A transdisciplinary team approach to achieving moral agency across regular and special education in K‐12 schools
| Date | 10 July 2007 |
| Pages | 496-513 |
| Published date | 10 July 2007 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/09578230710762472 |
| Author | Lindy Zaretsky |
| Subject Matter | Education |
A transdisciplinary team
approach to achieving moral
agency across regular and special
education in K-12 schools
Lindy Zaretsky
Simcoe County District School Board, Midhurst, Canada
Abstract
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to propose a framework for integrating social responsibility
within the accountability context now prevalent across the regular and special education contexts of
Canadian and American schools while exposing readers to many of the different theories that exist
concerning transdisciplinary forms of inclusive education.
Design/methodology/approach – The author uses her experience as superintendent to create a
system of inclusive and authentic collaboration amongst educators, parents, and specialists in the hope
of creating a more complete plan for special education in her district. She introduces these
collaborative teams to numerous various theoretical frameworks hoping to expand their views of what
constitutes “acceptable” educational knowledge.
Findings – Results from the full-scale implementation of the new transdisciplinary model indicate
that emergent collaborative sensibilities among team members are beginning to characterize
educational work which reflects a transition towards a more socially responsible learning community
characterized by qualities of t ransparency, honesty, inclusi vity, interdependence, resp ectful
reciprocity, trust, and caring.
Originality/value – The study furthers our understanding of special education programs and the
different ways in which it is possible to improve the current special education system. The study
introduces us to one specific study (related to special education and done by the author herself) while
continuously relating that study to grounded and established educational and ethic-related theory.
Keywords Social responsibility, Education,Team working, Ethics, Canada
Paper type Case study
I draw upon my own experience as a superintendent of education responsible for
instructional services and leadership development in a large school district in the province
of Ontario, Canada. In an attempt to promote a more democratically-oriented conception
of knowledge creation and sharing across disciplines, I encouraged a transition towards a
coordinated transdisciplinary team approach to program and service delivery across
regular and special education (K-12). The transdisciplinary team approach is meant to
re-allocate substantial yet precious resources to helping all st udents reach their potential
and maximize their performance. This article reports on the implementation of the
transdisciplinary approach which began in 2005-2006 and which continues.
Why the need to examine a different model of program and service
delivery?
In the Canadian province of Ontario, there are major shifts in educational thinking. One
is a movement away from a focus on compliance and towards accountability and
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at
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JEA
45,4
496
Journal of Educational
Administration
Vol. 45 No. 4, 2007
pp. 496-513
qEmerald Group Publishing Limited
0957-8234
DOI 10.1108/09578230710762472
results. A second shift is from deficit-driven and remedial support to prevention and
early intervention through sound assessment linked to informed instruction. A third is
from a focus on deviance towards honoring difference and measured success for all
using curriculum-based measures and a universal design for learning that promotes
inclusive education.
As Mackay and Burt-Gerrans (2004, p. 6) explain:
So when we talk about an inclusive school system, or inclusion, we are not referring to a
specific program, service, or methodology. We are referring to a school system that in both its
design and its effect continually strives to ensure that each student has access to and is
enabled to participate in the school community, to be part of the community in positive and
reinforcing ways and whose identity is reflected in the operations of the school community.
Using the analogy of architecture, Hehir (2005, p. 35) points out that “we often attempt
to retrofit the child with inappropriate interventions after they have failed in school
rather than design the instructional program from the beginning to allow for access
and success”. There is a pronounced reconceptualization of “deviance from the norm”
and “deficit thinking” in terms of the overall diversity of the schools in Ontario.
Educators are being asked to turn their attention to improving students’ access to
curricula, rather than “fixing the problem”. More emphasis is being placed on
instructional strategies and assessment literacies when addressing learning profiles
based on student strengths and needs. Research is being used on early intervention,
universal instructional design and adaptive technologies to support student learning
across regular and special education settings (see Begley, 2006a).
Inclusive education represents one of the key challenges facing educators in North
America. As expectations increase for high academic standards of achievement for all
students, the progress of all must be accounted for. In this area of educational reform
and accountability across regular and special education, specific performance targets
are being set for all students. There is an expectation that school boards will develop
the capacity to measure and report on student achievement across regular and special
education. However, our schools are also struggling with the inclusion of a rapidly
growing body of students with complex educational and health care needs (both
physical and mental).
Schools are being asked to assume more responsibility and ownership for the
provision of both health and mental health services. While there is an urgent need to
have government define which services constitute “education” and which services
constitute “health”, until this issue is resolved, the onus of responsibility for educating
and caring for these students with complex needs appears to rest with educators. With
this increasing trend to serving these students in their neighborhood schools, there is a
need to transition towards greater collaboration among and across professional
disciplines in order to provide a more integrated service delivery model that will meet
the needs of all students in addition to supporting the teachers receiving them. To this
end, one district school board in Ontario began to examine alternative ways of
delivering programs and services that more effectively addressed a shared
responsibility for the improvement of inclusive and equitable educational
opportunities for all students while simultaneously offering supports to teachers in
the way of material and human resources in order to more effectively meet the needs of
these students.
Transdisciplinary
team approach
497
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