Teaching climate change adaptation to special education learners in Cebu

Introduction Climate change can no longer be ignored. It is globally recognised that the evidence for climate change is unequivocal and that action needs to be taken in order to address its negative effects. These effects, such as warmer and drier summers and more extreme rainfall, may threaten the quality of life of those living in urban environments. To limit these threats, a number of climate change adaptation measures can be taken to pre-empt the negative effects of climate change. The challenge of increasing the implementation of climate change adaptation measures is addressed in this thesis by engaging the construction sector while focusing on the housing stock that is owned and maintained by Dutch housing associations. By implementing climate change adaptation measures, dwellings will become more resilient to some of the effects of climate change, becoming less vulnerable for damage and ensuring the comfort, safety and quality of life of their occupants. Because housing associations are regarded as societal entrepreneurs, these are expected to use resources and commercial profits to achieve societal aims that are in the common interest, such as making timely adaptations, so that changing climatic conditions cannot threaten the quality of their dwellings. Moreover, there are relatively few housing associations compared to the number of houses they own and maintain. In 2012, there were 381 housing associations that owned and maintained a stock of 2.4 million dwellings, representing 32% of the total Dutch housing stock. This means that approaching the Dutch social rented sector was seen as an effective way of generating a greater societal impact. In the past decade, external influences such as the recent economic crisis and political pressure, have led housing associations to become more cost effective and to make changes in their organisational strategies, which has resulted in the adoption of more integrated project delivery methods, such as partnering. These integrated methods aim to involve the construction sector early in the development of plans so that they can contribute their expertise. This creates a more efficient construction and maintenance process and delivers dwellings of higher quality. The housing associations cannot pre-empt all the effects of climate change alone. For adaptation measures at the neighbourhood level, they are dependent on collaboration with other stakeholders such as municipalities, but there are measures that can be applied at the building level, which falls within their range of influence. An example is the application of lighter colours on building façades in order to reflect radiation and reduce the air temperature close to the façades. The hazards of overflowing sewage systems caused by extreme precipitation can be reduced by applying measures to retain water temporarily, such as ‘green roofs’ or to ensure effective drainage such as open pavements. These measures reduce the peak load on the sewage system. Another effective measure is the use of materials that are not negatively affected by water so that if, despite all the precautionary measures, flooding does occur, the consequences would be less severe. Problem formulation This research assesses the potential of adopting a partnering approach as a governance tool with which to increase the implementation of climate change adaptation measures like those described above. The housing stock owned by Dutch housing associations is taken as a case study. Involving the construction sector through a partnering approach is promising, since construction companies are the ones who carry out the works. Their early commitment reduces the risks of miscommunication or failure and enhances opportunities for innovative solutions. By doing this, not only do housing associations take responsibility for their actions, but the construction sector as a whole gains more responsibility for solving societal challenges and is enabled to co-create solutions that can then be disseminated more easily. The main research question is: How can partnering in construction increase the implementation of climate change adaptation measures in dwellings owned by Dutch housing associations? Research approach and results To formulate an answer to this research question, several separate studies were conducted. First, the characteristics of three types of governance were studied in a literature review, these being hierarchic, market and network governance. Based on these types of governance, many tools have been developed over time, but to increase the implementation of climate change adaptation measures in social housing, not all tools are equally successful, at least not from a theoretical point of view. To improve the implementation of measures, tools could be combined to create a more solid basis for action, and there is room for extra governance tools in the current palette. Based on the literature review on partnering, it was concluded that this could be classified as a combined ‘market’ and ‘network’ type of tool. The market aspect refers to the knowledge of climate change adaptation that is gained by the participating construction companies, which can imply a competitive advantage for them. The network aspect is closely linked to collaboration within a partnering approach. In other contexts, the partnering approach has been shown to remove the barriers of fragmentation in the construction sector; to provide for a more efficient and integral construction process, and to allow for the easier flow of knowledge on climate change adaptation. Next, the current state of knowledge among housing associations was studied with regard to climate change adaptation measures for the housing stock. A content analysis was conducted on the annual reports and policy plans of the 25 largest Dutch housing associations and revealed that they display no awareness of climate change adaptation in their policy documents. As such, they were categorised as ‘unaware’. However, this does not mean that the building stock is not being adapted to climate change, because in the annual reports they state that they have applied climate change adaptation measures, although they do not name these as such. This means that applying adaptation measures is neither impossible nor unrealistic, as long as they are not implemented solely for climate change adaptation purposes, but for other reasons as well, such as energy-efficiency. In contrast to the corporate policy documents, interviews with individual policy-makers showed that housing associations are aware of climate change at a global scale. However, in relation to climate change adaptation measures in their daily work, such as the impact of flooded streets and overheating interiors of dwellings, awareness is low. They could not name many threats or adaptation measures. However, once they had been made aware of the need for such measures, the employees were fairly well capable of assessing them, even though the implementation of measures was evaluated as unfeasible in most cases. The main reason provided was that the housing associations did not have policy guidelines in place for such adaptation measures. Moreover, in many cases there were financial and/or technical barriers that would have to be addressed first. There was a consensus among employees that all the measures would have a positive effect on the comfort of the dwellings. Partnering in construction can help to increase the implementation of adaptation measures because it can overcome many of these challenges. For this reason, the way that housing associations and construction companies carry out refurbishment projects in a partnering approach was also studied. The researcher participated in a knowledge exchange project in which housing associations and construction and maintenance companies had formed dyads and carried out a refurbishment project. They exchanged their experiences on a regular basis through interviews and plenary sessions. In the interviews, employees of housing associations and construction and maintenance companies were asked how they dealt with the success factors for partnering, which were derived from literature. These success factors were trust, leadership, partner capabilities, commitment, conflict resolution, coordination and communication. Although they did not address all these success factors equally well, the study showed that Dutch housing associations and construction and maintenance companies are indeed capable of carrying out housing refurbishment projects in a partnering approach. This allows for the selection of the construction process as a governance tool with which to implement climate change adaptation measures. These measures are considered new products that can be installed with the aim of improving the technical and functional quality of dwellings. In that sense, they are perceived as product innovations, with the dwellings being the ‘products’ and/or assets of the housing associations. This perspective corresponds with the definition1: “[An innovation is] a new idea that is implemented in a construction project with the intention of deriving additional benefits although there might have been associated risks and uncertainties. The new idea may refer to new design, technology, material component or construction method deployed in a project”. Subsequently, the employees of the housing associations and construction and maintenance companies were asked how they dealt with the implementation of innovations using surveys. Although several studies indicate that innovation can benefit when projects are based on an integrated construction process such as partnering, the current study concludes that partnering does not automatically lead to product innovation. Most of the respondents saw partnering itself as the innovative aspect of their projects – i.e. a process innovation. That process innovation required so much attention that there was less emphasis on opportunities for product innovations. This should be taken into account when developing governance tools to encourage the implementation of product innovations in dwellings such as climate change adaptation measures. Moreover, the choice of partnering as a project delivery method as a governance tool is less likely to resolve issues regarding policy, which remain a barrier for the implementation of measures. In addition, other parties can also become involved, to generate resources for the implementation of measures by housing associations. The adoption of partnering as a project delivery method is therefore not the only possible governance tool. To increase the implementation of climate change adaptation measures, two more conceptual approaches were developed by the researcher in addition to the initially hypothesised partnering approach. These additional conceptual approaches involved policy development by housing associations vis-à-vis climate change adaptation measures and collaboration with external actors who face the same challenges in order to enhance efficiency in solving these issues together. The feasibility of the three conceptual approaches was verified by means of a SWOT analysis performed with practitioners from housing associations and construction companies as well as external players such as water authorities, insurance companies and municipalities. The results of the SWOT analysis made it clear that single-pronged conceptual approaches are unlikely to be successful because they involve serious weaknesses or threats. A combination of conceptual approaches is much more likely to remove the barriers that obstruct the implementation of climate change adaptation measures. The conceptual approaches were therefore combined and renamed as implementation strategies. In on-line questionnaires carried out among all Dutch housing associations, it was assessed if the housing associations found it likely that these strategies would indeed lead to the implementation of climate change adaptation measures. In general, the respondents assessed the feasibility of all strategies as unlikely to neutral. There was no strategy that clearly stood out as more feasible for the implementation of climate change adaptation measures. However, a considerable number of housing associations assessed one or more implementation strategies positively and saw opportunities for the implementation of measures, albeit framed differently, such as measures to increase energy-efficiency or enhance comfort. Conclusion Based on the findings outlined above, the answer to the main research question is: Partnering in construction can increase the implementation of climate change adaptation measures in dwellings owned by housing associations, when it is understood as a catalyst for information-sharing and increased efficiency in the construction process. By looking for shared interests between housing associations and the construction sector, the chances of implementing adaptation measures increase. However, if other stakeholders are involved as well, and if housing associations embed climate change adaptation in their policy guidelines, the likelihood of implementation would increase even more. Although none of the implementation strategies stood out clearly as the strategy most likely to result in the implementation of climate change adaptation measures, a considerable number of housing associations assessed various implementation strategies positively. If the construction process becomes more network-based, which is the case when a partnering approach is adopted, many more parties can become involved and contribute to the implementation of climate change adaptation measures. In such a situation, it no longer matters who introduces the subject during the plan development and construction process, as long as it ends up there and action is taken. To implement these measures more easily, the framing is very important. Climate change adaptation is not enough reason in its own right to begin implementing measures. Insulation to prevent overheating in the summer is considered an ‘extra’ measure - the necessity of which is still questioned by policymakers, for example. However, if the same measure is framed as an energy-saving measure, it is also a cost-cutting measure, which increases the likelihood that policymakers will start making plans to implement it! Scientific implications of the results This thesis has contributed to the development of governance tools to increase the implementation of climate change adaptation measures in dwellings, while current adaptation strategies predominantly target the national or local levels of the built environment. Moreover, this thesis has examined the adoption of partnering as a project delivery method and a governance tool with which to bridge the theoretical fields of network governance and integrated construction and maintenance processes. It extends the palette of governance tools that traditionally consists of information tools, tools relating to the division of property rights, incentives and regulatory tools. It has proven that housing associations can successfully adopt partnering approaches. As such, partnering is a feasible approach by which to increase the implementation of innovative measures such as climate change adaptations. Practical implications The assessment of the five implementation strategies showed that adapting housing for climate change has a low priority as a separate policy field. It is a relatively new area for policymakers, so they may be reluctant to believe that measures are likely to be implemented. Moreover, many other topics may take a higher priority for them, such as improving energy-efficiency and thereby also the affordability of dwellings, and/or preparing the dwellings for an ageing population. In the literature on climate change adaptation, it is suggested that mainstreaming climate change adaptation is the best course, which implies attaching the adaptation policy to existing policy frameworks. This would make policymakers aware of the topic of climate change adaptation and they could look for synergies between measures that were already planned and measures related to climate change adaptations. The refurbishment and maintenance process of housing associations provides opportunities for the mainstreaming of adaptation measures. Housing associations are facing an ageing stock that needs to be improved if it is to continue to meet the ever increasing basic requirements of tenants in terms of quality and comfort and increasingly strict energy-efficiency standards. Since climate change is occurring gradually, there is still time to adapt the building stock gradually, in step with the renovation and maintenance cycles of the housing associations. Bringing in external players, especially municipalities and water authorities, would appear to be a highly feasible approach, given their shared interest in the quality of life in local areas. Bringing together the construction partners requires governance tools that inform them of the benefits of partnering. Particularly if construction companies are to be responsible for the renovation and the maintenance for the rest of the service life of the dwellings, they could focus on improved design solutions that aim to create resilient dwellings, and/or using materials that would be less affected by the effects of climate change. The role of tenants in the implementation of climate change adaptations is primarily that they might exert ‘bottom-up’ pressure by requesting action from housing associations. But for this to happen, they would likely need to be informed about the effects of climate change on their dwellings and/or neighbourhoods, in order for them to be motivated to ensure that their homes are climate change resilient.

