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Regarding the implementation of public policies focused on teacher education, it can be noted that in recent years the Brazilian Federal Government has intensified its proposal for programs focused on initial teacher training. Since 2007 in Brazil, the Institutional Scholarship for Teaching Initiation Program (PIBID) has become a public policy organization focused on teacher education. Through analyzing the implementation of these projects approved in the PIBID environment, it is possible to note that different activities have been developed in the university-school partnerships and that these joint actions supply a multiplicity of collaborative experiences. The main contribution that the PIBID performs for future teachers is that of conceiving a different educational space, which considers the school as a locus of teacher learning. Through this partnership, future teachers can experience a period understood as “pre-teaching,” during which it is possible to project themselves into their future teaching profession, experiencing their dilemmas, challenges, and successes. We can also single out the involvement of the teachers in the partner schools in the development of research into their own practices and the movement of universities in (re)thinking their teacher training courses.

Few people with special educational needs (SEN) had access to higher education in Brazil until the 1980s, mainly due to their lack of access to basic education and a lack of specific public policies for this population. It was only in 2003 that the Brazilian government implemented strategies for the dissemination of the factors referring to inclusive education. The objective was one of the support for the transformation of educational systems into inclusive educational systems. As these policies are recent; few studies have been carried out in Brazil. According to Brazilian statistical data, the number of enrollments connected to special education in regular basic education classes, in 2015, was almost 751,000 students, while in higher education in diverse graduation courses the number was 38,000. In this sense, this chapter aims to unveil and discuss Brazilian public policies for the access and permanence of SEN students in higher education. Reflections will also be presented related to the evolution of the number of enrollments of students with specific SEN (visual, physical, hearing, and intellectual) in basic and higher education, as well as the implementation of public policies focused on this population in a Brazilian context.

The chapters in this book focus on how higher education can cultivate and promote a more inclusive and equitable environment in higher education, especially with regard to gender diversity as well as those non-conforming, non-heteronormative groups. The chapters in this volume cover the broad picture/context of diversity in various countries as well as a specific focus on gender. The chapters discuss the factors relating to inclusion and equity, what is driving campuses to be more inclusive, and practical steps and case studies that higher education institutions can implement to create more inclusive and equitable learning environments. Finally, this volume discusses the need for inclusive leadership which involves building institutional capacity for inclusion and creating the right conditions under which inclusion and equity can grow and thrive and crafting policies and practices whose end result is to create a culture of inclusion.

The chapters in this volume focus on how university partnerships for pre-service and teacher development apply novel ideas to improve teacher quality in global communities. The purpose of these programs is to improve education systems for all participants. Case studies in this volume present a broad and in-depth review of partnerships that apply novel ideas to transform organizations. This chapter provides an overview to this volume by discussing important elements of teacher quality by defining teacher quality characteristics, shared collaboration, and providing ideas for professional development agendas.