Abstract
The current policy of 'inclusion' for pupils with special educational needs, specifically dyslexic individuals, in mainstream classes of state schools, is largely impractical due to the ineffective organisation and inadequate preparation of mainstream class teachers. If there is to be a serious attempt to provide 'personal liberation' or individual fulfilment, changes are needed. Well-researched and documented new resources which combine a pupil's interest and motivation and fulfil the necessary learning requirements suitable for a society with a rapid exponential rate of change, will be much in demand.
The project has the prime concern of selecting and providing learning resources which are particularly appropriate for dyslexic learners, a growing sector of the population, now that recognition has been achieved. In the measured and accountable mainstream primary classroom, appropriate provision is essential, to deal with the causes of poor learning opportunities. Rather than treating the symptoms of failure, it is essential to understand the cause. Adequate provision can be made to strengthen weaknesses and develop strengths. Suitable resources which are also equally effective for all learners rationalises the problem of 'difference'.
The increasing use of technology in employment no longer needs to be justified. In education the resistance to change, for whatever reason has delayed the widespread adoption of technology, except for the enthusiasts. Can the educational system now adopt a new flexible and responsible policy to realistically meet 'specific needs? With encouragement from central government, there is now a positive direction to rethink some misconceptions, to stem the high percentage of failure and disaffection for learning, that have been prevalent. It is an opportunity for appraisal of resources in state schools to create more effective learning and develop relevant and satisfactory life-skills' for everyone.
Introduction
The implementation in 1994 of the new statutory regulations to "meet special needs" in state schools, required each local education authority to draw up their own official policy. The consequences of the terms relating to provision in these policies had a severe impact on LEA budgets, especially related to the diagnosis of dyslexia, which had previously often been denied simply as a "middle class disease of fussy mothers". Recognition resulted in the necessity to make appropriate provision and as few class teachers were able to deal with the situation, specialist teachers, if they could be found caused further expense. The Code of Practice was devised with its five stages of delay, creating some 'breathing space', although many informed parents paid for private diagnosis and took their cases to the Tribunals where directives were made for immediate provision. There are still LEAs with policies restricting diagnosis for dyslexics to the most severe 2% after expecting parents to wait five years. Even using the word 'dyslexia' can cause consternation in schools and LEAs inviting 'the sky to fall on your head!' The conservative figures issued by the British Dyslexia Association for the incidence of dyslexia in the population are 4% for the most severe but 10% requiring attention. The figures from the USA, after extensive research are much higher.
The new Education Bill, now to be announced in 2001, after some consultation, is expected to reduce the five stages of delay. Diagnosis of severe developmental dyslexia can be made promptly and less severe cases can be given appropriate learning opportunities with differentiated organisation in an 'inclusive' situation.
The Moser Report (1999) released statistics showing the levels of functional literacy and functional numeracy in the population over the age of nineteen years. It calculated " 20% of adults….as many as 7 million people……. (lack)…. the ability to read, write and speak in English, and to use mathematics at a level necessary to function at work and in society in general." The Basic Skills Agency Report (2000) has followed up these findings to report that the incidence is even higher with regional variation in specific areas.
Poor literacy is the prime feature of the 'dyslexic syndrome' in schools, creating low self-esteem and the cause of many individuals believing that since they were labelled as inadequate at school, they were unable to learn 'properly'. Alienated early, they resist later opportunities to pursue formal study, without family or other support. Not all the 20% in the Moser Report will be dyslexic. There are other causes, both physical and emotional, contributing to these problems, but all these individuals have been failed in schools. The current behaviour and disaffection in both primary and secondary age-groups, the teacher shortages and increasing stress on the job, is a clear signal that urgent revision is imperative, as the government clearly understands.
