Inclusive education in accelerated and professional development schools: a case-based study of two school reform efforts in the USA

This case-based study of two school reform efforts in the USA examines how the process of inclusive education works for SEN students and the extent to which these students and their teachers feel as though they are an integral part of school reform. At its heart, this study focuses on three central questions. Do the philosophy, process, practices and organizational structures of these school reform movements promote inclusion for all students? What is the impact of the schools' practices and principles on individual students? What conditions and contexts best promote inclusion, and which ones act as barriers to successful inclusion? The schools in these two school reform movements provide powerful examples of how changes in school organization, climate, curriculum and instructional strategies build on the strengths of students, staff and community to create optimal learning results for all students. In this study, the perception of pedagogical and political ‘gaps’ between school effectiveness reform agendas and inclusive education reveal a narrow, rational-technical view of reform. The hope for the future is that the growing efforts in support of inclusive education within the broader socio-political and constructivist school reform movements, exemplified by the schools in this case study, will become an influential counter-force for social justice and disability-rights' action in schools everywhere.     

Facts and fallacies: differentiation and the general education curriculum for students with special educational needs

As policy makers and educators respond to legislation promoting the inclusion of students with disabilities in general education classrooms, there is sometimes confusion about why this is being done and how it can be accomplished effectively. In this article, two categories of fallacies, or misunderstandings, are identified. The first fallacy is that students with disabilities are incapable of learning the general education curriculum. The second fallacy is that teachers are required to ‘cover’ the entire curriculum, sometimes at a pace that leaves students with and without disabilities behind. Facts are presented following each fallacy. These facts describe research‐based pedagogies effective for students with and without disabilities, indicating that students with mild disabilities can learn the general education curriculum when responsive pedagogies are used. These facts also describe how schools that promote differentiation can potentially achieve higher scores on large‐scale assessments than schools that promote ‘one size fits all’ instruction.     

Designing Classrooms for Diversity: Fostering Social Inclusion

Responding to the growing diversity of students within North American schools today, educators have recognized the value of social inclusion as an important goal, supporting both social-emotional and academic success for all students. This special issue explores how teachers play a significant role in promoting inclusive classes by understanding the social dynamics that operate in educational contexts. Addressing a number of different forms that diversity can take (gender, ethnicity, physical and/or mental exceptionalities), these articles rightfully focus attention on group processes that promote inclusion versus exclusion and their impact, and underscore the need for teacher training in such efforts. Supporting and extending this discussion, we present an overview of recent efforts to promote “universal design for learning” in education, which focuses on academic as well as social inclusion, in hopes that educators consider even broader approaches to celebrating diversity and teaching students to relate to others with acceptance and respect.     

A special teacher for a special child? (Re)considering the role of the special education teacher within the context of an inclusive education reform agenda

Notwithstanding the recent signing and ratification by Cyprus of another International Convention on the rights of students designated as having special educational needs and/or disabilities to attend mainstream schools on an equal basis with their peers, local policy and practice promote an ‘exclusionary inclusion’ that draws a discernible line between general and special education. This paper concentrates on exploring the role of special education teachers in Cyprus in the light of policy concerns about providing the ‘least restrictive’ learning environment for this group of students and enabling them ‘to reach their full potential’. It is suggested that the role of special education teachers embodies and reflects reductionist forms of inclusion informed by deficit-oriented and assimilationist special education perspectives, while there is also evidence of a lack of professionalism and accountability. The paper draws on head teachers’ and special education teachers’ interviews in order to portray the ways in which they view and experience the role of special education teachers in mainstream schools in Cyprus. New objectives and future directions are identified and discussed.     

Meeting in the circle: examining identity,attitudes, and pedagogy in the context of an early childhood teacher education program in the United States

As a team of teacher educators at a university in the United States, we engage in participatory action research to reflect on how reflective tools which we design engage teacher candidates (TCs) in their reflecting on teaching. In this paper, we describe how we invite TCs to write in-class reflections, respond to self-assessment probes, and practice problem-solving processes. We critically analyze our approaches and identify further intentional approaches to promote university students’ understandings of (1) links between the self and working with children and families and (2) connections between attitudes and pedagogy towards social justice and inclusion. We conclude that we must continue to explore how the teaching practices we use affect students’ understandings of social justice in education. Doing so demands our focus on examining attitudes through self-reflection among and between faculty and university students so that identity, relationships, attitudes, inclusion, and social justice are prioritized as pillars of curriculum in early childhood education at all levels of schooling.     