The term children with special educational needs (SEN) refers to highly diverse populations of children with a wide range of physical, cognitive and socioemotional disabilities or difficulties as well as strengths and resources causing them to require varying degrees of special educational support and assistance (Squires, 2012; Vehmas, 2010; Wilson, 2002). Several studies document significant gender imbalances in the number of students who receive special educational support, and for most disability categories the prevalence is higher for boys (Skårbrevik, 2002). The reasons for these imbalances are likely complex, and it is beyond the scope of the present review to account for the hypotheses and findings associated with each disability category. However, a general hypothesis across different categories of special educational needs is the notion that special educational needs are more likely to remain undetected in girls as symptoms and problems in girls may be less visible to educators (Arms et al., 2008). Traditional special education consists of segregating students with special needs from mainstream students within separate and typically smaller classrooms or educational settings. However, as early as in the 1930s, a movement originally known as mainstreaming, and in more recent years as inclusion, has sought to bring an end to segregated placement as the preferred educational option for students with special needs (Carlberg & Kavale, 1980). In 1994, the idea of inclusive education became even more consolidated when the Salamanca Statement was adopted by representatives from 92 countries, resulting in an international shift in policy. This meant that far more students with special needs started entering general educational settings around the globe (Murawski & Lee Swanson, 2001; Ruijs & Peetsma, 2009). The terms inclusion, mainstreaming, integrated placement, and cross-categorical instruction all refer to educational settings with a group composition consisting of a mixture of students with and without special educational needs. In the present review, we have chosen to use the term inclusion to refer to general educational settings in which there is a mixture of students with and without special educational needs. Ideally, inclusion and inclusive education should be based on an educational approach in which the goal is to continuously address and respond to the diversity of needs of all learners through increasing participation and reducing exclusion within and from education. Inclusion thus may involve changes and modifications in content, approaches, structures and strategies, with a common vision which covers all children and a conviction that it is the responsibility of the regular system to educate all children. Inclusion emphasises the provision of opportunities for equal participation of children with disabilities (physical, social and/or emotional) whenever possible into general education, but leaves open the possibility of personal choice and options for special assistance and facilities for those who need it (UNESCO, 2005). Inclusion as an ideological and theoretical movement was built on a philosophical foundation but during the last 60 years, the number of empirical studies addressing inclusive education has grown tremendously. However, findings on the efficacy of inclusion on student outcomes are still far from unequivocal (Kavale & Forness, 2000; Lindsay, 2007; Ruijs & Peetsma, 2009). This is where the present review will contribute, as the aim of the review is to summarise contemporary evidence on the effects of inclusive education when compared to a traditional segregated approach on students' learning, socioemotional adjustment and well-being. It is important to consider the types of students who might benefit most from inclusive education. As stated earlier, it is possible that the effects of inclusive education may be different for girls and boys. Further, a child's cognitive and socioemotional skills and needs develop throughout childhood and adolescence (Lightfoot et al., 2009) and thus, it is possible that the potential benefits of inclusive education may vary depending on the age of the children. We plan to to explore the impact of these student characteristics on student outcomes. At the core of inclusion is the principle that students with special or additional learning needs or disabilities belong in mainstream education. The fundamental principle of inclusive education is that all children should learn together, regardless of any difficulties or differences (UNESCO, 2005; Winter & O'Raw, 2010). However, operationally within the present review, we define inclusion as an educational setting with a mixture of children with and without special educational needs. In the present review, the intervention termed inclusion may thus be defined as any given group composition within a general educational setting which contains at least one child with an identified special educational need. Based on the core principles of inclusion there are many ways in which inclusion may be practised and adjusted, and thus there are a large number of characteristics within the inclusive setting, which may vary across the included studies. We will review studies of all kinds of inclusive education meaning that placement in the inclusive setting may be full time or part time. Special education students are a diverse group, as outlined in Section 4.1.2, and we will review studies regardless of the type of special educational needs of the student population and regardless of the ratio of students with and without special needs within the inclusive setting. We will include studies in which the general education teachers are provided with support and continuing professional development aimed at helping the teachers accommodate the needs of special education students and studies of inclusive settings in which no such support is offered to the teachers. It is often referred to as coteaching when two or more professionals deliver substantive instruction to a diverse or blended group of students within the same physical space (Murawski & Lee Swanson, 2001). In the present review, we will include studies, in which special education teachers and/or teaching assistants are present within the general education setting (coteaching) and studies in which they are not. For physically disabled students there may be adjustments made to the inclusive educational setting in order to accommodate aids such as wheelchairs, and for dyslexic students a number of computer programmes may be available. We will review studies in which students with special needs are provided with any kind of aid and technological support. This list of possible variations in student and classroom characteristics is not exhaustive, and in summary, within the present review we will include studies of all kinds of inclusive education as long as the studies are aimed at exploring the effects of inclusion in comparison to segregated special educational settings. We plan to conduct moderator analyses to explore the impact of specific characteristics of the inclusive educational setting and the characteristics of special educational needs on student outcomes. Considering the rapid global development towards inclusive educational placement for students with special educational needs, there is a rather surprising lack of pedagogical, psychological, or didactic theories regarding the specific ways in which inclusive education may affect students with special needs' academic and socioemotional development. Group composition within the educational setting may play a significant role in determining the academic achievement, socioemotional development and overall wellbeing of special needs students. Theoretically and ideologically, scholars favouring mainstreaming or inclusion propose that segregated educational placement causes stigmatisation and social isolation which may have detrimental effects on the self-concept, social identity, and self-confidence of students with special educational needs (Dyssegaard & Larsen, 2013). Second, being placed in a general education classroom along with typically developing peers is proposed to benefit special needs students' academic growth through peer effects (Rea et al., 2002; Tremblay, 2013). Finally, it is hypothesised that social interaction with general education peers may provide developmental opportunities that are not present in smaller, specialised units (Fisher & Meyer, 2002). On the other hand, opponents of inclusive education for all special needs students suggest that placement in general education classrooms may have adverse effects for special needs children especially if the time and resources allocated for individualisation and differentiation are not aligned with student needs. In such cases, special needs students' learning opportunities and wellbeing may also suffer, resulting in damages to self-concept (Zeleke, 2004), social isolation or bullying (Monchy et al., 2004; Pijl et al., 2010), stress (Pitt & Curtin, 2004), negative self-perception, and lower self-confidence (Bakker et al., 2007; Ruijs & Peetsma, 2009). Hegarty (1993) provides a narrative review of the literature on inclusion and suggests