Educational and Digital Divides in Inclusive Education

The Case of Video Materials for Teacher Training in Uganda

Abstract

How does the use of teacher-mediated videos facilitate access, interaction and participation among in-service teachers learning inclusive education? This study centred on observations of a teaching and learning session among in-service teachers, using the video material ‘Teachers for All’, to understand the status of inclusivity (i.e., access, interaction and participation – AIP model) in current educational practices. The aim of using the AIP model (Carpentier, 2012, 2015)was to provide a theoretical framework for analysing and building bridges between special needs education, where access signifies presence, and interaction socio-communicative relationships, and inclusive education, where participation signifies co-deciding and power. We conclude that the current educational practices are problematic. First, the learning focus is unilaterally directive (teacher-centred) towards students and lacks a dialogical component. Second, access, interaction and participation are thwarted because the existing teaching conditions do not accommodate the deeper dialogical practices that define the inclusive pedagogical intention of the video design.