Education,schooling and inclusive practice at a secondary free school in England

Abstract

This paper reports the experiences of staff, parents, governors and students at a secondary free school in the West Midlands of England in relation to the inclusion of students with special educational needs (SEN). The paper is based on a qualitative research project carried out at a school that opened in 2015, with the explicit aim of examining the extent to which it developed as an inclusive school, particularly for children with SEN. In the paper, we draw on the classic distinction between ‘education’ and ‘schooling’ to identify tensions and overlaps between process and outcome oriented practices and examine the views of different stakeholders on how such practices impact on inclusion. By focusing on the day-to-day practices of the school and linking them to broader notions of schooling and education, we provide a complementary perspective on the current research on free schools, which is overwhelmingly quantitative and focused on admissions.     

Promoting Social Inclusion in Educational Settings: Challenges and Opportunities

The goal of this article is to provide a critical analysis of barriers to social inclusion and integration in schools and propose inclusive educational practices that help connect and unite diverse students. Diversity is defined broadly to refer to a range of differences (i.e., overall heterogeneity) across students. We review theoretical frameworks that help explain group dynamics and contextual conditions that contribute to exclusion (i.e., peer victimization, rejection, friendlessness) of students based on ethnicity, sexual orientation, body weight, and so on. We argue that to be able to facilitate inclusion (acceptance by peers, cross-group friendships), educators and school administrators need to be aware of group and interpersonal dynamics. They must also comprehend how some common school practices highlight differences and segregate students in ways that further promote divisions and reinforce negative stereotypes. We propose proactive school-based practices as “built-in” preventions to increase social inclusion. Also, relevant intervention approaches are reviewed. To conclude, we discuss teacher education and professional development and make recommendations for future research.     

中职学校学生德育评价模式探求

中职学校德育评价模式对德育教育工作起着导向、激励和创新作用,而科学、客观、公正、适用的评价模式能够正确引领德育工作,有利于培养中职学生的良好品行。本文根据中职学校德育教育的要求和内容,结合中职学校学生的特点,对如何建立适应中职学生的德育评价模式进行探索。     

The building blocks of digital media literacy: socio-material participation and the production of media knowledge

This article outlines the knowledge and skills students develop when they engage in digital media production and analysis in school settings. The metaphor of ‘digital building blocks’ is used to describe the material practices, conceptual understandings and production of knowledge that lead to the development of digital media literacy. The article argues that the two established approaches to media literacy education, critical reading and media production, do not adequately explain how students develop media knowledge. It suggests there has been too little focus on material practices and how these relate to the development of conceptual understanding in media learning. The article explores empirical evidence from a four-year investigation in a primary school in Queensland, Australia using actor–network theory to explore ‘moments of translation’ as students deploy technologies and concepts to materially participate in digital culture. A generative model of media learning is presented with four categories of building blocks that isolate the specific skills and knowledge that can be taught and learnt to promote participation in digital media contexts: digital materials, conceptual understandings, media production and media analysis. The final section of the article makes initial comments on how the model might become the basis for curriculum development in schools and argues that further empirical research needs to occur to confirm the model’s utility.     

Nurturing learning or encouraging dependency? Teacher constructions of students in lower attainment groups in English secondary schools

‘Ability’ or attainment grouping can introduce an additional label that influences teachers’ expectations of students in specific attainment groups. This paper is based on a survey of 597 teachers across 82 schools and 34 teacher interviews in 10 schools undertaken as part of a large-scale mixed-methods study in England. The paper focuses on English and mathematics teachers’ expectations of secondary school students in lower attainment groups, and explores how low-attaining students are constructed as learners who benefit from specific approaches to learning justified through discourses of nurturing and protection. The authors argue that the adoption of different pedagogical approaches for groups of low-attaining learners to nurture them may in some cases be fostering dependency on teachers and cap opportunities for more independent learning. Furthermore, more inclusive whole-school learning-culture approaches may better allow for students across the attainment range to become independent learners.     

