This volume focuses on inquiry into inclusive education from the perspective of scholarly influences in the field of practice and research. A group of key international researchers in the field of inclusive education have each contributed a chapter about a piece of scholarship they believe has influenced inquiry in the field, as a whole.

Is it possible to meet all the needs of a widely diverse group of children in one class? Based upon the author's own research into this question, this new book invites readers to compare teachers' accounts of their best lessons and provides useful discussion and viewpoints about inclusive pedagogy in a variety of learning contexts. Inclusive Pedagogy in the Early Years covers: structured and signposted case studies to encourage comparison examples of children's work to demonstrate how they responded to lessons.

Students with severe disabilities comprise 2 percent of the population of learners who are impacted by intellectual, communicative, social, emotional, physical, sensory and medical issues. Increasingly, however, teachers are required to meet the challenges of creating a pedagogical balance between an individual student's strengths, needs and preferences, and core academic curricula. The need to embrace the current initiative of curriculum state standards in the debate of curricula relevance, breadth, balance and depth for students with severe disabilities is not just timely-it contributes to the evolving debate of what constitutes an appropriate curriculum for severely disabled learners. Curricula for Students with Severe Disabilities supports the development of greater understandings of the role that state curriculum standards play in the pedagogical decision-making for students with severe intellectual disabilities. The book first discusses the nature and needs of these students, the curriculum for this group of learners and the recent contributions of state curriculum standards, before presenting narratives of real classrooms, teachers and students who have meaningfully integrated state curriculum standards at the kindergarten, elementary and high school levels.

Students with severe disabilities comprise 2 percent of the population of learners who are impacted by intellectual, communicative, social, emotional, physical, sensory and medical issues. Increasingly, however, teachers are required to meet the challenges of creating a pedagogical balance between an individual student's strengths, needs and preferences, and core academic curricula. The need to embrace the current initiative of curriculum state standards in the debate of curricula relevance, breadth, balance and depth for students with severe disabilities is not just timely-it contributes to the evolving debate of what constitutes an appropriate curriculum for severely disabled learners. Curricula for Students with Severe Disabilities supports the development of greater understandings of the role that state curriculum standards play in the pedagogical decision-making for students with severe intellectual disabilities. The book first discusses the nature and needs of these students, the curriculum for this group of learners and the recent contributions of state curriculum standards, before presenting narratives of real classrooms, teachers and students who have meaningfully integrated state curriculum standards at the kindergarten, elementary and high school levels.

In recent years, the concept of teachers as researchers in both special and mainstream school settings has become part of our everyday language. Whilst many educational practitioners will see the need for research within their setting, many may not be familiar with the technical elements they believe are required. Creating Meaningful Inquiry in Inclusive Classrooms shows how practitioners can engage in a wide range of educational research and explores its value to the practice of teaching and learning. It introduces the Accessible Research Cycle (ARC), an understandable and meaningful framework for classroom and school-based inquiry for educators. This supports practitioner inquiry and validates the role of the practitioner as both practitioner and researcher. The book offers guidance to practitioners on how to use the ARC using familiar language with accompanying illustrative examples from inquiry carried out in special educational settings. It promotes meaningful participation within the inquiry process for all students. As the learner population in all schools is changing and becoming more complex, the role of practitioners in exploring evidence-based educational solutions to meet the educational entitlement of children is essential. In supporting a research informed profession within education, this book will empower practitioners to become the agents of change, helping them to become reflective, strategic, investigative and inquiring practitioners.

Is it possible to meet all the needs of a widely diverse group of children in one class?

Based upon the author's own research into this question, this new book invites readers to compare teachers' accounts of their best lessons and provides useful discussion and viewpoints about inclusive pedagogy in a variety of learning contexts.

Inclusive Pedagogy in the Early Years covers:

• structured and signposted case studies to encourage comparison
• examples of children's work to demonstrate how they responded to lessons.

