A Case Study Assessing a School District's Readiness to Support Successful Implementation of Inclusive Education

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atmire.migration.oldid5436
dc.contributor.advisorBrandon, Dr James E
dc.contributor.authorDow, Michelle
dc.contributor.committeememberFriesen, Dr. Sharon L.
dc.contributor.committeememberJacobsen, D. Michelle
dc.date.accessioned2017-04-18T19:45:03Z
dc.date.available2017-04-18T19:45:03Z
dc.date.issued2017
dc.date.submitted2017en
dc.description.abstractThe purpose of this research was to examine the readiness of schools within a large urban school district to implement Alberta Education’s inclusive education policy. Through the investigation, the degree to which four factors supporting inclusive education environments were evident in these schools was examined: (a) a shared understanding of inclusive education, (b) inclusive leadership, (c) capacity building, and (d) parent engagement. An evaluative case study (Merriam 1998; 2009) was conducted to examine readiness for inclusive education in randomly selected schools in the district. Data were collected through 7 semi-structured individual interviews and 2 online surveys of staff and parents from participating schools. The data were analyzed using category construction (Merriam, 2009). Five findings emerged from the analysis of the data: (a) definitions of inclusive education vary among stakeholders; (b) ways to support implementation need to be discussed with stakeholders; (c) challenges exist to building staffs’ understanding of inclusive education; (d) decision-making on students’ needs is based on the staff member’s role; and (e) parent input is not being sought in creating an inclusive environment. These findings are significant in four important respects. The study provides evidence that (a) the district is ready to develop inclusive education environments and to facilitate inclusive practices within its schools; (b) stakeholders demonstrate a clear interest in being involved in the process; (c) there is still work to be done by the district in developing a shared understanding of inclusive education; and (d) more effective communication about inclusive education is needed.en_US
dc.identifier.citationDow, M. (2017). A Case Study Assessing a School District's Readiness to Support Successful Implementation of Inclusive Education (Doctoral thesis, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada). Retrieved from https://prism.ucalgary.ca. doi:10.11575/PRISM/24641en_US
dc.identifier.doihttp://dx.doi.org/10.11575/PRISM/24641
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/11023/3706
dc.language.isoeng
dc.publisher.facultyGraduate Studies
dc.publisher.institutionUniversity of Calgaryen
dc.publisher.placeCalgaryen
dc.rightsUniversity of Calgary graduate students retain copyright ownership and moral rights for their thesis. You may use this material in any way that is permitted by the Copyright Act or through licensing that has been assigned to the document. For uses that are not allowable under copyright legislation or licensing, you are required to seek permission.
dc.subjectEducation
dc.subjectEducation
dc.subject.otherInclusive
dc.subject.othereducation
dc.subject.otherReadiness
dc.subject.otherImplementation
dc.subject.otherShared
dc.subject.otherUnderstanding
dc.subject.otherLeadership
dc.subject.otherBuilding
dc.subject.otherCapacity
dc.subject.otherParent
dc.subject.otherEngagement
dc.titleA Case Study Assessing a School District's Readiness to Support Successful Implementation of Inclusive Education
dc.typedoctoral thesis
thesis.degree.disciplineEducational Research
thesis.degree.grantorUniversity of Calgary
thesis.degree.nameDoctor of Education (EdD)
ucalgary.item.requestcopytrue
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