School Inclusion in Iceland


Book Description

This book describes the recent and current changes taking place in the small Nordic welfare state of Iceland. The author takes the reader into the school system, the movement to integrate students with special and psychological difficulties into general schools and the pattern of inclusive schooling where Iceland -- along with other Nordic countries -- has gone far. For those who are interested in the changes which have taken place in relation to disabled people this is a remarkable story that provides a wealth of data and insights from an author well placed in terms of her teaching, research and personal experiences. This book tells the story of Benedict (and that of his mother -- the author) and is the remarkable experience of a young man, typical in many ways but unusual in others. He does not speak, he suffers from insignificant impairments -- both intellectual and physical-and needs support twenty four hours a day. This is Benedict's and Dora's experience. Readers cannot fail to be moved, perhaps to tears, by this life story.




Learning Spaces for Inclusion and Social Justice


Book Description

This edited volume emanates from a Nordic research project which was conducted in Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden in 2013-2015. The main objective of the project was to draw lessons from success stories of individual immigrant students and whole school communities at different levels that have succeeded in developing learning contexts that are equitable and socially just, thus turning attention to good practices and what can be learnt from these. The book presents and discusses the main findings of the Learning Spaces project on the three school levels—pre-, compulsory and upper secondary—and contains chapters on research methodologies applied in the project, relevant educational policies, leadership and implementation of the project. While set in the Nordic context, this volume will serve to contribute to current global discussions around diversity and social justice in education. It will primarily appeal to educational practitioners and academics interested in issues of diversity in schools.




Measuring Inclusive Education


Book Description

Volume 3 of International Perspectives on Inclusive Education focuses on measuring inclusive education from a range of perspectives. It is grounded upon a review of international conceptualizations of inclusive education and ways in which different systems are measuring its impact and effectiveness.




Education, Equity and Inclusion


Book Description

This open access book provides a current view on education, equity and inclusion within the lens of education for a sustainable North. The first book published by the University of the Arctic Thematic Network for Teacher Education for Social Justice and Diversity (Including the North: A comparative study of the policies on inclusion and equity in the circumpolar North, 2019) highlighted policies of inclusion and equity in education in national and regional contexts. This new book explores in more depth the provision of education across the north, focusing on challenges and innovations in meeting the needs of diverse learners in remote and rapidly changing contexts. While many texts address issues of equity, inclusion and diversity, they are almost all focused on the global South, and miss the lessons that can be learned from Northern regions. This book offers an extended essay on teaching and learning through various perspectives and experiences with the aim of creating a more sustainable North. It is structured around two main themes: 1) Supporting Teachers for Diversity and Inclusion in the Classroom including consideration of language and identity issues, 2) Engendering community solutions to structural and geographical challenges in education in the circumpolar north.




Inclusion and Special Needs Education for Immigrant Students in the Nordic Countries


Book Description

Inclusion for immigrant students with special educational needs (SEN) is a neglected area of research. This edited volume addresses this problem, providing up-to-date insights into the provided support and special needs education (SNE) for immigrant students in different contexts of the Nordic countries. This important book explores the diversity of student experiences, addressing both compulsory schools and vocational education, and examines how different Nordic countries conceptualise and approach support and SNE for immigrant students. Readers will get an opportunity to read various studies that address gaps in the realisation of inclusion and special need education. This book initiates a dialogue on generating new knowledge, approaches, and methods to expand the flexibility necessary to implement a fully inclusive education. The book offers research that includes strong theoretical and practical frameworks, interviews, interventions, assessments, case studies as well as offers future directions for inclusive and special needs education. By exploring the process of inclusion and special needs education in the Nordic countries, this book is an essential read for those who intend to deepen their understanding and to enact inclusion, and the development of special needs education for immigrant students.




The Space of Inclusive Education


Book Description

Known as the breadbasket of Europe, Ukraine, presently being in the center of international concerns and hopes, shows new dimensions of dignity and determination for which it may be called the school of the world. This collection of texts on inclusion of persons with special educational needs and disabilities from international and Ukrainian scholars was mostly written before the biggest war in Europe since WWII. This volume is the first book for the English reading public on Ukraine’s view on inclusive education. It is always useful to start from the backgrounds and witness the future development. Contributors are: Natalia Andriichuk, Tetyana Blyznyuk, Olena Budnyk, Inna Chervinska, Olga Derkachova, Iryna Dubkovetska, Stephanie Fitzgerald, Kateryna Fomin, Clayton E. Keller, Karolina Kołodziejczak, Mykhaylo Kotyk, Donald F. Lavin, Jr., Zoriana Leniv, Nataliia Matveieva, Kelly Ann Merchant, Mykhailo Palahniuk, Katarzyna Smoter, Armineh Soorenian, Lidia Sydoriv, Sergiy Sydoriv, Olha Telna, Oksana Tytun, Hryhorii Vasianovych and Anna Ziętek.




Space, Education, and Inclusion


Book Description

This timely, edited volume brings together interdisciplinary perspectives on space and spatiality in inclusive education discourses. With research from an international range of scholars, the book explores the intersections, boundaries, and intermediary spaces of inclusion and exclusion within educational contexts. It advances thinking in inclusive education research and links discourses of the spatial turn in inclusive education with a call for thinking spatially. Instead of defining one spatial approach as the overarching framework for analysis, it considers the potential of combining spatial approaches from diverse disciplines, including social sciences, educational science, and geography. The book systematically identifies and links the relations between a diversity of spatial theoretical perspectives and phenomena of inclusion/exclusion. This volume provides invaluable, transdisciplinary readings and reflections on space and spatiality in inclusive education, and will be highly relevant for academics, researchers and postgraduate students in the fields of inclusive education, educational theory and the sociology of education.




Icelandic Studies on Diversity and Social Justice in Education


Book Description

The educational systems of the Nordic countries are based on a common set of fundamental values, such as democracy, social justice and inclusion. However, when it comes to the treatment of diversity, especially in education, many issues remain unresolved. This edited volume presents Icelandic research on the challenges and opportunities of diversity in education at several levels, including preschool, primary, secondary, vocational and higher education in Iceland. The chapters shed light on school experiences of students and parents of immigrant or refugee background and their teachers, and explore attitudes and values of young people with regards to diversity, human rights and multicultural society. This book also addresses the issues of the professional development of teachers and inclusive practices, and will primarily appeal to classroom teachers and academics, teacher education students, social educators, and education policy makers. While set in the Icelandic context, this volume will serve to contribute to current global discussions on diversity and social justice in education.







New Voices from Iceland


Book Description

This book presents a study of the perspectives and experiences of 36 disabled young adults, some of their parents, teachers and friends, on coming of age as a disabled person in Iceland. The young people of the study belong to the first generation of disabled children and youth to grow up with normalisation and inclusion in school and society as the law of the land. The aim is to describe, explore and interpret the social construction of disabled adulthood within culture and society, and to describe how inclusive and exclusionary processes within families, school and society, impact young disabled persons' claims to adulthood. The study is located within disability studies, and within a social constructivist, interpretative framework, involving interviews and document analysis. This volume focuses on the emergence of young disabled adulthood and on how families, general or segregated special education and special or generic support systems and relationships impact that process. The lesson learned form this book apply to the disabled everywhere.