Inclusive School Research Articles

Strategies for Creating Inclusive Schools

This manuscript explores the critical need for creating inclusive educational environments amidst the shifting demographics of the U.S. student population. By 2026, students of color are projected to comprise over half of the school population, presenting a stark contrast to the demographic composition of teachers and principals. This disparity underscores the necessity for schools to be responsive to the educational, cultural, and social needs of an increasingly diverse student body. The manuscript introduces a School Inclusion Model (SIM) developed and implemented to address these challenges. The SIM focuses on leadership, organizational justice, and school outcomes as core elements for fostering inclusivity. Through a multi-phased project involving planning, implementation, and evaluation in a district experiencing significant demographic shifts, the SIM demonstrated positive outcomes in changing teacher and leader perceptions towards inclusivity, enhancing parent engagement, and improving school climate. The findings underscore the importance of intentional, coordinated efforts in cultivating inclusive school environments where students of all backgrounds feel a sense of belonging and equity.

Позиции лидеров – директоров инклюзивных школ: зарубежный дискурс

<p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Objective. </strong>A review and theoretical analysis of scientific publications on the topic of leadership in an inclusive school and posted on the SpringerLink and Taylor & Francis Group platforms. <br><strong>Background. </strong>After the adoption of the Salamanca Declaration (1994), inclusion occupies an important place on the agenda of educational transformations. Its vector is to find ways to increase the participation and learning of students from socially vulnerable groups and those at risk of exclusion in school and beyond. The scientific relevance of the problem lies in the fact that, despite the importance of leadership in inclusive education, there are critically few works devoted to this topic, especially in Russia. <br><strong>Methodology. </strong>Theoretical analysis of literary sources, analytical and synthetic method of bibliographic search, generalization, method of comparative analysis. <br><strong>Conclusions. </strong>Leadership is seen as a discourse and practice. The article presents the main styles of educational leadership, special attention is paid to the theories of transformational and distributed leadership. The tools of leadership research in inclusive education are described. The position of school principals regarding diversity is one of the determining factors of the success/failure of school inclusion. Leadership style significantly affects the views, behavior, communication of teachers, their self-efficacy, and learning strategies. The attitude of school principals to inclusive education is determined by three groups of factors: 1) related to children (type of disability, for example); 2) related to the environment – cultural, historical and organizational (resources); 3) related to the personality of the director (gender, age, qualifications, inclusive training, self-efficacy, experience, values). The prospects of the research are the development of a theory of inclusive education management based on the integration of transformational and distributed leadership/ The study of the influence of the leadership style of Russian school principals on the attitude of teachers to inclusive education, their teaching strategies.</p>

Promoting Positive Self-Identity of Youths With Mental Disorders: Collaboration Between Academia and a Ministry of Education.

Inclusive schools reflect the dominant approach to education, yet many youths with mental disorders still attend special education schools. Although special education schools address educational, social, and developmental needs, they may increase students' self-stigma and hinder positive identity formation. Israel's Ministry of Education and an academic community mental health department partnered to address this challenge by developing a manual-based intervention for special education school settings. About 180 teachers were trained, and approximately 400 students participated in the self-management and positive identity group intervention. This partnership demonstrates the importance and potential of collaborations to address challenges that arise in real-world settings.

The effects of adding social-emotional learning to a comprehensive education intervention in El Salvador on teacher well-being: a mixed methods evaluation

ABSTRACT This article employs a mixed-method approach to assess the effects of El Salvadorian Integrated Systems of Full-Time Inclusive Schools (SI-EITP), which offers in-service teacher professional development (TPD) combined with a socioemotional learning intervention, on teacher well-being. Findings from the cluster-randomized controlled trial with no baseline show null results for most teacher well-being outcomes analyzed. Interviews suggest limited effects on teachers’ mindfulness and emotion regulation and indicate that teachers’ participation in TPD was potentially increasing their stress levels and emotion exhaustion. We recommend that TPD program designs consider how the delivery mode and intensity may influence teachers’ stress.

