Exploring Inclusive Educational Practices Through Professional Inquiry

Practitioners, scholars, and teacher education students alike can celebrate reading Exploring Inclusive Educational Practices through Professional Inquiry. This rich array of case scenarios both illuminates and elaborates the meaning of inclusion in today’s schools and tomorrow’s visions. Twenty-five stories from parents, teachers, school principals, and specialists highlight the kind of experiential knowledge that won’t be found in typical research reports and district documents about inclusive education. What happens to real people—students and their families—doesn’t always resemble policies that can look so good on paper. This book makes a wonderful contribution to better understandings of the challenges of inclusion as well as the commitments positioned alongside values in order to meet those challenges. There are brave and spirited people in these pages—not the least of whom are the children themselves.Professor Luanna H. Meyer, PhD Director, Jessie Hetherington Centre for Educational Research Victoria University, New Zealand This is a book on inclusive education that leaves you with hope and ideas for action. It takes a very difficult and highly charged topic and demonstrates that it is possible to see both the trees and the forest. Michael Fullan Professor Emeritus OISE/University of Toronto We are reminded in the commentaries parents share in this book of how their passionate commitment to good education and their ideas make inclusion work. The case-study approach reveals the critical importance of their, and many other perspectives in finding solutions to what are so often dismissed as irresolveable dilemmas. They aren’t, and this book models exactly the kinds of conversations we need in schools across the country to challenge all of us to stay the course. It’s a must-read for anyone who wants to make diversity and inclusion a reality in public education today. Michael Bach Executive Vice-President Canadian Association for Community Living

Scientific Essay from the year 2015 in the subject Pedagogy - The Teacher, Educational Leadership, , language: English, abstract: Worldwide, there is a need for many well-trained and motivated teachers who can help ensure that every child learns to their full potential from an early age and enters adult life well-equipped to be active citizens and support the development of their community and country (Patton, 2011). Many countries do not have enough teachers, let alone teachers who have received sufficiently high quality pre- and in-service training and access to continuing professional development (Bowe, 2005). The lack of motivated teachers impacts on the enrolment, participation and achievement of all children – but can be particularly detrimental to the education of children from marginalized groups, who may need some extra encouragement or assistance to reach their educational potential.

Inclusive education retains significant complexity associated with creating a definition, and there is significant importance within the surrounding narratives reflecting the broader definitions. Due to the flexibility within the definition, investigating current practices across an array of definitions becomes essential to developing best practices in special education. Inclusive Theory and Practice in Special Education is an essential research book that examines current shifts in the field within the overarching philosophy of inclusion and inclusive education. It reports recent research that focuses on the experiences of teachers and students in classrooms and ways of enhancing the practices of inservice teachers and early career teachers, as well as the preparation of preservice teachers. Besides presenting research from these perspectives, it also addresses a selection of broader issues that impact on policy and curriculum, thus identifying related concerns, including those of the wider community. Highlighting a wide range of topics such as learning disabilities, student mobility, and early childhood education, this publication is ideal for researchers, professionals, administrators, curriculum designers, academicians, policymakers, and students.

Inclusive education is complex, multi-faceted and ever-changing and to date there has been no fixed definition of what is meant by the term ‘inclusion’, leading to confusion about what inclusive education actually means in practice. This key text introduces readers to the underlying knowledge and wider complexities of inclusion and explores how this can relate to practice. Considering inclusion as referring to all learners, it surveys the concept of inclusive practice in its broadest sense and examines its implementation in a variety of educational institutions. Throughout the book, international contributors consider this broader concept to critically evaluate the realities of practically implementing inclusive objectives. Each chapter assesses key theories and concepts alongside a range of examples to encourage students to think critically and reappraise their own experience as learners. Key topics covered include: • studying the definition of inclusion • the relevance of pedagogy in inclusive practice • how to lead and manage for inclusion • the issue of inclusion in early years, primary, secondary and post-16 settings • inclusive practice for families • international perspectives on inclusive practice. Fully illustrated with tasks, case studies, discussion questions and recommended reading, Inclusive Education is essential reading for second and third year students looking to extend their research and writing, and to develop their critical and reflective thinking.

This book answers two questions: What does the implementation of inclusive education require of a system of education and all parts of the system? How do various parts of the education system act on their commitment to inclusive educational practice? Decades after major legislation (i.e., the Civil Rights Act, the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, and the Education for All Handicapped Children Act) made high-quality education a fundamental right for all children in the United States, the dream of diverse, inclusive, democratic schooling has yet to be realized. Nevertheless, some classrooms, schools, districts, states, and universities have made progress. Inclusive Education: A Systematic Perspective explores the theoretical implications of inclusive practice as well as illustrative case studies and evaluation findings from states, educator preparation programs, districts, and schools that have reframed their work around the principles of inclusive practice. Whether these organizations position the work as “social justice education,” “culturally responsive teaching,” or “inclusion,” their efforts lead in the same direction—toward higher quality and more equitable education for all. The chapters will be relevant to graduate students, faculty members, and education leaders, at all levels, who seek a comprehensive overview of the commitment and practice of “inclusive education”. Chapters vary in their approaches to the topic, some presenting theoretical underpinnings, others describing practices or programs at particular sites, others reporting findings from empirical studies, and edited interviews with state and district leaders of inclusive-education initiatives. The book explores why inclusion is important and how it can be accomplished.

Inspiration and Innovation in Teaching and Teacher Education is an edited collection that offers a variety of conceptual and research-based discussions on teaching and teacher education in Canada and internationally. The ideas, research, and practices presented in the book focus on three broad themes: the essence of teacher education, innovative practices in teacher education, and emerging issues in teacher education. The book includes chapter contributions from a group of international scholars, teacher educators, and teachers who are adopting innovation in how they are conceptualizing teaching and teacher education and in how they are engaging in the practices of teaching and teacher education. The contributions examine emerging issues that have far-reaching implications for what we do in teacher education, elucidating the successes, opportunities, and challenges inherent in teacher education. The contributors to this book are inspiring others to examine their own beliefs and practices about what constitutes effective teacher education.

This volume focuses on inquiry into inclusive education from the perspective of scholarly influences in the field of practice and research.