Structural influences in an 'inclusive' policy
A policy for inclusion in schools must reflect a realistic and positive image of the best practices in behaviour, achievement and expectations of the prevailing society. In a discussion of particular needs / abilities, can we create a satisfactory framework easily understood by the learners, in this instance dyslexics, to include appropriate provision for success without conflict or impingement on others. We labour with a legacy of academic performance, once legitimately respected as the prime vehicle of educational progress, related to an age when it was considered the achievement of learning could only be measured by formal qualifications. Had this been truly so, we would have eliminated many of the benefits of science, the arts and engineering by ignoring the work of Leonardo daVinci, Einstein, Faraday and many successful individuals today who have survived the misery of inappropriate schooling. Structural factors to be considered are initially personnel, secondly definition and diagnosis, and thirdly, learning styles with appropriate resources logically organised within the environment, with the optimum level of total integration. Is it possible for all schools to adapt and embrace a universal learning experience? There are instances of schools seriously working towards this solution.
Legacy of problems to be addressed for Personnel:
| · | 'special needs co-ordinators' in schools were hurriedly appointed to meet the requirements of the regulations introduced in 1994, many simply taking on the responsibility in addition to full class responsibility, without additional satisfactory training. Current provision for training is better but still patchy. |
| · | six years later, many schools have little or no awareness of the recognition of dyslexia and continue to delay any positive action in spite of the information available from many agencies including the DfEE. Simply proceeding through the legitimate levels of the 'Code of Practice', hopefully to be somewhat reduced from five to fewer levels in the new Education Bill, is an excuse for more positive alternative action. Sadly, issues of time and/or budget are greater priorities in the overall pressures of school management. |
| · | newly trained teachers, especially PGCE entrants are still entering schools with little information about the range of 'special needs' or technological fluency. In-service mentoring is dependent on the allocation of adequate staffing where schools operate with supply teachers due to the shortages. |
| · | dedicated teachers, often with a dyslexic in the family therefore aware of the situation, feel compelled to arrange independent training in their own time at considerable financial expense, by attending privately administered specialist courses, to enable them to effectively compensate schools' deficiencies. |
| · | a pupil is often withdrawn from the class, if a quiet space is available to access the specialist auditory resources necessary to compensate for previous failure. This creates an attitude of inadequacy in the class teacher, unable to deal with the problem and also stigmatises the individual. Having a specialist work in some classrooms as they currently exist, makes it impossible to use the necessary resources satisfactorily even if, depending on budgetary decisions they are available. Parents are often expected to pay or the individual struggles on. |
These actual conditions must be considered in a theoretical approach to 'inclusion'.
Definition / diagnosis - medical and/or psychological?
Dyslexia is defined as a 'learning disability' for the purposes of requesting funding for resources at the tertiary level of 'higher education'. Throughout primary and secondary schools it has been identified as a 'learning difficulty' although numerous dyslexic individuals in this category are very successfully running their own businesses and involved in many learning activities. This further distorts attempts at rationality. A 'learning difference', describes the condition but for administration purposes creates ambiguity. It is now being adopted, by reference of academics to 'different learners' Miles (2000). No two dyslexics appear to be the same, creating problems for the tidy administrators. There are similar difficulties in schooling due to the nature of the curriculum, the over-riding emphasis on the symbolic representation of much information in recorded work. The problem may occur with de-coding the printed symbols necessary for reading; it may be manifest in the illegible, irregular performance of handwriting and / or the neat presentation of arithmetic. Priscilla Vail (2000) reminds us that Galaburda,
"building on the work of Geschwind….found these discrepancies, an expression of a brain architecture, occuring in roughly 20 -30% of the population".
This figure has also been quoted by neuro-psychologist Stephen Pinker in a T.V. interview whilst visiting U.K. in 1997. Thomas West (2000) quotes Negroponte observing that
"dyslexia is so common at Massachusetts Institute of Technology…. it is called locally, 'the MIT disease'."
Research has illustrated an explanation for these differences within a syndrome, by detailed studies of the brain structure and mechanisms related to laterality, (Galaburda, 1999). PET scans and MRI processes observe the site of neurological functions as they happen. Not only do we see evidence of differences in the performance of symbolic literacy and numeracy, but we also see evidence of strengths and talents in many capacities related to reality, (West, 1997). It appears that the more equal halves of the dyslexic brain (symmetry of the two plana) produce a more balanced appreciation of the continuous stimulation impacting upon the individual than happens with the left-brain dominant feature, correlating with a 'tunnel-vision' of limited symbolic performance. Dyslexics often appear to have a rotating 3-dimensional view of their world as opposed to the conventional flat 2-dimension appreciation required for following and obeying written instructions in school activities. There is some memory loss in diverse circumstances affecting organisation. Outside formal schooling, these individuals can use their ability to create imaginative activities difficult to categorise in the neat, prescribed curriculum. Children diagnosed with ADD (attention deficit disorder) can often also be dyslexic.
