Understanding The Development Of Inclusive Schools

The current emphasis on individualised intervention programmes for students with special needs may not only be impractical, but also undesirable. This book compares and contrasts special needs approaches with school effectiveness strategies. The author sets out theories about inclusive schooling that arise out of a detailed scrutiny of practice. The link between theory and practice will be welcomed by many practitioners. With extensive examples from the field to illustrate Ainscow's ideas, this is an eminently accessible text.

"Inclusive education had its origins in the move of disabled children from segregated special settings to mainstream classrooms, on the premise that every child has the right to access the curriculum and other experiences of publicly funded schools. This book reports on studies by leading researchers in the USA, Britain, Australia, New Zealand, Norway and the Netherlands that set out to examine the meanings of inclusion in their various cultures and school systems. The emphasis in each of the studies is on attending to the voices of those most directly involved - the students, parents and teachers. They tell us about the complexity of the issues in this area, suggesting guidelines for teachers and other professionals working with disabled children."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Richard A. Villa and Jacqueline S. Thousand provide an in-depth, research-based guide for ensuring that your school provides the federally guaranteed "least restrictive environment" for students no matter the severity of the challenges they face. Leading an Inclusive School: Access and Success for ALL Students offers administrators, teachers, and other educators working to promote inclusion a wealth of information about the history and research base of inclusive education in the United States, including pivotal amendments to and reauthorizations of the EHCA, landmark court cases, and the philosophical underpinnings of the movement; essential curricular and instructional practices for inclusive schools, such as heterogeneous grouping, creative problem solving, and co-teaching; powerful organizational structures such as Multitiered System of Support and Schoolwide Positive Behavior Supports to help optimize the benefits of differentiation for all students; and a conceptual framework for coordinating educational initiatives and best practices for educating all students in general education. Also included are vivid personal stories of students with disabilities that illustrate how these students flourish when they learn alongside their general education peers. Educators who are serious about committing to the success of learners at all levels of perceived physical, intellectual, communication, and social/emotional ability will find the examples, advice, and tools in this book indispensable for planning, implementing, and promoting inclusion in their schools.

In this comprehensive resource on inclusive schooling, administrators, general and special educators, and parents explore how inclusive education can support a diverse student body at all grade levels. They show how schools can meet standards and provide a "least restrictive environment" for students with disabilities by using cooperative learning, teaming, multi-age grouping, multicultural education, social skills training, and educational technology applications. And they explain how to facilitate change by using universal design principles and other curricular, instructional, assessment, and organizational practices. The authors examine the prevailing myths and the most frequently asked questions about inclusive education, and they provide an extensive list of resources. Woven through the book are the personal stories of people with disabilities and the educators and parents who work with them. As their voices make clear, inclusion is more than an educational buzzword; inclusion is a way of life, based on the belief that each individual is valued and belongs.

Global Directions in Inclusive Education pushes the conceptual boundaries of ‘inclusive education’ and explores new ways to research and envision inclusion and diversity in education for all children. This pioneering book problematizes ‘inclusive education’ as a global currency, as another form of deficit-thinking, and as a universal application. The expert team of international contributors argue that much of the field of inclusive education needs a reinvigoration of new ideas, critical introspection, and ways of knowing that can overcome the well-worn deficit paths of inclusive education study, namely: ‘barriers’ to inclusion, teacher attitudes, policy-practice gaps, lack of resources, and lack of teacher training. Seeking diverse ways forward that represent new visions and innovations from around the world, this text features voices and ideas from both early career and established scholars, to enliven debate and promote a more positive and productive dialogue. Global Directions in Inclusive Education is ideal for students, researchers, and scholars of inclusive education; development practitioners seeking new ideas; and practitioners seeking to gain a deeper and more global understanding of inclusive education both in theory and in practice.

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.

"Over the past centuries research and practice has supported the use of inclusive practices as opposed to segregation. Political events relating to equality for all have spurred these changes. This book provides a valuable journey of exploration into these processes that have brought us where we are today - slow but steady progress towards inclusive practices within mainstream schools." International Journal of Disability, Development and Education "Everyone believes in inclusion - or do they? This excellent new book takes readers on a compelling historical journey which explores the beliefs, the barriers, the evidence and the practice that surrounds the pursuit of a more inclusive education system. Historically ‘the time never seems to have been right’ for a fully inclusive education system in Great Britain. Perhaps the climate and context of the first decade of the 21st Century has the potential to make it the 'Age of Inclusion'. If so - this book will certainly help us to achieve this elusive goal." Tony Dessent, Luton Borough Council "Ten years after the Salamanca Statement, this book helpfully brings together a broad range of texts to stimulate all of us to reflect on the progress made towards more inclusive education. Particularly impressive is the way that Thomas and Vaughan locate discussion of inclusion in wider debates about the nature of society." Mel Ainscow, University of Manchester This book examines the key influences behind the moves towards inclusive education and inclusion in mainstream society. The first of its kind anywhere in the world, this seminal work features more than 50 extracts from key documents and classic texts, alongside illuminating commentaries by two experts in the field. Inclusive Education: Readings and Reflections demonstrates that moves to inclusion have come from many directions: research; the imperative for greater social justice; calls for civil rights; legislation that prohibits discrimination; original, distinctive projects started by imaginative educators; and the voices of those who have been through special education. These sources are marshalled and organised in this book. It is essential reading for students on a range of courses in inclusive education and special educational needs, and for anyone wishing to understand the development of inclusive education, including teachers, headteachers, educational psychologists, and parents.