School-level facilitators of inclusive education: the case of Serbia

Relying on Bronfenbrenner’s ecological model, this paper attempts to identify school-level factors that contribute to effective implementation of inclusive education. We also explored how government policy, with emphasis on individual education plans, school teams, Roma assistants and inter-sectorial committees, is implemented at the school level. Qualitative data were collected from various informants (students, parents, teachers, school associates, Roma assistants and local community representatives) in five schools selected on the basis of regional distribution and success in supporting diverse student needs. Two core categories of school-level facilitators were generated: inclusive practices and inclusive culture. Within the first category, which refers to concrete actions and relationships in the school and local community, five themes emerged: individualisation and use of individual education plans; cooperation between teachers and school inclusive education expert team; cooperation with internal and external specialists; cooperation with parents, and cooperation with the local community. The second category, which reflects beliefs, values and implicit school norms, was further divided into five subcategories: willingness for life-long learning; proactive stance; sense of teamwork; sophisticated personal philosophies of development and learning; and acceptance of difference. We concluded that successful schools have developed into professional learning communities. Finally, recommendations for improving relevant practices were provided.     

The inclusive practice project in Scotland: Teacher education for inclusive education

While differences in national contexts are associated with variations in how teachers are trained and school systems are organised, the conceptual and philosophical problems of equity and inclusion in schooling are shared concerns. This paper describes how the structure and content of an initial teacher education programme for primary and secondary teachers has been revised to ensure that social and educational inclusion is addressed within the core programme. A rationale is presented for the development of ‘inclusive practice’, followed by a discussion of the reforms and an outline of the effects that are expected in the classroom practices of teachers in schools.     

The impact of inclusive education reforms on students with disability: an international comparison

ABSTRACT

When the Salamanca Statement called upon States to recognise the ‘necessity and urgency’ of providing students with a disability access to the regular education system (UNESCO 1994, viii), both Australia and the United States of America had existing legislative and policy documents articulating the rights of students with a disability to access regular education. Since that time both countries have clarified and amended their respective laws and policies, and signed the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UN 2006) which urges States to reallocate resourcing to inclusive education, and to reduce segregation. In this article, I examine the policy reforms in each country and analyse aggregated and disaggregated student placement data within each context to consider the impact of these reforms for different groups of students. Results show that the different reform journeys in each context produced different outcomes for students in each country, with segregation increasing in Australia and decreasing in the USA. The results also suggest that the impact of these policies has not been proportionate across categories as students on the Autism Spectrum are more likely to experience educational segregation or exclusion in both countries.     

The pedagogical limitations of inclusive education

Abstract

The aim of this article is to contribute to a better conceptual and practical delimitation of inclusive education. A pedagogy that reacts to the need to face the dilemmas of difference. An interpretive and critical methodology with a documentary basis and a normative-pedagogical perspective is used. The results show a tension between theoretical approaches and the practical achievements of inclusive education. The article concludes by considering the position that if the most basic definition of education is essentially inherently inclusive, as it aims to foster the maximum development of everyone, then for the same reason it must also essentially be differentiating. This is precisely because the limits of inclusive education are in recognising and promoting excellence in difference, while the limits of differentiated education lie in recognising and promoting inclusion.     

Social justice and technocracy: tracing the narratives of inclusive education in the USA

ABSTRACT

Over the past two decades, the percentage of American students with disabilities educated in general classrooms with their nondisabled peers has risen by approximately 50%. This gradual but steady policy shift has been driven by two distinct narratives of organisational change. The social justice narrative espouses principles of equality and caring across human differences. The narrative of technocracy creates top-down, administrative pressure through hierarchical systems based on quantitative performance data. This article examines these two primary policy narratives of inclusive education in the USA, exploring the conceptual features of each and initiating an analysis of their application in the public schools.     

