Martyn Rouse

Effective Inclusive Schools: A Study in Two Countries.

Abstract Over the past several years a number of constituencies in the USA and the UK have advocated for the concept of the inclusive school as the placement of choice for students with disabilities. Such a school offers appropriate educational opportunities to all students regardless of type or severity of disability or difficulty. To determine the characteristic features of such a school, two separate studies of inclusive educational practices were undertaken in locations that shared a commitment to inclusive education but differed geographically and culturally. The first study focused on the implementation of a statewide policy on inclusion in a rural state in the USA. The second study was conducted in a densely populated London Borough also committed to inclusive education. Both studies utilised interviews with key personnel and observations of innovative practice. Results suggest that effective inclusive schools are diverse problem solving organisations and that there are different ways of achieving ...

Preparing teachers for inclusive and diverse educational environments: studying curricular reform in an initial teacher education course

Inclusive education is based on the principle that local schools should provide for all children and young people regardless of any perceived social, emotional, cultural intellectual or linguistic difference or disability. This paper identifies key concepts associated with inclusive education and discusses them in relation to issues in the reform of teacher education. It argues that the reform of teacher education for inclusive education is an important activity in improving educational equity. It presents the study design and some early findings of an innovative research and development project, the Inclusive Practice Project, based in the School of Education at the University of Aberdeen in Scotland.

Inclusive Practice in English Secondary Schools: Lessons learned

This paper considers how some secondary schools in England have been able to respond to the conflicting demands of school improvement policies, as measured by high academic standards and the inclusion of pupils with special educational needs. It begins with a discussion of the context in which all English schools are currently operating and a summary of the extent to which research on school effectiveness and school improvement has influenced research on inclusion and vice versa. Key findings from our work in secondary schools committed to inclusion are presented and discussed in light of teacher, subject department and whole school responses to pupil diversity. The paper concludes with a conceptualisation of inclusive schools as those that meet the dual criteria of enrolling a diverse student population and improving academic standards for all.

Inclusive education in the market‐place

For many, the concept of inclusive schools is seen as the logical development of a more tolerant and accepting society. Recent debates about inclusion have centred on the rights of children with disabilities to attend mainstream schools and the ways in which schools must change to make this a reality. At the same time, a competitive climate, brought about by a ‘new orthodoxy’ of educational reform in the developed world, is affecting the context in which schools are working. There has been a shift from policies based on equity, social progress and altruism to new laws underpinned by the philosophy of the market‐place. In such a climate, students with special educational needs are particularly vulnerable. This paper explores some of the issues that are emerging in England and Wales as policies designed to extend the concept of inclusive education are affected by the market‐place philosophies that have driven recent reforms.

Cross-Cultural Perspectives on the Classification of Children With Disabilities Part II. Implementing Classification Systems in Schools

This article is the second in a 2-part synthesis of an international comparative seminar on the classification of children with disabilities. In this article, the authors discuss classification frameworks used in identifying children for the purpose of providing special education and related services. The authors summarize 7 papers that addressed aspects of disability classification in educational systems in the United States and the United Kingdom. They discuss current policies for determining which children receive special education services, the origins and evolution of these policies, and current dilemmas and challenges associated with classification schemes and the provision of special education. The authors also describe emerging data and possible models and practices that might be used in educational systems. They conclude with the recognition that both formal and informal educational classification systems will continue to be required within a system that must address the competing priorities of individual needs and the broader social and community goals of education. However, as was argued in the previous article, by understanding the mix of intentions that underpin these policies, as well as periodically reviewing the norms that underlie them, it may be possible to move classification to descriptors that can be used to efficiently and effectively define educational needs and distribute resources.

Inclusion and achievement: student achievement in secondary schools with higher and lower proportions of pupils designated as having special educational needs

This paper reports on a multi‐method study that examined the effects of including higher and lower proportions of students designated as having special educational needs on student achievement in secondary schools. It explores some of the issues involved in conducting such research and considers the extent to which newly available national data in England can be helpful in answering questions about inclusion and achievement. Questions pertaining to the effects of provision on achievement are discussed within a school reform agenda that emphasizes high academic standards, competition between schools and the identification of pupils with special educational needs.

Attitudes to diversity: a cross‐cultural study of education students in Spain, England and the United States

This study explores the beliefs and attitudes that university students enrolled in teacher education programmes in Spain, England and the US (Texas) hold about individuals who differ. A beliefs and attitudes toward difference scale (BATD) was constructed using nine dimensions of diversity; culture, language, socioeconomic status/social class, religion, gender, sexual orientation, political ideology, disability and special talent. A two‐way factorial analysis of variance indicated significant main effects due to the respondent groups on culture, religion and sexual orientation; significant main effects of worldview of difference on political ideology; and no interaction between the two factors on each of the nine domains of difference. An exploratory factor analysis was also performed in order to explore the viability of the theoretical model. The data suggest that attitudes towards people who differ include etic, emic and individual properties. These are discussed in terms of the uses of cross‐cultural data and further research opportunities.

Special Education Today in the United Kingdom

Abstract This chapter aims to provide a critical analysis of special needs education within the United Kingdom today. Central to such an analysis is an understanding of the rapidly changing social and political milieu within which special needs education is embedded, including the rapidly changing demographics of schooling, and the devolution of political power into four separate but linked countries – England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. Following a discussion of such wider social, political and educational issues, the authors explore the convergences and divergences in policy and practice across the four devolved administrations. The authors describe a plethora of contemporary policy developments within each of the four administrations that speak to the need for special needs education to change in response to 21st century concerns about the problems of access to, and equity in, education for all children. Despite this, the authors remain extremely circumspect about the potential of many of these developments to lead to successful inclusive practices and developments on the ground – and explain why. The analysis in the concluding section focuses on the issue of teacher education for inclusion and some very innovate UK research and development projects that have been reported to successfully engage teachers with new paradigm thinking and practice in the field of inclusive special needs education.