Assessment Guidelines
The summative assignment should be 6000 words (+/- 10%). The use of key theory and literature should support your writing throughout.
Plan a hypothetical change to your practice which is driven by an understanding of Inclusive Pedagogy, and reflect upon the possible impact of this change.
Criterion 1 –
Draws critically from current literature, research and policy throughout the assignment to demonstrate a theoretical understanding of Inclusive Pedagogy.
• Refer to the work of a selection of writers in order to examine different perspectives on inclusion and inclusive education.
• Review current educational policy and legislation, perhaps highlighting some of the tensions therein.
• Link the discussion and review of the literature on inclusion to practice in schools and classrooms (bringing theory and practice together).
• Link practice in schools and classrooms to the theory behind Inclusive Pedagogy.
• Continue to refer to the literature throughout the assignment and ensure that all literature referred to appears in the ‘List of References’.
Criterion 2 –
Reviews, evaluates and reflects critically on practice, in order to identify an appropriate area as the basis for a hypothetical change to practice, which is framed by a suitable rationale.
• Reflect on and evaluate your own practice and that of your institution in light of your reading.
Try to do more than just describe your practice – consider what works well in terms of inclusion/inclusive practices, and why? What is less successful, and why?
• Once you have identified an aspect of your practice to investigate/change, justify your choice
in relation to the principles of Inclusive Pedagogy.
Criterion 3 –
In collaboration with others, design a hypothetical a small-scale development within the workplace, which takes account of ethical issues and is underpinned by principles of Inclusive Pedagogy.
• Describe how you would introduce an inclusive pedagogical approach to an aspect of your
practice (in a hypothetical way).
• Explain how your thinking has been influenced by perspectives other than your own.
• Demonstrate how your choice is based on the Inclusive Pedagogy literature outlined in
previous sections of the assignment.
• Reflect on possible ethical considerations, particularly in relation to how your proposed
change would advocate for all learners. Please not that these ethical considerations do not
need to be enacted since this is a hypothetical assignment.
Criterion 4 –
Critically analyses the possible outcomes, making reference to the literature, and
speculates on the implications for institutional, professional and personal development.
• Anticipate the possible enables and barriers to the successful implantation of your proposed
hypothetical change.
• Discuss what you might learn have from implementing such a change to practice and consider
the wider possible implications for future developments for yourself and your institution. It
would be helpful to return to the literature at this point.
• Suggest priorities for future development for yourself and your institution, along with a
suitable rationale.
Criterion 5 – Applies appropriate professional and academic standards when presenting work
by:
• structuring work coherently and logically;
• referencing accurately;
• setting out your ‘List of References’ accurately;
• using appendix material appropriately, if required; and
• including an abstract, contents page and accurate word count.
Suggested Assignment Structure
Part 1.Theoretical background
Give a critical account of the key principles of the concept of Inclusive Pedagogy as developed by Lani Florian and her colleagues, drawing from a range of literature (approximately 2000 words).
Part 2.
Identify and discuss an aspect of your own practice as the focus for this project, offering a reason for your choice of focus. Describe the hypothetical change to your practice, justifying it in terms of the 3 overlapping themes of Inclusive Pedagogy.
Ethical considerations should be carefully contemplated, particularly in terms of inclusive values
(approximately 1500 words).
Part 3. Write about your experience of working with your critical learning buddy (you may
wish to put examples of communications in the appendix) (approximately 500 words).
Part 4. Reflect upon the possible effects of the hypothetical change on yourself and others,
using the Inclusive Pedagogy Framework (in Florian and Spratt 2013) as a basis for your
discussion. Comment on possible enablers and barriers (approximately 1500 words).
Part 5. What next? Describe how you might like to develop your own work and/or share your
insights with others in the future (approximately 500 words).
Ethical Considerations
While this assignment is hypothetical in nature, it is still vital to ensure that the proposed
change to practice is ethically sound and inclusive in nature. This involves taking time to
consider how the changes you make will impact on others, particularly learners. In what ways
might this change advocate for learners in your setting? How does it reflect the underpinning
values of Inclusive Pedagogy?
Both the British Education Research Association (BERA) and the Scottish Educational
Research Association (SERA) have developed guidelines to support ethical enquiry in
educational settings, you may wish to access and refer to these guidelines to support this
process.
It is also important to briefly note the more technical ethical considerations, for example, you
should:
• discuss your planned hypothetical change with management, e.g. the Head Teacher, a line
manager. This is part of the collaborative process that can help to strengthen your work;
• describe the consent procedures that would be required if you were to implement your
hypothetical change, attending to anonymity and confidentiality, e.g:
– informed voluntary consent from line-manager / learners / colleagues / parents (if
applicable);
– opt-out procedures.
• describe how you would store data safely and lawfully.
