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Since the passage of Public Law 94-142, federal law has prioritized the education of students with disabilities with their non-disabled peers in the context of the general education classroom. This chapter examines the progress, and often lack thereof, with regard to educating students with extensive and pervasive support needs in inclusive settings. We examine current trends in placement, factors that contribute to those placement practices, and what IDEA says about the education of students with extensive and pervasive support needs. We examine what the research suggests happens in substantially segregated settings and then, in contrast, examine impacts and outcomes for students with extensive and pervasive support needs who are educated in inclusive settings. We also examine trends resulting from changing paradigms of disability that provide new opportunities for re-invigorating efforts to educate students with extensive and pervasive support needs in inclusive classrooms.

With the move toward a more inclusive educational system across most jurisdictions, the expectation is that students with the most complex needs who have previously attended special schools, will gradually transition into inclusive schools. This expectation raises issues regarding the practicality of this move and the capacity of inclusive schools in being able to provide appropriate support and curriculum for these learners. Examples of transition programs across different countries are discussed to establish the most effective processes, support structures, and initiatives that have been employed to facilitate this transfer. The role of collaboration between schools and a review of support models that are provided for learners with high support needs in inclusive settings are discussed. Compared to the expectations for this move, and to understand the reality of it, perceptions of teachers, parents, and students are considered.

For teachers to fully enact pedagogy rooted in equity and inclusion, they must have access to purposeful systems and tools supporting proactive and collaborative planning built explicitly to center the needs of those historically denied full access to learning. This chapter takes on the historical injustices that have been perpetuated within public education in the United States since its inception and presents practical tools and systems (rooted in research and refined in the field) that can promote more equitable day-to-day teaching and learning in classrooms.

During the last 20 years inclusive practices in primary schools have been promoted by policies and worldwide organisations. Scholars confirm that school leaders have an essential role to play with direct impact on meeting children's needs and that there is a chronic deficiency of research on this issue. The purpose of this paper is to describe how strategic leadership roles implemented by head‐teachers can facilitate the implementation of inclusive policies in the school setting and present possible suggestions through the analysis of leadership theories and literature related to inclusion in primary schools.

The methodology this research employs includes a literature review that conceptualises the roles of leadership positions in inclusive settings. This is structured as an explanatory discourse, drawing on the notion of transformational and visionary leadership as the basis of strategic leadership, in order to identify the important role and strategies of leaders in a primary school setting.

The paper highlights the benefits of exploring the role of leaders in these schools. The paper assumes that organisations are complex structures and the analysis indicates that there is not one single exclusive way of implementing an effective role and that alternatives can be created by adapting a flexible framework. This framework is conceptualised by examples from institutions in which leaders have motivated the improvement of school quality by following the described strategic tools. The implications of this for leadership are that Strategic Intent seems to address the directions of the aims of inclusive leaders: it uses unique strategies and relies on the capability of leaders to encourage further dedication and involvement in the organisation's culture. It is suggested that the key components of this framework which will result in the school setting becoming more inclusive consist of: resource allocation, consistency, strategic planning and cultural considerations.

This paper introduces different strategies that can be explored by school leaders with the aim of being implemented in schools.

This paper has developed a framework to which leaders could adapt their own needs and it assists them in their decision‐making process.

Current global shifts in education towards inclusive early childhood education are deeply engineered by the crisis of educational exclusion. In responding to exclusion, teachers have mainly utilized dominant western theories to plan and implement inclusive teaching. In this chapter, we draw on a non-western philosophy, a Nichiren Buddhist (Soka) philosophy, to provide a ‘kaleidoscopic’ lens through which to create inclusive educational learning spaces that engender full participation of all children. The Soka education philosophy is a humanist concept which can guide teachers when preparing to create inclusive education. The aims of this chapter are threefold: The first is an exploration of the Nichiren Buddhist (Soka) philosophy. The second aim is to highlight how this philosophy can enable teachers to unleash the unlimited potential of children in inclusive learning settings. Thirdly, we argue that grounding early childhood teacher education in this philosophy can help improve the effectiveness of inclusive educational experience for all children.

Inclusion is of critical importance to creating healthier workplaces, if the ongoing dynamic of workforce diversity is taken for granted. The purpose of this paper is to designate the role of spiritual leadership in fostering more humane and inclusive workplaces.

The authors review the extant literature on two distinct research streams, inclusion and inclusive leadership, and spiritual leadership, elaborate a mediation model, identify antecedents and outcomes, and articulate a set of propositions reflecting key findings.

