Moving towards a post modern liberatory pedagogy in special education : one school district's beginning

Postmodernism, constructivism and liberatory pedagogy propose an active stance towards educational change, constructing, deconstructing and reconstructing knowledge, meaning and pedagogy, rather than accepting the knowledge traditions of the past. In this paper, they provide a framework for enquiry into the deconstruction of modernist, functionalist knowledge tradition in special education and create a freedom to construct new knowledge and meaning - to transform. They provide a forum to challenge past and present beliefs and assumptions in special education, identify a paradigm shift and explore a movement towards postmodern, liberatory pedagogy. The research question which this paper poses - 'What is one school district's beginning : A description and explanation of the movement towards liberatory pedagogy in special education', demands an investigation of the liberating aspects of 'inclusive schooling' which move it away from the functionalist deficit models of the modern era. While it retains some limiting bureaucratic structures, inclusive schooling begins to move towards 'adhocracy' and liberatory pedagogy, as it uses knowledge and meaning to transform and to address the rights and choices of students. To carry out this investigation, the paper unfolds the historical movement of policy and practice - of paradigm, in the education of students with disabilities, in Britain, the USA and Australia. Having developed this historical and paradigmatic context, the paper examines the paradigm shift being experienced by school communities in Tasmania. The shift deconstructs modernist thinking and begins to move pedagogy away from deficit models, towards a postmodern liberatory pedagogy. The paradigm shift is investigated through a description and explanation of one educational district's inclusive schooling model and within this model uses qualitative research - action research case studies - of students in their school communities. The case studies explore the shift of beliefs and assumptions, which has brought about construction, deconstruction and reconstruction of postmodern liberatory pedagogy in those school communities. By summarising the case study outcomes, the paper defines the key pedagogical changes through which these educational communities are challenging past and present knowledge traditions, constructing more complex knowledge, meaning and skill, shifting paradigms, creating freedom to choose and moving special education beyond 'inclusion of students with disabilities' towards postmodern liberatory pedagogy.