Social Participation of Students with Special Educational Needs in Mainstream Education


Book Description

This book provides deep insight into the social situation of students with different kinds of special needs in various European countries. Research findings concerning students’ attitudes towards peers with disabilities, and teachers’ feedback on students’ social behaviour, are also presented. Full inclusion of students with special educational needs in mainstream education requires equity in each student’s chances for academic and social-emotional development, and their participation in society. In the context of inclusive education, it is important to take students’ social participation into consideration. Are students with special educational needs (SEN) accepted by their peers? Do they interact with their peers during breaks and classes? Do they have friends, or do they feel lonely in their class? This book seeks to answer such questions, seeing social participation as a crucial ingredient, as well as an outcome, of inclusive education. This topic is critical because many previous studies show students with SEN having a high risk of social exclusion. This volume will be of interest to everyone studying special needs education, especially those concerned with future improvement of social participation for all students. This book was originally published as a special issue of the European Journal of Special Needs Education. Chapter 1 is available Open Access at https://www.routledge.com/products/9780367209186.




Integrating Students with Disabilities in Schools


Book Description

This book explores the ability of the Norwegian school system to support the achievement of formal competencies among children with physical disabilities, as well as its role in the informal dimensions of social participation and networking. Schools contribute to social inclusion in several ways: they are arenas for building official competencies, ensuring future access and success in the labour market. They are also sites for meeting other children, and developing friendships – friendships are not only important for strengthening cognitive development, but are vital to both good mental health and the building of various forms of social capital. By examining schools and the ways in which inclusion is incorporated early, this book aims to bridge the opportunity and employment gap that people with physical disabilities are more likely to face later in life.




The Praeger International Handbook of Special Education


Book Description

This handbook provides a concise overview of special education services in countries across the world, using the Article on Education in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities as the analytical frame. The Praeger International Handbook of Special Education presents a concise and clear overview of special education services in more than 70 countries across the world using the Article on Education in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with disabilities as the analytical frame. Each chapter offers information about the country in general, followed by sections on the public education system, the private education system, the special education system, teacher training requirements, and barriers to and promising trends in inclusive and special education. The volumes and chapters are organized by the United Nations Geoscheme, with Volume 1 including an overview of the volumes and chapters on countries in the Americas, Volume 2 addressing countries from Europe and Africa, and Volume 3 focusing on countries in Asia and Oceania. This is the most complete exploration of the delivery of supports and services to children and youth with disabilities across the globe available. The volumes do not compare among or between countries, but rather provide a baseline for understanding current special education practices and their relationship with general education and inclusive practices across the globe. Readers will come away with an in-depth understanding of what is happening with regard to the implementation of special education services and Article 24 of the Convention for the Rights of People with Disabilities. This valuable reference set serves researchers, graduate students, and policymakers in special and general education as well as professionals focused on issues of education worldwide and scholars focused on international special education. As such, this handbook will be an important reference source for university libraries, professional associations, and policy entities.




Social Development in Childhood and Adolescence


Book Description

Edited by two leading scholars, Social Development in Childhood and Adolescence brings together the most significant classic and contemporary writings in this area to provide a comprehensive overview of this dynamic field. Provides all that is needed for teaching social development with the selection of key topics for a 13-week semester, an introductory chapter with an overview of the field and key questions, introductory text for each of 5 sections that contain 3 articles each for a total of 36 articles, with extra materials including discussion questions and classroom exercises Covers key topics such as genetics, temperament, attachment, prosocial development, theory of mind, peer relationships, morality, identity, social withdrawal, aggression, exclusion, stereotyping, parenting, and culture. Addresses issues related to culture, ethnicity, immigration, and diversity Provides a historical, conceptual, and theoretical overview of social development in the introductory chapter Includes introductory sections by the editors for each weekly topic which define key terms and highlights important conceptual issues Integrates helpful pedagogical material throughout: feature boxes highlight current hot topics and real-world applications; end-of-chapter questions, debate topics, and in-class exercises facilitate student understanding and classroom discussion




Achievement and Inclusion in Schools


Book Description

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.