The Constraints in the Implementation of Inclusive Education in Public Primary Schools in Njombe Town Council, Tanzania

This study explored the constraints in the implementation of inclusive education in public primary schools in Njombe Town Council, Tanzania. The methodology of the study was qualitative. It employed multiple case study design. The study engaged a total sample of 19 respondents namely; special need education officers, heads of schools and subject teachers who were selected through purposive and snowball sampling. Data collection methods were semi-structured interviews, focus group discussion, non-participant observation and documentary review. Data were subjected to content analysis. The findings of the study revealed that teachers in public school’s face constraints in implementing inclusive education namely inadequate of teaching and learning materials, unfriendly environment to pupils with disability, small budget allocation, inadequate classrooms, less motivation to teachers, absence of in-service training, and curriculum in use is not in favor to pupils with disability. Hence, the constraints in the implementation of inclusive education are an impediment towards achieving the World Education Agenda for all by 2030. The study recommended that; the government should find out suitable ways on how to solve the aforementioned constraints for smooth running of the inclusive schools so as to maintain the teachers’ positivity in the implementation of inclusive education.

The role of the psychologist in promoting school inclusion

This work addressed the psychologist’s role in promoting school inclusion, an increasingly relevant theme in contemporary educational contexts. The main objective was to analyze how psychologists contribute to the effective inclusion of students, particularly those with special needs, in educational environments. The methodology consisted of a literature review, analyzing previous studies, legislation and public policies, as well as examples of effective inclusive practices. The findings highlighted the importance of comprehensive psychological assessment, ongoing training for psychologists, and interdisciplinary collaboration with educators and families. The analysis showed that despite challenges, there are promising perspectives for the advancement of school inclusion and the psychologist’s role in this context. The final considerations emphasized the need for continuous and collaborative efforts to create truly inclusive educational environments.

E-Sistus: Electronic Information System for Students with Special Needs in Supporting Inclusive School Management

E-Sistus: Electronic Information System for Students with Special Needs in Supporting Inclusive School Management

Exploring with children, play in Irish primary schoolyards

ABSTRACT Children’s play in Irish schoolyards remains neglected in educational policies and practices despite government commitments to inclusive schools and children’s rights. There is a dearth of research on children’s perspectives of play, criticisms of ‘at risk’ discourses underpinning concerns for certain children’s play rights, and studies identifying exclusion within Irish schoolyards, particularly for children with minoritized identities. This inquiry informed by the theory of practice architectures used walking interviews to explore with twenty-three children their play practices in two Irish primary schools identified as disadvantaged. Analysis of the interviews generated three themes: (1) the state of play – cracks with(in) the routines of the schoolyard, (2) playing along and with(in) this shared space and (3) the hard yard. This inquiry contributes to understandings of children’s play with(in) Irish schoolyards, as socially situated practices with contrasting representations of play as habitual and emerging. Play was central to children’s social lives, identities, and friendships and interrelated with diverse constraints, exclusionary practices, and the (re)production of the ‘hard yard’. While mattering most children’s experiences of significant constraints and inequities, this inquiry also highlighted the transformative possibilities generated within play to create shared possibilities for individual and collective flourishing.

Elementary teachers’ pedagogical competencies in supporting students with learning difficulties

<span lang="EN-US">Pedagogical competency is one of four competencies that all teachers need to be proficient within the Indonesian National Teaching Standards. Yet, there is limited understanding of how these competencies relate to inclusive education practice. This study used a combination of survey and interview data to explore the pedagogical skills of elementary teachers working in inclusive schools. Survey data showed that teachers utilized a range of accommodations and modifications within their classrooms to assist them to be inclusive of all students. These accommodations and modifications were often associated with support from other persons (e.g., shadow teacher, parents, peers). While teachers expressed frustration with the learning of students, interview data found that teacher frustration was more about their perceived inability to meet the needs of students. Directions for on-going work to investigate and enhance teacher pedagogical competence within the context of inclusive education Indonesia are discussed.</span>

Social Boundaries and Stigmatization in a Border Territory: Experiences of Peruvian and Bolivian Students in the Northernmost Region of Chile

By paying attention to what Peruvian and Bolivian students in schools say about how they are seen and treated by their native-born peers, this article aims to analyze the ways in which symbolic boundaries are produced, eventually giving way to social boundaries between natives and migrants. The methodology is based on in-depth interviews with students, parents, and educators of rural and urban schools in the region of Arica y Parinacota, the northernmost region of Chile, by the borders with Peru and Bolivia. We conclude that the production of symbolic boundaries among students emerges as discourses about nationality, skin color, ethnicity, and history. Peruvian and Bolivian migrant students describe being teased by their native-born peers because of their country of origin, for being darker-skinned, for being Aymara, and for having lost the War of the Pacific (and, in the case of Bolivians, for having lost access to the coastline). Some migrant students perceive these discourses as discrimination and consider them harmful; however, many others accept them as normal school stuff—as long as there is no physical violence. Moreover, teachers and parents do not see these interactions as problematic. The article concludes that the normalization of stigmatizing and discriminatory dynamics against migrant students complicates their inclusion in Chilean schools.

