International Perspectives On Teaching With Disability

This volume provides an international perspective on special education issues. There is limited literature examining issues in special education from an international perspective, as such this volume will add considerably to the knowledge base across the globe.

Efforts to reduce discrimination and increase diversity on campuses, coupled with shrinking budgets causing administrators to devote more resources toward recruiting and retaining students with disabilities, are fuelling an explosion of research in the area of inclusive education. An important focus that has been largely neglected is the place of teachers with disabilities in academe. International Perspectives on Teaching with Disability brings together 25 multi-disciplinary scholars with disabilities from Africa, Canada, the Caribbean, the UK, Israel and the United States to share their struggles and successes in teaching with disability. The 18 chapters are written largely from autoethnographic perspectives grounded in solid academic research but full of anecdotes and self-reflexive narratives that provide insights into the lived experiences of the authors. Woven into the narratives are discussions of the complexities of self-disclosure and self-advocacy; the varied—and often problematic—ways disability is experienced, perceived and discussed in society and in the classroom; the challenges of navigating academe with disability, the value of disability pedagogy, the positive student outcomes achieved by teaching through disability, as well as practical applications and lessons learned that will benefit educators, administrators and students preparing to become teachers. This book is written to champion the integral place and role of disabled educators in academe. Current educators with disability will be affirmed. Those with disability aspiring to become teachers will be encouraged. Temporarily able-bodied administrators and educators will be challenged. Everyone will be informed. This book will be a welcome addition to reading lists in a wide array of academic fields including: Education, Pedagogy, Disability Studies, Human Resources Management, and Sociology.

Education systems in developed countries have come to prioritise the raising of standards, while also pursuing some degree of social inclusion and inclusive schooling. However, these policies represent different and often conflicting values and approaches to education. Central to these moves has been the specific thrust to include more students with disabilities and special educational needs within general rather than specialist education. The basic dilemma is whether to recognise or not to recognise differences because either way there are negative implications associated with stigma, devaluation, rejection or denial of relevant opportunities. The dilemmas of difference relevant to children with disabilities are about: identification - whether to identify and how or not ; curriculum - how much of a common curriculum is relevant to them ; placement - to what extent they learn in ordinary/general schools and classes or not. Dilemmas of Difference, Inclusion and Disability integrates recent empirical research and includes an international case study that examines the perspectives of education practitioners and policy makers in specific school systems in the UK, USA and the Netherlands.

Music for all : everyone has the potential to learn music / Markku Kaikkonen -- Twice exceptional / Alice M. Hammel -- How the Orff approach can support inclusive music teaching / Shirley Salmon -- Lessons learned from the Prism project : pedagogical viewpoints in music education for teaching students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) / Ryan Hourigan -- Assistive technology to support students in accessing the music curriculum / Emily H. Watts, Kimberly McCord, & Deborah V. Blair -- SoundOUT : examining the role of accessible interactive music technologies within inclusive music ensembles in Cork City, Ireland / Grainne McHale -- Music activities for children with disabilities : an example from Taiwan / Liza Lee -- Behavioral issues in the music classroom : promoting the successful engagement of all students / Alice Ann Darrow and Mary Adamek -- Specified learning disabilities and music education / Kimberly McCord -- Including students with disabilities in instrumental ensembles / Christine M. Lapka -- Music for children with hearing loss / Alan Gertner and Lyn Schraer-Joiner -- Reading acquisition frameworks for music and language : layering elements of literacy for students with exceptionalities / Elaine Bernstorf -- Understanding the U.S. individualized education program model / Kimberly VanWeelden -- Special education and special music education outside of the United States / Kimberly McCord

This book provides new information on how various inclusion policies have been implemented in different schools and school districts in North America and in a range of European countries. The purpose of inclusion policy is to prevent the marginalization of people who experience unfavorable circumstances in life. It is an approach to the education of students with disabilities that is based on a commitment to what all members of a free society deserve in order to become fully participating members--a fair chance to find a meaningful place in their own communities. This book is a kind of status report on what inclusive education has achieved and what it may achieve in the future for children and youth with disabilities. It describes the philosophical, legal, and practical terrain covered by inclusion policy in general and inclusive schooling in particular. Contributors assess inclusion policy and suggest ways to reconceptualize it, bringing to their data analysis a depth of experience and knowledge about public schooling in their respective countries. Although inclusion of students with disabilities in general education classes has been embraced by politicians and educators calling for equal opportunity in our society and is being incorporated into national and international education laws, it continues to be controversial and the debate is sometimes heated. A goal of this book is to shed some light on this debate. Is inclusion mostly about student placement? Are students with disabilities attaining social and learning membership in general classrooms? Have they benefitted from inclusion? How about students without disabilities? What have been the benefits? Must learning take second priority to socialization and friendship? Are teachers getting the training they need? How do parents feel about inclusion programs? How do students feel? What kind of curricular accommodations should be made? These and other questions are addressed. This volume is based on original papers presented by the contributing authors in October 1997 at the Rutgers Invitational Symposium on Education on Inclusive Schooling: National and International Perspectives.

The Legal Rights of Students with Disabilities: International Perspectives examines the rights of disabled students in ten diverse countries on six continents. Written by leading experts in education law, this volume provides comparative insights to help meet the educational needs of disabled students. The book also offers strategies to manage the legal and educational complexities associated with special education.

This book concerns the process of transition that we all make throughout our lifetime, and the necessary skills individuals with disabilities need to function outside of school. The book illustrates that the problems of transition are not just for persons with disabilities, but for everyone. Acceptance of differences, understanding that our perceptions may not be accurate, and the ability to be honest with one another are shown to be key elements in assisting transition.

Marking the first time an entire book has been dedicated to the topic of successful inclusive education, in this volume leading experts address international perspectives on funding models, the role of resources, and the development of professionals for the implementation of effective inclusive education.