Little attention has been given to 'learning styles' in many state schools due to the pressure to steer pupils through the prescribed curriculum, with the aim of attaining good results on paper. Dyslexics can become both literate and numerate, in a relaxed atmosphere, when the frustrating experiences of failure, bullying, sometimes by teachers, and lack of self-esteem resulting from traditional schooling, are lifted. Given support, escape from the pressures of school is often their salvation and the opportunity to start learning anew.
Learning styles, appropriate resources and the environment
Depending upon the degree of severity, mastering the symbolic skills will be slower, more onerous, requiring more effort and concentration to accomplish than for the non-dyslexic. Appropriate multi-sensory resources using a phonetic method without undue pressure, can alleviate the problem. There may be real speech impediments, possibly a result of early reaction by unsympathetic ignorance of the condition and shortage of speech therapists. Dyslexics in school can be traumatised by the continual expectation of teachers, that despite the surrounding mystery of why they are 'different' are still expect them to perform 'tricks'. Their genuine efforts are often ridiculed, producing an emotional degree of frustration leading to dangerous and damaging aggression. This credibility gap between perception and reality leading to extreme dissonance has been described as 'academic abuse', Miles & Varma (1995) When appropriate opportunities are presented, the ability to function in a world of reality, illustrates the enormous potential being wasted in many instances. Touch-typing and word-processing ease the problem of legibility and presentation generally. The high percentage of dyslexic prisoners finally being provided with the relevant resources to learn to read and write is reversing earlier failure responsible for much social injustice. Awareness and early action can avoid the most disastrous effects.
Goleman (1997) has illustrated the serious effects of wastage in many adverse social and cultural circumstances. The neuro-biological processes inhibiting positive learning can be overcome by different approaches to the problem. There is evidence to show strong links between emotion and reason (Damasio 1994), reinforced by empirical observations of individuals performing badly under stress.
In a recent Reith Lecture, 'The Connected Economy' Sir John Brown, CEO of Shell, pleaded for 'honest connectivity', a matching and connecting base of operation as opposed to the disonance of function so evident in the exponential rate of change we are all witnessing. He calls for a 'balance' between intuition and rationale, using insight to assess both visible and invisible value.
The speed of change in schools is reflected in the bureaucratic organisation of traditional administration unlike other organisations responsible for their own survival due to market forces. Values and stability must be maintained to safeguard pupils but more effective methods are required. There are always exceptions; outstanding individuals have made valuable contributions to illustrate effective change. However, the decline of attendance in schools by many disaffected young people is creating even more serious problems for which an inclusive solution of 'all needs' is critical. The shortage and turnover of teachers equally testifies to the prevalent malaise, while the number of home-educators is continually increasing.
The speed of change in schools is reflected in the bureaucratic organisation of traditional administration unlike other organisations responsible for their own survival due to market forces. Values and stability must be maintained to safeguard pupils but more effective methods are required. There are always exceptions; outstanding individuals have made valuable contributions to illustrate effective change. However, the decline of attendance in schools by many disaffected young people is creating even more serious problems for which an inclusive solution of 'all needs' is critical. The shortage and turnover of teachers equally testifies to the prevalent malaise, while the number of home-educators is continually increasing.
Instructionist or Constructionist models of learning
In a competency-based developmental model how does inevitable change become most effective:
| · | 'top-down or bottom-up'? |
| · | what criteria measures the result ? |
| · | how can human resources best be integrated with choice of materials? |
The national curriculum can be implemented literally, prescribing the required targets and outcomes for the graded levels and key stages. It denotes an ordered performance of attainment by learners in both primary and secondary schools and was a reaction to the vastly different performances recorded in geographical areas, prior to its conception.
