The Future Of Inclusive Education

Are teachers ready for inclusion? What is appropriate teacher education? Traditional approaches to inclusive education focused on learners with disabilities. Modern approaches, however, conceptualise inclusion in terms of providing educational equity and equality of access for all students within the same regular school system. Future Directions for Inclusive Teacher Education provides a wealth of ideas about how to support teachers to become inclusive through the application of positive training approaches. Written by some of the most influential internationally acknowledged experts in teacher education for inclusion and highly experienced researchers, together the authors provide a plethora of ideas for teacher educators to ensure that their training is pertinent, accessible, and futures-orientated. This up to date and accessible book combines three key areas related to teacher education for inclusion, which provide: A review of what is happening across the globe by offering examples from different regions; Preparation for teachers to support learners with a range of diverse needs including disability, poverty, ethnicity, gender, cultural diversity, learning disabilities, Autism Spectrum Disorder, sensory impairments and those who are considered gifted and talented; A consideration of systemic approaches, policy, and partnerships, and how these can be better employed in the future. This highly topical text will support all teaching professionals, educational systems, and schools in their transformation of inclusive teacher education.

This book addresses the tensions of existing theories and practices of inclusive education from an international perspective. Adopting Disability Critical Race Theory in Education (DisCrit) and Critical Disability Studies (CDS), the authors expose how race neutral knowledge characterizes inclusive education and exhorts readers to consider how intersectional perspectives provide more complex and nuanced understandings about ways in which racism and ableism simultaneously circulate as intersecting oppressions in schools and societies and across geographical borders. The authors begin by engaging in a critical analysis of the genesis of inclusive education before exploring how existing policies and practices of inclusive education in the global North evade the collusive nature of oppressions faced by minoritized students with disabilities and are uncritically transferred into the global South. Ultimately, the book encourages readers to reconceptualize inclusive education and move towards developing and sustaining transformative notions of global justice.

This volume brings together some thought provoking discussions on inclusive education within the current education climate. Is inclusive education worth pursuing or is the fervour for its implementation subsiding as the realities of its challenges are understood?

At the midway point towards the United Nations (UN) Agenda 2030, this critical volume focuses on how a range of contextually diverse countries are progressing towards inclusive education. Contributors critically consider the current state of inclusive education in their own countries in relation to meeting the UN’s Agenda 2030 initiative and Sustainable Development Goal 4. The foundation is set in chapter one by the editors, with a historical overview of inclusion and inclusive policies globally. Key international scholars critique the history and status of inclusion in their respective contexts. In reference to local research, they explore the history of inclusion, the current policies and state of inclusion, barriers and levers for inclusion, and look towards the future of inclusive education. Chapters demonstrate how the continued call for a shift towards inclusive education in different countries is extremely complex and varies greatly within each international context. Attention is given to levers promoting inclusion through contextually appropriate international initiatives and the importance of the realignment of policies and practices if all countries are to achieve the 2030 UN’s education goal. Progress Toward Agenda 2030 serves to challenge all educational stakeholders to critically consider, analyze, and innovate policies and practices for inclusive education for all by 2030.

"This book introduces the basic concepts, current research guidelines and future perspectives on the current state of inclusive education by highlighting technological advances in applied e-learning, cognitive learning and education multimedia"--Provided by publisher.

This book brings together the fields of artificial intelligence (often known as A.I.) and inclusive education in order to speculate on the future of teaching and learning in increasingly diverse social, cultural, emotional, and linguistic educational contexts. This book addresses a pressing need to understand how future educational practices can promote equity and equality, while at the same time adopting A.I. systems that are oriented towards automation, standardisation and efficiency. The contributions in this edited volume appeal to scholars and students with an interest in forming a critical understanding of the development of A.I. for education, as well as an interest in how the processes of inclusive education might be shaped by future technologies. Grounded in theoretical engagement, establishing key challenges for future practice, and outlining the latest research, this book offers a comprehensive overview of the complex issues arising from the convergence of A.I. technologies and the necessity of developing inclusive teaching and learning. To date, there has been little in the way of direct association between research and practice in these domains: A.I. has been a predominantly technical field of research and development, and while intelligent computer systems and ‘smart’ software are being increasingly applied in many areas of industry, economics, social life, and education itself, a specific engagement with the agenda of inclusion appears lacking. Although such technology offers exciting possibilities for education, including software that is designed to ‘personalise’ learning or adapt to learner behaviours, these developments are accompanied by growing concerns about the in-built biases involved in machine learning techniques driven by ‘big data’.

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.

It’s time to focus on what students can do, rather than what they can’t. In this inaugural book in their Inclusive Education for Students with Disabilities series, Michael L. Wehmeyer and Jennifer A. Kurth explore central, defining questions for the field of special and inclusive education: who, what, and where do we teach; what works in inclusive education; and where does inclusive education go now? Arguing that the concept of disability for the past fifty years has emphasized students as incapable and incompetent, the authors propose instead to build on a growing understanding that students with disabilities can be successful and meet high expectations, and that educators have the knowledge and skills to achieve this. From this strength-based perspective, the presumption is that disability is part of, and not apart from, typical human functioning. Using this lens, Wehmeyer and Kurth describe effective practices to guide instruction in inclusive settings—practices that begin with a consideration of each student’s strengths and capacities, rather than with a diagnosis.