Reclaiming teacher intellectualism through and for inclusive education

Inclusive education, understood as a pedagogical commitment to schooling experiences that value diversity and promote equitable participation for all students, has not been broadly taken up in practice in the United States. Much of the research in this field suggests that teachers’ attitudes towards inclusive education are the primary barrier to its successful spread and enactment. With this study, a year-long multiple case study design, I sought to understand how those teachers who do pursue inclusivity sustain themselves and their inclusive work in a national discourse that does not systemically value inclusivity. I found that schools worked as deskilling spaces; that enacting inclusivity was a tool for teachers to navigate these exclusionary climates and reclaim an intellectual self; and that an intellectual community was a key support for teachers to enact inclusive practices and in some cases even supported the reclaiming of the school as an intellectual space. These findings suggest that inclusive education can be thought of and enacted as a form of a resistance to audit culture, but that to do so requires ‘strategic transgression’ often in the form of flexible pedagogies. Additionally, providing teachers with an intellectual community and supporting them to navigate an exclusionary climate may be essential for the individual sustainability of enacting these practices have the potential to contribute to the spread of inclusive education.     

Variables affecting teachers' attitudes towards inclusive education in Bangladesh

Inclusive education is a worldwide reform strategy intended to include students with different abilities in mainstream regular schools. Evidence from previous research shows that success in implementing effective inclusive teaching practices in the school is contingent on teachers' positive attitudes towards inclusive education. This study was conducted in the context of primary education in Bangladesh aiming to examine variables influencing teachers' attitudes towards inclusion of students with disabilities in regular classrooms. Data for the study was collected from 738 teachers working in 293 government primary schools in Bangladesh. The results indicated that perceived school support for inclusive teaching practices and a range of demographic variables including previous success in teaching students with disabilities and contact with a student with a disability were associated with more positive attitudes of the teachers towards the inclusive education. The results are discussed with possible implications for educators, policy‐makers and international organisations working on the implementation of inclusive education.     

Local special education administrators’ understanding of inclusive education in China

China's inclusive education initiative began in mid-1980s under the name of “Learning in Regular Classrooms”. The purpose of this research is to examine how Chinese Local Special Education Administrators understand the ideology of inclusive education and LRC model by using a qualitative investigation. The results indicate that the Chinese inclusion is driven by pragmatic needs to enroll more children with disabilities who were denied education into schools, and LRC has been practiced in a different social and cultural context from inclusive education initiative in the West. The authors conclude that China should make generalised changes in the whole education system and society to bring greater opportunities to those with disabilities.     

Parental perspectives and challenges in inclusive education in Singapore

Relatively little work has focused on inclusive education in Singapore. This study examines the experiences and perceptions of parents whose children with disabilities are attending mainstream secondary schools in Singapore. Data was drawn from interviews with 13 parents of children with mild disabilities. Our findings reveal that parental perspective on inclusive education in Singapore is not only about classroom support but also reflects a deeper concern about whether their children with disabilities will emerge from school as contributing individuals in society. While parents strive to effectively include their children with disabilities in mainstream classrooms, there were dichotomies in their (1) understanding of disabilities, (2) expectations of school support, and (3) expectations for their child with disabilities. Given that academic and social prowess is a critical prerequisite to have a shot at entering the meritocratic Singapore society, the tension parents experience is to gauge a reasonable amount of pressure to exert on their children, the school and themselves as they assert their children's educational entitlements within an imperfect but evolving state of inclusion.     

Civic learning outcomes: a step towards an inclusive higher education

An inclusive education goes beyond the acquisition of discipline knowledge or skills. Inclusion is concerned with the participation and integration of all students (regardless of their intrinsic characteristics), helping them to develop civic competences. Civic and democratic values, equality and social justice became critical dimensions in this broader concept of education. This paper argues that the incorporation of civic dimensions, such as civic knowledge, civic skills or civic values in academic curricula could be an effective step towards more inclusive education. Specifically, this work intends to explore what civic dimensions are emphasised as a learning outcome in Portuguese higher education programmes. Adopting a qualitative methodology, typologies and incidence of civic learning outcomes were analysed and compared across three academic levels (first, second and third study cycles). The results provide a better understanding of what civic dimensions are stressed by institutions. All types of civic learning outcomes have been reinforced, defining civic values, civic skills and civic knowledge as expectable learning results. Both civic values and skills are well represented while civic knowledge is the less mentioned category. The enforcement of such civic dimensions is a valuable approach to enhancing education as a collective societal endeavour and as a common good.     