that a number of factors are associated with positive student outcomes in inclusive settings. These are: (1) instruction based on student achievement needs, (2) materials and procedures that allow students to proceed at their own pace, (3) additional time for students who need it, (4) increased student responsibility for their own learning, (5) cooperation among students in achieving goals, (6) support teaching and (7) collaboration among special and general education teachers. In sum, the impact of inclusion on the academic achievement, socioemotional development, and wellbeing of students with special needs may be hypothesised to be both positive and negative, and the current knowledge base is rather unclear, leaving special educators and policymakers uncertain when making decisions on special education provision. Since the 1980s, a number of reviews on the impact of inclusion on students with special needs have been published (Madden & Slavin, 1983; Ottenbacher & Cooper, 1982; Wang & Baker, 1985; Hegarty, 1993). Results are equivocal, and several reviews point to a number of methodological challenges and weaknesses of the study designs within the included primary studies. In summary, most reviews suggest a neutral or small positive impact of inclusion on most outcomes. However, all reviews also point to the need to study the impact of potential moderators more thoroughly, as there may be several interaction effects between student and classroom characteristics, such as student disability category × proportion of students with disabilities within the classroom and disability category × presence of teaching assistants. Therefore, it is important to conduct the present review in order to explore the impact of potential moderators associated with student and classroom characteristics. In the following section we present the existing reviews and their main findings. In a systematic review and meta-analysis, which included 50 primary studies exploring the effects of special versus regular class placement for children with special needs, Carlberg and Kavale (1980) concluded that for students with special needs consisting of below average IQs, special classes were significantly inferior to regular classes on all outcome measures (separate analyses were carried out for achievement, social/personal and other measures). However, for students with behavioural disorders, emotional disturbances and learning disabilities (LDs), special classes were superior to regular classes. Madden and Slavin (1983) conducted a narrative review of the effects of mainstreaming/inclusion on students with mild academic disabilities. The review does not include a description of the search strategy for identifying records or the criteria used to determine eligibility for inclusion in the review. The review concludes that among methodologically adequate studies, findings indicate few benefits on academic and social outcomes of placement in full-time special education compared with part-time placement with resource support or full time regular class placement for students with mild academic disabilities. Ottenbacher and Cooper (1982) conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis, which included 43 primary studies exploring the effects of class placement (special class, regular class and resource class defined as placement in regular education classroom with resource support and the possibility for part time segregated education) on the social adjustment of students with mild cognitive disabilities. The overall results suggest a very small effect in favour of special class placement over regular class placement. However, when special class placement was compared with resource class placement, results were insignificant but favouring resource class placement. Wang and Baker (1985) conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis, which included 11 primary studies exploring the effects of mainstreaming/inclusion on children with special educational needs. In order to be eligible for inclusion in this review, primary studies needed to provide information on the effects of mainstreaming on students with special needs placed in a regular education setting. The studies had to use a control group consisting of special needs students with comparable impairment classifications placed in a segregated learning environment. The final selection of studies included 11 studies published between 1975 and 1984. The included studies used a wide variety of outcomes, but within the meta-analysis, outcomes were synthesised into three categories: performance, attitudinal, and process effects, and separate analyses were carried out for each of the three outcome categories. The study found small-to-moderate beneficial effects of inclusion on all outcomes with an overall mean weighted effect size across all studies and all three categories of outcomes of 0.33. Hegarty (1993) provides a narrative review of the literature on integration (inclusion) of students with different disabilities. The narrative review is based on a literature review which was commissioned by the Centre for Educational Research and Innovation under the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and was conducted by researchers in five different countries. The review does not include a description of the search strategies for identifying records or the criteria used to determine eligibility for the selected primary studies. Within the review, a number of factors which are associated with effective integration programmes are identified. Baker et al. (1994/1995) describe a review and meta-analysis by Baker et al. (1994/1995), which included 13 primary studies exploring the effects of inclusive placement on academic and social outcomes for students with special needs. We have been unable to retrieve the original publication, but according to Baker et al. (1994/1995), this study found a very small effect in favour of inclusive placement on academic outcomes (0.08) and a small to moderate effect on social outcomes (0.28). Sebba and Sachdev (1997) provide a review as part of a research report on what works for whom in inclusive education. The review does not include a description of the search strategy or the criteria for inclusion/exclusion of studies for the review. Within the research report, the authors suggest an overall positive impact of inclusive education and list a number of potential moderators such as attitudes of teachers and parents as well as a number of recommendations for the implementation of inclusive education. McGregor and Vogelsberg (1998) provide a narrative review of studies of both the effects of inclusive schooling on student outcomes and studies focusing on issues related to the implementation of inclusion. The review includes both quantitative and qualitative studies including case studies. Results are difficult to synthesise, but suggest an overall positive impact of inclusion based on the main findings: (1) students with disabilities demonstrate high levels of social interaction in settings with typically developing peers, but placement alone does not guarantee positive social outcomes; (2) interactive small group contexts facilitate skill acquisition and social acceptance; (3) friendships develop between students with disabilities and typically developing peers. Freeman and Alkin (2000) conducted a systematic narrative review in which it was concluded that on measures of academic achievement and social competence, children with mental retardation placed in general education perform better than children with mental retardation placed in special education classrooms. This review was only about children with mental retardation and did not include meta-analyses. Murawski and Lee Swanson (2001) conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis which included 6 studies exploring the effectiveness of coteaching on student outcomes of both general education students and students with special educational needs. Coteaching was defined as two or more professionals delivering substantive instruction to a diverse or blended group of students within a shared/common physical space, and thus in this review coteaching is a form of inclusion. The outcomes within the included studies were grades, achievement scores, social and attitudinal outcomes. The review found coteaching to be effective (average total effect size of 0.40). It is unclear what the control conditions within the included studies were and two of the included studies did not have a control group, but used a pre-test/post-test research design. Lindsay (2007) provides a narrative review of the effectiveness of inclusive education for students with special educational needs. The review provides a historical overview of the vast literature prior to 2000 and a search of studies published 2001–2005 in eight journals on special education. The search identified 1373 studies and points to the fact that only 1% of the identified papers were comparative outcome studies. The review concludes that there is a lack of evidence for the effectiveness of inclusion and argues that where evidence does exist, the balance is only marginally positive. Lindsay (2007) thus supports the need for an