We are academics who specialise in the field of Inclusive Education. We wrote an AARE Blog post earlier this year outlining our major concerns with the expensive Commonwealth Government website Leading learning 4 All.
This is a significant government expenditure ($622,000) in an area of great need and we are deeply troubled about the way this site is being developed. We are not the only ones. The website has received criticism since its inception.
Through our work with peak organisations and colleagues we discovered our concerns were shared widely by fellow experts and stakeholders who are involved in both Inclusive and Special Education and in the provision of services to children with disabilities around Australia.
So we embarked collaboratively on writing an open letter to the Minister about it.
Here is the letter we sent him today.
(UPDATE 21st October: Our list of signatories continues to grow. If you would like to add your name or organisation please contact one of the authors.)
12th October 2017
Open Letter: Concerns regarding Leading Learning 4 All resource
Dear Minister
We write to highlight serious flaws in the Leading Learning 4 All (LL4All) website resource, which was funded by the Commonwealth Government and launched in February this year.
The resource is intended to support schools, school leaders and teachers in promoting inclusive education and meeting Commonwealth legislation and policy, namely the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 (Cth) and particularly the Disability Standards for Education 2005.
We are concerned that this resource, while seeking to improve practitioner understanding, implementation and compliance, is of poor quality and provides contradictory information.
Signatories to this letter emphasise that these flaws need to be addressed prior to roll-out (scheduled for 16 October 2017). These concerns have been raised more than once with the developers and each time this feedback has been ignored.
For example, concerns relating to an audit tool were first raised during the website’s development phase; however, the tool was not corrected until after the launch and only following strong public criticism of inherent bias in an attitudinal scale that did not include the option of ‘always’ in relation to the inclusion of students with disability in regular classrooms.
Further concerns were raised by three experts in inclusive education via the Australian Association for Research in Education (AARE) EduResearch Matters blog on 15 May 2017.
This expert critique noted four main issues:
- poor modelling of inclusive practice;
- inadequate provisions to enable accessibility;
- disrespectful representation of students with disability; and
- inaccurate interpretation of the DSE.
Their criticism of the resource resulted in a response by the Director of Leading Learning for All on 16 May 2017:
“LL4All will continue to evolve and in so doing will take account of the accessibility issues raised in the blog in our next version of the website. Our ‘Practitioner in Action point videos’ for schools will be refreshed and added to with additional accessibility features. Where possible we will add transcripts to existing videos.”
However, almost five months later, there have been no changes to address any of the concerns raised.
We are calling on the Commonwealth government to suspend distribution of the resource pending an independent review and the rectification of flaws, as these have the potential to reinforce poor practice in Australian schools. Some of the more noticeable flaws include:
- There are several instances where the website fails to meet the mandated WCAG 2.0 AA accessibility standards. One of the most obvious instances being the videos lacking closed captions or at least a transcript. Only auto-generated captions are provided and these are inaccurate. Some videos do not have captions at all, and two are in Dutch. Audio quality is poor and no transcripts are provided. Text-based material is not accessible to users with vision impairments.
- Representation of students with disability. Videos do not model appropriate use of language when referring to students with disability. The videos of students do not represent inclusive learning environments or arrangements but illustrate students learning in isolation, away from their classes. This is not consistent with evidence of effective practice in inclusive education.
- Consultation with students and their parents/carers. There is very limited information about the process of consulting with students and no in-text definition. This runs counter to the obligation of education providers under the DSE to consult with students with disability and their parents/carers as principal stakeholders in their own education.
- Lack of engagement with parents/carers of students with disability and their representative organisations. Parents/carers have not been involved in the creation of this resource and there is very limited information about their role or that of representative disability organisations in supporting inclusion.
- Inconsistencies in the information presented about the Disability Standards for Education 2005. There are instances where videos indicate that it is acceptable for students with disability to have access to some activities (but not all). Indicative quotes from videos are: “We try to include him on the same basis on most activities” (Video: Adjustment in the organisation of the whole school); “Liam is only here two-three days a week. So I often like to save the jobs on those days that Liam can participate in” (Video: Adjustment in student-teacher interactions). These statements are inconsistent with the obligation of education providers to make reasonable adjustments to ensure that students with disability can participate on the same basis as other students and could normalise partial enrolment, itself a form of exclusion recognised in numerous inquiries.
