1.9.1 Research paradigm
A research paradigm is a set of fundamental assumptions and beliefs as to how the world is perceived, which then serves as a thinking framework that guides the behaviour of the researcher. Research paradigm substantially influences how one undertakes a social study from the way of framing and understanding social phenomena (Guba & Lincoln, 1985; Jackson, 2003; Creswell, 2003).
Based on the underpinned assumption, I chose the constructivist paradigm as a guiding framework of this research. Constructivism allows individuals to understand the world in which they live and work. Moreover, constructivism enables participants to develop subjective meanings of their experiences directed towards challenging factors that can hinder the implementation of inclusive education. These meanings may be varied and multiple, leading the researcher to look for the complexity of views of respondents rather than associating meanings into a few categories or ideas. The goal of this research was to rely as much as possible on the participants’ views of the situation being studied. The questions become broad and general so that the participants can construct meanings or challenges to
implement inclusive education based on the situation of PwDs. The more open-ended the questioning, the better, as the researcher listens carefully to what people say or do in their life setting. Often, these subjective meanings are negotiated socially and historically (Guba & Lincoln, 1985; Creswell, 2003).
The focus was on the specific contexts in which PwDs live and work in order to understand the historical and cultural settings that can impede the implementation of inclusive education. Therefore, the constructivism paradigm enabled me to analyse data inductively and observe, describe and interpret settings as they exist (Patton, 1990).
1.9.2 Research method
Qualitative method typically involves highly detailed rich descriptions of human behaviour and opinions. Therefore, the perspective helps the respondents to construct their own reality on the challenges of inclusive education, and an understanding of what they face today about the implementation of inclusion based on their experience and practicing it.
1.9.3 Research design
According to Van Manen (1990), the focus of phenomenological inquiry is what people experience with regard to some phenomena or other, and how they interpret those experiences. A phenomenological research is a study that attempts to understand people's perceptions, perspectives, experiences, and understandings of a particular situation. Therefore, the focus of phenomenological inquiry is what people experience pertaining to some phenomena or other and how they interpret those experiences that they have in relation to implementation of inclusive education (Creswell, 2007; Van Manen, 1990).
1.9.4 Location
As the title of the research indicates, the study was conducted in Ethiopia at national level. The country has nine regional states and two administrative cities. The research located itself in three regional states and one administrative city out of nine regional states and two administrative cities, namely, South Nations, Nationalities and Peoples, Amhara, Tigrai
regional states and Addis Ababa Administrative City. These sample areas were selected purposefully since they have a better number of CwDs and made effort to attempt the practice of inclusive education.
1.9.5 Sample
For the purpose of this study, I employed purposeful sampling. According to the American Heritage College Dictionary (1993, p. 1206), a sample is "a portion, piece, or segment that is representative of a whole". In addition, sampling is "an act, process, or technique of selecting an appropriate sample". Therefore, sampling is a concept that transcends research studies in general and research paradigms in particular. The researcher attempted to obtain a sample that appears to be resourceful of the population (Bhattacherjee, 1998). Judgemental sampling is the most common sampling technique in qualitative research (Martin & Marshall, 1996). Therefore, the researcher selected the most productive samples to answer the research question.
1.9.6 Instrument
Instruments of data collection of the study are as follows:
The first type of instrument that I employed to collect data was the semi-structured interview. Experts, supervisors and officers in the MoE and regional bureaus have been interviewed.
The second type of instrument that I used to collect data was focus group discussion. Focus group discussants were professionals in SNE, school supervisors, experts in the education system, and education heads in each regional bureau.
1.10 Data collection
The process of data collection went after the approval of the instrument by the supervisor and getting the ethical clearance from ethical committee of the University of South Africa (Unisa). Subsequently, letters of requesting permission had been dispatched from the MoE to each Regional Education Bureau. This enabled me to access the necessary documents like workshop proceedings, office minutes, guidelines, and other relevant documents in relation to
inclusive education. However, I offered personal request for individual participants of the research. The next step was to translate the English version of the instrument into Amharic in order to avoid language barrier among interviewees and focus group discussants. Then, having gathered the necessary data via semi-structured interviews and focus group discussions, I commenced the phenomenological analysis.
1.11 Data analysis
Data analysis included working with data, organising it, breaking it into manageable units, synthesising it, searching for patterns, discovering what is important and what is to be learned, and deciding what you will tell others (Bogdan & Biklen, 1982). The term theme then referred to clusters of categories that share some commonality such as reference to a single issue. Therefore, in using qualitative approach, my primary choice was the phenomenological analysis.
Trustworthiness
Trustworthiness is established when findings reflect the meanings as described by the participants as closely as possible (Lincoln & Guba, 1985). In addition, Padgett (1998: 92) explains that trustworthiness is not something that just naturally occurs, but instead is the result of the use of defined procedures. Threats to trustworthiness can include problems such as reactivity and biases on the part of the researcher and the participant (Padgett, 1998).
In any research, criteria should be set to:
• Establish confidence in the truth of the findings of a particular research for the respondents with which the inquiry was carried out.
• Determine the extent to which the findings of a particular research have applicability in other contexts.
• Determine whether the findings of a research would be repeated if the researches were replicated with the same respondents in the same context.
• Establish the degree to which the findings of a research are determined by the respondents and conditions of the research and not by the biases, interests or perspectives of the researcher.
Therefore, Lincoln and Guba (1985) propose four criteria to evaluate trustworthiness in naturalistic research. The four criteria that ensure trustworthiness in qualitative approach are credibility, transferability, dependability, and conformability. Each of the above-mentioned criteria has been discussed in detail in Chapter 3 of this research study.
1.12 Ethics
To begin data gathering, I took letter of consent from the MoE and dispatched it to each Regional Education Bureau. However, individual participants have been selected based on their consent. As the participants of this research are professionals in SNE, officers and supervisors in Regional Education Bureau and representatives of organisations of PwDs had been informed about the purpose of the study. During data collection, participants need to be respected participants were not put at risk, and vulnerable populations were respected throughout the study. Pertaining to voluntary participation and harmlessness, participants in this research were informed that their participation in the study was of their own free will. Accordingly, they were informed that they do have the freedom to withdraw from the study at any time without any unfavourable consequences, and they were not harmed because of their
CHAPTER TWO
LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1 Introduction
In this chapter of the thesis, historical and current issues related with education of CwDs have been reviewed sequentially. Based on the taxonomy of literature that has been already identified, I have marked out topics from books, journals and internet databases. Thereafter, the review has been built around basic concepts of inclusive education. Hence, I have divided the chapter into four sections. The first section discusses with the theoretical framework underpinning the study. Ecological human development model views the developing child as existing within a very intertwined and complex ecological context consisting of numerous interfamilial and extra familial systems that affect children’s development (Bronfenbrenner, 1979). The second section deals with historical development of education of PwDs in Ethiopia from ancient Christian Ethiopia to the modern educational practices. The third section highlights models of disabilities with their educational implication in relation to children with special needs. The fourth and the final section of the chapter gives brief details about the ideology of inclusive education. In addition, the philosophy, the dichotomy of integration versus inclusion, and its benefit to both children with and without disabilities and the barriers to implement as well as strategies to overcome its challenges has been reviewed.