updated systematic review and meta-analysis on the effectiveness of inclusion for students with special needs, with special attention to the potential impact of student and classroom moderators. In a systematic narrative review of the effects of inclusion on both learning and socioemotional outcomes of students with and without special needs, Ruijs and Peetsma (2009) point to mixed findings regarding the effects of inclusion on student outcomes and suggest a number of potential moderators. The authors conclude that there is a need for more research. This review has not been updated since publication and does not include meta-analyses. In 2009, a systematic review of evidence comparing the academic performance of students with special needs in different educational settings was carried out by the Canadian Council on Learning. The review included 30 primary studies. The search strategy for identifying studies was not described. The included studies examined students with LDs, intellectual disabilities, language impairments and mixed disabilities. The quality of each study was rated as either "high", "medium", or "low" based on criteria related to transparency and research design, and effect sizes were retrieved. No meta-analyses were carried out, but the authors provide tables illustrating the number of effect sizes for each disability category favouring either inclusive or segregated settings along with the quality ratings of the studies from which they were retrieved. The authors point to mixed findings but conclude that the balance of evidence shows favourable academic outcomes for students with special educational needs educated in inclusive settings, however they also note that results are not homogenous and that effects are generally small in magnitude.11 The review was retrieved 2.10.2019 from: https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED519296.pdf. Dyssegaard and Larsen (2013) provide a systematic review and narrative synthesis on the effects of including children with special needs in mainstream teaching in primary and lower secondary school, and on which of the applied educational methods have proven to have a positive effect. The narrative synthesis is based on 43 studies of which 16 studies were deemed to have a "high level of evidence". The included studies consist of randomised controlled trials, non-randomised controlled trials, systematic reviews, cohort studies, longitudinal studies, and studies using a pre-test/post-test design. The systematic review included studies focusing on outcomes for both mainstream and special needs students and does not include a meta-analysis. The conclusion points to mixed findings regarding the overall effectiveness of inclusion on the academic achievement and psychosocial adjustment of special needs students and suggests that the effects may vary depending on the age of the child and the overall school and teacher attitudes towards inclusion. Furthermore, the review suggests that the effectiveness of coteaching may depend on the educational background and continuous professional development of both special and general education teachers and of teaching assistants. Carroll et al. (2017) provide a rapid evidence assessment of studies focused on approaches, strategies, and interventions supporting children and young people with special educational needs in mainstream schools. The rapid evidence assessment is based on a systematic search in a single database (ERIC) as well as a strategy of consulting experts within the relevant fields. The initial search identified 1046 papers of which 505 were later excluded due to low quality of evidence. The rapid evidence assessment points to a number of implementation strategies, pedagogical and didactic approaches which have shown positive results. Furthermore, the study points to evidence gaps and suggests the need for further research. The rapid evidence assessment does not include a meta-analysis. In the present review, besides being up to date, we will conduct an extensive risk of bias assessment of all included studies, and we will provide separate meta-analyses for each conceptual outcome (academic achievement, socioemotional development and wellbeing). Furthermore, we hope to be able to conduct moderator analyses based on the children's specific disability categories and the specific type of inclusion setting. This may shed further light on the initial differential findings from existing reviews. Traditional segregated special education is costly and in a time of increased interaction between special and general education systems and constraints on education spending, policymakers must consider the cost-efficiency of different special needs provisions. As more students with special educational needs enter general education settings, educators and policymakers must consider how the needs of these students are met in different settings and on what grounds placement in general or special educational settings should be determined. As previously noted, the current knowledge base is ambiguous with many findings suggesting a complex interplay between student and classroom characteristics (Carlberg & Kavale, 1980; Mesibov & Shea, 1996; Peetsma et al., 2001), leaving special educators and policymakers uncertain when making decisions on special education provision and highlighting the need for a comprehensive review of the effectiveness of inclusion on student outcomes. The objective of this systematic review is firstly: To uncover and synthesise data from studies to assess the effects of inclusion on measures of academic achievement, socioemotional development and wellbeing of children with special needs when compared to children with special needs who receive special education in a segregated setting. A secondary objective is to explore how potential moderators (gender, age, type of special need, part or full time inclusive education, and coteaching) affect the outcomes. The moderator analysis will be performed as outlined in Section 4.3.11. In order to summarise what is known about the causal effects of inclusion on student's academic achievement, socioemotional outcomes, and wellbeing in special education, we will include all studies with a well-defined control group. Thus, the study designs eligible for inclusion are: Randomised and quasi-randomised controlled trials (allocated at either the individual level or cluster level, e.g., class/school/geographical area etc.). Non-randomised studies (inclusion has occurred in the course of usual decisions, the allocation to inclusive and segregated special educational placement is not controlled by the and there is a comparison of two or more of at least a group and a control using a single group research will not be eligible for inclusion in the review. Non-randomised studies using an approach will not be the of exclusion of studies using an for for studies of these In order to the risk of bias in cluster randomised studies, we will study designs in which only one was to the intervention or control group. there must be at least two units in the intervention group and two units in the control group, as there is a risk of effects with effects this likely be In order to the of findings from the present review to current and we will search to studies published The for studies is as a number of systematic reviews and meta-analyses have synthesised the effects of inclusion based on studies published prior to Second, educational settings, pedagogical approaches and the development and of technological to support the educational needs of special needs children have changes throughout the two & and in order for the findings from the present review to be to the current within educational settings, we will review to the more recent findings. The review will include special needs children in to the in in special education in the defined as the countries. The reasons for focusing on the are we that the in which children with disabilities are within is which fundamental differences in the for children with disabilities around the globe et al., 2010; & 2013). Second, special education is costly and thus the resources for special educational support for children with special needs are often different between in the and the developing regarding the of what a special educational need Wilson, 2002). A used be found in the with in which special needs are into 13 different disability categories under which children are eligible for For more information on the disability of with These categories are: challenges related to a child's to or e.g., or impairment conditions a child's or e.g., e.g., and or language impairment difficulties with or e.g., language problems a child's to or impairment including and where a child most or all even with a impairment to a not by the of children from both and vision impairment when a child has problems with or as in the case of disability intellectual by or other kinds of physical disabilities with more than one by the However, the criteria are not to be as or as of what special educational needs but are rather as in the search for and of relevant studies. We that existing to define special educational needs, as in and are by a lack of which to be

