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Lookup NU author(s): Dr Catherine M B Stewart, Professor Caroline Walker-Gleaves
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).
This paper presents the findings from a study that asked teachers to narrate their interactions with learners from the perspective of the curriculum that the school adopted. Thirteen female teachers, employed at eight Special Secondary Schools for Children with Profound and Multiple Learning Difficulties in England, were the participants in the research. They narrated their experiences that were consequently subject to phenomenological hermeneutic analysis. All the teachers displayed a high degree of individuality and conceptualised their work not straightforwardly as teaching the espoused curriculum, but rather as they themselves being the ‘curriculum-in-action’, with their practice lying alongside and only obliquely cognizant of their school’s explicit provision. The narratives disclosed ongoing conflict with school leaders interpreted as a threat to their specific pedagogic practices as well as their professionalism. The research raises questions about the ability of the ‘special curriculum’ to be truly responsive to pupils’ needs within this complex pedagogical environment.
Author(s): Stewart C, Walker-Gleaves C
Publication type: Article
Publication status: Published
Journal: British Journal of Special Education
Year: 2020
Volume: 47
Issue: 3
Pages: 350-375
Print publication date: 01/09/2020
Online publication date: 30/04/2020
Acceptance date: 07/02/2020
Date deposited: 03/01/2021
ISSN (print): 0952-3383
ISSN (electronic): 1467-8578
Publisher: Wiley
URL: https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8578.12313
DOI: 10.1111/1467-8578.12313
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