simple mechanisms which effected school belongingness in the context of a mathematics classroom over the course of one academic year.
- Hradsky, D. and Forgasz, R., (2022) ‘Possibilities and problems of using drama to engage with First Nations content and concepts in education: A systematic review [Tip: hold Ctrl and click a link to open it in a new tab. (Hide tip)] ’ The Australian Educational Researcher, pp. 1–25. (Read the section Drama-based pedagogies from p. 10–12 and then from pp. 14–21. Starting at Outcomes and ending when you reach ‘Conclusion’.)
- Spiteri, D. (2013). ‘Can my perceptions of the “other” change? Challenging prejudices against migrants amongst adolescent boys in a school for low achievers in Malta’, Research in Education, 89(1), pp. 41–60. (Read from pp. 50–59 starting at Results.)
- Booker, K. C., & Lim, J. H. (2018) ‘Belongingness and pedagogy: Engaging African American girls in middle school mathematics’, Youth & Society, 50(8), pp. 1037–1055. (Read from pp.1044–1050 starting at Findings.)
Comment
These readings were examples of practitioner-friendly proactive classroom practices, which can challenge exclusionary practices, while operating in locally-meaningful, accessible and flexible ways. You might have noted how simply engaging with an issue can open up routes to greater empathy and understanding. These create points of reference in our own lives which help to consider the challenges others face and the ways in which responses may marginalise or challenge that marginalisation.
You might also have noted how the practices in these papers can help to build bridges for students and enhance their sense of well-being and participation. You may also have noted that they did not require:
- extensive training programmes
- knowledge about a type of student
- deep theoretical shift in the approach to teaching and learning.
They involved having conversations with students and colleagues, making personal connections and finding ways to make learning relevant to people’s lives. There is a focus upon the need for the teachers to reflect upon their practice and the lives of the people they are working with. This suggested an idea which is central to many education systems, the notion of Bildung. Bildung recognises that the focus of education is the teacher and learner interaction, and through this interaction we seek the emergence of a student’s agentive, owned state of learning. This is why the student has to value what they are being asked to engage with and in some way has to share values with the teacher.
If you want to explore these issues further there is a second course on Leading for Inclusion which explores our individual and collective role and capacity to lead through our everyday actions.