The Routledge Companion to Severe, Profound and Multiple Learning Difficulties is a timely and rich resource with contributions from writing teams of acknowledged experts providing a balance of both academic and practitioner perspectives. The book covers a myriad of topics and themes and has the core purpose of informing and supporting everyone who is interested in improving the quality of education and support for children and young adults with severe, profound and multiple learning difficulties and their families. Each chapter contains careful presentations and analyses of the findings from influential research and its practical applications and the book is a treasure chest of experiences, suggestions and ideas from practitioners that will be invaluable for many years to come. The chapters include many vignettes gathered from practitioners in the field and are written specifically to be rigorous yet accessible. The contributors cover topics related to the rights and needs of children and young adults from 0-25 years, crucial features of high quality education, characteristics of integrated provision and effective and sensitive working with families to ensure the best possible outcomes for their children. Crucially, the voice of the learners themselves shines through. Historical provision that has had an impact on developing services and modern legislation aimed at improving provision and services are also discussed. The contributed chapters are organised into six themed parts: Provision for learners with SLD/PMLD. Involving stakeholders. Priorities for meeting the personal and social needs of learners. Developing the curriculum. Strategies for supporting teaching and learning. Towards a new understanding of education for learners with SLD/PMLD. This text is an essential read for students on courses and staff working in and with the whole range of educational settings catering for children and young adults with severe, profound and multiple learning difficulties, not just for teachers but also for support staff, speech and language therapists, physiotherapists, psychologists, nurses, social workers and other specialists.

This fascinating text offers a compelling argument for the need to include insider perspectives of disability in teacher education programs, in order to enrich professional understandings and shed light on the reality of living with a disability. With contributions from a highly experienced team of authors from a wide range of educational settings, Bringing Insider Perspectives into Inclusive Teacher Learning includes case studies and research projects on how teacher educators gather, interpret and integrate insider perspectives into teacher education programs, along with practical strategies as to how educators can develop programs more sensitive to the experiences of 'insiders'. Questions addressed include: How do teacher educator researchers gather insider perspectives? What are some of the barriers and challenges involved? What critical experiences and lessons can be learned from teacher educators who have integrated insider perspectives? How can insider perspectives bring about a more meaningful inclusion of students with disabilities? Offering a range of different methodologies to engage students, parents, teachers, school leaders and teacher educators, this thought-provoking book provides practical ideas about how insider perspectives can enhance teacher learning and support greater inclusive practices in schools. This text will be useful to university lecturers, teachers and education specialists, as well as students of educational studies and ITE courses from foundation degree level through to undergraduate and postgraduate study.

The journey towards inclusive education and collaborative practices in different countries is complex and interdependent within each unique geopolitical landscape. Instructional Collaboration in International Inclusive Education Contexts looks at the instructional collaboration between special education and general education in international educational contexts and the role this plays in enabling inclusive education. This book provides insights into how collaborative practices are enacted in support of inclusive education in different countries around the world. Presenting a theoretical framework of instructional collaboration to provide an understanding of the commonalities, differences, and challenges of collaboration internationally. Scholars from thirteen nations each contribute towards the implementation of instructional collaborative practices and highlight how instructional collaboration is developed from teacher preparation programs, describing how this is implemented in schools to provide insight of the social and political considerations that impact on the promotion of inclusive education in the context of their country. Instructional Collaboration in International Inclusive Education Contexts is essential reading for researchers and professionals with a focus on inclusive and special education.

In recent years, the concept of teachers as researchers in both special and mainstream school settings has become part of our everyday language. Whilst many educational practitioners will see the need for research within their setting, many may not be familiar with the technical elements they believe are required.

Creating Meaningful Inquiry in Inclusive Classrooms shows how practitioners can engage in a wide range of educational research and explores its value to the practice of teaching and learning. It introduces the Accessible Research Cycle (ARC), an understandable and meaningful framework for classroom and school-based inquiry for educators. This supports practitioner inquiry and validates the role of the practitioner as both practitioner and researcher. The book offers guidance to practitioners on how to use the ARC using familiar language with accompanying illustrative examples from inquiry carried out in special educational settings. It promotes meaningful participation within the inquiry process for all students.

