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1 – 10 of over 2000
Book part
Publication date: 4 February 2015

Penny Lacey and Jeanette Scull

There has been a policy for including pupils with severe, profound and multiple learning difficulties in mainstream schools in England since the 1980s. However, effective…

Abstract

There has been a policy for including pupils with severe, profound and multiple learning difficulties in mainstream schools in England since the 1980s. However, effective inclusive education has proved to be very difficult to achieve in practice. Currently, there is a mixed economy of special and mainstream schools offering inclusive education, and we argue that the place of education is less important than the quality of that education. Ideally, pupils with S/PMLD would be educated in their own local communities, alongside their non-disabled peers, but this situation is not yet established in English schools.

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Including Learners with Low-Incidence Disabilities
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78441-250-0

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Book part
Publication date: 3 February 2015

Ester de Jong and Katherine Barko-Alva

Teachers’ ability to identify and link content and language objectives is an important skill. This chapter explores how two-way immersion (TWI) teachers with a mainstream educator…

Abstract

Teachers’ ability to identify and link content and language objectives is an important skill. This chapter explores how two-way immersion (TWI) teachers with a mainstream educator negotiated the shift to becoming a language-focused TWI teacher. We argue that it cannot automatically be assumed that these teachers have the knowledge and skills to attend to language issues. Specifically, our study examined how TWI teachers in three schools defined academic language and how they integrated language development into their practice through the use of language objectives. Our qualitative study features a constructivist framework using a thematic analysis of our data, which consisted of individual interviews and surveys with the teachers. Our analysis shows diverse interpretations of academic language and increased awareness of the role of language in their teaching and experienced benefits of making language objectives explicit, as teachers participated in professional development. Selecting and designing specific language-supporting activities, however, continued to be a challenge. We conclude that professional development needs to consider teachers’ different understandings and awareness of the role of language in the classroom. We also note that taking on the role of a language teacher may require a significant shift in assumptions about teaching and learning for teachers with mainstream teacher preparation and experiences and may depend on instructional context.

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Research on Preparing Inservice Teachers to Work Effectively with Emergent Bilinguals
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78441-494-8

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Book part
Publication date: 2 August 2018

Laura Schall-Leckrone, Lucy Bunning and Maria da Conceicao Athanassiou

This chapter explores how TESOL teacher educators used self-study to respond to educational policies for emergent bilingual learners (BLs) and their teachers. The purpose was to…

Abstract

This chapter explores how TESOL teacher educators used self-study to respond to educational policies for emergent bilingual learners (BLs) and their teachers. The purpose was to examine tensions, challenges, and opportunities in our efforts as teacher educators to prepare teachers to teach BLs in mainstream classes through a state-mandated sheltered English instruction (SEI) course. Data sources, including emails, course artifacts, meeting agendas, and journals, pre and post surveys and course assignments were analyzed using mixed methods. Practitioners and participants agreed one SEI course is insufficient. In a coherent approach to preparing mainstream teachers to teach language, learning would be reinforced from coursework to the classroom. Without self-studies that provide an informed response to external policies that shape teacher education, the danger is new policies result in no substantive change.

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Self-Study of Language and Literacy Teacher Education Practices
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78754-538-0

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Open Access
Book part
Publication date: 10 August 2023

Charlot Cassar, Ida Oosterheert and Paulien C. Meijer

Controversial issues characterize life in democratic societies, and they often arise unexpectedly in the classroom, without being planned for by the teacher. However…

Abstract

Controversial issues characterize life in democratic societies, and they often arise unexpectedly in the classroom, without being planned for by the teacher. However, controversial issues are rarely addressed beyond a mandatory curriculum and are often avoided. The aim of this exploratory study is to investigate what teachers identify and address as unplanned controversial issues in the classroom and the content of such issues. Unplanned controversial issues identified fell into three categories (1) mainstream controversy, (2) teacher-initiated controversy, and (3) controversial pedagogy. The findings suggest that more attention needs to be paid, among other things, to the political dimension of education, teacher vulnerability, and who the person in teaching is.

Abstract

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Inclusive Education in South Africa and the Developing World
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78743-690-9

Book part
Publication date: 3 February 2015

Jason Goulah and Sonia W. Soltero

This chapter examines in-service teachers’ transformed perspectives and practices for educating emergent bilinguals resulting from graduate study in a bilingual education graduate…

Abstract

This chapter examines in-service teachers’ transformed perspectives and practices for educating emergent bilinguals resulting from graduate study in a bilingual education graduate program in Chicago. This examination is contextualized in consideration of emergent bilinguals relative to the changing face of P-12 classrooms and gaps in teacher education. Findings from autoethnographic and discourse analytic inquiry suggest that teacher preparation in bilingual education (1) prepared and empowered in-service teachers to meet the academic, social, and cultural-linguistic needs of emergent bilinguals in their classrooms and (2) fostered a conscious inner transformation in in-service teachers that resulted in new ways and purposes of interacting with emergent bilingual students, their families, and colleagues. Findings also suggest that although there is institutional progress in meeting emergent bilinguals’ needs, it is incremental and insufficient. There are three major deficiencies: (1) new and increased teacher education standards lack the required specialized coursework in the education of emergent bilinguals; (2) teacher preparation of emergent bilinguals is inadequate; and (3) teacher preparation programs resist requiring specialized coursework in teaching emergent bilinguals.

