Culturally Competent Practices and Implications for Special Education Leaders

The over-identification of minorities in special education in the Unites States continues to exist. Such over-representation separates these students from their general education peers to the degree that they may not have access to challenging academic standards and effective instruction. Factors impacting these students include a systemic lack of understanding of cultural frames of reference and curriculum and leadership issues that influence the referral and placement processes in special education. This chapter will address the five culturally competent practices with regard to inclusion and special education. Implications for educational leaders will be discussed.

Life Has Equal Worth

The aim of this chapter is to advance reasons in support of the establishment of full-service schools. The current government has sought to produce a lifelong learner who is literate, numerate, multi-skilled, compassionate, with the capacity to live well with others and to think critically. The curriculum had to complement the principles of social transformation, human rights, and valuing indigenous knowledge system, among others. Unfortunately, differently abled learners were excluded from mainstream classes because of race and (dis)ability. Given the circumstances surrounding this exclusion, parents were ashamed to acknowledge and accept their differently abled children, and society compounded the situation by rejecting them as well. The theory that underpins the discourse in this chapter is Social Constructionism. The chapter will introduce the concepts of full-service schools, followed by a discussion of the legislative framework responsible for the establishment of full-service schools. There will also be a critical look at the roles of the different stakeholders in the teaching and learning setup of full-service schools.

Inclusive Practices for Speech Language Pathologists

The purpose of this chapter is to identify and describe the current state of inclusive practices in terms of service delivery for speech language pathologists (SLP) and to identify administrative responsibilities in supporting inclusive practices. Identifying and describing effective practices of inclusion for students with disabilities is a challenging and complex task. This chapter begins by giving a brief historical overview of inclusive education, identifying the role of the speech pathologist in schools, identifying how SLPs work with families, teachers, and staff, research on effective administrative strategies in leading inclusive schools and supporting SLPs, describing inclusive education, choosing types of service delivery, models of inclusion, statistical facts, and conclusion.

College Bound?

Increasing numbers of students with disabilities who have been included in high school have transitioned to college over the past several decades. While many of those students are eligible for accommodations in high school, fewer of those same students with disabilities request or receive accommodations in college. The purpose of this chapter is to present the need to begin the transition process early, present the self-knowledge and skills that students need to support their success, outline the language, laws, and culture of college that students must negotiate, and propose the use of the summary of performance as an initial solution to the challenge of transition. Inclusive education has done much to spur changes in higher education and disability support. The supports are available in higher education. Students need the knowledge and skills to access them, use them, and self-advocate with their college counselors and instructors to meet their goals.

Differentiation

The purpose of this chapter is to explore ways teachers can differentiate the curriculum, activities, and materials to help ensure successful learning for students with special needs in the regular classroom. General teaching strategies, academic modification, socialization strategies, and what teachers can do to help students with special needs will be discussed. Students with special needs include students with autism spectrum disorder, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, intellectual disabilities, hearing impaired or deaf, vision impaired, gifted, communication, language and speech disorders, health impaired and physical disabilities, and emotional and behavioral disorders.

Theory and Implementation of Inclusion

The inclusion of students with special needs in general education settings has become an essential component of education. Including all students in the least restrictive environment to the maximum extent possible is the law and an innate human right. However, research reveals that some teachers do not have positive attitudes toward including students with disabilities. The purpose of this chapter is to discuss findings from a study that uncovered factors behind teachers' attitudes toward inclusion. The general findings and themes are discussed. The chapter concludes with a list of resources teachers can access without payment to help them better understand students with disabilities and ways in which the teacher can more easily develop an inclusive, inviting environment for all.

Inclusive Teaching as a Critical Skill for Educators in the 21st Century

The chapter recognizes that the need for accommodating all the learners in a teaching and learning situation is better accompanied by an inclusive teaching attitude and, therefore, practice. An extensive desktop literature review is used to explain the idea of inclusive teaching as a critical skill for educators in the 21st century. The chapter gives an overview of the conceptualization and contextualization of inclusive education, followed by the theoretical underpinnings of inclusive pedagogy. Most importantly, for the 21st century setup, the chapter advances thoughts of employing technology to promote inclusive pedagogy.

Inclusive Transition

Increasing trends in the number of students with disabilities who transition from high school to college and career have been evidenced in the past 30 years. Transition support for students who have been included in secondary school classrooms is necessary to ensure successful outcomes. The purpose of this chapter is to present the evolution of transition support and two evidence-based transition planning approaches. The chapter also presents the laws that support transition at various points in the educational pipeline and suggests training and outcomes that might be provided for students and their families and educators. Inclusive education has done much to spur the need for change in the transition process. The approaches are available. They need to be implemented to support students to persist and succeed in post-secondary education and in the world of work.

Inclusionary Practices Within the Middle and High School Educational Environments

This chapter is designed to inform and educate 6th- through 12th-grade teachers and administrators about inclusionary practices within the middle and high school educational environments. This chapter is divided into three sections. The first section provides a definition of inclusion. The second section discusses the benefits and challenges associated with implementing inclusion within middle and high school educational environments for both students with identified special learning needs and students without special needs. The last section investigates what can be done to overcome the challenges so that a better learning experience is had by all stakeholders, including students, teachers, and parents.

Setting a Framework of Inclusive Support for Students With Disabilities

The purpose of this chapter is to provide guidance to parents, teachers, and school administrators, as it relates to the various elements and considerations to implementing inclusion programming in schools. The author introduces the implementation of inclusion in terms of a multidimensional framework needed to support the inclusion of students with disabilities (SWD) in general education classroom settings. Inclusive settings allow access to the general education curriculum, ensuring compliance with federal law, and enhanced academic and social opportunities for students with disabilities. A discussion of key stakeholders in inclusion, as well as preparation, implementation, and sustainability of inclusion efforts are also reviewed.