In response to the growing international interest in inclusive education, this book examines its practices and issues in the Chinese context through case studies of two regular primary schools in mainland China where children with special needs are admitted. The main concerns of this book not only involve the inclusion of children with disabilities, but also those with special educational needs but without physical and sensory difficulties, such as children from socially and economically disadvantaged groups, children from diverse cultural and linguistic groups, and children alienated in classrooms. This book discusses these issues and challenges against the background of the existing educational system and policy, and identifies the barriers to their inclusion in current school education, such as lack of in-service training for teachers, limited involvement of local communities, big class size, and corporal punishment, etc. Academics and postgraduate students in the field of inclusive education, social education, and Chinese studies will find this book useful, as well as policy makers, school teachers, and administrators.

By adopting a comparative approach, this book investigates the philosophy, policy, practices, and challenges of inclusive education in the Chinese contexts, recognizing influences of Chinese culture, such as Confucianism, collectivism, and familism. In the 1980s, the Chinese government promoted a policy named “Learning in Regular Classroom” to ensure educational rights for children with disabilities, which subsequently turned into an inclusive education program in the western sense. Starting from this point, the policy and practice of inclusive education have developed tremendously. To facilitate reflection and future development, this is the latest and most comprehensive attempt at understanding the status quo of inclusive education in China from a variety of perspectives: from early childhood to higher education, from family to schools and communities, from peers to teachers and parents. It also analyzed the unique Chinese philosophy of inclusive education, adding to current debates with a Chinese lens. This book will appeal to academics, students, and practitioners in disciplines such as education, early childhood studies, sociology, social work, social policy, disability studies, and youth studies.

Based on the fieldwork carried out at two elementary schools, Merits School and Pioneer School, in northeastern China, the monograph details how local schools enacted the New Mathematics Curriculum Reform that was launched in early 2000. The trajectory of the reform implementation at each school was plotted out. Both schools resorted to a long-standing quality control mechanism, i.e., teaching norms, to operationalize the reform ideas. The mechanism functioned by placing teachers under measurable supervision and evaluation aligned with the reform. The schools responded to the reform following school people’s raising practical concerns, as well as the established school culture. Merits School arrived at a "two-faced strategy" to cope with the reform. Pioneer School managed to maintain a balance between promoting reform pedagogy and maintaining good test rankings. Both schools marginally involved parents in the implementation of the reform. This study suggests that to achieve success, reformers need to place equal emphasis on the transformation of teachers as well as local policymakers. This book enriches the existing literature on the implementation of mathematics curriculum reform at the school level and brings insights into the schools’ implementation decisions, which will appeal to policymakers, curriculum researchers and administrators.

Focusing on the competence of teachers that underpins inclusive education seeking equal access to education for special needs children, this title examines teacher competence cultivation based on examples in China and excellent international experience. To give a clear picture of the context of inclusive education in China, the author first clarifies the relevant concepts and reviews the evolving policies and practices embodied in the “Learning in Regular Classrooms (LRC)” program. The study then constructs an analytical model of four key indicators that help evaluate the competence of teachers in inclusive education. Based on analysis of the influencing factors of teacher competence, the book elucidates how these factors work to determine teacher competence. Drawing on international experience, especially pre-service teacher cultivation in the US and in-service training in China, it introduces three major cultivation models and feasible suggestions and strategies to improve the competence of teachers in inclusion. This book will benefit researchers, professionals, and policymakers interested in inclusive education, special education, and teacher education.

