The authors present the results of a longitudinal study of Polish teachers' opinions on selected assumptions and organizational solutions forming the basis of inclusive education before and after the arrival of many migrant students in connection with the war in Ukraine. The main aim of the research is to find out the opinions of Polish teachers working in mainstream schools and preschools on selected assumptions and organisational solutions underlying inclusive education and to examine these opinions in relation to selected demographic traits of teachers. An important aim is also to identify the opinions studied in a temporal perspective, which will make it possible to capture the changes in the acceptance of selected theoretical and organisational assumptions underlying inclusive education. The research was conducted on a group of Polish teachers, but the findings can be applied to other countries.

This handbook provides foundational, conceptual, and practical knowledge and understanding of inclusive education and special needs education. It highlights the need for preparing special educators and teachers for inclusive classrooms to effectively cater to the needs of students with diverse needs in various low-, middle-, and high-income countries globally. It demonstrates various evidence-based and practice-based strategies required to create classrooms inclusive of diverse learners. While tracing the historical trajectory of the foundational underpinnings, philosophical bases, and crucial issues associated with inclusive education, this book presents a future roadmap and pathways through case instances and in-depth discussions to share with educators how they can strengthen their bases and make learning more inclusive in their context. It also provides an overview of the different models of assessment and their applications in the analysis of children in inclusive classroom settings. Comprehensive, accessible, and nuanced, this handbook will be of immense interest and benefit to teachers, educators, special educators, students, scholars, and researchers in the areas of social inclusion, education, special needs education, educational psychology, technology for inclusion, disability studies, among other related disciplines. It will be extremely beneficial for academicians, teacher educators, special educators, and those interested in professional teacher training courses.

Teachers must be prepared to create an effective learning environment for both general education students and students with special needs. This can be accomplished by equipping teachers with the proper knowledge and strategies. Preparing Pre-Service Teachers for the Inclusive Classroom discusses the latest approaches, skills, and methodologies on how to support special needs students. Highlighting relevant perspectives on technology implementation, curriculum development, and instructional design, this book is an ideal reference source for pre-service teachers, teacher educators, researchers, professionals, and academics in the education field.

Now in its Second Edition, this seminal handbook offers a comprehensive exploration of how students with disabilities might be provided classrooms and schools that are both inclusive and effective. With an enhanced focus on the elementary level, this new edition provides readers with a richer, more holistic understanding of how inclusive settings operate in K-5, featuring expanded chapters on principal engagement, teacher preparation, district-level support, school-based improvement practices, and more. Fully revised and updated to reflect changes in the field, each chapter synthesizes the research, explores if and how this knowledge is currently used in schools, and addresses the implications for practice and directions for future research.

This book will be of interest to undergraduates, postgraduates and researchers in disability studies, childhood studies, medicine and health sciences, and sociology. It also provides insights that will be of use and value to professionals working with disabled children and adolescents in education, health and in disability-specific services. Opening with four narratives that offer the reader a window into the lived experience of disabled children, adolescents and their families, subsequent chapters explore a range of issues facing disabled children from early childhood through to late adolescence. Topics include family life, early intervention, inclusive and post-secondary education, the right to play, digital participation, the effects of labelling and matters relating to agency and sexuality. With chapters discussing research from Australia, Canada, Ireland, Italy, Malta, Mexico, New Zealand, Sweden and the UK amongst others, this book: • contributes to the existing body of knowledge about the lives of disabled children and adolescents, with a focus on socially created disabling factors; • provides the reader with analysis of issues affecting disabled children and adolescents according to different conceptual frameworks, national contexts and with regard to different types of impairments/disabilities; • highlights the main issues that confront disabled children and adolescents, their families and their allies in the early twenty-first century; • highlights the importance of actively listening to the perspectives of disabled children and adolescents. It provides a rich source of knowledge and information about the lives of disabled children and adolescents, and a variety of perspectives on how their lives are affected by material and non-material factors, social structures and cultural constructions.

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.

This edited book considers the main issues and controversies within the current educational context of inclusive education, from an international perspective. Authorities in the field such as Norwich, Kauffman, and Boyle, amongst many other international scholars, provide an enticing insight into many of the issues and controversies around inclusive education, and whether it is achievable or not. We have reached a point in time where inclusive education has been the prevailing doctrine for universal education policies. However, there are still many challenges facing those working within the inclusive education space, with some countries actually becoming less inclusive. International and national legislation has continued to move towards inclusive education, yet there seems to be many gaps between the philosophy and the principles of inclusive education and systemic practice. The book aims to address the current debates surrounding the implementation of inclusive education, and also offers insights into the inconsistencies between policies and practices in inclusive environments. Moreover, it analyzes contemporary research evidence on the effectiveness of inclusion and identify directions for future research. Contributors are: Kelly-Ann Allen, Dimitris Anastasiou, Joanna Anderson, Adrian Ashman, Jeanmarie Badar, Christopher Boyle, Jonathan M. Campbell, Heather Craig, Leire Darretxe, Julian Elliott, Zuriñe Gaintza, Betty A. Hallenbeck, Divya Jindal-Snape, Marguerite Jones, James M. Kauffman, George Koutsouris, Fraser Lauchlan, Gerry Mac Ruairc, Sofia Mavropoulou, Daniel Mays, Brahm Norwich, Angela Page, Kirsten S. Railey, and Federico R. Waitoller.

Teacher beliefs play a fundamental role in the education landscape. Nevertheless, most educational researchers only allude to teacher beliefs as part of a study on other subjects. This book fills a necessary gap by identifying the importance of research on teacher beliefs and providing a comprehensive overview of the topic. It provides novices and experts alike a single volume with which to understand a complex research landscape. Including a review of the historical foundations of the field, this book identifies current research trends, and summarizes the current knowledge base regarding teachers’ specific beliefs about content, instruction, students, and learning. For its innumerable applications within the field, this handbook is a necessity for anyone interested in educational research.

There has been considerable interest internationally in how research can be effectively translated to have an impact on practice in schools. The application of evidence informed approaches in the field of education is contested and debated. Such debates are intensified in relation to the issue of how best to include children with diverse learning needs in the classroom. The role of knowledge, science and evidence in how we both conceptualize and best support children with special educational needs and other forms of diversity in the classroom, remains an open question in terms of booth policy and practice. Although there is a considerable and growing body of literature on evidence informed practice in education in general, there has been less attention paid to its implications for the domain of educational inclusion specifically. However, tensions between differing conceptualisations of difference and the role of categorisation present questions as yet not fully answered as to the ways in which evidence can and should articulate with practice in this specific domain. For example, issues of what is inclusion, the place of norms and values that define inclusion, how we conceptualize and think about difference, across culture, language and cognition, are raised when we think about the application of evidence to practice in the area of educational inclusion.

Inclusive education presupposes an all-inclusive approach where all learners are taught in regular classrooms, regardless of background, disability or social context. While there has been much debate, indications are that inclusive education has been gaining momentum. The book is divided into six coherent sections that address the how of inclusive education both inside and outside of the classroom.