Use of Evidence-Based Evaluation Criteria for Inclusive Practices in Competitive Procedures

Abstract

The work presents the results of approbation of the approach to expert evaluation of inclusive practices in educational institutions developed at the Institute for Problems of Inclusive Education of the Moscow State University of Psychology and Education based on the integration of inclusiveness criteria and evidence requirements. The assessment involved 25 federal experts on inclusive education, who evaluated 30 cases in three nominations of inclusive practices submitted to the federal stage of the competition. The assessors scored the applications by completing expert protocols, which were processed to determine the level of inclusivity of the practice (zero, initial, basic, or advanced). Then a reflective discussion was organized on the application by experts of the approach we developed to assessing inclusive practices according to the criteria of inclusiveness and evidence, the results of this discussion were subjected to thematic analysis. The study revealed that the distribution of expert assessments of inclusive practices by levels differs from uniform (p < 0,01), confirming the effectiveness of the criteria as an assessment tool. At the same time, the reproducibility of the results of the expert assessment turned out to be at an acceptable level (83%), taking into account the unreliability of differentiation of the zero and initial levels (sample of repeated measurements: N = 12). The thematic analysis of expert reflection showed the usefulness of evaluation criteria as a tool not only for examination, but also for the development of expert thinking of the experts themselves, as well as the professional development of the contestants. Also, the results of the thematic analysis revealed the need for a broad discussion and further study of the key categories of inclusion (diversity, participation, acceptance, etc.) to operationalize them more accurately as inclusion criteria.