- Factual errors and poor evidence base. There are a number of factual errors that are inconsistent with the quality expected from a government-endorsed website. In one of the videos a principal says that “I looked at the disability standards that came out in 1992 [sic]” (video: Adjustment in the organisation of the whole school) and the Infographic refers to “United Nations Convention [sic] rights of persons with disabilities 1998 [sic]”. This lack of attention to detail undermines the seriousness and professionalism with which teachers should regard their obligations towards students with disability. The resource is not well supported by evidence, with the references to “evidence-based reading material” indicating a reliance on weak studies and sources.
- Discussion of safe spaces. One proposed strategy promoted by the resource for mainstream schools to respond to potential lunch-time bullying and victimisation is the creation of ‘safe spaces’, with the question posed “what are the advantages and disadvantages of ‘safe spaces’ as part of a school’s approach to harassment and victimisation?” Given the extensive criticism of the use of withdrawal spaces to isolate students with disability, and the fact that this video places no focus on perpetrators, this video does not comply with the DSE and the obligations schools have to address victimisation and harassment.
We the undersigned respectfully request that the planned roll-out of the resource is suspended and the Leading Learning 4 All website undergoes rigorous independent review prior to any further development or action.
Yours faithfully,
All Means All – The Australian Alliance for Inclusive Education
All Means All – The Australian Alliance for Inclusive Education http://www.allmeansall.org.au
Australian Association of Special Education (AASE) (NSW Chapter) http://www.aase.edu.au/chapters/nsw
Autistic Families International http://www.autisticfamilies.org
Centre for Studies on Inclusive Education (UK) http://www.csie.org.uk/
Cerebral Palsy Education Centre http://www.cpec.org.au
Children and Young People with Disability Australia http://www.cyda.org.au
Disability Advocacy Network Australia http://www.dana.org.au
Disabled People’s Organisations Australia http://www.dpoa.org.au/
Down Syndrome Australia http://www.downsyndrome.org.au/
Family Advocacy http://www.family-advocacy.com/
First Peoples Disability Network http://www.fpdn.org.au
Imagine More http://www.imaginemore.org.au
JFA Purple Orange http://www.purpleorange.org.au/
National Ethnic Disability Alliance http://www.neda.org.au
Neurodiversity Connect http://neurodiversityconnect.org.au
People With Disabilities WA http://www.pwdwa.org/
People With Disability Australia http://www.pwd.org.au/
Starting With Julius http://www.startingwithjulius.org.au
Tasmanian Disability Education Reform Lobby http://www.tasmaniandisabilityeducationreformlobby.com
The Growing Space http://www.thegrowingspace.com.au
Women with Disabilities Australia http://www.wwda.org.au
World of Inclusion (UK) http://worldofinclusion.com
Youth Disability Advocacy Network http://www.ydan.com.au
Professor Linda Graham
Student Engagement, Learning & Behaviour (SELB) Research Group Leader
School of Early Childhood & Inclusive Education, Queensland University of Technology
Dr Ilektra Spandagou
Senior Lecturer in Inclusive Education
Sydney School of Education and Social Work, The University of Sydney
Dr Kate de Bruin
Lecturer in Inclusive Education
Faculty of Education, Monash University
Dr Megan Adams
Lecturer Inclusive Education
Monash University
Associate Professor Joseph Seyram Agbenyega
Associate Professor in Inclusive Education
Monash University
Ms Fiona Anderson
Parent of tertiary student with disability
Dr Ann Cheryl Armstrong
Associate Professor
University of the South Pacific (Fiji)
Dr David Armstrong
Lecturer in Special Education
School of Education, Flinders University
Mr Glen Auld
Course Design Lead and Lecturer in Inclusive Education
Division of Learning and Teaching, Charles Sturt University
Mr Thomas Bevitt
Occupational Therapist
Dr Lisa Bridle
Parent advocate and disability consultant
Ms Renee Brown
Parent and advocate
Dr Rachel Buchanan
Senior Lecturer in Education
University of Newcastle
