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A narrative exploration of how curricula for children with profound and multiple learning difficulties shapes and is shaped by the practices of their teachers.

Lookup NU author(s): Dr Catherine M B Stewart, Professor Caroline Walker-Gleaves

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).

Abstract

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.

Publication metadata

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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