SIG: Inclusive Education (IED)

Purpose

The overall aim of this SIG is to instigate research into inclusive education, exploring ways in which educational pathways can be generated that facilitate the access and successful learning outcomes of a greater proportion of the community. In particular, the purpose of the SIG is to explore and help improve the educational aspirations and outcomes of students from

Regional and remote communities
University pioneer backgrounds
Diverse cultural and socio-economic backgrounds

Such an aim aligns with CQUniversity's strategic plan which indicates that as "an inclusive, supportive, engaged and responsive" institution, the university is focused on "making higher education more relevant and accessible to all people, especially Central Queenslanders". The aim also supports the strategic plan's commitment to "innovative, collaborative approach to learning and teaching" along with "regionally-concentrated research activities". This aim is also consistent with the concerns raised by the Bradley review of Australian Higher Education (2008), which identifies higher education provision in regional Australia as an area of particular concern, and calls for regional students to have the same rate of access to and completion of higher education degrees as their metropolitan counterparts.

The objectives of the SIG include:

Using a range of research methodologies and theoretical perspectives to explore approaches and provide perspectives on the theme of inclusive education
Generating and drawing upon research data related to the theme of inclusive education
Developing a databank of resources that can help support research into inclusive education, such as publications, literature reviews, a glossary of terms and similar aids.
Liaising with external and other stakeholders interested in inclusive education, including students, community representatives, governmental agencies and business practitioners. The outreach program within CQUniversity Australia.
Articulating theory into practice through using the findings of research to inform reform of curricula and university governance.

Reference:
Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations 2008, Review of Australian Higher Education: Final Report, viewed 23 July 2009,
http://www.deewr.gov.au/HigherEducation/Review/Pages/ReviewofAustralianHigherEducationReport.aspx

Strategic Deliverables

The strategic deliverables of the Inclusive Education SIG include the following:

Generate a range of refereed and non-refereed research publications connected with the theme of Inclusive Education: books, book chapters, journal articles and conference presentations. As two members of the SIG currently edit the journal SLEID, this might host a theme issue related to Inclusive Education. Members of the SIG also have access to a range of research data from interviews with STEPS students and discussion forums that can be drawn upon to generate publications. These publications can be measured through the aCQUire system.
Foster mentoring of less experienced and early career researchers through collaborative research. The SIG has a mix of more experienced and early career researchers, as well as those who have recently completed research higher degrees. Members also come from a diversity of scholarly backgrounds. Such diversity provides the opportunity for collaboration involving writing teams. The REACT model of supporting research writing could be one activity to foster such research mentoring. Once more, this aspiration can be measured through successful publications and other research outcomes.
Encourage members to enrol in and complete research higher degrees that fall within the theme of Inclusive Education, and which may involve other members of this SIG acting as supervisors. Part of this deliverable will be explaining the processes of RHD enrolment to those interested. This aspiration can be measured through indications of successful progression through and completion of research higher degrees.
Pursue opportunities for collaboration with other researchers whose interests articulate in a broad sense with the theme of inclusive education. Such researchers might be members of other SIGs with LTERC, members of other research centres within CQUniversity, academics from other universities both within Australia and overseas, and stakeholders in the community. Once more, research outcomes such as publications can be used to measure the extent to which this aspiration has been realised.
Use the research to inform curricular reform. The current SIG members are involved with four courses within the STEPS curriculum: Language and Learning, Tertiary Preparation Studies, Transitional Mathematics and Computing for Academic Assignment Writing. In addition, two members are involved with the Communication Learning Centre. There are ongoing opportunities to reform the curricula of these courses and practices within the CLC and the research undertaken as part of the SIG could reasonably be expected to inform such reform. This aspiration can be measured through an identification of such reform, the rationale for it, and a consideration of the subsequent effectiveness of the reform.

Members

IED currently has 17 Members (Last updated March 2011)

Additional Detail

Possible research foci and themes to be explored within the umbrella of Inclusive Education could include

Graduate Attributes
Transformative learning
Marginalised learning
English as a Second Language
Multiple learning styles
Adult education
Traveller and mobile learning

In relation to research methodologies, most of the members have a qualitative research background, but one member's background in quantitative method suggests that this might be incorporated to complement a qualitative approach. A range of theoretical perspectives could be deployed to illuminate this research, as current members of the SIG have experience with cultural and literary studies perspectives, philosophies of education, transformative learning theory -

Already, different members of the SIG have collaborated to generate a range of publications relating to the concerns of Inclusive Education. One member has recently submitted a doctorate in the field of transformative learning theory. Moreover, individually and/or as part of other research teams, members have conducted and published research which pertains, in a broad sense, to Inclusive Education.

Besides research outcomse, we also anticipate that the Inclusive Education SIG will provide an opportunity to intellectually nurture members through opportunities such as reading groups, discussions forums and so forth.

Archives
Thankyou to our Inaugural Convenor - Dr Geoffrey Danaher, (June 2010 - February 2011)