A Closer Look at Barriers to Education

I have really enjoyed the inquiry-based learning focus of the Master of Education program at Laurier. I have had the chance to explore a broad scope of research questions, and to narrow down my search to dig deeper into the research. Broadly, my research interest is accessible education for students with complex communication needs (CCN). You will see me use the CCN acronym as a substitute for the more commonly-used term, "nonverbal" because CCN is used in the academic literature, and because "nonverbal" implies that the student is "without words." More on the complexities of these terms in a future post!
For students who have limited or no speech, it's vital to focus on augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) to include them in the classroom community and to enable their full participation in learning. A speech and language pathologist (SLP) typically assesses students, sets communication goals, and prescribes one or more types of AAC. This can be a form of technology, such as our daughter's eye-tracking computer system, but it can be many other things, as well. In their new book, Fundamentals of AAC, Hall et at. (2022) provide the following definition which highlights the kind of interaction needed for engagement in education:

​While AAC is often considered a system involving a carefully organized set of words, icons, letters, and/or phrases, it is important to note that AAC is far more than just a system. AAC establishes a way to communicate and share information between two or more individuals. AAC serves to make meaning. (p. 4)

Practitioners and researchers have done a great job of documenting the best practices for implementing AAC use in schools, and we should be grateful for this knowledge. That said, the research-practice gap is also well documented. The knowledge of how to do it exists, but it is not happening in most schools. This may not come as a surprise to those of you who have been advocating for better staff training and AAC implementation. The SLPs tend to make really helpful recommendations, but there is a breakdown in building capacity in most schools. There are several reasons why AAC best practices are not yet a natural part of every school.
To organize my research, I have taken advantage of The Participation Model, first developed by Rosenburg and Beukelman in 1987. It was adopted by the American Speech-Language=Hearing Association in 2004. It is most commonly attributed to Beukelman and Miranda (2013), and can now be found in the latest edition of Augmentative & Alternative Communication (2020) by Beukelman and Light. 

The Participation Model focuses on what's preventing participation so that we can find ways to remove those barriers and promote participation. Access barriers are related to the student's disabilities while opportunity barriers are related to the environment. My research focus is on opportunity barriers, but you can have a look at some of my commentary on access barriers at this link if you want to know more.

Opportunity Barriers:

1. Policy - the systems and structures at the school board or government level
2. Practices - common teaching practices or "the way we've always done it"
3. Attitude - mindset or behaviour of anyone who works directly or indirectly with the student
4. Facilitator Knowledge - educators knowing the importance of AAC and how to teach language and literacy to someone with CCN
5. Facilitator Skills - the practical skills needed to model language effectively and to engage the student in school participation (includes natural peer supports)

I've been learning more about each of the categories of opportunity barriers and the numerous examples of each. I took a course in policy analysis, for example, and I look forward to sharing more in future posts. I'm currently doing an independent study on mathematics education for students with CCN, a relatively under-researched topic. In the spring, I will begin my own research into the stories of parents about access to education for their children who use AAC. Stay tuned!​

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