Historically, perhaps it will be regarded as a revisionary attempt to rationalise schooling for a society becoming increasingly more mobile with children moving from school to school without missing 'chunks' of learning. Europe and the USA already had a more centralised system. Since its inception, there has been criticism of a 'straight-jacket' approach, obliging teachers to abandon their own practices. The good teachers producing good results, felt aggrieved, but those less capable were now made accountable by being given a framework to guide their planning. After revisions to increase, decrease and revise the content, schools still consult the N.C. but there has been a vast change in the range and availability of technological materials to change content. This has sometimes led to a different relationship between teacher and learner with some blurring of roles where knowledge or information began to be shared. In some instances, a mutual benefit has emerged, increasing the involvement of all participants. There has been a slide from instructional to constructional activity in some instances.
Effects of Instructionism:
Goals of Constructionism:
The two styles are radically opposed but there can be interaction. Much teaching for examination purposes in schools still takes place in the more traditional model of instructionism. To convert more fully to constructionism requires dynamic change to the environment with appropriate resources and additional funding. Reorganisation of time and space of the physical boundaries is required. Instead of simple containment, it is necessary to improve the atmosphere and relationships of learners and teachers.
Schools recognising these factors are achieving this goal and meeting the challenges, particularly so, in turning around failing schools, where more technology has been installed with appropriate staffing leading to use of materials common to the prevailing culture and future employment. Learning is a generative process and to encourage positive outcomes in education, especially with 'special needs' individuals we must employ positive practices to engender achievement, satisfaction and motivation. The content of activities is changing and would hardly be recognisable in comparison with what was taking place in those early days. For the confident teacher-facilitator, the N.C. is a guide not a 'straight-jacket'.
Senior leadership is critical but classroom activity where the contact is made is pivotal. Is the Teacher Training Agency sufficiently preparing new practitioners to differentiate between the 'instructionist' practice of conveying information and / or adopting a 'constructionist' philosophy of open dialogue, with time for creativity and communication . The role of teacher must be clearly defined to nurture learning with access to good software also vital for efficient production of reports and records. Other skills like the management of technical hardware require on-site technicians. Suitable resources are a vital element but the physical conditions of the teaching area also influence both behaviour and performance. The integration of all these factors will regulate the outcomes. Charles Handy highlights 'concepts to help you frame the world' in the definition of education management and has accurately forecast much of what is happening in schools today. The link between both management of industry and education is the search for 'value in society'. Can we create better value with greater appreciation of 'individualism'? An early pioneer of apprenticeship learning at the end of the nineteenth century, John Dewy (1897) advocated 'discovery' learning. Sadly, this was badly misunderstood in England in the 60's by a 'laissez-faire' attitude lacking structure and discipline. He believed that education is a process of living now, more than a preparation for the future, protesting against the passive attitude of students to "deadness and dullness, formalism and routine…. rendered callous to ideas".
Materials related to positive outcomes:
| · | digital development outside school has supplanted the delivery of traditional information for many young people, creating a demoralising affect on teachers, believing themselves no longer 'in control' of knowledge, without clear vision |
| · | learning becomes a personal experience, controlled by the learner, leading to further intrinsic motivation and independent of school unless there is a shared appreciation and understanding leading to achievement |
| · | technology creates a catalyst in 'constructive' learning by the immediate feedback often leading to the satisfaction of 'self-correction' and further motivation |
| · | the stimulation of the technological information explosion is creating new interests and a growing market for more conventionally published materials. |
Dyslexics have proved their talents and strengths in both arts and sciences related to ideas in spatial concepts, architecture, computer programming, design, engineering and sports (Geschwind 1982). The comprehensive ability to 'see the whole picture' via intuitive perceptions, may develop from the speed of processing a wider spectrum of stimuli simultaneously. Successful inventors combine diverse elements of knowledge. The success of the film 'Titanic' was in no small part based on the amazing graphics created by dyslexic programmers in an entirely oral culture. Amongst the most globally respected educationalists today, Nicholas Negroponte, head of the Multimedia Lab at MIT, USA, initially qualified as an architect. He still finds reading and writing difficult, but has been instrumental in creating educational opportunities for many children in areas of the world where there are few chances. For almost forty years, he has worked alongside mathematician and psychologist, Seymour Papert, the author of Mindstorms, himself a former colleague of Jean Piaget. At the Media Lab a team of like-minded learners pioneered an 'art of learning' defined by Papert in his book 'The Children's Machine' (1993) as 'Mathetics'.
