scholarly journals Supporting Primary and Secondary Teachers to Deliver Inclusive Education Educatio

2021 ◽  
Vol 46 (4) ◽  
pp. 92-107
Author(s):  
Jill Duncan ◽  
◽  
Renée Punch ◽  
Nic Croce ◽  
◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Inclusive Education ◽  
Professional Learning ◽  
Learning Opportunities ◽  
Instructional Leaders ◽  
Strong Indication ◽  
Educational Settings ◽  
Closed Set ◽  
Geographical Regions ◽  
The Government ◽  
Supporting Teachers

With Australian disability discrimination legislation and educational policy promoting movement toward inclusive education, the building and supporting of inclusive education workforce capability is of paramount importance. This study investigated how principals in Australian primary and secondary educational settings support teachers to provide inclusive education and what these principals perceive to be barriers to supporting the education workforce to deliver inclusive education. The study used an online open- and closed-set survey. The findings demonstrated that principals in educational settings across the government, Catholic and independent sectors and across geographical regions offered largely similar professional learning opportunities to their staff, and expressed similar views about barriers and principals’ roles in supporting their teachers to deliver inclusive education. Participants overwhelmingly reported that their role in building teacher capability was as instructional leaders and brokers of workforce professional learning. There was a strong indication by principals of the need for teachers’ knowledge and skills to be developed and of the need for high quality, effective ongoing professional learning. Participants reported barriers to supporting teachers to deliver inclusive education, most commonly an insufficiency of time, finances, and access. Recommendations for better supporting teachers in primary and secondary settings to deliver inclusive education are made

Access to Qualified, Well-Supported Principals Across Alternative Educational Settings and Neighborhood Schools

2019 ◽  
Vol 53 (4) ◽  
pp. 195-205
Author(s):  
Elizabeth Bettini ◽  
Loretta Mason-Williams ◽  
Brian R. Barber
Keyword(s):  
Professional Learning ◽  
Principal Leadership ◽  
Learning Opportunities ◽  
Schools And Staffing Survey ◽  
Neighborhood Schools ◽  
Educational Settings ◽  
Neighborhood School ◽  
Primary Responsibility ◽  
Behavioral Needs ◽  
Supporting Teachers

Principals bear primary responsibility for supporting teachers. Principal leadership is especially important in alternative educational settings (AES; e.g., alternative schools, self-contained special education schools) that serve students with more substantial learning and behavioral needs, often with less-qualified and experienced teachers. We examined principals’ qualifications (i.e., principal certifications, preparation, and experience) and professional learning opportunities across AES and neighborhood schools. Analyzing data from the 2011–2012 Schools and Staffing Survey, we found that AES principals are, on average, less qualified than neighborhood school principals in terms of their experience, preparation, and administrative certification. Furthermore, AES principals have less access to professional development opportunities. Results are consistent with prior investigations that indicate an inequitable distribution of personnel resources in AES compared with neighborhood schools.

The Australian Curriculum

2015 ◽  
pp. 161-180
Author(s):  
Karyn Carson ◽  
Peter Walker
Keyword(s):  
Inclusive Education ◽  
Professional Learning ◽  
Learning Opportunities ◽  
Diverse Learners ◽  
Comprehensive Assessment ◽  
Assessment Practices ◽  
Australian Curriculum ◽  
Curriculum Assessment ◽  
Starting Point

A distinct synergy exists between pedagogy, curriculum, assessment, and reporting. The implementation of the new Australian Curriculum F-10 (henceforth abbreviated as “Australian Curriculum”) has provided both opportunities and challenges for ensuring that the needs of diverse learners are strongly addressed within inclusive education settings. This chapter illuminates specific issues related to the comprehensive assessment of diverse learners including national inconsistencies in the provision of accommodations, the use of the general capabilities as a starting point rather than a curriculum adjustment point, and the paucity of resources and professional learning opportunities supporting inclusive assessment practices. Recommendations are provided to demonstrate how educators can achieve effective student-centred assessment practices for diverse learners using the Australian Curriculum across and within different contexts.

Professional development that improves STEM outcomes

2020 ◽  
Vol 101 (5) ◽  
pp. 50-56 ◽  
Author(s):  
Heather C. Hill ◽  
Kathleen Lynch ◽  
Kathryn E. Gonzalez ◽  
Cynthia Pollard
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Professional Learning ◽  
Instructional Improvement ◽  
Learning Opportunities ◽  
Instructional Decisions ◽  
Learning Time ◽  
Improvement Programs ◽  
The Moment ◽  
Supporting Teachers ◽  
Stem Outcomes

How should teachers spend their STEM-focused professional learning time? To answer this question, Heather Hill, Kathleen Lynch, Kathryn Gonzalez, and Cynthia Pollard analyzed a recent wave of rigorous new studies of STEM instructional improvement programs. They found that programs work best when focused on building knowledge teachers can use during instruction. This includes knowledge of the curriculum materials they will use, knowledge of content, and knowledge of how students learn that content. They argue that such learning opportunities improve teachers’ professional knowledge and skill, potentially by supporting teachers in making more informed in-the-moment instructional decisions.