Water sprays from an open fire hydrant in Brooklyn, New York, in the midst of a July 2010 heat wave that affected much of the eastern United States.In 2007 the New York City Department of Environmental Protection first teamed up with Alianza Dominicana, a Washington Heights community organization, to educate city residents about the appropriate use of fire hydrants and other ways

As recent IPCC reports have highlighted, urban areas are now home to most of the world’s population. The majority of such urban growth continues to occur in less developed regions and is expected to persist, specifically in Asia. Due to extensive anthropogenic change along coastal zones, as well as their inherent exposure to natural hazards such as sea level rise, erosion, and tropical storms, coastal cities are especially at risk to the adverse impacts of climate change. Having consistently ranked as one of the countries most at risk to the negative impacts of anthropogenic climate change, the Philippines has undertaken significant efforts to integrate climate change adaptation into various policies and planning documents. This research reflects on the specific practice of mainstreaming climate change adaptation (CCA), as well as disaster risk reduction (DRR) measures, into local land use planning in Metro Manila as a means of reducing the region's present and future risk. Effective land use planning represents a proactive and economical approach to managing both current and future climate change related risks, especially when taking into consideration the significant expenses necessary to remedy issues caused by poorly or unplanned development, which often most negatively impacts a community’s most vulnerable members. Specifically, the aim of this research is to take stock of what progress has been made toward mainstreaming climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction strategies into local land use planning in Metro Manila and to understand how this impacts those who are most vulnerable to climate change. The analysis also strives to comprehend how the knowledge gained from the Metro Manila case study can be transferred to other cities in Southeast Asia facing similar challenges. Methodologically, the software MAXQDA was utilized to conduct a qualitative data analysis of 39 policy and planning documents, ranging from the national to the local level. This analysis demonstrates that policy and planning documents at all levels integrate future-oriented climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction strategies to a certain extent. However, despite the consistent and comprehensive integration of such strategies into documents across scales, numerous documents cite significant challenges in implementing CCA and DRR strategies, especially at the local level. Poor and/or inconsistent coordination between government offices, in addition to other stakeholders, limited or poorly prioritized and difficult-to-access financing, as well as a lack of continuity in personnel due to political election cycles, particularly at the local level, were frequently referenced as representing significant barriers to proper implementation of CCA and DRR strategies. Future research will be conducted in the form of expert interviews, which will help to better understand the current issues regarding the local implementation of these strategies and in what ways these can be improved or altogether remedied.