Ms Brenna Carrigy
Individual Needs Teacher
Professor Suzanne Carrington
Assistant Dean (Research)
School of Early Childhood & Inclusive Education, Queensland University of Technology
Ms Kate Casley
Avalon Jade’s Journey
Ms Jodie Castle
Parent and advocate
Queensland Collective for Inclusive Education
Ms Kristie Chambers
Parent and advocate
Mr Robert Colla
School Principal (retired)
Assistant Lecturer Monash University
Dr Kathy Cologon
Senior Lecturer in Inclusive Education
Department of Educational Studies, Macquarie University
Mrs Vanessa Comiskey
Parent and advocate
Mr Ken Connell
Parent of a student with disability
Dr Tim Corcoran
Senior Lecturer in Education (Curriculum and Pedagogy)
Faculty of Arts and Education, Deakin University
Dr Therese Cumming
Associate Professor in Special Education
School of Education, University of New South Wales Sydney
Ms Meritta Dalla-Vecchia
Special Education Teacher
Dr Leon de Bruin
Teacher
Ms Lia de Sousa
Head of Senior Library
Ms Kristen Desmond
Disability advocate; Founder Tasmanian Disability Education Reform Lobby
Ms Catherine Devanny
Parent of a student with disability
Mr Danny Dickson
Tertiary student with disability
Mr Matthew Dimmock
Parent of a student with disability
Dr Roselyn Dixon
School of Education, Faculty of Social Sciences
University of Wollongong
Dr Elke Emerald
Senior Lecturer
School of Education and Professional Studies, Griffith University
Associate Professor David Evans
Associate Professor of Special Education
Sydney School of Education and Social Work, The University of Sydney
Ms Heike Fabig
Parent of a student with disability and Law student
Dr Rhonda Faragher
Senior Lecturer in Special Education and Inclusive Education
School of Education, The University of Queensland
Mr Greg Franklin
Parent and advocate
Professor Rhonda Galbally AO
Patron
All Means All – The Australian Alliance for Inclusive Education
Ms Jeanine Gallagher
Postgraduate student; educator
School of Early Childhood & Inclusive Education, Queensland University of Technology
Ms Bianca Gamble
Parent and advocate
Queensland Collective for Inclusive Education
Ms Jacqui Gately
PhD Researcher
Faculty of Education, Monash University
Dr Jenna Gillett
Senior Lecturer in Children’s Rights
School of Early Childhood & Inclusive Education, Queensland University of Technology
Ms Amanda Girodat
Teacher
Professor Gerard Goggin
ARC Future Fellow
Department of Media & Communications, University of Sydney
Ms Stephanie Gotlib
Chief Executive Officer
Children and Young People with Disability Australia
Professor Lorraine Graham
Professor in Learning Intervention
Melbourne Graduate School of Education, The University of Melbourne
Mrs Geraldine Gray
State Coordinator Special Learning Needs
Catholic Education Commission
Ms Shalee Gregson-Quinn
Parent and advocate
Queensland Collective for Inclusive Education
Dr Christine Grima-Farrell
Lecturer in Special Education
School of Education, University of New South Wales
Dr Christine Grove
Lecturer Inclusive Education
Monash University
Ms Deb Haller
Parent and advocate
Queensland Collective for Inclusive Education
Dr Sally Howell
Principal MUSEC School
Macquarie University
Dr Toni Hopper
Macquarie University
Ms Meagan Hull
2016 Victorian Early Childhood Teacher of the Year
Professor Dario Ianes
Faculty of Education
Free University of Bozen-Bolzano, Italy
Dr Robert Jackson
Adjunct Associate Professor
Curtin University
Mrs Deborah Jeffrey
Parent and advocate
Ms Samantha Jenkinson
Disabled advocate; Executive Director
People With Disabilities WA Inc
Ms Marlena May Katene
Journalist and disabled activist
Ms Peta Kennedy
Parent of a person with disability; Early Childhoold Teacher and Early Childhood TAFE Teacher
Dr Farzana Khan
Teaching Associate Inclusive Education
Monash University
Ms Sharon Klieve
Lecturer in Learning Intervention
Melbourne Graduate School of Education, The University of Melbourne
Professor Julian Knowles
Parent of child with a disability
Dr Julie Kos
Senior Research Fellow
Australian Council for Educational Research
Mrs Jan Kruger
Parent of a student with disability; Executive Director, Imagine More
Dr Carly Lassig
Lecturer in Inclusive Education
School of Early Childhood & Inclusive Education, Queensland University of Technology
