In his dissertation “Towards inclusive education: Eritrean elementary and middle school mathematics and science teachers’ views on and implementation of differentiated instruction” M.Ed. Desalegn Zerai (Ghebremedhin) addresses this research gap in the Eritrean context by answering the following questions: What kinds of meanings do Eritrean mathematics and science teachers give to DI? What kinds of teaching strategies do Eritrean mathematics and science teachers use to differentiate their instruction in the classrooms? What kinds of challenges do Eritrean mathematics and science teachers describe when implementing DI?
Three sub-studies were conducted based on interview data and video recordings of mathematics and science lessons. The research results revealed that Eritrean teachers generally hold positive attitudes towards DI. However, they understood and approached DI in different ways. First, the holistic approach reflected teachers’ strong desire, readiness, and positive attitude to support all individual students in the classroom as well as to attach personally and emotionally to students. Second, the pragmatic approach indicated that teachers understood DI as a variety of concrete acts (e.g. modifying direct teaching by giving questions at their levels and utilizing peer teaching) to make their teaching more accessible for all students and to facilitate learners' meaningful participation and learning in the classroom. Third, teachers’ narratives of DI as a ‘failed’ as well as a ‘demanding’ approach reflected skeptical approaches to DI.
The study also revealed the pedagogical tensions between teachers’ narratives (interviews) and their instructional practices in classrooms (video data). The tensions reflected teachers’ readiness and positive attitude to differentiate instruction and to accommodate diversity in classrooms, however, they also faced several challenges that hindered the full implementation of DI (e.g. the dominance of traditional teacher-centered activities in oversized classrooms).
The overall findings revealed that even though Eritrean teachers do not have any significant training on DI or inclusive education, they were found to intuitively carry out a wide range of instructional strategies that support DI and accommodate diversity. However, it is important to strengthen teachers’ potentialities through in-service training and listening to the voices of teachers while making any policy decisions.
M.Ed. Desalegn Zerai Ghebremedhin defends his doctoral dissertation in special education "Towards Inclusive Education: Eritrean elementary and middle school mathematics and science teachers’ views on and implementation of differentiated instruction". 15.6.2024 at 12.00 in Seminaarinmäki S 212. The opponent is Docent Sai Väyrynen (University of Helsinki) and the custos is Docent Tanja Vehkakoski (Ģֱ). The event is held in English.
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More information:
Desalegn Zerai Ghebremedhin, desieht@gmail.com