Camera, 208 Capitalism, scepticism of policies on education in future based on society with influx of, 42 Carnegie Learning, 251-252 Central government, 92 Challenges to inclusion, 84-85 Change of practice concept, 253 Character qualities of sets in twenty-first century, 25-33 communicative competencies, 28-31 digital competencies, 31-33 'grit' for inclusive and special education teachers, 27-28 high self-efficacy, 25-27 Children, rights and characteristics of, 4-5 Children with disabilities in rural areas in Telangana state, providing services to, 174-177 259 Children with special needs in VUCA world, preparation for education administrators to manage education for, 241-244 Chlorpyrifos, 64-65 City local government, 93-99 Civil rights, 39-40 Classic economic liberal theory, 41-42 Classrooms with assistive technology, improving efficiency of, 250-252 Climate change, 64-65 Collaboration, 180 Collaborative learning, 23-24 Communication, 180 channels, 29-30 disabilities, 211 Communicative competencies, 28-31 Community resource persons (CRPs), 175 Competency-based education, 23-24 Complexity, 80-81 Comprehensive teaching strategies, 236 Computer-assisted tools, 128 Constitution of the Republic of Indonesia (1945), 89-90 Constructive Alignment model, 21 Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), 159 Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), 158-159 Conversations, feedback and recognition (CFR), 225 Core educational subjects, 179 COVID-19, 18-19, 118-119, 123-124 crisis, 7-8 inclusive learning for students with special needs during, 108-110 learning experiences during, 114-116 learning experiences of KU

