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

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

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BackgroundFollows 2005 questionnaire and interview study

conducted in 3 Local Authorities,134 settings, 29 parentsMany 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"

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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

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Theoretical underpinningSocial 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).

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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)

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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?

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Bluebirds Children’s CentreDistant from home but on-site special resources,

formerly a special school High level of children with special needsExtended 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”

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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?

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Grasshoppers PlaygroupClose to home, part of the local community2 ½ hour morning sessions onlyStable, skilled staff (qualified local mums), 1:1 staff for

Mandy, no special resourcesMandy only child with complex special needsConstructed 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”

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At home Mainstream/ special dilemmaOldest of 2 children (3rd child expected Dec 07)Parents proactive in finding support for MandyA strong sense of shared endeavourFocussed, 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)

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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 interactionshow the organizational structures and practices of the

different settings impacted upon the moment-by-moment detail of her learning experiences