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1. Objective

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At Garden International School (GIS), coaching for inclusion is a strategic initiative designed to create an educational environment where every student, irrespective of their backgrounds, abilities, or identities, feels valued, respected, and included. This involves equipping educators, administrators, and staff with the necessary support, guidance, and resources to embrace diversity and promote equity effectively. Inclusion transcends mere physical presence in classrooms, focusing instead on meaningful participation and achievement. The coaching methodology is directed towards adapting educational practices to meet individual needs through differentiated and individualised support, fostering a climate that values diversity and encourages comprehensive social and emotional development.

 

2. Current State

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GIS possesses an aspirational inclusion policy, which is founded on the belief that inclusion encompasses all aspects of school life and is the responsibility of the entire school community. Currently, the school employs qualified learning support specialists to assist students with mild to moderate learning needs through both pull-out and in-class support strategies. While class teachers regularly receive professional development to aid diverse learning needs, confidence levels vary, and an over-reliance on learning support specialists has been noted. Additionally, there is inconsistency in the definition and application of inclusive practices across different classrooms. The school has initiated efforts towards enhancing Social Emotional Learning and integrating Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DEIB) principles into the curriculum, but more attention is needed to align the hidden curriculum with the lived experiences of marginalised students and staff.

 

3. Key Components and Target Areas for Improvement

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3.1. School Culture and Climate

To foster a fully inclusive school environment, it is crucial to cultivate a culture where inclusion is everyone's responsibility, permeating all aspects of school life and applicable to all students. This includes:

• Definitions, Policies, and Guidelines: Clarify and update policies and guidelines to reflect a shared understanding of inclusion within the GIS and Malaysian context.

• Values Landscape: Encourage critical self-positioning and identity work within professional development. Implement the warm-demander framework and promote deep, embodied listening skills among teachers to support inclusive practices.

• Cultural Alignment:Utilize GIS’s core values such as respect, excellence, passion and integrity to develop and reinforce the desired inclusive culture and climate, ensuring alignment and buy-in from all stakeholders.

The values of the school align well with the values landscape of a fully inclusive school. Using the GIS values to develop the desired outcomes related to school culture and climate will avoid cognitive dissonance and ensure easier buy-in from all stakeholders.

 

3.2. Systems and Processes

The systems and processes related to inclusion in school should reflect the principles of coaching for inclusion. Adopting a social, rather than medical model of disability shifts to focus away from the individual being the problem and rather turns the attention to how the environment can be adapted to remove the barriers some students might face when trying to access learning or show what they know.

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Revise existing systems and processes to align with inclusive principles:

• Universal Design for Learning: Implement teaching strategies that offer multiple paths for learning and demonstrating knowledge.

• Interventions (MTSS): Develop a multi-tiered system of support that provides relevant, evidence-based interventions for all students.

• Teaming and Collaborative Planning: Establish systems for collaborative planning and data analysis to identify and address students' needs efficiently.

Improving systems and processes at GIS will not only remove the systemic barriers to being a fully inclusive school but will increase the chance of stakeholder buy-in.

 

3.3. Curriculum Review and Adaptations

Curriculum drives school culture and the alignment of the taught curriculum and hidden curriculum determines the climate. GIS follows the British National curriculum for core subjects. The school was established in 1951 to educate the children of British colonists. With the historical context in mind, coaching for inclusion  has an important role to play at GIS in its effort to become a fully inclusive school. An important aspect of this work is reviewing and adapting the curriculum to be more inclusive and representative of all students’ backgrounds, identities and lived experiences.

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Curriculum alignment is pivotal in driving an inclusive school culture:

• Decolonizing the Curriculum: Rebalance the curriculum to include a fair representation of Eurocentric, local, and BIPOC perspectives.

• Inclusive Content: Ensure the curriculum and resources reflect the diversity of the student body and the Malaysian context.

• Explicit Teaching of DEI Concepts: Leverage the global citizenship framework to plan and implement lessons on human rights, equity, ethics, diversity, and belonging.

