Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/71725
Title: Developing inclusive practices in a secondary school : challenges and opportunities for responding to the diversity of students' needs
Authors: Mallia Borg, Felicienne (2007)
Keywords: Education, Secondary -- Malta
Inclusive education -- Malta
Education -- Parent participation -- Malta
Issue Date: 2007
Citation: Mallia Borg, F. (2007). Developing inclusive practices in a secondary school : challenges and opportunities for responding to the diversity of students' needs (Master's dissertation).
Abstract: Schools today have to face the challenge of responding to an increasingly diverse community of learners. This study is an attempt to describe the developmental process in a secondary school which had taken up this challenge by committing itself to mobilizing its resources to respond to the individual educational needs of all children. The study was aimed at understanding the challenges and celebrating the achievements of the school community in this direction. A qualitative case study design was adopted to study the development of inclusive practices in this school. Semi-structured interviews were held with a sample from the different stakeholders, namely the school administration, teachers, support staff, parents and the students themselves with the aim of obtaining first-hand evidence of the progress and the difficulties being encountered in the process. Findings indicated that an inclusive school needed to restructure its culture, policies and practices in order to be able to respond to student diversity. Teachers needed continual preparation and a vast array of skills, knowledge and pedagogical approaches to help them reach out to all learners. The curriculum itself and the wide syllabus content could undermine the realisation of a school's inclusive practices. Another finding was that structural barriers needed to be removed and collaboration encouraged at class, school and community level. The importance of parental involvement was also emphasized as was also the Head's own commitment to inclusive values and a distributed style of leadership. These findings have implications for those in leadership positions in schools, policy makers, teacher trainers and practitioners who wish to promote the development of inclusive education.
Description: M.ED.
URI: https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/71725
Appears in Collections:Dissertations - FacEdu - 1953-2007

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