Ms Danielle Lawless
Parent carer
Ms Kate Leigh
Lecturer in Learning Intervention
Melbourne Graduate School of Education, The University of Melbourne
Ms Pippa Lidgett
Teacher
Dr Cathy Little
Lecturer in Special Education
Sydney School of Education and Social Work, University of Sydney
Professor Gwynnyth Llewellyn
Professor of Family and Disability Studies
The University of Sydney
Ms Hazel Lloyd
Parent and advocate
Queensland Collective for Inclusive Education
Ms Jemima MacDonald
Education, Development and Research Officer
Centre for Disability Studies, affiliate of the Sydney Medical School, University of Sydney
Ms Lara Maia-Pike
PhD Student in Inclusive Education, parent of children with disability
School of Early Childhood & Inclusive Education, Queensland University of Technology
Ms Catia Malaquias
Lawyer and Founder
Starting With Julius
Ms Tricia Malowney OAM
Consultant
Dr Glenys Mann
Lecturer in Inclusive Education
School of Education, University of Queensland
Ms Abby March
Education Support
Dr Sofia Mavropoulou
Senior Lecturer in Inclusive Education
School of Early Childhood and Inclusive Education, Queensland University of Technology
Dr Lisa Mckay-Brown
Senior Lecturer in Learning Intervention
Melbourne Graduate School of Education, The University of Melbourne
Ms Madeleine McCabe
M.Phil (Research) Candidate & Research Assistant
School of Early Childhood & Inclusive Education, Queensland University of Technology
Mrs Catherine McDonald
Parent of a student with disability
Dr Samantha McMahon
Early Career Development Fellow (Education Foundation Studies)
Sydney School of Education and Social Work, The University of Sydney
Mrs Delven Mercer
Parent of a student with disability
Dr Amanda Mergler
Senior Lecturer in Educational Psychology
School of Early Childhood & Inclusive Education, Queensland University of Technology
Dr Jozef Miskolci
Researcher and Lecturer
Comenius University, Bratislava, Slovakia
Associate Professor Nicole Mockler
Associate Professor of Education
Sydney School of Education, The University of Sydney
Professor Julianne Moss
Pedagogy and Curriculum
Deakin University
Ms Fiona Murrie
Parent of a child with disability
Ms Anne Newton
Teaching Associate – Inclusive Education
Monash University
Mr Peter O’Brian
Consultant – Inclusive Education and Professional Development for School Staff
Art & Life Learning
Ms Lisa Ogle
Parent of a child with disability
Dr Sue O’Neill
Lecturer in Special Education & Behaviour Management
School of Education, University of New South Wales Sydney
Ms Georgie Osborne
Parent of a child with disability and advocate
Ms Sam Paior
Parent and advocate; Director
The Growing Space
Mr Ben Paior-Smith
High School student with disability
Ms Tracy Pate
Parent of a student with disability
Mr Damian Perry
Catholic school teacher
Ms Julie Phillips
Manager
Disability Discrimination Legal Service
Ms Victoria Pirolo
Parent of a student with disability
Ms Louise Piva
Teacher and Monash University Teaching Associate, Inclusive Education
Parent of children with disabilities
Dr Shiralee Poed
Senior Lecturer in Learning Intervention
Melbourne Graduate School of Education, The University of Melbourne
Mrs Jennifer Prior
Parent of a student with disability
Associate Professor Helen Proctor
ARC Future Fellow
Sydney School of Education and Social Work, The University of Sydney
Dr Shaun Rawolle
Senior Lecturer in Education (Curriculum and Pedagogy)
Faculty of Arts and Education, Deakin University
Ms Bronwyn Reguson
Inclusion Coach
Mr Richard Rieser
Expert disabled international inclusive education consultant and teacher; Member of the United Nations Ad Hoc Committee (est. by General Assembly resolution 56/168) that negotiated Article 24 of the Convention on the Rights of Persons With Disabilities
Ms Lorraine Rodrigues
Teacher, Education Support Programs
RMIT University
Dr David Roy
Lecturer in Education
University of Newcastle
Mrs Michelle Rowe
Parent and advocate
Professor Sue Saltmarsh
Professor in Early Childhood
University of Southern Queensland
Ms Dianne Samuels
Parent of and advocate for a student with disability
Ms Jane Scarborough
Parent of a student with disability
South Australia
Mrs Alex Sencek
Parent of a student with disability