International inspiration and national aspirations: inclusive education in Portugal

ABSTRACT

This article critically analyses the recent developments and changes towards Inclusive Education in Portugal, through a policy analysis that includes the last three legislative frameworks. These policies will be analysed within their cultural and historical context, to explore the similarities and differences in the conceptualisations of diversity and inclusion; and the influence of international policies in the national policies that regulate the Portuguese schools’ role in ensuring education for all. The 2018 policies aim to ensure that all students, regardless of their personal and social situation, have access and participate in an inclusive school, which aligns with the Salamanca Statement and Framework for Action (1994).     

Looking in the mirror: reflecting on 25 years of inclusive education in Australia

ABSTRACT

Australia was an early signatory to the Salamanca Statement, and it espouses inclusive education (IE) as the overarching philosophy of education for all. A 2015 critique of IE in Australia [Anderson and Boyle 2015. “Inclusive Education in Australia: Rhetoric, Reality and the Road Ahead.” Support for Learning 30 (1): 4–22. doi:10.1111/1467-9604.12074] found that while some gains had been made, particularly in the recognition of the needs of some of the nation's minority groups, the lack of a nationally accepted understanding of IE meant that it was transpiring in fundamentally distinctive ways across the eight education jurisdictions, with different outcomes for different groups of students. This paper reflects upon why Australia has struggled to enact the recommendations outlined in the Salamanca Statement a quarter of a century ago. The impacts of current education reforms, including the current model of educational provision, the understanding of disability and educational need, and the neo-liberal concepts of standardisation, measurement, and choice are explored. It challenges the idea that IE is the work of schools, and instead argues the need for a national approach to IE. Governments must acknowledge the barriers that their current policies and structures erect and shift towards a more inclusive model of educational delivery – for the benefit of all children and young people in Australia.     

How inclusion became exclusion: policy,teachers and inclusive education

ABSTRACT

It is almost two decades since a concept of inclusion as selective segregation was proposed as an alternative to the concept of full inclusion and inclusive education was reconfigured as providing children with varied educational settings in order to meet their needs. A version of this model of inclusive education subsequently gained political traction in England where the issue of segregated or mainstream provision is now constructed as a matter of parental choice and child voice. Meanwhile, the implications of this latest model of inclusive education for teachers and schools in a rapidly changing wider educational landscape have largely been ignored or reduced to a question of training. This paper explores how the inclusive education landscape has changed in England in recent years, charting recent key developments in areas such as policy, statutory guidance and teacher training, with particular reference to teacher workload and the positioning of teachers within political and polemical educational discourse.     

Teachers' attitudes and self-efficacy on implementing inclusive education in Japan and Finland: A comparative study using multi-group structural equation modelling

This study aims to explore relationships between teachers' attitudes, self-efficacy, and background variables regarding inclusive education by using a sample of 359 Japanese and 872 Finnish teachers. A multi-group structural equation modelling was conducted to find similarities and differences in how the background variables predict teachers' attitudes and self-efficacy. Experience in teaching students with disabilities had a positive effect on teachers' attitudes and self-efficacy in both countries. However, teachers' teaching career and the amount of inclusive education training affected them differently in Japan and Finland. The findings could be used to improve inclusive education training for pre- and in-service teachers.     

Trends in inclusive education at regional and interregional levels: issues and challenges

The UNESCO International Bureau of Education (IBE), through the Community of Practice (COP) in Curriculum Development, organized eight Regional Preparatory Workshops on Inclusive Education in 2007. These workshops had the overall goal of initiating a participatory, consultative process in order to highlight key issues and challenges regarding inclusive education, to be presented at the 48th session of the International Conference of Education (ICE) 2008. Each preparatory regional workshop centred on four sub-themes around which the IBE Council has proposed to articulate the 48th ICE: Approaches, Scope and Content; Public Policies; Systems, Links and Transitions; Learners and Teachers. In the framework of conceptual dimensions of inclusive education, and the sub-themes of ICE 2008, this article identifies trends across regions within the ICE sub-themes and highlights points for future debate on inclusive education.