JUSTICE AND SOCIAL CHANGE FOR INCLUSIVE EDUCATION IN INDONESIA AND ASEAN FOR DISABLED PERSONS (STUDY ON PEOPLE AFFECTED BY LEPROSY)

2017 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-5
Author(s):  
Nuah Perdamenta Tarigan ◽  
Christian Siregar ◽  
Simon Mangatur Tampubolon
Keyword(s):  
Inclusive Education ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Disabled Persons ◽  
Equal Rights ◽  
Central Java ◽  
The People ◽  
Asean Countries ◽  
The Government ◽  
The Moment ◽  
The Right

Justice that has not existed and is apparent among the disabilities in Indonesia is very large and spread in the archipelago is very large, making the issue of equality is a very important thing especially with the publication of the Disability Act No. 8 of 2016 at the beginning of that year. Only a few provinces that understand properly and well on open and potential issues and issues will affect other areas including the increasingly growing number of elderly people in Indonesia due to the increasing welfare of the people. The government of DKI Jakarta, including the most concerned with disability, from the beginning has set a bold step to defend things related to disability, including local governments in Solo, Bali, Makassar and several other areas. Leprosy belonging to the disability community has a very tough marginalization, the disability that arises from leprosy quite a lot, reaches ten percent more and covers the poor areas of Indonesia, such as Nusa Tenggara Timur, Papua, South Sulawesi Provinces and even East Java and West Java and Central Java Provinces. If we compare again with the ASEAN countries we also do not miss the moment in ratifying the CRPD (Convention of Rights for People with Disability) into the Law of Disability No. 8 of 2016 which, although already published but still get rejections in some sections because do not provide proper empowerment and rights equality. The struggle is long and must be continued to build equal rights in all areas, not only health and welfare but also in the right of the right to receive continuous inclusive education.

The deputy principal instructional leadership role and professional learning

2017 ◽  
Vol 55 (1) ◽  
pp. 33-48 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ann Leaf ◽  
George Odhiambo
Keyword(s):  
Instructional Leadership ◽  
Professional Learning ◽  
Ad Hoc ◽  
Team Building ◽  
Leadership Role ◽  
Instructional Leaders ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to report on a study examining the perceptions of secondary principals, deputies and teachers, of deputy principal (DP) instructional leadership (IL), as well as deputies’ professional learning (PL) needs. Framed within an interpretivist approach, the specific objectives of this study were: to explore the extent to which DPs are perceived as leaders of learning, to examine the actual responsibilities of these DPs and to explore the PL that support DP roles. Design/methodology/approach The researchers used multiple perspective case studies which included semi-structured interviews and key school document analysis. A thematic content analysis facilitated qualitative descriptions and insights from the perspectives of the principals, DPs and teachers of four high-performing secondary schools in Sydney, Australia. Findings The data revealed that deputies performed a huge range of tasks; all the principals were distributing leadership to their deputies to build leadership capacity and supported their PL in a variety of ways. Across three of the case study schools, most deputies were frequently performing as instructional leaders, improving their school’s performance through distributing leadership, team building and goal setting. Deputy PL was largely dependent on principal mentoring and self-initiated but was often ad hoc. Findings add more validity to the importance of principals building the educational leadership of their deputies. Research limitations/implications This study relied upon responses from four case study schools. Further insight into the key issues discussed may require a longitudinal data that describe perceptions from a substantial number of schools in Australia over time. However, studying only four schools allowed for an in-depth investigation. Practical implications The findings from this study have practical implications for system leaders with responsibilities of framing the deputies’ role as emergent educational leaders rather than as administrators and the need for coherent, integrated, consequential and systematic approaches to DP professional development. Further research is required on the effect of deputy IL on school performance. Originality/value There is a dearth of research-based evidence exploring the range of responsibilities of deputies and perceptions of staff about deputies’ IL role and their PL needs. This is the first published New South Wales, Australian DP study and adds to the growing evidence around perceptions of DPs as instructional leaders by providing an Australian perspective on the phenomenon. The paper raises important concerns about the complexity of the DP’s role on the one hand, and on the other hand, the PL that is perceived to be most appropriate for dealing with this complexity.

When and How Students Take the Reins: Specifying Learner Initiatives in Tutoring Sessions with Preschool-Aged Children

2015 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 23-48
Author(s):  
Catherine DiFelice Box
Keyword(s):  
Conversation Analysis ◽  
Learning Opportunities ◽  
Discursive Practices ◽  
Experienced Teacher ◽  
Educational Settings ◽  
Student Centered ◽  
Growing Body ◽  
Scant Attention ◽  
Mathematics Tutoring ◽  
Preschool Aged Children

AbstractFor decades, scholars across disciplines have lauded educational settings in which students have the interactional space to take initiative (e.g. Dyson 1987; Manke 1997; Renne 1996; Shah et al. 2002). As such, initiatives of this kind are considered an important part of student-centered activities, which in turn lead to greater learning opportunities (Waring 2011). While much research has been devoted to examining contexts in which learner’s voices may be heard, scant attention has been paid to the particular kinds of talk that encourage them to initiate contribution or the ways in which such initiatives, when they do occur, serve to shape the pedagogical trajectory. By utilizing conversation analysis (CA) to study interactions in one-on-one mathematics tutoring sessions between an experienced teacher and preschool-aged children, this study extends the small but growing body of microanalytic work on learner initiatives. It aims to further specify the discursive practices that foster rich environments for learner-led contributions. It also considers how the contributions shape the ensuing lesson, and what such contributions relay to teachers about the learner’s understanding of a concept.