Introduction to <i>Climate Change Adaptation in New York City: Building a Risk Management Response</i>

Mainstreaming climate change adaptation (CCA) is an approach that links adaptation and sustainable development goals by integrating climate change information, concerns, and considerations into existing development planning, and policy- and decision-making processes. However, a gap exists in the operationalisation of mainstreaming, mainly because the tools and methodologies in mainstreaming neglect the institutional reforms needed in the approach. This thesis focused on mainstreaming CCA into local land-use planning, and asked “How can mainstreaming of CCA into local land-use planning be understood?” and “How can the challenges in the operationalisation of mainstreaming be overcome?” To answer these questions, a four-stage mixed methodology was devised and successfully applied in examining the challenges in mainstreaming CCA into local land-use planning in Albay, Philippines. Local land-use planning in Albay is a “critical case” because it presents evidence of institutional capacity for long-term adaptation to climate change, with indication of transformational opportunities for mainstreaming. The methodology applied the mixed method, case study, and scorecard approaches, and it involved triangulation by data technique (i.e., document review, interview, survey, and key informant consultations). By using this methodology, the research generated 20 quantitative “mainstreaming indicators” and produced qualitative assessments of the state-of-play and the challenges in local mainstreaming of CCA. Analyses revealed that (1) mainstreaming challenges exist within a spectrum, with barriers and opportunities for adaptation representing the extreme ends of this spectrum; (2) barriers can be overcome and can transcend into opportunities for mainstreaming CCA; (3) barriers can be classified according to varying levels of severity; and (4) barriers themselves are interconnected, but to differing degrees. Also, the research showed that mainstreaming operationalisation involves a network of interacting institutions and institutional arrangements that transcend across governance scales. Likewise, the challenges in mainstreaming CCA encompass a chain of interactions or interplays within the network (of institutions). Accordingly, overcoming mainstreaming challenges necessitates broad institutional reforms that go beyond the institutional setting where CCA is to be integrated. A deep understanding of these concerns can help scholars, practitioners, planners, and decision-makers anticipate the types of challenges to be encountered during the mainstreaming process; determine the severity of the impacts of these challenges; and formulate strategies that will overcome the challenges.

Climate change remains a crucial threat to sustainable development, particularly to the farming communities, which are more vulnerable to climate impacts. Uganda has made commendable steps in building an institutional framework for addressing climate change. However, the framework remains scattered in several documents making it difficult to track and conceptualize. This paper provides a one-stop center for understanding how effectively climate change is institutionalized in the agricultural sector and identifies the critical issues for future actions towards effective mainstreaming of climate change in agricultural programming. Findings in this paper are based on data collected through document review and a case study of Bududa district, representing the local governance of climate change adaptation mainstreaming. The paper observes that significant steps have been taken to mainstream climate change adaptation in agricultural programming, but adoption of adaptation measures will necessitate robust institutionalization of agricultural insurance as a climate change adaptation strategy particularly in the context of the rural, resource-constrained farming communities which are also more vulnerable to climate change hazards. Secondly, effective mainstreaming of climate change adaptation in agricultural programming in local governments will necessitate increased budget support from the central government towards addressing the critical institutional capacity gaps which hinder climate change adaptation programming and implementation of adaptation measures in local governments of Uganda. Key words: Climate change adaptation, agricultural programming, institutional frameworks for adaptation, Uganda regulatory frameworks for adaptation.

To be effective, climate change adaptation needs to be mainstreamed across multiple sectors and greater policy coherence is essential. Using the cases of Malawi, Tanzania and Zambia, this paper investigates the extent of coherence in national policies across the water and agriculture sectors and to climate change adaptation goals outlined in national development plans. A two-pronged qualitative approach is applied using Qualitative Document Analysis of relevant policies and plans, combined with expert interviews from non-government actors in each country. Findings show that sector policies have differing degrees of coherence on climate change adaptation, currently being strongest in Zambia and weakest in Tanzania. We also identify that sectoral policies remain more coherent in addressing immediate-term disaster management issues of floods and droughts rather than longer-term strategies for climate adaptation. Coherence between sector and climate policies and strategies is strongest when the latter has been more recently developed. However to date, this has largely been achieved by repackaging of existing sectoral policy statements into climate policies drafted by external consultants to meet international reporting needs and not by the establishment of new connections between national sectoral planning processes. For more effective mainstreaming of climate change adaptation, governments need to actively embrace longer-term cross-sectoral planning through cross-Ministerial structures, such as initiated through Zambia’s Interim Climate Change Secretariat, to foster greater policy coherence and integrated adaptation planning.