Empowering Social Environment as Scaffolding for Students with Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD) in Teaching Basic Communication

Students with ASD have obvious characteristics that they have limitations in making communication and have low social awareness. For that reason, they need to be supported on how they can improve their communication ability. This research aimed to describe how the social environment is empowered and created to help students with ASD learn to communicate. The study's design was a multi-case study conducted in an inclusive school in North Bali. Three cases of students with ASD with their teachers, the school principal, and a technical assistant were involved as the study's subjects. The data were collected for 12 months and analyzed qualitatively. The study results show that several types of social environments were modified to teach students about basic communications such as morning circles, cooperative buddy programs, sensory garden programs, modelling, and go-play activities. The use of the programs functions as scaffolding, which then indicates improvements in the students ' social interactions and basic communication. The implication of this study suggests the importance of creating a supportive social environment program for students with ASD to enhance their social awareness and interaction.Students with ASD have obvious characteristics that they have limitations in making communication and have low social awareness. For that reason, they need to be supported on how they can improve their communication ability. This research aimed to describe how the social environment is empowered and created to help students with ASD learn to communicate. The study's design was a multi-case study conducted in an inclusive school in North Bali. Three cases of students with ASD with their teachers, the school principal, and a technical assistant were involved as the study's subjects. The data were collected for 12 months and analyzed qualitatively. The study results show that several types of social environments were modified to teach students about basic communications such as morning circles, cooperative buddy programs, sensory garden programs, modelling, and go-play activities. The use of the programs functions as scaffolding, which then indicates improvements in the students ' social interactions and basic communication. The implication of this study suggests the importance of creating a supportive social environment program for students with ASD to enhance their social awareness and interaction.

Typical Challenges Faced by Sub-Urban State Primary Schools Implementing Inclusive Education in Indonesia

The aim of this study was to determine the common obstacles that Indonesian state primary schools have in attempting to provide inclusive education since there are gaps between sub-urban with urban areas. The objects were five state primary schools in one supervisory area in Central Java, one of which was the appointed inclusive school in the area. The four focuses of the research were the physical facilities, teacher perceptions, peer perceptions, and parents’ perceptions. Questionnaires were used to collect data from the headmasters, teachers, peers and parents of children with special needs. The results indicated that peers and parents of children with disabilities tended to have positive attitudes towards children with disabilities. Teachers had positive attitudes towards children with disabilities, but not to inclusive education. Another significant challenge was the limited physical school facilities, including building accessibility. The implication of these findings is that the development of inclusive education in sub-urban areas in Indonesia needs to pay attention to the physical facilities and teacher training.

The Role of Principals in Implementing Inclusive Education Through Culturally Responsive School Leadership

Inclusive education aims to ensure that all students can be fully involved, feel accepted, and feel valued. The principal must be willing to build an inclusive school in all aspects that respects the diversity of students in an assertive and supportive manner. This article's objective is to provide an understanding and description of the leadership role of principals to increase engagement and to establish an environment of acceptance for children with special needs in inclusive schools through Culturally Responsive School Leadership (CRSL) framework. The phases of a systematic literature review, which included designing a review, conducting a review, and assessing and documenting the outcomes of the review, were followed in the conduct of this study. Data were generated from reviewing 13 articles. This article reviewed articles published from 2018 to 2023 from the Taylor Francis, Science Direct, and Google Scholar databases. All articles are classified by year, internationally published articles, research articles, research objectives, and topics related to the role of inclusive school principals based on the CRSL framework. Purposive sampling was used to get the data, and specific search engine phrases were used. After gathering the data, content analysis methods were used to examine it. This study discovered that the principal's leadership is essential for developing inclusive educational management. Principals need to be responsive and serious about the diversity of students with special needs, which includes reflection on leadership, developing responsive teacher abilities, and building an environment that is inclusive of children with special needs.

"All I know is that a disabled person is someone who is crippled": Using narratives of parents to unmask the misconceptions of Mild intellectual disabilities concept as a learning support hindrance.