‘What's a fixed‐term exclusion,Miss?’ Students' perspectives on a disciplinary inclusion room in England

Marginalised students in education are often formally excluded and further disadvantaged by school disciplinary approaches. This leads to school behaviour codes not being followed by students. This result is often linked to individualised student disciplinary responses. Further, formal student exclusion from schools remains a controversial international practice driven by eclectic government policy. Yet there is limited research on student perspectives within debates on the value of interventions designed to reduce fixed‐term exclusion and promote children's participation in education. This study, by Gwen Gilmore of the College of Education at Victoria University, Melbourne, presents the perspectives of five Year 8 and 9 students who participated in a disciplinary inclusion room designed to reduce fixed‐term exclusion in a secondary school located in England. The research methodology is framed by a cultural historical activity theory approach, and mixed methods reported include document analysis and student interviews. Students stated that the disciplinary inclusion room enabled them to continue their learning and that this discipline model complemented the processes of education. These students' perspectives challenge recent narratives on disciplinary provision and provide possibilities for schools to consider how discipline can be organised towards practices that are more inclusionary and potentially educative.     

Sustainability education: researching practice in primary schools

Many teachers are keen to implement sustainability education in primary schools but are lacking the confidence, skills and knowledge to do so. Teachers report that they do not understand the concept and cannot integrate sustainability into an already overcrowded curriculum. Identifying how teachers successfully integrate sustainability education into their teaching practice can offer important insights into how these perceived problems can be overcome. The paper is based on data from the third year of a longitudinal study about teacher education and teacher professional learning for sustainability in primary education. The third year of the study investigated teachers’ understandings of sustainability and how sustainability education is manifested in eight rural and regional primary schools in Victoria, Australia. Data included photographs of school grounds and sustainability projects, audio recordings of focus groups with teachers and principals, and field notes of meetings with school staff. Sustainability education was found to be an emergent practice necessarily constituted in the relation between teachers, students and community members and the materialities of local places. Partnerships were found to be an essential part of integrated sustainability programmes which extended into communities and places beyond the schools. The processes of learning involved pedagogies of creative problem-solving and inquiry learning that enabled children to lead the way.     

Peers with special educational needs and students’ absences

In the United States, the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) specifies that students with disabilities should be educated in the “least restrictive environment,” yet little is known about how successfully schools have been able to apply appropriate supports, practices and resources so that all students benefit from inclusion. Using a quasi-experimental method and a longitudinal data-set provided by the Florida Department of Education that spans an eight-year panel from 2001 through 2009, this paper analyses the relationship between the density and diversity of peers with special educational needs and general education students’ absence rates in grades three through eight. Results show that a one standard deviation increase in the measure of special education peers is associated with an increase in general education students’ absences of .03 to .43 more days per year, depending on the empirical specification chosen. This represents as much as a five percent increase in the average student’s annual absences. Implications are discussed.     

Working with students as co-researchers in schools: a matter of inclusion

The research reported in this paper focuses on the process of involving students as co-researchers in schools. The study involved a process of collaboration with two secondary schools in an economically deprived city in the north East of England. Use was made of a framework for developing inclusion that emerged through earlier work. The framework has students' voices at its centre. Through an analysis of the research process, factors that are important when involving students as co-researchers in schools are discussed. The understandings gained through the study have implications for future research. It is argued that such approaches, which place students at the heart of the research process, can be viewed as a matter of inclusion.     

Inclusion gatekeepers: the social production of spatial identities in special education

Abstract

Critical approaches to inclusive education seek to transform educational systems to increase access, participation, and achievement for students at the intersections of multiple markers of difference. Yet, the role of space in inclusive education remains under explored as a social and political construct. We know that space matters for the production and maintenance of student identities; however, little is known about its interaction with teacher and specifically special educator identity. This qualitative study takes a ‘spatial turn’ in inclusive education by exploring how the existing geographies of exclusion within schools mediated special educators’ identity construction. Through interactions with their sociocultural contexts, special educators’ engaged in the co-construction of gatekeeper identities and participated systems of ableism that perpetuated and justified exclusion. Recommendations will be made for how school communities can critically interrogate space as a means for increased equity and inclusion.     