The authors advance a conceptual model according to which inclusive practices founded on spiritual values will mediate the positive relationship between spiritual leadership and a climate for inclusion. They argue that calling and membership as components of spiritual wellbeing will reinforce employees’ experience of both uniqueness and belongingness, thus affecting their perceptions of inclusion and inducing multi-level beneficial outcomes.

Spiritual leadership assumes a preeminent role in embracing and valuing diversity: it embodies a potential for positioning inclusive ideals more strategically, in view of enabling employees unfold their genuine selves and experience integration in work settings.

Spiritual leadership helps inclusive goals to be situated in their societal context; inclusion is thus viewed as both an organizational and societal good, embedded in social contexts, and pertinent to corporate vision, mission and philosophy.

The paper examines spiritual leadership as a predictor of climates for inclusion. Drawing on spiritual values, spiritual leaders display a strong potential for inclusion, facilitating diverse employees to experience feelings of both belongingness and uniqueness in work settings that assume high societal relevance.

The United Nation’s Convention of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in 2006 declared the need for countries to facilitate the right of individuals with disabilities to their full inclusion and participation within communities across the globe. The community clearly plays a necessary role in the overall preparation and quality of life of students with disabilities and their families. The present chapter will specifically address the role of the community within instructional programming and parent advocacy. First, the chapter discusses the importance of integrating community experiences within inclusive K-12 preparation for students with disabilities for the purpose of enhancing students’ postsecondary outcomes. Second, the chapter reviews the role of community organizations in supporting parental advocacy for effective inclusive programming while highlighting the work of two specific community agencies. These sections are followed by concluding comments emphasizing the role of schools and community-based organizations in supporting inclusive education, community-based instruction, and family advocacy for students with disabilities.

Inclusive education is about creating beneficial environments for all students (Booth & Ainscow, 2011). Within Germany, the role of special education within inclusive schools has been widely discussed (Powell et al., 2016). Educators worldwide consider collaborative teaching between special educators and general educators to be a fundamental precondition for inclusive education (Hoppey & McLeskey, 2014).

The history of the German school system, however, is characterized by a rigorous division of special and regular schools that is reflective of broad divisions in teacher education. Since the ratification of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) in Germany in 2009, more students with special educational needs, as well as special educators, have begun to attend and work in inclusive schools. While cooperation between general and special educators is a key to the development of inclusive schools, many teachers report that responsibilities are divided between special and general teachers, while various challenges exist regarding cooperation (Urban & Lütje-Klose, 2014). Nevertheless, dysfunctional cooperation can foster mechanisms of separation and exclusion even in “inclusive” settings (Idel et al., 2019).

The present chapter offers a reflection on the different roles of special educators and the current state of research on interdisciplinary and multiprofessional cooperation in inclusive schools in Germany. It also provides a discussion of relevant implications for the development of inclusive schools and teacher training.

This chapter focuses on the special education system of education in Poland since the transformation of the political system in the late 1980s. The move from segregated settings toward more integrated settings for students with low-incidence disabilities is described along with the new structure of special education identification and classroom settings. Current strategies and support for students with high-incidence disabilities in Poland who are placed in general education and special education are discussed. Ideas on how to improve the existing system are outlined and solutions are presented. Overall, the implementation of educational reforms brought about positive changes in educational settings for most students identified with special needs in Poland. Due to this emphasis on inclusion, more students with high-incidence disabilities have the chance to succeed in integrated schools with adequate support.

This chapter is divided into three main sections. The first section entails an overview of service-learning. Specifically, this section provides an understanding of what service-learning involves, its central components, and its place and value within both higher education and K-12 education. A key consideration stemming from this section is that well-designed service-learning programs have a significant impact on the development of pre-service teachers while at the same time benefiting community partners. The second section reviews the concept of inclusive education. In particular, a working definition of inclusive education is proffered along with ways in which inclusive education is implemented in practice. An important consideration is the development of attitudes and knowledge for inclusive education in both pre-service and in-service teacher training. The third section explores the symbiosis between service-learning and inclusive education. The point being made is that service-learning experiences provide a viable and practical way for people to engage with children and adults who live on the margins of society. This point is especially apposite, as given research suggests that many teachers, especially in Western countries, originate from a middle-class, female population (Grant & Sleeter, 2009), which may prevent interaction with diverse populations. The chapter concludes with the understanding that service-learning has the capacity to engender a greater sense of empathy and appreciation in pre-service teachers that education is an inclusive enterprise.