ERIC Number: EJ1377546
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2023
Pages: 16
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1360-3116
EISSN: EISSN-1464-5173
Drivers of 'Inclusive Secondary Schools' Selection: Lessons from Lebanon
International Journal of Inclusive Education, v27 n2 p107-122 2023
Despite growing interest in educating students with disabilities in mainstream environments over the last two decades in Lebanon, how students with disabilities and their parents identify suitable schools remains ambiguous. This research explores factors that influence students with vision impairments and their parents when selecting a school. It adopts Bronfenbrenner's [1979. "The Ecology of Human Development: Experiments by Design and Nature." Harvard University Press] ecological model. Qualitative data was gathered from 29 pre-secondary and secondary students with vision impairments, 10 parents, 14 headteachers and 9 leaders of governmental and non-governmental organisations. Findings reveal that for those requiring support provision, the school's willingness to accept them and available support drive school selection. However, when children do not require support provision, academic attainment, convenience and school reputation drive selection. Furthermore, findings showed that autonomous decisions were connected to 'normalisations' whereby students with vision impairments acted in a way considered 'acceptable' by society. It can be argued that whilst some schools offer access to education for some students with disabilities, those offers, and subsequently student retention, are often dictated by school and supporting authorities and made in an exclusionary rather than inclusionary manner, demanding adaptation from students rather than the educational environment.
Descriptors: Foreign Countries, Secondary Schools, Inclusion, Students with Disabilities, School Choice, Visual Impairments, Student Attitudes, Parent Attitudes, Administrator Attitudes, Decision Making
Routledge. Available from: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 530 Walnut Street Suite 850, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 800-354-1420; Tel: 215-625-8900; Fax: 215-207-0050; Web site: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Secondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Lebanon
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A