Background: Learning-support provision by parents is key to children's scholastic success. However, when children are diagnosed with mild intellectual disabilities and in need of additional support, learning support provision is hindered. Aim: The study sought to investigate parents' experiences when providing learning support to children diagnosed with Mild intellectual disabilities. Setting: Using a phenomenological design and an interpretive paradigm, anchored in a qualitative research approach, data were gathered from parents whose children were diagnosed with Mild intellectual disabilities across three inclusive schools from disadvantaged backgrounds in the Gauteng province, in South Africa. Methods: Twenty-three (23) parents were purposefully selected to participate in the study by sharing their lived experiences. Data was collected using semi-structured interviews and thematic content data analysis methods. Bronfenbrenner's bio-ecological systems theory underpinned the study. Results: The findings revealed that the parents' misconception of the mild intellectual disability concept is one of the learning support hindrances. Conclusion: Parental empowerment through psycho-education was highlighted as a need for policy and practice adaptation.

Psychometric properties of the Italian adaptation of the short form of the Quality Scale of Inclusive School Development (QU!S-S)

ABSTRACT School inclusion is a reality in many countries around the world and most schools face the challenges of implementing inclusive education. A full inclusion model has been in place in Italy for five decades, but its actual application presents substantial differences between geographical areas, school levels, and individual schools. Thus, the availability of a comprehensive, psychometrically sound, and easy-to-complete measure of school inclusion that can be used for evaluation, screening, and research purposes is crucial. In this study, we investigated the psychometric properties of the Italian adaptation of the Quality Scale of Inclusive School Development-Short Form (QU!S-S) in a sample of 362 teachers from pre-school to 13th grade. The results supported the adequacy of the five-correlated-factor model of the original German version and the discriminant validity of the scales with respect to measures of professional self-efficacy and attitudes towards inclusive education. We also found different patterns of association of the scales with personal and job characteristics of the teachers. Overall, the results support the adequacy of the psychometric properties of the Italian version of the QU!S-S, which can be considered a valid and reliable tool for assessing the core dimensions of school inclusion in an Italian context.

Relationships change everything

Children need life-affirming and authentic relationships; genuine deeply felt inclusion comes when we share our humanity openly and honestly. This article draws on the research of author Peter W. Cookson Jr., who recently completed a study of success strategies for educating children living in deep poverty. An inclusive school is one where every student, in the words of Martin Luther King Jr., is somebody. Creating an inclusive school means educating the whole child, connecting at a deep level, sharing our humanity, healing rather than punishing, leading from the heart and head, and protecting children from harm.

Inclusive Education: a Supportive System for Deprived Section of Society

We need to design inclusive learning to make education fun for all children, so that education is welcoming, friendly and helpful, and they feel a part of, not apart from, education. Inclusion emerged as a viable solution to the problem of how to better educate these children. Good inclusive education allows all pupils to participate equally or almost equally in all elements of the classroom. To build stronger and more inclusive schools, educators, parents and community leaders must work together to solve the problems. The Indian government is working to improve its education system by emphasizing an inclusive approach. The concept of inclusiveness is not new to India. In today's world, the emphasis is still on creating an inclusive atmosphere for all children. Inclusive education refers to the education of all children in conventional schools, including those with and without disabilities. It is a method that takes into account each child's individual qualities, interests, abilities and learning needs. Inclusive education is gaining ground in today's education system. Inclusion without 'adequate' general education preparation will not produce satisfactory results. Capacity for inclusive education needs to be built at all levels.

Browsing: Further thoughts on this month’s theme

Past articles, research reports, discussion questions, and quotes related to inclusive schools, the theme of the April 2024 Kappan.

Reclaiming inclusion in an age of indignation

As educators have pushed for inclusion of all marginalized students of different identities, we’ve seen a backlash of political and parental indignation. Andy Hargreaves and Dennis Shirley suggest that while it’s sometimes clear who is right and who is wrong in these disputes, some issues aren’t so clear, and people’s multiple identities can come in conflict. They suggest that better representation, drawing upon our capacity for sympathy, not giving up on the power of learning, seeking out what serves the common good, and conducting disagreements with consideration for each other’s rights, are some of the best ways to define and defend the inclusive school and get through the storms of outrage and indignation.

Taking a LEAP toward community-engaged leadership

Historical and contemporary factors have disenfranchised and destabilized certain school communities (specifically communities of color). Education leaders can be more inclusive and address the persistent impacts of these broader trends by embracing a community-focused approach to leadership. Darrius A. Stanley, Dan Brogan, and Emily Colton borrow from contemporary research which suggests that educational leaders can help bridge the gaps between schools and historically disenfranchised communities through community-engaged leadership. They offer a research-based, conceptual argument and practical approach to building and sustaining community inclusive schools through listening, engaging, advocating, and partnering.