 

3.4. Professional Development

Professional development is a cornerstone for realising the goals of coaching for inclusion at GIS. It aims to deepen stakeholders’ understanding of inclusion principles and equip them with the skills necessary for fostering an inclusive educational environment. The programme should uphold the principles of invitational theory and self-determination theory, essential for fostering an inclusive educational environment. The plan action plan will employ a dynamic approach through coaching, consulting, and collaborating, as well as targeted professional development workshops. This combination will ensure comprehensive skill development among all stakeholders, aligned with the school's inclusion goals.

 

The professional development programme will focus on:

 

• Inclusive Coaching Training:  Equip stakeholders with effective coaching techniques focusing on the entire coaching cycle: planning, implementing, and reflecting. This will be achieved by conducting regular workshops and simulation sessions to practise coaching scenarios, with feedback loops to enhance skills continuously.

• Development of Coaching Lenses and Peer Coaching Skills: Develop the ability to apply various coaching lenses for personalised educational support and establish a robust peer coaching system. To achieve this training sessions will be offered on different coaching perspectives and peer coaching pairs organised for experience sharing and mutual learning.

• Universal Design for Learning (UDL) Framework Implementation: Master UDL principles to create accessible and engaging learning experiences for all students by facilitating workshops on UDL principles—multiple means of engagement, representation, action, and expression.

• Evidence-based Interventions and Effective Teaming: Enhance skills in selecting and applying evidence-based interventions and cultivate effective teaming practices for collaborative planning and execution. This will be accomplished by providing specialised training in identifying and deploying interventions based on current research; establishing regular team meetings with structured agendas to discuss, plan, and evaluate interventions.

• Training in Assessment and Analysis Techniques: Improve capabilities in assessing, tracking, and analysing the effectiveness of educational interventions. This will be done by organising advanced data analysis workshops and creating a framework for routine assessment reviews to inform teaching practices and intervention adjustments.

• Identity and Anti-bias Workshops: Promote understanding and active engagement in identity work, critical self-positioning, and anti-bias education to support a culture of equity and inclusion. This will be achieved by scheduling dedicated sessions for deep, embodied listening and identity exploration; implementing ongoing discussion forums to address bias and cultivate an inclusive mindset.

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The monitoring and evaluation of the professional development programme is an essential part of the action plan. This will include regularly collecting feedback from participants to gauge the effectiveness of training sessions and identify areas for improvement. Specific indicators such as engagement levels in workshops, application of learned skills in the classroom, and peer coaching feedback will be used to measure the impact of the professional development efforts. Semi-annual reviews of the professional development programme will ensure it remains aligned with the school’s strategic goals for inclusion and responds effectively to emerging needs and challenges.

 

4. Timeline

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The successful implementation of the action plan relies on the timeline for implementation of different aspects of the plan. It is, however, essential that stakeholders are met where they are at in the process and their starting point needs to be a key consideration. Flexibility around the timeline is therefore essential. Table 1 outlines the key components and related actions against a proposed timeline to the plan.

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5. Conclusion

 

The Coaching for Inclusion Action Plan at Garden International School (GIS) sets a robust foundation for transforming the educational environment into a truly inclusive space. By prioritising meaningful participation and achievement for all students, irrespective of their diverse backgrounds and needs, GIS is poised to lead by example in the realm of inclusive education. The strategic components outlined in the plan—from refining school culture and curriculum to enhancing professional development and optimising systems and processes—demonstrate a comprehensive approach to inclusion that is both thoughtful and actionable.

 

Implementation of these initiatives requires commitment and collaboration across all levels of the school community. The flexibility in the timeline acknowledges the unique starting points of various stakeholders, ensuring that the implementation is both sensitive and adaptable to the school's dynamic context. As GIS moves forward, the ongoing evaluation and iterative refinement of the action plan will be crucial in meeting the evolving needs of its community and cementing its role as a leader in inclusive education.

 

This action plan is not just a blueprint for change but a testament to GIS's dedication to fostering an environment where every student can thrive. By embracing the challenges and opportunities that come with such transformative efforts, GIS is setting a standard for excellence in inclusion that will resonate beyond its classrooms, influencing broader educational practices both locally and globally.