Equity and Quality Dimensions in Educational Effectiveness


Book Description

This book aims to make a contribution to the theory, research and practice on quality and equity in education by providing a comprehensive overview of these two dimensions of educational effectiveness and proposing a methodological instrument that may be used to measure the contribution that each school can make to promoting equity. The importance of using this instrument is demonstrated by analysing results of various effectiveness studies conducted over the last decade. The book draws upon research across the world, especially research conducted in the Europe, the United States, and Australasia. It is shown that promoting equity has no negative effect on the promotion of quality. The importance of using this methodological instrument to identify factors that promote both quality and equity at different educational levels (i.e. teacher, school and educational system) is stressed. The book also demonstrates how we can measure stability and changes in the effectiveness status of schools over time in terms of fostering quality and equity. In addition it underlines the importance of identifying factors measuring changes in the effectiveness status of schools in terms of equity and points to the alternative strategies that can be used at school and system level. In our attempt to encourage the further development and use of this methodology for school improvement purposes, we demonstrate how experimental studies can be conducted to discover whether and under which conditions the proposed methodology can help schools promote both quality and equity. Finally, implications for school evaluation, research, educational policy and practice are drawn. In this way, the book contributes significantly to the debate on how quality and equity can be achieved and encourages policy-makers and practitioners not to view these two dimensions of effectiveness as being in competition with each other but as constituting the major objectives of any reform policy and/or improvement effort at school and/or national levels.




Cognitive Activation in the Mathematics Classroom and Professional Competence of Teachers


Book Description

This work reports the findings of the Professional Competence of Teachers, Cognitively Activating Instruction, and Development of Students ́ Mathematical Literacy project (COACTIV). COACTIV applies a broad, innovative conceptualization of teacher competence to examine how mathematics teachers’ knowledge, beliefs, motivational orientations, and self-regulation skills influence their instructional practice and teaching outcomes In this project data was collected on various aspects of teacher competence and classroom instruction from the perspective of both the teachers themselves and their students. Moreover, it gauges the effects of these teacher characteristics on student learning, as indexed by the progress students in each class. Questions addressed in the study which are reported in this volume include: What are the characteristics of successful teaching? What distinguishes teachers who succeed in their profession? How can the quality of instruction be improved?




Social Participation of Students with Special Educational Needs in Mainstream Education


Book Description

This book provides deep insight into the social situation of students with different kinds of special needs in various European countries. Research findings concerning students' attitudes towards peers with disabilities, and teachers' feedback on students' social behaviour, are also presented. Full inclusion of students with special educational needs in mainstream education requires equity in each student's chances for academic and social-emotional development, and their participation in society. In the context of inclusive education, it is important to take students' social participation into consideration. Are students with special educational needs (SEN) accepted by their peers? Do they interact with their peers during breaks and classes? Do they have friends, or do they feel lonely in their class? This book seeks to answer such questions, seeing social participation as a crucial ingredient, as well as an outcome, of inclusive education. This topic is critical because many previous studies show students with SEN having a high risk of social exclusion. This volume will be of interest to everyone studying special needs education, especially those concerned with future improvement of social participation for all students. This book was originally published as a special issue of the European Journal of Special Needs Education. Chapter 1 is available Open Access at https: //www.routledge.com/products/9780367209186.




Inclusive Education for the 21st Century


Book Description

Placing a student on the autism spectrum in a busy classroom with a pair of noise-cancelling headphones and an aide to deal with the inevitable meltdowns is often done in the name of 'inclusion', but this is integration and not inclusive. How can teachers and schools create genuinely inclusive classrooms that meet the needs of every student? Research evidence indicates the strategies that make schools inclusive for students with disability benefit all students. Yet many schools are still operating under twentieth-century models that disadvantage students, especially those with disability. Inclusive Education for the 21st Century provides a rigorous overview of the foundational principles of inclusive education, and the barriers to access and participation. It explores evidence-based strategies to support diverse learners, including specific changes in curriculum, pedagogy and assessment practices, and the use of data. It addresses the needs of children with physical, sensory and intellectual disabilities, as well as those with complex learning profiles, including mental health issues. With chapters from leading experts from Australia and the UK, Inclusive Education for the 21st Century addresses common issues in both primary and secondary schools. Underpinned throughout by research evidence, it is designed to assist educators to develop the deep knowledge required to make inclusive education a reality in all schools.