Until this book was published, most writing on special education was about specific disabilities and how to cope with them. This book, however, considers the broader context, looking at many problems for the wider system that have arisen through integration of special education within it. The book is international and comparative in its focus and includes much North American material and work by North American researchers.
This is an important book for readers with a specific interest in special education policy and political scientists who are more generally interested in the broader questions of public policy making. Itkonen investigates what types of groups participate in special education somewhere on a continuum between interest group and social movement; the relationship between group types and how they frame policy interests; how groups negotiate differences among themselves and with policy makers; and the relationships between a group's organizational character, its choice of targets and strategies, how it frames its policy interest, its arenas of action, its effectiveness in the legislative and judicial arenas, and the kinds of issue positions it takes.
“Disabled children are equally entitled to an exciting and brilliant future” - Nelson Mandela Special Education is a need based, target specific approach to teach and train the children with special needs including different types of disabilities. The Textbook of Special Education, First Edition, is a Resource Book for trainees and learners in the field of Special Education, Mental health including Rehabilitation Psychology, Clinical Psychology and allied sectors in India. The book focuses on the latest trends and follows the latest curriculum set by the UGC and RCI for Undergraduate and Postgraduate programmes in India. This book comprises 7 chapters which emphasizes upon the concept of Special Education, gifted, backward, intellectually disabled and delinquent children, classroom practices, Acts and Legal provisions and educational provisions for disabilities and giftedness in children. We have written this textbook with four primary group of readers in mind: (i) Students of Special Education formal programme, (ii) General Educators, (iii) Mental Health Professionals and (iv) Parents/caregivers of this segment of special population. Given the legislative mandates on inclusion, as well as ethical concerns, for including students with disabilities in general education classrooms whenever possible, educators must be prepared to understand and serve the needs of special children. This book is also appropriate for professionals in other allied fields who work with special children viz. speech-language pathologists, audiologists, physical therapists, occupational therapists, counselors and school psychologists and school administrators.
'[T]his book provides an excellent overview of special education, which will be a valuable resource for teachers, school managers and administrators, parents and indeed anyone with an interest in the development of provision for pupils with special educational needs. It is also likely to be an invaluable source book for researchers and postgraduate students alike' - REACH 'The Handbook offers a range of views on how to empower all learners to transcend their current performance and go "beyond the limits"' - Journal of Cognitive Education and Psychology `This text makes an important contribution to special education. Perhaps, more significantly, it makes an important contribution to inclusive education, and possibly, even more widely, to education in general...it is a book that has significance for all of us who wish to move education towards a more equitable, democratic, humane, and dignified system for our young people' - Education in the North In recent years there has been increasingly vigorous debate about the nature and purpose of special education, and what might be considered the appropriate responses to pupils who experience difficulties in learning. This Handbook brings together the most up to date knowledge of this area and will serve as the major source book of authoritative information and ideas about current and future directions for special education. It examines the intricate relation between theory, research and practice, and places a particular emphasis on what has been learned about providing for students who experience difficulties in learning, how these understandings can contribute to new conceptualisations of special education and the development of more inclusive schools. This comprehensive, research-based work, brings together scholarship on an international level, and covers topics that transcend national boundaries. It will become essential reading for all professionals and academics with any interest in this important and dynamic field.
Until this book was published, most writing on special education was about specific disabilities and how to cope with them. This book, however, considers the broader context, looking at many problems for the wider system that have arisen through integration of special education within it. The book is international and comparative in its focus and includes much North American material and work by North American researchers.
