Authentic Inclusion in Two Secondary Schools: "It’s the Full Meal Deal. It’s Not Just in the Class. It’s Everywhere."

Abstract

Inclusive educational practices vary across Canada, and perhaps most especially in secondary schools. Researchers use the term authentic inclusion to describe exemplary inclusive educational institutions. Using an appreciative inquiry framework, two such high schools were identified and profiled within the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. Students with and without disabilities, parents and/or guardians, teachers, educational assistants, and other school-based personnel were interviewed using semistructured protocols. Data were analyzed and two main interrelated themes emerged; the first, authentic inclusion: “the full meal deal—it’s everywhere”; and the second, inclusive pedagogies. Several sub-themes provide greater detail, namely: a) a broad and infused inclusive vision, (b) leadership: implementing the vision, (c) pushing all students beyond comfort zones, (d) no to the new exclusion, and lastly, (d) rejection of false dichotomies: specialized care vs. social inclusion. In the final section, the notion of hope is taken up, as it hearkens back to the appreciative methodology, and more generally, to the promise of authentic inclusive education. We explore the notion of hope-filled schools, and students’ hopes for the future. Hope may be a critical element in the practice of authentic inclusion for students with disabilities. ISSN 1918-5227 Pages 6284 Funding This study was supported by Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, Community-University Research Alliance under Grant number 833–08–1012, and the Saskatchewan Ministry of Social Services. Follow this and additional works at: https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/eei Part of the Disability and Equity in Education Commons Recommended Citation Thompson, S., & Timmons, V. (2017) Authentic Inclusion in Two Secondary Schools: "It’s the Full Meal Deal. It’s Not Just in the Class. It’s Everywhere.". Exceptionality Education International, 27, 62-84. Retrieved from https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/eei/vol27/iss1/4 This Article Open Access after 1 year is brought to you by Scholarship@Western. It has been accepted for inclusion in Exceptionality Education International by an authorized administrator of Scholarship@Western. For more information, please contact jspecht@uwo.ca. Authentic Inclusion in Two Secondary Schools: "It’s the Full Meal Deal. It’s Not Just in the Class. It’s Everywhere." Cover Page Footnote Funding This study was supported by Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, Community-University Research Alliance under Grant number 833–08–1012, and the Saskatchewan Ministry of Social Services. This article open access after 1 year is available in Exceptionality Education International: https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/eei/ vol27/iss1/4 Exceptionality Education International 2017, Vol. 27, No. 1, pp. 62–84 ISSN 1918-5227 62 Authentic Inclusion in Two Secondary Schools: “It’s the Full Meal Deal. It’s Not Just in the Class. It’s Everywhere” S. Anthony Thompson, Vianne Timmons University of Regina