The use of a narrative approach to illuminate an individual learning need: implications for teachers' professional development

Author: Wearmouth, Janice1

Source: Journal of In-service Education, Volume 29, Number 2, June 2003 , pp. 255-276(22)

Publisher: Routledge, part of the Taylor & Francis Group

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Abstract:

<p>In England, Wales and Northern Ireland the current focus of teachers' continuing professional development in the area of special educational needs is competency-based. This focus reflects the government's policy view of special educational provision in schools, which is closely compatible with a â-˜technical rationalâ-™ (technicist) approach to management (Habermas, 1974). Technicist approaches assume that what needs to be managed, the purposes to be achieved and the management process are clear, fixed and unproblematic. Personal experiences of those closely concerned with the special needs area in schools, especially of those involved with designing or receiving special provision, suggest a contrary view. The real world in schools is fraught with uncertainty, complexity and conflicting viewpoints. This article will illustrate how a technicist approach is inadequate to address management practices in special educational provision. It will go on to discuss ways in which practice in this area can most effectively be conceptualised from the perspective of a reflective practitioner )Schön, 1983, 1987(</p>

Document Type: Research article

DOI: 10.1080/13674580300200266

Affiliations: 1: The Open University, Milton Keynes, United Kingdom

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