‘We just have to get on with it’ Inclusive teaching in a standards driven system: the design decisions of a Q-Methodology study

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to explore United Kingdom (UK) primary school teachers’ positions on two key areas of education ideology: inclusive schools and standards in education. This article explains the research decisions made in developing the Q study and the impact they had on the study’s findings. From a sociological, interpretivist research position this study explored the positions of 26 teachers in six schools, selected through purposive sampling to give a range of individual and institutional demographics. A Q set of statements was developed that represented the standards and inclusion agendas. Participants were then asked to sort the statements twice, firstly for inclusion and then for the standards agenda. Factor analysis revealed two distinctive factors for teachers’ positions on the standards agenda that focused on their contrasting perspectives of practically implementing the agenda’s objectives. Additionally, the factor analysis revealed three factors related to teachers’ positions on the inclusion agenda. These factors represented varied perspectives on inclusive practice and the practical barriers that are present in implementing the agenda’s objectives.