Making Special Education Inclusive

The aim of this book is to consider how schools and LEAs can develop inclusive policies and practices for students who experience a range of difficulties in learning or behavior. It highlights debates and contradictions about the realities of inclusion and suggests ways in which practice can move forward. The contributors look at key areas of development in special and inclusive education and considers ways in which the latest research can inform practice. Areas covered include promoting inclusion for all; how to make sense of the Code of Practice SEN Thresholds; working with Teaching Assistants; new approaches to counseling and pastoral care in schools; including pupils with EBD; how nurture groups are helping inclusive practice; making education inclusive for pupils with sensory disabilities; including pupils with specific learning difficulties; and preparing students for an inclusive society. The book will be of particular interest to teachers, LEA support staff, educational psychologists and related professionals who face the challenge of meeting the needs of a diverse population within an inclusive framework. it will also be of relevance for students in further and higher education, and their tutors.

Exclusionary pressures and practices are pervasive in education, despite the clamour for more inclusive education. Even as classrooms worldwide become more diverse, education is unlikely to become inclusive without deliberate efforts to dismantle exclusion and enable inclusion. This book is a compilation of contributions to the conversation about what these efforts might entail. The conversation has its origins in the Making Education Inclusive Conference held in 2013, which brought together academics and practitioners from Southern Africa and other countries. Given the expectation that teachers should play a key role in promoting inclusion, it is not surprising to find significant interest in teacher education from many of the contributing authors. Their concerns range from explicit teacher development for pedagogical responsiveness to learner diversity, to overcoming the epistemological marginalisation that learners experience where teachers are not fully confident of their subject content and how to teach it. Access to education is clearly not enough, and other contributors to this book concern themselves with ways in which structures and systems could be reconstituted to enable meaningful inclusion. This might mean looking at how teachers might use tiered systems of behaviour support and various metacognitive strategies, how physical access can be promoted on a university campus, and understanding how parents think about disability. Each chapter represents a different perspective on what it might mean to resist educational exclusion in its many forms, and each offers possible ways to make education more inclusive.

Much has been written about special education and about inclusive education, but there have been few attempts to pull these two concepts and approaches together. This book does just that: sets special education within the context of inclusive education. It posits that to include, effectively, all children with special educational needs in schools requires an integration of both concepts, approaches, and techniques. It has never been more timely to publish a book that helps professionals who work with schools, such as psychologists, special education professionals, and counselors, to identify effective practices for children with special needs and provide guidelines for implementing these in inclusive schools.

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.

The aim of this book is to consider how schools and LEAs can develop inclusive policies and practices for students who experience a range of difficulties in learning or behavior. It highlights debates and contradictions about the realities of inclusion and suggests ways in which practice can move forward. The contributors look at key areas of development in special and inclusive education and considers ways in which the latest research can inform practice. Areas covered include promoting inclusion for all; how to make sense of the Code of Practice SEN Thresholds; working with Teaching Assistants; new approaches to counseling and pastoral care in schools; including pupils with EBD; how nurture groups are helping inclusive practice; making education inclusive for pupils with sensory disabilities; including pupils with specific learning difficulties; and preparing students for an inclusive society. The book will be of particular interest to teachers, LEA support staff, educational psychologists and related professionals who face the challenge of meeting the needs of a diverse population within an inclusive framework. it will also be of relevance for students in further and higher education, and their tutors.

Inclusion in the classroom is a growing phenomenon that covers a range of areas and subjects; with prominent discussions about race, gender, sexual orientation, and age, today’s world is increasingly focused on making sure education is designed so everyone can succeed. Inclusivity in special education is particularly important as special education covers a wide range of students, including those with physical, intellectual, and behavioral disabilities. As more research and information surrounding best practices, new technologies, and teacher education for special education is considered, it is imperative that teachers and administrators remain up to date on these innovative techniques. The Research Anthology on Inclusive Practices for Educators and Administrators in Special Education is a critical reference source that includes abundant research on all aspects of inclusion in special education as well as the latest trends, research, and studies to provide a comprehensive look at the current state of special education. Covering topics such as accessibility, educational models, teacher training, and assistive technologies, it is ideal for special education teachers, academicians, in-service teachers, pre-service teachers, professors, students, researchers, professionals, administrators, curriculum developers, instructional designers, and policymakers.

Inclusion is a buzzword of the 1990s. Politicians now stress their commitment to inclusion and social justice - not competition. For schools, inclusion means accepting and educating all children, irrespective of their difficulties. The new inclusive mood is about including everyone in society's institutions. It has created a growing demand for schools to find effective ways of including and teaching all children - even those who at one time would have been sent to special schools. The book combines a theoretical examination of inclusion and its rationale with the story of a group of schools in which teachers, assistants and children have striven to make inclusion happen. This new book * explores the arguments for inclusive schools * examines the international evidence about children's well-being and academic progress in inclusive schools * describes how the pioneers have developed their practice for inclusion * presents the findings of an in-depth 18 month study of a group of schools which have striven to make inclusion happen

For any school undertaking an inclusion program, here's an opportunity to find out what works and explore a 10-step plan that can achieve positive academic and social outcomes for all students -- with and without disabilities.