Tbere has long been concern in special education about the shortage of teachers who are fully certified in their main teaching assignment. Based on a national probability sample of 46,599 public school teachers, this research provides data on the certification status of both special and general education teacbers. Findings are presented for four types of teachers who enter the teaching force each year, and for two types of teachers who continue in public schools from the prior year. Results showed a chronic annual shortage of about 29, 000 fully certified teachers in special education (9.8%), a level that was almost twice the number in general education (5.59%). The shortage of fully certified teachers in special education was attributable mostly to entering teachers (32% not fully certified) and to continuing teachers who had not become established in their teaching positions (14% not fully certified). These percentages were higher than observed in general education, a finding partly due to the higher rate of turnover of teachers in special education. Implications for teacher education, professional development, and retention are discussed.

Climate change becomes a widely acknowledged and inevitable global challenge of 21st century. For developing countries like Ethiopia, it intensifies existing challenges of ensuring sustainable development. This study examined factors affecting climate change adaptation and mitigation strategies by taking in Protection Motivation Theory. The study draws on mixed research approach in order to assess the subjective understanding about climate change threats and identify the factors determining responses to climate change. While qualitative data were collected through focus group discussions and interviews, quantitative information was collected using semi structured survey from 296 randomly selected farmers from different agro-ecologies. Qualitative data was dominantly analyzed using content analysis while descriptive and inferential statistics were applied to analyze quantitative data. Almost all respondents (97%) perceived that climate change is occurring and threatening their wellbeing. Dwindling precipitation, increasing temperature and occurrence of human and animal disease were perceived to represent climate change. From nationally initiated strategies, farmers were found to largely practice soil and water conservation and agricultural intensification, which they perceived less costly and compatible to their level of expertise. The result of binary logistic regression revealed that perceived severity of climate change, perceived susceptibility to climate change threat, perceived own ability to respond, response efficacy and cost of practices predicted farmers motivation to practice climate change adaptation and mitigation strategies. Thus, building resilient system should go beyond sensitizing climate response mechanisms. Rural development and climate change adaptation policies should focus on human capital development and economic empowerment which would enable farmers pursue context specific adaptation and mitigation strategies thereby maintain sustainable livelihood.

The agency of community groups in health and climate change adaptation governance and policy in SIDS: The case of in Toco, Trinidad and Tobago

In climate change adaptation, contract farming can facilitate the adoption of coping and adaptation strategies, but such dynamics are less understood in the literature. This study uses primary data collected from a cross section of crop farmers in northern Ghana and a simultaneous equation systems approach to examine the links between contract farming and adoption of climate change coping and adaptation strategies. The major coping and adaptation strategies used by farmers include spraying of farms with chemicals, row planting, mixed farming, mixed cropping and crop rotation. Econometric results confirm that contract farming enhances the adoption of climate change adaptation strategies, but there is also a feedback effect on contract farming, such that farmers adopting more adaptation strategies have higher probabilities to get contract offer. This makes contract farming a viable policy instrument to consider in climate change adaptation. Furthermore, land ownership and extension services exert significant positive influence on adoption. As much as possible, coping and adaptation strategies should effectively be communicated to crop farmers. Policy-wise, development actors and successive governments in Ghana should encourage and facilitate contract or group farming, as was in the case of the National Block Farming, led by Ghana’s Ministry of Food and Agriculture.

ABSTRACTIn Australia, local communities often enact Community-Based Initiatives (CBIs) to respond to climate change through Climate Change Adaptation (CCA). CBIs can also be integrated into the Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) agenda. The paper explores the extent to which CBIs promote the mainstreaming of CCA into DRR. Primary data were obtained from interviews with representatives of CBIs and supporting organisations in three local governments of the Hunter Valley (New South Wales, Australia). Findings show that CBIs recognise the potential contribution of climate change in modifying the local hazard profile. CBIs mainstream CCA into DRR by following four approaches: environmental and social justice; sustainability and transition; ecosystem-based approach; and adaptive planning. Partnerships were identified both among CBIs and between CBIs and City Councils; however, conflicts between CBIs, City Councils and business actors emerged, and a lack of commitment by multi-level governments in responding to climate change was revealed. The findings show that CBIs consider CCA and DRR within a broad everyday context related to vulnerability and local development. But we argue that assigning responsibility for climate change issues to CBIs is not a panacea and should not be the only local climate change response. Instead, CBIs need to be included in a larger and long-term commitment by actors that possess access to resources, such as higher levels of government. The paper provides a local Australian perspective on the effectiveness of mainstreaming CCA into DRR and furthers the conversation for the benefit of other communities facing similar challenges.

Mainstreaming climate change adaptation (CCA) links adaptation and sustainable development goals by integrating climate change information, concerns, and considerations into existing development planning, policy- and decision-making processes. It is gaining popularity in developing countries, but its operationalization has been slow because of the challenges that hinder its on-ground application. To understand the nature of these challenges, this paper developed a four-stage mixed methodology that examined mainstreaming of CCA into local land use planning in Albay, Philippines. The methodology includes a modified Institutional Analysis and Development framework for the qualitative analysis, and 20 mainstreaming indicators for the quantitative assessment. The data used in the analysis were collected from a survey and the interviews conducted among the key players in local land use planning in Albay. The correlation analysis showed that the challenges related to knowledge and awareness, local government prioritization, institutional incentives, availability of funds, access to funds, and stability of funds had the highest frequency of interconnections with the other challenges. Also, a strong tripartite relationship among local leadership, local government prioritization, and local government’s commitment to CCA was observed. The paper suggests that mainstreaming challenges are interconnected at varying degrees. It presents analytical tools and quantifiable measures that can be used to develop a reliable basis for the qualitative assessments of adaptation needs and effectiveness. These sets of information can help analyst and practitioners make informed decisions regarding the operationalization of mainstreaming CCA.