Beijing in-service teachers' self-efficacy and attitudes towards inclusive education

Four-hundred-and-fifty-one in-service teachers from the Beijing municipality filled in a questionnaire containing a Teacher Efficacy for Inclusive Practices (TEIP) scale. The aim was to examine the factor structure of the TEIP scale among mainland Chinese in-service teachers, and to investigate the relationship between self-efficacy for inclusive practices, respondents' background factors and attitude towards inclusive education. The TEIP scale and its three sub-scales had good reliability. Confirmatory factor analysis gave support to a structure of three self-efficacy factors, efficacy in using inclusive instructions, efficacy in collaboration, and efficacy in managing behaviour.     

Analysing support in inclusive education systems – a comparison of inclusive school development in Iceland and Canada since the 1980s focusing on policy and in-school support

ABSTRACT

This paper compares the systems of support in inclusive education in Canadian and Icelandic schools. The rationale for comparing these two support systems is grounded in the idea that they were developed in two countries with a long tradition of inclusive school development. They shifted the responsibility and the necessity of support for all learners towards the regular school, as it is embedded in the Salamanca Statement. The comparison is based on research findings from two comprehensive qualitative studies on inclusive education (Óskarsdóttir 2017. “Constructing Support as Inclusive Practice: A Self-Study.” Doctoral Thesis University of Iceland, Reykjavík; Koepfer 2013. Inclusion in Canada. Bad Heilbrunn: Klinkhardt) and is focused on the role of support as an integral part of inclusive practices. A system of support can be considered an inevitable pillar of inclusive education, in order to remove barriers, to enable participation in educational and social activities and to ensure equitable access to learning. Although the organisation and implementation of support is contextualised and bound in different historical and political frameworks, this international comparison shows that both countries – with all its ambivalences and conflictual settings – emphasise a human-rights based understanding of inclusion. They on a cultural transformation process of schools to implement support for all pupils.     

Attitudes of Teachers Towards Inclusive Education in Finland

ABSTRACT

Positive teacher attitudes are essential for success when children with special educational needs (SEN) are placed into mainstream classrooms. The present study surveyed teachers’ attitudes towards inclusion by using a large national sample and Teachers’ Attitudes towards Inclusion Scale (TAIS). A total of 1,764 Finnish basic-school teachers participated in the e-mail survey. They included 824 classroom teachers, 575 subject teachers and 365 special-education teachers. The classroom teachers scored below and the subject teachers significantly below, the neutral midpoint of the scale. The special-education teachers’ mean scores were above the midpoint. About 20% of teachers were strong opponents of inclusion, and 8% were strong advocates. The attitudes towards inclusion had only weak associations with variables other than the teacher category. Teachers’ work orientation and self-efficacy had low associations with their attitudes towards inclusion. The results illustrate the attitudinal climate of teachers towards inclusion and indicate the existing potential for policy change.     

The inclusion of inclusive education in international development: Lessons from Papua New Guinea

A new ‘inclusive’ curriculum has been introduced in Papua New Guinea, with significant levels of support from a bilateral development agency. The curriculum is inclusive in the sense that it is designed to meet the diverse, complex, and ever-changing needs of students. Research indicates the curriculum has been shaped by various influences, most particularly Western educational ideology. Research in remote rural schools revealed that stakeholders were unable and unwilling to adopt many of the precepts of the new curriculum. Broader analysis indicates that this is likely to be the case elsewhere in PNG. In the light of these findings, it is proposed that international development agencies (IDAs), if they wish to effectively promote inclusive education, should become more ‘inclusive’ organisations – in the sense that they should adopt more responsive and participatory approaches in low income countries.     

Perceived efficacy of teachers in Macao and their alacrity to engage with inclusive education

ABSTRACT

This paper reports findings of a mixed methods study examining private school teachers’ perceptions of efficacy in dealing with the challenges presented by inclusive education in Macao. This is highly pertinent after the Government invited consultation to propose changes to amendments of the Decree Law of 1996 concerning the education of students with Special Education Needs (SEN) which will likely see private schools being required to accept these students in the future. Within the context of teacher preparedness for inclusive education, the study found that a number of teachers felt that they were not at all prepared to teach students with SEN. Whilst some teachers suggested that they lacked skills and knowledge in teaching in inclusive classrooms, some felt overwhelmed with the challenges. The teachers proposed that they would need to know how to provide instructional adaptations and modifications to support students with SEN. Implications for continuous development of teacher training and education are discussed within the context of improving teacher efficacy and how private school teachers could better respond to the challenges of inclusive education in Macao.