Differentiated instruction: definition and challenging factors perceived by teachers
Date
2019-12
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Atlantis Press
Abstract
Differentiated Instruction (DI) is a teaching strategy teachers adopt to attend to student diversity in inclusive classrooms. The aim of this paper is to explore teachers’ definition of DI while identifying the challenges experienced in implementing DI strategies. Data for the study were collected from both mainstream teachers and Special Education Needs (SEN) teachers selected from 30 Maldivian schools in which inclusive education is practiced. A total of 368 mainstream teachers and 32 SEN teachers were surveyed with an open-ended questionnaire, and a semi-structured interview was conducted for 8 teachers purposively selected from survey participants. To analyse the data of both the survey and interviews, the open coding strategy (Rossman & Rallis, 2011) was used. Findings revealed that definition of DI can be explained by associating three major facets:(1) use of different strategies (2) addressing student diversity, and (3) advancement of student learning. Six major categories pertaining to challenges were also identified:(1) time,(2) resources,(3) knowledge,(4) class size,(5) support, and (6) workload. These findings are discussed in depth, and implications for practice are suggested.