Action Research In Special Education

This is the first book about action research devoted to the complex issues faced by children with special needs and their teachers. The authors begin by providing the historical and philosophical underpinnings of action research and then present a framework for conducting action research in special education. In addition, they feature four examples of actual teacher-researcher studies, as well as a “how-to” chapter that outlines the basic principles needed for conducting action research. This book is essential reading for anyone interested in using action research to enhance student achievement and to address issues of social justice faced by children with special needs. Book Features: Details of the origins and practice of action research in special education. Demonstration of how action research is a dedicated component of preservice teacher preparation. Examples of action research performed by students in the field.

Can action research make the project of inclusive education easier? This book provides a practical guide to ways in which research can genuinely help dismantle discriminatory and exclusionary practices. It has insider accounts of action research to help challenge readers' assumptions.

The use of data-based decision making is critical in any classroom, but especially in special education settings. The Teacher’s Guide to Action Research for Special Education in PK-12 Classrooms describes the basic concepts of action research and how this process can support student success in the classroom and beyond. This practical, approachable, and concise guide provides case studies, vignettes, student learning objectives, and review exercises to help teachers understand how to effectively use the action research process to identify and evaluate evidence-based interventions, with explicit connections to legally mandated IEP planning, implementation, and evaluation processes.

Written from various perspectives, this book describes ways of using action research to improve teaching and learning. It includes contributions about action research related to: political action; school inclusion; distance learning; feminism; and initial teacher training. The coherent theme of the book is the consistent appraisal of action research as a means of supporting the transformation of educational praxis through practical enquiry and reflexive practice.

Action Research for Classrooms, Schools, and Communities is a core textbook for the action research course. This book addresses the trend toward high-stakes testing and teacher accountability by focusing on understanding student outcomes. With edTPA rapidly becoming part of the requirements for teacher certification, teacher preparation programs will increasingly be looking to measure the impact of the teacher candidate on student learning. The book focuses on the potential for action research to lead to greater understanding about student outcomes from the perspective of teachers, school leaders, and community members. There is a special emphasis on helping pre-service and experienced teachers use action research to understand their impact on student learning. There is an emphasis on using action research to understand community impacts on schools; unlike other books, this text acknowledges the complex ecology linking classrooms, schools, and the community, especially regarding issues fundamental to school reform.

This book incorporates an international perspective of research related to special education across all phases of education. It draws upon the experience and expertise of recognized researchers and practitioners in special education. As a research handbook for practicing teachers this book provides exemplars of good classroom based research practice addressing a broad range of special needs issues. Methods are presented which can be generalized to situations beyond the case studies immediately presented.

New and experienced teachers working with children with special needs in mainstream or special school settings are increasingly discovering the value of research to inform and improve their teaching. This highly accessible text features: · identification of the key research issues which relate to different aspects of SEN and inclusion · guidance on how to carry out research in order to enhance teaching and learning for children whose progress is causing concern · explanations of a range of approaches to research, including empirical studies of individuals, groups and institutions with children, parents, teachers and other professionals · advice on how to use and disseminate research findings The authors support their basic guidance with a variety of examples of published research and they offer a framework and practical suggestions for planning and carrying out school-based investigations with different purposes in mind. This text will be relevant to teachers and SENCOs, and to mentors and tutors in their supporting role.

This field of special education has been through marked changes in recent years with the emergence of notions such as 'inclusive schooling' and 'entitlement curricula'. This book brings together contributions from the UK and beyond.