Originally published in 1991. This edited work consists of contributions from practitioners in the field of school improvement, development and advisory work. It is to help advisory and support personnel understand the process of school improvement and to explore the management and development of this work in the context of changes brought about by legislation. The book is for those who are concerned with developing the educational experiences for all children through improving schools. This includes teachers and all those with advisory roles: inspectors, advisers, advisory teachers, educational psychologists, curriculum development officers and external consultants.

This book is about how special education policy and practice is being negotiated within the context of educational reform in two countries. The political climate of recent years in both Britain and the USA led to many changes along similar lines, with a move towards placing greater power and choice in the hands of those individuals with special educational needs. Each chapter provides an overview and comparative analysis of the origins and evolution of specific educational reforms in the USA and the UK. The themes explored include: providing parents with greater choice decentralising decision making making the whole curriculum available to all accountability funding the necessary changes.

**Winner of the nasen Special Educational Needs Academic Book award 2008** There is an enduring and widespread perception amongst policy makers and practitioners that certain groups of children, in particular those who find learning difficult, have a detrimental effect on the achievement of other children. Challenging this basic assumption, Achievement and Inclusion in Schools argues that high levels of inclusion can be entirely compatible with high levels of achievement and that combining the two is not only possible but essential if all children are to have the opportunity to participate fully in education. Packed with vivid case studies that explore the benefits and tensions for children and schools, this book sets out to answer the following questions: What is the nature of the relationship between the inclusion of some children and the achievement of all? Are there strategies which can raise the achievement of all children, whilst safeguarding the inclusion of others who are more vulnerable? What changes can a school make to ensure high levels of inclusion as well as high levels of achievement for all its children? Achievement and Inclusion in Schools offers an up-to-date analysis of current issues, provides practical guidance for practitioners and policy-makers, and will be of interest to anyone passionate about inclusive education.

**Winner of the nasen Special Educational Needs Academic Book award 2008** There is an enduring and widespread perception amongst policy makers and practitioners that certain groups of children, in particular those who find learning difficult, have a detrimental effect on the achievement of other children. Challenging this basic assumption, Achievement and Inclusion in Schools argues that high levels of inclusion can be entirely compatible with high levels of achievement and that combining the two is not only possible but essential if all children are to have the opportunity to participate fully in education. Packed with vivid case studies that explore the benefits and tensions for children and schools, this book sets out to answer the following questions: What is the nature of the relationship between the inclusion of some children and the achievement of all? Are there strategies which can raise the achievement of all children, whilst safeguarding the inclusion of others who are more vulnerable? What changes can a school make to ensure high levels of inclusion as well as high levels of achievement for all its children? Achievement and Inclusion in Schools offers an up-to-date analysis of current issues, provides practical guidance for practitioners and policy-makers, and will be of interest to anyone passionate about inclusive education.

Originally published in 1991. This edited work consists of contributions from practitioners in the field of school improvement, development and advisory work. It is to help advisory and support personnel understand the process of school improvement and to explore the management and development of this work in the context of changes brought about by legislation. The book is for those who are concerned with developing the educational experiences for all children through improving schools. This includes teachers and all those with advisory roles: inspectors, advisers, advisory teachers, educational psychologists, curriculum development officers and external consultants.

Contents:
1.Introduction: the Struggles for Reform Margaret McLaughlin and Martyn Rouse 2.Defining Difference: a Comparative Perspective on Legal and Policy Issues in Education Reform and Special Educational Needs Lani Florian and Diana Pullin 3.Standards and Curriculum: the Core of Educational Reform Margaret J. McLaughlin and Christina Tilstone 4.National Assessment and Special Education in the United States and England and Wales: Towards a Common System for All? Martyn Rouse, James G. Shriner and Lou Danielson 5.Educational Accountability and Students with Disabilities in the United States and in England and Wales Judy Sebba, Martha L. Thurlow and Margaret Goertz 6.Special Educational Needs Policy and Choice: Tensions Between Policy Development in the US and UK Contexts Cheryl Lange and Sheila Riddell 7.The Dying Governance of Education and Its Comparative Impact on Special Education in the United Kingdom and the United States Jennifer Evans and Michael M. Gerber 8.Funding of Special Education in the United States and England and Wales Tony Bowers and Tom Parrish

Thoroughly updated to reflect the challenges of diversity in today's schools, this new edition of Achievement and Inclusion in Schools shows how high levels of inclusion can be entirely compatible with high levels of achievement and that combining the two is not only possible but also essential if all students are to have the opportunity to participate fully in education. Each chapter has been fully revised to reflect an understanding of inclusion as being concerned with the learning and participation of everyone in a changing education policy context. Based on new case study research, this edition sets out to answer the following questions: Are there strategies which can raise the achievement of all students, while safeguarding the inclusion of others who are more vulnerable? How can schools ensure high levels of inclusion as well as high levels of achievement for everyone? How might research into these matters be carried out? With new case studies in this second edition that reflect the devolution of education policy in the four countries of the UK, this book addresses concerns about how schools can respond to differences between learners without marginalising some of them. It offers guidance to practitioners as well as those undertaking research on this important topic.

Thoroughly updated to reflect the challenges of diversity in today's schools, this new edition of Achievement and Inclusion in Schools shows how high levels of inclusion can be entirely compatible with high levels of achievement and that combining the two is not only possible but also essential if all students are to have the opportunity to participate fully in education. Each chapter has been fully revised to reflect an understanding of inclusion as being concerned with the learning and participation of everyone in a changing education policy context. Based on new case study research, this edition sets out to answer the following questions: Are there strategies which can raise the achievement of all students, while safeguarding the inclusion of others who are more vulnerable? How can schools ensure high levels of inclusion as well as high levels of achievement for everyone? How might research into these matters be carried out? With new case studies in this second edition that reflect the devolution of education policy in the four countries of the UK, this book addresses concerns about how schools can respond to differences between learners without marginalising some of them. It offers guidance to practitioners as well as those undertaking research on this important topic.

Contains six case studies that address issues of inclusive education or social inclusion in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan. The cases raise a number of questions relating to the purpose and nature of schooling, about who should have access to schools and how such access might be negotiated. These cases also ask questions about the respective roles of policy, parents, civic society, advocacy groups, professionals, NGOs, and government agencies; how notions of disability are constructed in the region; in which way does the Soviet legacy of "defectology" still inform policy and practice today.