Dr Tracey Sempowicz
Lecturer in Education
School of Early Childhood and Inclusive Education, Queensland University of Technology
Professor Roger Slee
Research Professor
School of Education, University of South Australia
Ms Doreen Smider
Teacher, Department of Education and Training
Ms Anne Smith
Carer of a child with disability
Mrs Jackie Softly
Parent of a person with a disability and education consultant
Ms Rachel Sowden
Parent of students with disability; Owner and director
Family Focus Consultancy
Associate Professor Jennifer Stephenson
Associate Professor in Special Education
Department of Educational Studies, Macquarie University
Ms Carly Stewart
Parent of a student with disability
Ms Melinda Stone
Teacher
Associate Professor Iva Strnadová
Associate Professor in Special Education
School of Education, University of New South Wales
Bishop Peter Stuart
Anglican Diocese of Newcastle, New South Wales
Associate Professor Anna Sullivan
Associate Professor of Education
School of Education, University of South Australia
Ms Cecile Sullivan-Elder
Executive Officer
Family Advocacy
Ms Michelle Sutton
Autistic Disability Rights Advocate
Mrs Loren Swancutt
Teacher
Ms Monica Sweeney
Sibling; Advocacy and Leadership Coordinator,
Family Advocacy
Dr Simoni Symeonidou
Assistant Professor
Department of Education, University of Cyprus
Ms Haley Tancredi
M.Phil (Research) Candidate
School of Early Childhood & Inclusive Education, Queensland University of Technology
Ms Sue Tape
Parent and advocate
Queensland Collective for Inclusive Education
A/Professor Morten Timmermann Korsgaard
Assistant Professor
Malmö University, Sweden
Mrs Karen Tippet
Manager Advocacy and Leadership Development
Family Advocacy
Mr John Tregaskis
Parent of a student with disability
Dr Michelle Villeneuve
Senior Lecturer in Occupational Therapy
Faculty of Health Sciences, The University of Sydney
The Hon. Kelly Vincent MLC
Leader of the Dignity Party, Legislative Council, Parliament of South Australia
Dr Anastasia Vlachou
Professor of Inclusive Education, University of Thessaly, Greece
Mr Peter Walker
Lecturer in Special Education
School of Education, Flinders University
Professor Sue Walker
Professor of Early Childhood Education
School of Early Childhood and Inclusive Education, Queensland University of Technology
Ms Chedyn Webster
Sibling of a person with disability; Student Teacher; Disability Support Worker
Mrs Julie Webster
Parent of a person with disability
Ms Jen Williams
Educator; Parent of a student with disability
Dr Jill Willis
Senior Lecturer in Educational Leadership and Assessment
School of Teacher Education and Leadership, Queensland University of Technology
Dr Ben Whitburn
Lecturer in Inclusive Education
Deakin University
Gina Wilson-Burns
Parent of a student with disability
Dr Satine Winter
Lecturer in Inclusive Education
School of Education & Professional Studies, Griffith University
Dr Kerry Woods
Lecturer Assessment for Instructional Planning
University of Melbourne
Dr David Zyngier
Senior Lecturer in Education
Faculty of Education, Monash University
Linda Graham is Professor in the School of Early Childhood and Inclusive Education in the School of Early Childhood and Inclusive Education, Queensland University of Technology (QUT). She coordinates Inclusive Education Theory, Policy and Practice, a core unit in the Faculty of Education’s Master of Inclusive Education. She leads QUT’s Student Engagement, Learning and Behaviour Research Group (@SELB_QUT) and a number of research projects in the area of inclusive education. She can often be found on Twitter: @drlindagraham and at linda.graham@qut.edu.au
Ilektra Spandagou is a senior lecturer at the Faculty of Education and Social Work, University of Sydney. She has been involved in teacher education in special and inclusive education both in Greece and Australia. She has experience working with general and special education teachers in the area of theories of inclusive education, and the nexus of policy and school practice. Ilektra’s research interests include inclusion, disability, comparative education and classroom diversity. Her publications include the book Inclusive Education: International Policy & Practice. ilektra.spandagou@sydney.edu.au
