Institute of Education London

Dr Barbara Cole

• Qualifications and position:
  • BA (hons), MA, PGCE, PhD
  • Reader in Education
  • Programme Leader Doctor in Education (Home)
    Co-ordinator Inclusive Education SIG
• Faculty:
  • Faculty of Policy and Society
• Department:
  • Humanities and Social Science
  • Faculty Central Administration
• Summary:
  • I have worked as an educational professional in a range of sectors of education including mainstream secondary, FE, and HE. and in a range of contexts including the UK, the Caribbean and Singapore. My research interest in educational and social inclusion/exclusion has emerged from both professional and personal experiences.
• Teaching:
  • MA Inclusive Education. Teaching on Doctoral School training programme and Specialist Advanced course - Narrative Research in Educational Settings: an introduction. Supervisor EdD and MPhil/PhD.
• Research Projects:
  • Experiences of mother-teachers of children with learning difficulties and/or disabilities: This research tells the lived experiences of 6 mothers of children with special educational needs who are also teachers of children perceived as different. The published research, 'Mothers-Teachers: Insights into Inclusion won the TES/NASEN Best Academic Book Award 2005 (Cole 2004).
    
    Experiences of SENCOs in two Unitary Authorities under the revised Code of Practice: This funded research was carried out in two Unitary Authorities in the north of England around the professional experiences, issues and concerns of SENCOs in both primary and secondary schools under the revised Code of Practice in relation to children with special educational needs (Cole 2005). Issues related to gender, inclusion and special educational needs: research around a range of aspects of gender in relation to pupils, parents, professionals and the historical, social, political contexts in which they work e.g. the impact of discourses of 'care' and 'nurture' amongst SEN professionals. Attitudes and perspectives of disability and learning difficulties amongst medical students during initial doctor training: initial exploratory research into the 'medical model' of disability and the experiences of trainee doctors during their initial medical training. Gender, inclusion and academic study using narrative methodologies.
• Professional Activities:
  • Advisory Board for ESRC funded Project: Knowledge Production in Educational Leadership Project 2006-7. External examiner: Queens University Belfast. External examiner: Liverpool John Moore
• Conferences/presentations:
  • • Narrative, Disability and Intersectionality: Can stories of difference contribute to a 'politics of hope'?' The Fifth International Congress of Qualitative Inquiry "Advancing Human Rights Through Qualitative Research." University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign: May 2009.Paper accepted.
    • 'Researching Inclusion: exploring narrative approaches and 'inclusive' research' at Researching Inclusion Conference. IOE. February 2008.
    • Disabilities and Learning Disabilities and the Initial Training of Doctors - The 'Medical Model', Social Construction and Dominant Discourses. Royal Australian College of Physicians. Sydney, 28th November 2006.
• Personal Country Knowledge:
  • Singapore. Inclusive Education.
• Languages Spoken:
  • French (basic)
• Languages Written:
  • French (basic)
• SIG Membership:
  • Inclusive Education Special Interest Group
• Research Students:
  • My research interests include:
    Issues related to educational and social inclusion particularly in relation to children, young people, their parents and families and the educational/ medical professionals working with them. The impact of gender on experiences of educational and social inclusion/exclusion. The use of research methodologies such as narrative to gain insights into the complexity of experiences around inclusion/exclusion. Working with a range of professionals to effect change in through practitioner and action research.
    
    MPhil/PhD. Students:
    • Increase Eko: Inclusion, statementing and mainstream primary schools.
    • Tamara Parapitya: Inclusive educational practices for children perceived as having special educational needs in Sri Lanka: the perspectives of parents, teachers and students.
    • Panayiota Christodoulidou: Inclusion in mainstream classrooms in the context of Cyprus.
    • Helen Longlands: Masculinities and fatherhood in global corporations.
    • Bernadette Igboaka: Supporting children 'with' special needs in mainstream classrooms.
    • Caroline Mani: Gender and Disability in Western Province; Education as an Investment or a Human Right? Tracer Study of Girls and Boys from Primary School to Post School.
    • Aziz Kabani
    • Isabelle Perez-Gore
    • Yu Ching Kuo
    • Simone Stephanie White- Contemporary Newham Teacher Experiences: Exploring pedagogic landscapes to demonstrate how and why they are created.
    • Aidan Cooney: Irish fathers' parenting experiences with their disabled child: an exploratory study.
    • Joyce Deere: The impact of a spot 16 education and training of the implementation of the Apprentices, Schools and Children and Learning Act (2009) on the provision for young people and adults with disabilities in post 16 learning and skills provision.
    
    EdD:
    • Liz Jones: student reflections on offending behaviour