A Sociology of Special and Inclusive Education brings sociological perspectives to bear on the social, political and economic policies and practices that comprise special and inclusive education, and the education of lower attainers. Increasingly governments have accepted the premise that education should incorporate all social and ethnic groups, especially those regarded as having special educational needs, disabilities and difficulties in learning, but despite a plethora of literature on special and inclusive education world-wide, governments are still unsure of the reasons for this sector’s expansion in their national education systems. Professor Tomlinson applies critical sociological perspectives to the social processes, policies and practices that comprise special and inclusive education, particularly in England and the USA. She clearly examines the way in which people or groups exercise power and influence to shape this area of education, and discusses the conflicts of interest that arise in resulting social interactions and relationships. Key questions asked include: Why and how has a whole sector of education dealing with young people regarded as having learning difficulties, low attainments, behaviour problems or disabilities developed? How have special education programmes and resources become subsumed into variations of inclusive education? Why have ideological beliefs in hierarchies of ability, limits to learning potential and IQ as measurement continued to legitimate the treatment of young people? What happens to young people after their special, included or lower attainers' programmes, in terms of work and life chances? A Sociology of Special and Inclusive Education will be of interest to a wide range of educators, professionals, practitioners and policy-makers concerned with special, inclusive and vocational education, in addition to undergraduate, post-graduate and research students and academics.
Drawing on a three-year post-critical ethnography, this volume counters deficit-based notions of disability to present a new social and dialogic theory of thinking and learning for students with significant support needs. Dismantling ideas around ableism/disableism, Social and Dialogic Thinking and Learning offers a uniquely theoretical and conceptual contribution to special education and capability research. Illustrating how students exhibit varied practical, social, and creative abilities, possess agency and perform identity, chapters present a challenge to the restrictive ways in which disability is constructed through prescriptive forms of teacher-student interaction and instruction. The text ultimately offers a powerful re-imagining of how educators and researchers can perceive, observe, and respond to students beyond current institutional and cultural norms. This text will benefit researchers, academics, and educators with an interest in inclusion and special educational needs, disability studies, and the theories of learning more broadly. Those specifically interested in educational psychology and the study of severe, profound, and multiple learning difficulties will also benefit from this book.
Special education law and practice have undergone profound transformation over the past 50 years. Students with disabilities are now more likely to receive a free and appropriate education in the least restrictive environment possible; however, the ideals of the law have not always been manifested in effective practice. Although special education services are vastly better today than they were in the early years of public education, current policies and practices continue to result in the under-education of many children with disabilities. This book illustrates key failures of the system within the context of real children’s experiences. The case study approach gives voice to the students, families, and educators who have been let down by the special education process. The goal is to shed light on the flaws and injustices of the status quo. After identifying these problems, the authors offer sound solutions. Section 1 is devoted to issues surrounding identification of students with learning disabilities. These topics include occurrence of inconsistencies in assessment and diagnoses, understanding the struggles of the “slow learner,” and the interference of behavioral challenges with students’ educational performance. Section 2 addresses problems within the evaluation process that negatively influence diagnoses. Discussions include disproportionate representation of students from low socioeconomic backgrounds as well as students of color and bilingual students. Section 3 highlights significant concerns with service provision within the special education realm. The narratives throughout the book present stories of children on the receiving end of a severely fractured special education system. Recommendations focus on solving specific problems, such as inconsistent identification processes and categories, disproportionate representation, ill-conceived IEPs, ineffective specially designed instruction, and poorly implemented RTI programs. The book’s methodological approach affirms that there is much room for reform within both the special education system and the public education system as a whole. This book will be an excellent resource for graduate-level students, practitioners, and teachers in the fields of special education, disability studies, early intervention, school psychology, and child and family services. Additionally, it will be of interest to social workers, counselors, and researchers.
Building and supporting effective special education programs School leaders and special educators are expected to be experts on all levels and types of special education law and services, types of disability, and aspects of academic and functional programming. With the increasing demands of the job and the ever-changing legal and educational climate, few feel adequately prepared to meet the demands. Trends and Legal Issues in Special Education helps you build and support timely, legally sound, and effective special education services and programs. Readers will find: the most up-to-date information on how to effectively implement special education programs, processes, and procedures examination of a wide variety of issues, from developing and implementing individual education programs (IEPs) that confer a free appropriate public education, Section 504, least restrictive environment (LRE), and successfully collaborating with parents, to issues regarding accountability, staffing, bullying, early childhood special education, multi-tiered systems of support (MTSS), evidence-based practices, transition, discipline, and the school-to-prison pipeline extensive references and resources