Pedagogy is the 'scientific definition' of teaching but there was no equivalent definition for learning. Combining the attributes of a 'polymath' and the properties of 'heuristics', Papert defined 'learning by intellecual discovery'. He comments that "we may be a society with far fewer learning disabled children and far more teacher disabled learning environments than are currently percieved"
'Logo', the 'children's programming language' constructed by Papert has led to a style of learning, an activity using simple elements which can combine to stimulate cognitive learning for thousands of individuals without access to schools. This software was initially seen to be a practical method of learning about shapes, either on the screen or in devises such as the 'roamer' and others, which very young children can easily manipulate. The important concept to note, is how the individual uses the information involved to continue the activity. The mental processes involved in practical sensory movement and perception activate 'thinking skills' arising from activities based on earlier experiences, perhaps during the period before formal schooling, simply described as 'home-style' learning, with considerable cognitive content.
It is an opportunity for these learners to interact with a real, powerful tool, which produces immediate feedback to correct mistakes without judgmental, emotional responses. Units or 'procedures' of creating a series of simple exercises, producing a graphical representation on screen, can be progressively accumulated into a more complex whole, building a logical and highly structured model, appreciated by dyslexics for the opportunity to utilise those abilities otherwise often ignored. This same structure of 'procedures' is used to create moving microworld fanstasies of virtual reality where the imagination is free to create graphic representations. Initially created as small wooden blocks, lego became a universally popular toy when it was manufactured in plastic to improve the connections. A leap of imagination was in realising how lego could be combined with logo programming, continuing to develop these creative abilities using three dimensional resources to build lego models or robots with programmable sensory devices to recognise or avoid light, touch and sound controlled by the learner builder, using the 'intelligent brick'. This device has an internal chip with a small LCD screen for communication.
This is a reminder of Piaget's sensori-motor stages, where the infant is becoming familiar with the environment and progresses to reach concrete then more abstract stages of development. Piaget used young children to illustrate the sequence, because their experience is obviously limited but, as an adult try to remember the processes of learning to drive. Were you immediately able to exactly follow the instructions given, having heard well enough, or was there some discrepancy between the instructor's words and the movements of your hands, feet and eyes? How many hours of lessons did it take to master the activity later becoming almost automatic? The assimilation of new concepts appears to follow a sequence of internal mental 'scrambles', in which the relevant neural pathways are activated, strengthening the joining areas, synapses, until these 'thinking skills' can produce a positive result. We have 'accommodated' or learnt to drive by building up a sequence of repeated experiences, each time introducing more skill and knowledge by performance.
Teachers know this well enough, but how much time is there for the practical activity before the performance, in many areas of the curriculum? How much time or chance is there for talking, 'serious' playing with words to achieve enjoyment and expression, to develop our most human characteristic of successful verbal communication leading to intellectual development, integrating such skills with increasing performance. How much compensation is given to children who come to school with poor language skills? Do we hurry too quickly into the prescribed recording, for the sake of 'instant results' without creating the confidence that can later provide greater empowerment. Students need more skills than the ability to achieve good examination results.
