Organizing Schools for the Inclusion of Students with Disabilities

Inclusion is a societal ideology and commitment to involving, empowering, and respecting the inherent worth and dignity of all people. This commitment to inclusion has been embraced and promoted by educational policies, institutions, and organizations. In terms of the educational inclusion of students with disabilities, the field commonly defines it as the instruction and provision of educational supports and services to students with disabilities in general education classrooms. While numerous studies have examined inclusive practices and instruction, the field has not coalesced around how to organize for inclusion. As such, there is not a consensus regarding the arrangement of and expectations placed upon resources (i.e., time, space, students, and personnel), as well as how these resources should interact, to facilitate the education of students with disabilities in general education settings. Examples of this include the placement and composition of students in inclusive classrooms; the allocation of resources to support inclusion; the structures and practices to support where, how, and how often special and general educators work together; and the assignment and roles of educators and support staff. With this being said, the literature base is filled with research that has touched upon and illuminated critical components of organizing for inclusion. For instance, the importance of school-wide reform models (e.g., multitiered system of supports/response to intervention) that provide a framework for the identification and delivery of educational resources to students with disabilities, the need for school leadership to foster environments and expectations that promote inclusive reform, and the necessity of collaboration between general and special educators in the provision of educational services and support. This article separates this literature into different “lenses” of analysis. In other words, it identifies different perspectives or points of view used when studying or discussing inclusive reform. These lenses include school-wide reform and frameworks, program delivery models, school leadership, and educators’ roles and working conditions. Within each of these lenses, we include both highly cited and more recent articles that provide insights on key elements of organizing for the inclusion of students with disabilities.