Book part
Publication date: 4 June 2019

Yuchen Wang and Lani Florian

Preventing and tackling bullying effectively are important agenda for schools to safeguard all children’s well-being, engagement and sense of belongingness. Children perceived to…

Abstract

Preventing and tackling bullying effectively are important agenda for schools to safeguard all children’s well-being, engagement and sense of belongingness. Children perceived to be different from their peers tend to have a higher risk of being bullied at school, in particular, children with disabilities. It can be challenging for teachers to stop bullying that targets children with disabilities. This chapter considers bullying as a barrier to ensuring inclusive and quality education for everyone. It draws on findings from an ethnographic study concerning the status of inclusion of children identified as having learning difficulties in mainstream schools in China, by listening to what children and teachers have to say (Wang, 2016). The study found that the child participants were subject to forms of bullying. They found it useful to gain support from others when bullying happened, and they showed empathy towards peers’ well-being. The teacher participants reflected on the dilemmas and challenges of dealing with bullying and were keen to share experiences about what they found helpful in addressing the issue. The chapter discusses how insights about bullying learned from children and teachers can be used to inform the enactment of inclusive pedagogy. It is concluded that an inclusive pedagogical response that recognizes every child’s voice is necessary for tackling bullying and co-creating an inclusive environment.

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Promoting Social Inclusion
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78769-524-5

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Book part
Publication date: 2 April 2015

Martin Scanlan and Rebecca Lowenhaupt

Demographic changes across the United States have led to dramatic shifts in the composition of public school enrollments. While these shifts are manifest across multiple…

Abstract

Demographic changes across the United States have led to dramatic shifts in the composition of public school enrollments. While these shifts are manifest across multiple dimensions of diversity, the influx of culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) students is particularly pronounced. As the numbers of CLD students rapidly grow across all geographic regions, from rural to suburban to urban, school leaders face the daunting responsibility of responding to ensure that these students receive equitable opportunities to learn. Some guiding principles for accomplishing this generalize across settings, yet ultimately this leadership needs to be context-specific. In this chapter we discuss these guiding principles and apply them narrowly to the context of medium and small urban districts. We argue that school leadership – particularly district and school administration – plays a crucial role in supporting the design and delivery of supports for CLD students and their families, who constitute a “new mainstream” in many of these settings.

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Leading Small and Mid-Sized Urban School Districts
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78441-818-2

Book part
Publication date: 7 December 2021

Zun Wai Oo and Norimune Kawai

Improvements in special education and the implementation of inclusive education are a significant focus in Myanmar. Legislation toward these goals was officially enacted in the…

Abstract

Improvements in special education and the implementation of inclusive education are a significant focus in Myanmar. Legislation toward these goals was officially enacted in the National Education Law, which was amended in 2015. While the Ministry of Education has adopted a policy of inclusive education, which states that all students with disabilities could attend mainstream school classes, classroom settings are not adequately equipped to support students with disabilities. The Department of Social Welfare does not have an inclusive education program. The department's role is to support the training of schools as a part of special education for such students, providing primary special education via different teaching methods and appropriate therapies for students with disabilities. After students pass the primary education exam, they can join middle school, high school, and higher education levels of inclusive education, which run under the Ministry of Education. All special schools in Myanmar focus their different occupational therapies on enhancing students' physical and mental capabilities and collaborating with outside professionals in relevant areas. The Ministry of Education aims to develop the knowledge and skills of teacher educators and teachers, so they can effectively adopt more inclusive teaching practices. Currently, Myanmar's basic education reforms are being carried out through the National Education Strategic Plan (2016–2021). The ministry is currently working to implement a new 4-year pre-service degree program as well as the Basic Education School Quality Assurance Standards Framework. Such a movement to enhance the quality of teachers became a bridge to collaborate between inclusive and special education within two ministries.

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Instructional Collaboration in International Inclusive Education Contexts
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-83982-999-4

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Book part
Publication date: 4 February 2008

Steven A. Schneider, Kirsten R. Daehler, Kristin Hershbell, Jody McCarthy, Jerome Shaw and Guillermo Solano-Flores

Creating something entirely new, something important, something for which there is no agreed upon “right way,” set model, or solid precedence is exciting – and, at times…

Abstract

Creating something entirely new, something important, something for which there is no agreed upon “right way,” set model, or solid precedence is exciting – and, at times, frustrating. Developing the Adolescence and Young Adulthood assessment for science teachers (AYA/S) of students aged 14 to 18+ for the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) is a case in point. This chapter describes our experiences as an Assessment Development Laboratory (ADL) and looks at some of the challenges inherent in developing a large-scale assessment that is complex, strives to be innovative, and must be closely aligned with a given set of standards. Some of the external challenges we faced included shifting and unclear expectations, the conflicting needs of multiple stakeholders and a deadline that was dramatically shortened midway through the process. Within the assessment development process itself we also needed to consider how best to involve teachers, address issues of equity and standardize the process to maximize efficiency. We share some stories to illustrate not only the challenges but also the insights gained and lessons learned during the early years if the project with the hope that they provide a useful historical perspective relevant for other large-scale assessment development projects.

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Assessing Teachers for Professional Certification: The First Decade of the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-0-7623-1055-5

1 – 10 of over 2000