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EECERA 2008Prague 29 th -1 st August 2007

EECERA 2008Prague 29 th -1 st August 2007. Dr Rosie Flewitt Educational Dialogue Research Unit Centre for Research in Education and Educational Technology r.s.flewitt@open.ac.uk.

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EECERA 2008Prague 29 th -1 st August 2007

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  1. EECERA 2008Prague 29th-1st August 2007 Dr Rosie Flewitt Educational Dialogue Research Unit Centre for Research in Education and Educational Technology r.s.flewitt@open.ac.uk

  2. Multimodal meaning making in special and inclusive preschool: The experiences of a young girl with learning difficulties

  3. Background • Follows 2005 questionnaire and interview study conducted in 3 Local Authorities,134 settings, 29 parents • Many parents of children with learning difficulties opted to combine special and mainstream settings as they could not find an ‘ideal solution’: " … she would get the best of both worlds… copying healthy children and mixing with them socially but also getting the physio, and physical support and exercise she needed to improve her mobility"

  4. Study Aims • To take a close look at the experiences of young children with learning disabilities who attend both special and mainstream preschools • To see how the macro processes embodied in the organizational structures and practices of the different settings impacted upon the micro processes of children’s everyday learning Funded by Rix, Thompson, Rothenberg Foundation

  5. Theoretical underpinning • Social semiotic approaches to language and communication (Kress and van Leeuwen, 2001) to investigate how participants made and expressed meaning through combinations of modes • Social model of disability, which distinguishes between impairment - a functional limitation that affects a person’s body - and disability - barriers embodied in socio-culturally situated attitudes and practices (Oliver, 1990).

  6. Methods • Ethnographic case study approach • Video observations to capture the multimodal dynamism of children’s meaning-making • Semi-structured and informal interviews with staff and parents to reveal different constructions of children and their needs • Documentary data for further contextual information • Sample: 3 children, each in 3 settings, 2 weeks in the life of each child (Jan/Feb 2007 and June 2007)

  7. Mandy • 4-year-old girl with special needs who attended two early years settings: Children's Centre (formerly Special Family Nursery) and local mainstream preschool playgroup • How was Mandy constructed in the different settings? • How did she respond to the social and communicative environments of the different settings?

  8. Bluebirds Children’s Centre • Distant from home but on-site special resources, formerly a special school • High level of children with special needs • Extended care (half-day and/or full day) with part-time staff working shifts, with high staff turnover • Constructed Mandy as a happy child who needed high levels of physical care: “her needs are pretty straightforward you sit her down … you put her in a chair … you do physio”

  9. While you watch Mandy using PECS, think about … • What modes of communication do the participants use? • Who is involved in the interaction? • How does Mandy respond?

  10. Grasshoppers Playgroup • Close to home, part of the local community • 2 ½ hour morning sessions only • Stable, skilled staff (qualified local mums), 1:1 staff for Mandy, no special resources • Mandy only child with complex special needs • Constructed Mandy as a child who needed focussed adult time: “we try and let her experience being in a mainstream setting and being around other children who are just free … she chooses what she wants to do like the others”

  11. At home • Mainstream/ special dilemma • Oldest of 2 children (3rd child expected Dec 07) • Parents proactive in finding support for Mandy • A strong sense of shared endeavour • Focussed, patient, unhurried use of multiple modes • “very happy very social sort of child …quite determined …getting more and more focussed” (Jan 07) “she gets bored more quickly and needs more stimulation” (June 07)

  12. Discussion Video data combined with a multimodal view of communication reveals: • how different expectations of Mandy are played out, and how her multimodal meaning making is valued • the complexity and subtlety of the interactions • how the organizational structures and practices of the different settings impacted upon the moment-by-moment detail of her learning experiences

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