Implementation Strategies of Inclusive Education in Cypriot Classrooms

Country Studied: Cyprus

Area of Focus: This research examined the implementation strategies used by the participant teachers in order to practice inclusion in their classrooms

Types of learning difficulties the Case Study is supporting:

• Reading and writing difficulties
• Social or emotional difficulties
• General or specific learning difficulties
• Neurodevelopmental difficulties

Aims and objectives of Case Study

This research examined the implementation strategies used by the participant teachers in order to practice inclusion in their classrooms. To this end, they investigated the participant teachers’ perceptions of their roles and the barriers faced in the implementation of inclusion. Interviews and observations were carried out with four teachers in Cyprus over a period of one year.

The aims of this study where to address the following:

1. How do Cypriot primary-school teachers practice inclusion in their classrooms?
2. How do Cypriot primary-school teachers perceive their roles in the implementation of inclusion in their classrooms?
3. How do Cypriot primary-school teachers develop and implement practices of inclusion in their classrooms?
4. How do Cypriot primary-school teachers perceive the key problems faced in the implementation of inclusion in their classrooms?

Short description of Case Study

Data collection was primarily driven by participant observation over the period of one academic year. Observations were carried according to an observation protocol, which related to inclusion, inclusive practices, classroom dynamics, students’ behavior, teachers’ cognitions and characteristics, and teaching styles and strategies. Furthermore, they carried out four interviews with each teacher. They conducted the first and the last rounds of interviews in the beginning and in the end of the school year, respectively. The interview questions drew upon participant observations and focused on teachers’ experiences and the ways in which they promoted inclusion within their classrooms in order to include all (and particularly marginalized) children. In addition, we collected and analyzed various teacher-derived documents including handouts, worksheets, tests, and teaching plans. Moreover, they interviewed the head-teachers and five other teachers working within each school in order to triangulate the findings.

3 Key learning Principles that were used in this Case Study to support learners with LD

1. Active Participation :students understood the collective responsibility in working groups, meaning that all students have responsibilities and obligations, while all of them have something to contribute if they collaborate with their classmates and other stakeholders in order to achieve the best possible results.

2. Learning Beyond School Settings / Projects took a form that involved students in informal learning environments.

3. Collaborative Learning and Problem-Solving.

Strategies used as part of Case Study

• Adapting instruction to various learning styles.
• Individualized Learning Plans.
• Guidance on creating and implementing individualized learning plans.
• Collaboration with support services and professionals.
• Strategies for modifying or creating teaching materials to suit different abilities.
• Creating a positive and supportive classroom environment.
• Other:

• • Project assignments.
  • Deployed activities which provided their students the opportunity to interact not only with each other, but also with their environment and with other groups of people, according to the subject matter included in each lesson.
  • Activities and assignments outside schools (connecting it with school occurrences).
  • Diversify teaching in class for students with LD.

Results and impact

• An important implication arising from this research relates to the implementation of strategies promoting all students’ active participation, which were deployed by the participant teachers. In particular, teachers organized their teaching in informal learning environments, a fact that appeared to assist all students’ participation.
• The four teachers deployed multiple resources in order to support their teaching and learning, a strategy which seemed to contribute significantly in their effort to provide inclusion in education. Arguably, if we are interested in providing greater inclusion, teaching should not only occur in informal learning environments, but it should also encompass multiple resources.
• Moreover, promoting parental involvement plays a crucial role in sustaining inclusion. Parents’ engagement to their children’s learning and their collaboration with teachers may contribute to learning outside school.

Why can this Case Study be useful for the project research?

-Promoting new learning materials / Results and practices for inclusion of students with LD.

– All four teachers explained that students’ personal and cognitive development might be enhanced by the use of multiple resources supporting their learning. The teachers seemed to understand that learning is not bound by school time and space, but rather that it is a lifelong procedure. Therefore, they moved away from only transmitting knowledge to their students.

– They grounded their teaching strategies and practices upon their perceptions of the ways in which learning is achieved. More specifically, we observed all teachers using informal methods of teaching via which all students appeared to be included by actively participating in their learning. We also observed the teachers deviating from the ‘traditional’ directives they received by the Ministry of Education.

Transferability

-Contextual Specificity: The study is deeply embedded in the specific educational context of Cypriot schools, which may have unique cultural, socio-economic, and policy-related characteristics.

– Inclusive Practices: The principles and strategies of inclusion and active participation used by the teachers in this study could be applied broadly, but their effectiveness would depend on how well they align with the local educational policies and cultural norms.

– Flexibility and Adaptability: The study suggests that schools cannot achieve inclusion in isolation and need to be part of a broader strategy addressing wider socio-economic inequities.

Resources used as part of Case Study

– Participant teachers came up with activities to question normative practices that promoted marginalization in order to promote all students’ active participation and to provide inclusion (Student-Centered Learning Activities).

-Moreover, they cooperated with student families to facilitate children’s participation in the school environment and thus to sustain inclusion (Parental and Community Involvement).

– All four teachers developed projects around which they constructed their teaching and learning strategies. These projects took a form that involved students in informal learning environments.

Critical issues

A factor that appeared to act as a barrier to the provision of inclusion by the four teachers was the educational policy developed by the Ministry of Education and mediated by the school inspectors. As we have already discussed, the four teachers had attempted to ‘escape’ from the traditional policies developed by the Ministry of Education.

Any additional learning that we can take from this Case Study, example:

All four teachers appeared to believe that learning is influenced by their students’ wider socioeconomic and historic backgrounds. Thus, they argued that active participation in learning occurs better when teaching draws upon local cultures and practices.