Targets are influenced or disguised by factors not easily recognised or remedied. Using such a platform, not only in mathematics and generative linguistics, but also in learning 'a new dance step, or how to use a new tool' is the essence of the concept of taking the familiar 'root' and incorporating it into further constructions. The use of AI (artificial intelligence) to create 'microworlds' is similarly described by Piaget as genetic epistemology or the growth of knowledge, to better understand and structure the learning process. It is possible to use a structure of 'school-style' learning, aided by AI as a tool, and integrate 'home-style' learning. The printing press created an earlier revolution in accessing information. We can now manipulate the information for our own purposes, related to the structure of cognitive development, presented in what Piaget called 'concrete form' to firmly construct the most abstract cognitive concepts. A maxim of what is being learned should not be separated from how it is done; content and process must progress together. Togetherness of purpose is at the heart of the modern science of cybernetics. 'The media is the message' - M. McLuhan. Communication is at the 'heart' of many difficulties, and technology is creating a universal medium of being 'connected' with growing email messaging and information from web sites to keep parents in touch in an age when time is a most precious resource. Wider involvement can include the whole community where extra-curricula activities also supplement the learning process and encourage personal commitments.
In 1996 Papert published 'The Connected Family: bridging the digital generation gap', for families with home computers but equally relevant for teachers, to provide insight and appreciation of the thinking patterns and behaviour of young learners. Parents are the cement, providing the security to hold all the learning together, creating a healthy emotional environment without which schools have a much reduced chance of success. There are examples of activities, advice on the criteria for choice of good software and some answers to many uncertainties in the future. Illustrated is the difference between being computer-literate, simply being able to operate the machine or being more importantly, technologically fluent, being in control and aware of the 'empowerment' derived from being 'connected - the positive use of this resource'. In early childhood we witness 'home-style' learning gradually and potentially integrating with 'school-style' learning, the child relinquishing control to the adult. Ultimately with maturity, the individual has to revert to responsible control through particular interests and voluntary association with other chosen groups and resources. The accessibility of information, the means of communication and the potential for 'dialogue' is instrumental in the aim of 'excellence for all' if we choose that path.
Conclusion
Genuine partnership with parents must be more than gestures to link home and school learning, to create family cohesion. They are as essential to the 'inclusive' debate as the other factors of understanding continuing education. If or when expectations are not initially matched by instant results in schools, the development of the individual should not be pressurised but must be understood and structured appropriately. Legislation for officers to encourage parental involvement is only a step towards making parents believe how influential their interest and recognition can be. All parents have experienced 'school', affecting their own attitudes, often with negative associations. These can be changed if teachers have sufficient time, the goodwill, and opportunities to demonstrate new methods and make a relaxed conversation possible.
In 1978 Mary Warnock highlighted the lack of provision for all 'special needs" children, and again in 1997, nineteen years later, Lady Warnock commented on the shameful legislation that defined children as 'disqualified persons'. They were to be condemned to exclusion, as a result of consultation with teaching organisations. The authors of the imminent Education Bill now have another chance to consider the latest consultation process in a climate where fundamental changes have already influenced attitudes and continue to widen opportunities to redress the school environment for all special needs learners. More information is now in circulation to highlight the need for early awareness of dyslexia, still an 'invisible' difference for the uninitiated.
Comprehensive ideology was a move in the direction of equal provision but lacked the structure and appropriate resources to achieve the delivery for 'special needs'. School architecture has been more closely related to containment rather than empowerment. Physical location, at times when separate quiet spaces or differentiated provision is essential, should not be confused with the overall inclusive policy of an institution. Different groups or individuals can assemble to access suitable resources with an appropriate facilitator/teacher in a satisfactory environment and still belong to a 'home tutor' group. A different kind of organisation will be necessary which expects more responsibility from the individual, once this level of confidence has been achieved, but which will also permit more freedom to develop individual potential. Earlier this year the DfEE published their outine of the new 'Connections Service', a strategy to recruit those agencies outside the school walls into an integrated approach to the individual needs of all young people. There has been much discussion of the cost and viability of this intention, but until the current situation is improved it is necessary to make far-reaching modifications.
The Media Lab Europe, under the guidance of Negroponte, and with regular exchanges between MIT, is planned to open in Dublin, recruiting the first faculty members, researchers and students in Spring 2000. A research convocation is planned for July 2000 to focus on the importance of this innovative example of collaboration in research, teaching, and partnership with industry, to foster an open and flexible approach to learning, where development can follow with necessary support. Such a powerhouse of creativity will excite many imaginative, dyslexic minds in the next decade.
Have you made a choice between the alternatives given at the beginning of this paper?
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