Unique in its intergenerational approach to understanding motherhood in China, this book sets out to study Chinese mothers’ experiences of childrearing, emphasising that gender is not immutable and that motherhood is not isolated from other social domains. The author adopts an historical and sociological design with a case study approach to investigate three living generations of women from 12 families of varied social-economic backgrounds in China. By comparing three aspects of these mothers’ lives – namely the growing-up experiences, mothering experiences and intergenerational transmission between mothers and daughters – this research provides an invaluable opportunity to ‘observe’ how changing structural elements shaped mothers’ varied subjectivities similarly or differently. It also addresses the continuities of the women’s experiences, highlighting the gendered and devalued roles in childcare that existed across three generations, reflecting the complex dynamic relationship between women’s agency and China’s social structures. This is an essential read for researchers, students, professionals and practitioners in the fields of sociology of families, childhood and education, gender studies, motherhood/parenthood studies, narrative studies, social policy and development studies.

This volume explores innovative perspectives and practices regarding social inclusion of potentially marginalized individuals from multiple perspectives.

In the vast expanse of education, a pervasive issue remains in the marginalization and lack of visibility of individuals with disabilities. Despite a strong desire for inclusivity, recent research suggests that fewer than 5% of children with disabilities in 51 countries across sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia are enrolled in primary school. This exclusion is not solely in enrollment numbers; even those who manage to attend face learning environments ill-equipped to adapt to their needs, leading to further isolation. Girls with disabilities, in particular, endure heightened vulnerability to abuse, reflecting a systemic failure to provide an environment that fosters equality, dignity, and respect for all. The Handbook of Research on Inclusive and Accessible Education emerges as an inspiration for change, providing a profound solution to the persistent issue of exclusion. The book encapsulates a collective effort to reimagine education. It advocates for a paradigm shift—moving away from the confinement of special schools and towards inclusive, mainstream settings. By addressing controversies, sharing successes, and outlining prospects, the book serves as a comprehensive guide for special school governing bodies, curriculum advisors, university lecturers, and all stakeholders committed to reshaping education.

As classrooms are becoming more diverse, teachers are now faced with the responsibility of creating an inclusive classroom community. As such, researching classroom pedagogies and practices is an imperative step in curriculum planning. The Handbook of Research on Classroom Diversity and Inclusive Education Practice is an authoritative reference source for the latest scholarly research on ways to effectively teach all students and further refine and strengthen school-wide inclusive pedagogy, methods, and policies. Featuring extensive coverage on a number of topics such as special education, online learning, and English language learners, this publication is ideally designed for professionals, educators, and policy makers seeking current research on methods that ensure all students have equal access to curricular content and the chance for growth and success.

A unique feature of Learning Diversity in the Chinese Classroom is its Chinese context for meeting the educational requirements of children with special needs. At a time when many of the currently available texts in the area have a general perspective, Asian teachers and students have long felt the need for a text that specifically recognizes the local context. Learning Diversity in the Chinese Classroom notes that international trends, including those in many Southeast Asian countries are moving toward inclusive education and special needs, and includes chapters on giftedness, counseling and behavior management. Section 1 of the book describes the context of inclusive education in Asia. Summaries of the special features of the classroom in the region, the conceptions of inclusion and cultural diversity from the perspective of the Asian classroom, and how these are different to the Western classroom are provided. Section 2 focuses on various approaches to meeting the educational and socio-emotional needs of children in the inclusive classroom. The first part is concerned with theoretical underpinnings of the type of need, and the second part describes examples of how a teacher can cater for this type of diversity according to subject, including mathematics, Chinese, English, information technology, and arts. Section 3 widens the perspective and describes a whole-school approach to meeting the educational requirements of children with special needs. A systems approach is taken, whereby the success of the inclusive school is dependent on the functioning of a number of interrelated parts. This section draws from recent case studies which describe the approaches taken by a number of schools that have been successful in implementing inclusive education. Learning Diversity in the Chinese Classroom will appeal to teachers, parents, health professionals who are working with children with special educational needs.

Using autobiographical accounts acquired from her extensive career in education, the author has explored the multi-faceted influences on teacher career motivation and professional development in special and inclusive education in China. The social realities faced by teachers in their professional lives in a city in China have been highlighted through comparison and contrast with those of their international peers. This is achieved through a comprehensive review of recent literature and an empirical study to encourage teacher voices with this regard.