As the learner population in all schools is changing and becoming more complex, the role of practitioners in exploring evidence-based educational solutions to meet the educational entitlement of children is essential. In supporting a research informed profession within education, this book will empower practitioners to become the agents of change, helping them to become reflective, strategic, investigative and inquiring practitioners.

The Routledge Companion to Severe, Profound and Multiple Learning Difficulties is a timely and rich resource with contributions from writing teams of acknowledged experts providing a balance of both academic and practitioner perspectives. The book covers a myriad of topics and themes and has the core purpose of informing and supporting everyone who is interested in improving the quality of education and support for children and young adults with severe, profound and multiple learning difficulties and their families. Each chapter contains careful presentations and analyses of the findings from influential research and its practical applications and the book is a treasure chest of experiences, suggestions and ideas from practitioners that will be invaluable for many years to come. The chapters include many vignettes gathered from practitioners in the field and are written specifically to be rigorous yet accessible. The contributors cover topics related to the rights and needs of children and young adults from 0-25 years, crucial features of high quality education, characteristics of integrated provision and effective and sensitive working with families to ensure the best possible outcomes for their children. Crucially, the voice of the learners themselves shines through. Historical provision that has had an impact on developing services and modern legislation aimed at improving provision and services are also discussed. The contributed chapters are organised into six themed parts: Provision for learners with SLD/PMLD. Involving stakeholders. Priorities for meeting the personal and social needs of learners. Developing the curriculum. Strategies for supporting teaching and learning. Towards a new understanding of education for learners with SLD/PMLD. This text is an essential read for students on courses and staff working in and with the whole range of educational settings catering for children and young adults with severe, profound and multiple learning difficulties, not just for teachers but also for support staff, speech and language therapists, physiotherapists, psychologists, nurses, social workers and other specialists.

This fascinating text offers a compelling argument for the need to include insider perspectives of disability in teacher education programs, in order to enrich professional understandings and shed light on the reality of living with a disability. With contributions from a highly experienced team of authors from a wide range of educational settings, Bringing Insider Perspectives into Inclusive Teacher Learning includes case studies and research projects on how teacher educators gather, interpret and integrate insider perspectives into teacher education programs, along with practical strategies as to how educators can develop programs more sensitive to the experiences of 'insiders'. Questions addressed include: How do teacher educator researchers gather insider perspectives? What are some of the barriers and challenges involved? What critical experiences and lessons can be learned from teacher educators who have integrated insider perspectives? How can insider perspectives bring about a more meaningful inclusion of students with disabilities? Offering a range of different methodologies to engage students, parents, teachers, school leaders and teacher educators, this thought-provoking book provides practical ideas about how insider perspectives can enhance teacher learning and support greater inclusive practices in schools. This text will be useful to university lecturers, teachers and education specialists, as well as students of educational studies and ITE courses from foundation degree level through to undergraduate and postgraduate study.

No matter how many times you weigh a pig, all you learn is how much it weighs. If you want to learn something else, you need a different assessment. This sensible book demonstrates the power of classroom assessments to improve both teaching and learning. In clear, straightforward language, the authors explain how well-constructed assessments provide data that is essential to the development of learning opportunities for all students, regardless of their backgrounds. This is an insightful overview of a subject that has, until now, generated far more heat than light. With contributions from teachers and teacher educators, this pragmatic book features: a highly readable overview of a subject that is often over-complicated; concise chapters, illustrated with vignettes from real life in the classroom; directions for integrating assessment results, curriculum expectations, and individual student's learning needs; alternative approaches that have been proven to be useful in assessing the needs of a wide range of students; and, examples of successful collaborations among school staff, based on assessment results, in creating cultures that support teachers and learners.