Learning for All: Exploring the Relationship Between Inclusion and Achievement in a Primary Setting

Authors

  • Lindsay Lobo Glasgow City Council Education Services Author
  • Katie Fisher Glasgow City Council Education Services Author
  • Paula Dudgeon Glasgow City Council Education Services Author

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.36399/3j83ts77

Keywords:

inclusion, achievement, primary school, Framework for Participation, diverse population

Abstract

All education practitioners have a responsibility to support the participation and achievement of all children within learning communities – particularly within increasingly diverse societies.  Inclusive pedagogy allows an exploration of what education practitioners believe, know and do, alongside the research literature on inclusive approaches to teaching, to support this participation and achievement.  By utilising the Framework for Participation (Florian et al., 2017), this research aims to understand how the concepts of inclusion and achievement are constructed within a local primary school recognised as being inclusive of its diverse population.  This single-site case study incorporated multiple methods of data collection, within an iterative process, and utilised deductive thematic analysis to draw key themes around what practitioners and the school community believe, know and do.  The Framework for Participation allowed for an in-depth socio-cultural exploration of inclusion and achievement, including tensions and contradictions, which are highlighted.  Ways in which this research methodology can complement and extend the reflective development of inclusive practices in schools are discussed.

Author Biographies

  • Lindsay Lobo, Glasgow City Council Education Services

    Lindsay Lobo is an Educational Psychologist within the Glasgow Educational Psychology Service in Glasgow City Council.  Lindsay leads the Learning and Teaching development group within the Psychological Service, which involves implementation, planning and evaluation of evidence-based strategic interventions, alongside partnership working with Glasgow Education Services.  An Educational Psychologist for 18 years, she has led on the development and implementation of service delivery frameworks within Glasgow and is currently supporting a national pilot on Self-Evaluation.  Lindsay has additional interests in speech, language and communication needs, and has been a lead practitioner in the implementation of SCERTS in Glasgow, as well as Glasgow’s Language and Communication Friendly Establishments (LCFE).

  • Katie Fisher, Glasgow City Council Education Services

    Katie Fisher is an Educational Psychologist within Glasgow Educational Psychology Service, Glasgow City Council.  She has previously worked as a Youth Worker for Inverclyde Council. Katie has been working as an Educational Psychologist for 4 years and in that time has developed an interest in supporting children and young people who have speech, language and communication needs.  Katie is also a key part of the Learning and Teaching development group within Glasgow Psychological Services linking closely with authority partners.

  • Paula Dudgeon, Glasgow City Council Education Services

    Paula Dudgeon is a Senior Educational Psychologist within Glasgow Educational Psychology Service, Glasgow City Council.  She has previously worked as an Educational Psychologist in Inverclyde and North Lanarkshire Councils. Paula first started working as an educational psychologist 32 years ago and in that time has maintained a particular interest in children and young people who are care experienced. Another special interest is the application of solution oriented approaches, where Paula wrote and delivered national training for Education Scotland along with her colleague, Margaret Nash. Paula was co-creator of the Nurturing Me tool alongside her colleague Maura Kearney. She has also been involved in the writing and implementation of the city approach to supporting children and young people with emotionally based school non-attendance. Paula was previously a member of the Association of Scottish Principal Educational Psychologists and in this role was a member of the Scottish Advisory Group on Relationships and Behaviour in Schools.

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Published

28-02-2025

Issue

Vol. 1 No. 1 (2025): Journal of Leadership Scholarship and Praxis in Education (LSPE)

Section

Articles