The intersectional gap: how bilingual students in the United States are excluded from inclusion

At the onset of nearly every American civil rights movement there are two pivotal messages: the first is the group’s claims of exclusion from the life that the privileged lead and the second is a demand to be included. In all cases the first step in creating sustainable change has been the recognition that society was functioning on a multi-tiered system that grants access to some but not to all. Currently there is a civil rights movement taking place that focuses on the integration of students with diverse ability levels. In the United States this movement is called Inclusion. Unfortunately, the primary focus of inclusion is on the integration of students with disabilities; thus children who represent intersectional identities are often passed over and continually left on the margins of inclusive classrooms, schools and society. This paper will focus on a subgroup of students who are currently being left behind in this movement: bilingual special education students. Due to the fact that separate policies exist to address their linguistic and academic needs bilingual students with disabilities fall into what can be considered an intersectional gap. This paper addresses how this gap came to be as well as offering recommendations for mending it.     

Planning Inclusion: The Need to Formalize Parental Participation in Individual Education Plans (and Meetings)

Abstract

Inclusive education is promoted as an educational setting that brings together students with disabilities alongside non-disabled peers. As the rise in inclusive education continues, many recognize the Salamanca Statement of 1994 as an influencer. This paper discusses how the vision of inclusion grounded in “the need to work towards ‘schools for all’” remains unfulfilled through a lack of intersectionality. Centering the experiences of Spanish-speaking mothers of emergent bilinguals labeled as disabled, this paper presents how educators limit parents’ abilities to engage as equal stakeholders. Therefore, this paper explores the tensions culturally and linguistically diverse mothers encounter during Individual Education Plan (IEP) meetings and the possibilities that can come from reimagining IEPs and IEP meetings in ways that allow stakeholders to actively tend to the intersectional vision of inclusive education that Salamanca put forth and that emergent bilinguals labeled as disabled desperately need.     

Children’s epistemic reasoning about social inclusion of aggressive peers in a culturally diverse school

Moral reasoning in values education can promote a democratic way of life. It involves addressing behaviour expectations in responses to violence or bullying. There is increasing interest in how children make moral judgments about social inclusion within diverse cultural settings. Critical research highlights the relationship between epistemic cognition (views about the nature of knowledge and knowing) and reasoning. In this paper, we argue that this relationship is likely to be important in reasoning about moral values for inclusion in culturally diverse schools. However, we know little about how children in diverse educational settings reason about and enact school values for inclusion. Our study addresses this gap by examining primary school children’s epistemic reasoning about the social inclusion of peers with a focus on justifications for inclusion/exclusion of aggressive peers. Twenty-six children (10–11 years old) from one culturally diverse school community in Australia were asked to illustrate (drawings) and reflect on (15–20 minute interviews) a conflict situation involving exclusion from play. The findings showed that most children reasoned about including/excluding others based on a ‘one right answer’ pattern which reflected an explicit focus on following the school rules. Fewer children moved ‘beyond right answers’ to show transition towards perceiving multiple perspectives in their reasoning about inclusion/exclusion. Implications for values education are discussed.     

The five dimensions of social pedagogy within schools

A ‘social pedagogy’ approach is increasingly being adopted by professional agencies in the United Kingdom involved in dealing with the welfare, care and education of children. This paper argues that, in the context of schools, social pedagogy can be characterised as taking an integrated view of the needs of the whole child in terms of five key dimensions: care and welfare; inclusion; socialisation; academic support; and social education. Whether or not these changes in professional practice lead to the widespread employment of a professional called a ‘social pedagogue’ remains to be seen. However, integrated working practices have already had an impact on how teachers are expected to deal with the needs of pupils identified as giving a cause for concern.     

台湾人口少子化背景下小型学校整并策略及启示

台湾地区人口少子化背景下,学校生源锐减,乡村及偏远地区学校规模日益缩小,台湾教育当局和地方政府因地制宜、循序渐进、积极稳妥推进小型学校整并,在有效提高教育资源使用效益的同时确保学生就学权益及社区发展。借鉴台湾地区经验,大陆农村撤点并校应着眼学生就学需求,统筹规划,合理布局,完善配套,强化功能,促进农村教育与经济社会的协调发展。