Getting up to SpEED: Special Education Embodied Design for Sensorially Equitable Inclusion

2021 ◽  
pp. 114-136
Author(s):  
Sofia Tancredi ◽  
Rachel Chen ◽  
Christina Krause ◽  
Dor Abrahamson ◽  
Filippo Gomez
Keyword(s):  
Special Education ◽  
Inclusive Education ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Learning Opportunities ◽  
Special Education Students ◽  
Whole Body ◽  
Education Students ◽  
Design Based Research ◽  
Novel Approach ◽  
Design Speed

We present the implications of a novel approach to design-based research, Special Education Embodied Design (SpEED), for inclusive education. SpEED is a new way of thinking about how Special Education students can learn through whole-body participation (Tancredi et al., in press). The goal of SpEED is to update our thinking about special education and inclusion based on the latest developments in cognitive science. We illustrate the utility of embodied design to teaching and research on issues affecting learners in Special Education through examples centering different Special Education populations, including Deaf learners, learners on the autism spectrum, and sensory-seeking learners. Each project focuses on deepening the learning opportunities we offer students by using learners' existing embodied resources. We conclude with a commentary on considerations for implementing SpEED within the Italian educational system.

scholarly journals A social-cognitive study of Indonesian Google educator groups

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Pratiwi Artati
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Educational Technology ◽  
Professional Learning ◽  
Social Cognitive ◽  
Learning Opportunities ◽  
Technological Environment ◽  
Web Based ◽  
Case Study Methodology ◽  
Education Groups

<p>Self-directed professional learning is distinct from the traditional approach of directed professional development. The introduction of the Internet into Indonesian society provides the opportunity for teachers to use digital tools for their teaching and to access professional learning without attending mandated professional development. An emerging phenomenon in Indonesia is the establishment and use of Google Education Groups (GEGs) for professional learning about the use of educational technology (ed-tech) in the schooling sector. Two research questions guided the examination of Indonesian educators’ experiences of GEGs: (1) how do Indonesian educators participate in the GEGs for ed-tech professional learning? and (2) how do the GEGs function to enable Indonesian educators’ ed-tech professional learning? Collective case study methodology was applied, and three Google Education Groups were examined, one from a metropolitan area, one from an urban area and the third from a rural context. In each case study, the leader of the group and three group members with varying levels of online engagement were interviewed and online forum conversations were examined. Data were analysed using Stake’s method of categorical aggregation leading to within-case assertions and cross-case analysis. A social cognitive perspective was used as a framework to analyse and interpret findings. It was found that the Indonesian educators had an agentic approach to professional learning, which was context-dependent with three major interrelated aspects: the regional-technological environment as context, the individuals as agentic learners, and the connectedness as social learners enabled meaningful learning experiences. The regional-technological environment influenced how the GEGs functioned. The Metropolitan group was innovative and collaborative, focusing on the use of web-based tools to improve productivity of ed-tech practices. The Urban group aimed to explore how they could use web-based tools to improve efficiency through paperless classroom practices and school administration. The Rural group sought to use of web-based tools for simple teaching and learning practices within a context of low bandwidth and limited ICT infrastructure. In addition, certain conditions that support online collaboration and factors that can minimise and optimise ed-tech learning opportunities are identified. Participants overcame limitations and constraints by enacting agency and developing social connectedness in learning through the groups. The group leadership positions were voluntary and found to be driven by a desire to share expertise and practices that support, inspire, and empower others rather than about gaining positional authority. Participation in online informal groups such as Google Education Groups appears to be a supportive method of professional learning that facilitates agentic and experiential learning about the use of educational technology in Indonesia. This model can enhance professional learning opportunities for Indonesian educators. It can also be implemented into the design of government-supported ed-tech PD programmes, to create an empowering and safe learning environment that can optimise their potential in learning and improve practice.</p>

scholarly journals Lifelong Inclusive Education Service System in the Context of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development

2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. p120
Author(s):  
Feng -Xia ◽  
Yongfen -Gu ◽  
Meixian -Huang
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Inclusive Education ◽  
Learning Opportunities ◽  
Macroscopic System ◽  
2030 Agenda ◽  
The People ◽  
Education Service ◽  
Output Efficiency ◽  
New Perspective ◽  
Future Education

Transforming our World: The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which is issued by the United Nations in 2015, put forward 17 goals for sustainable development to promote worldwide peace and freedom. Among the 17 goals, one goes to the education vision, stating that “Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all”. This goal further and clearly describes the features of the future education: lifelong, inclusive, fair and high-quality. To make the dream true, every country should rethink the present education service and make reforms based on the national situation. In this context, this paper discusses the direction, construction, objects and layout of a lifelong inclusive education service suitable for present China’s national conditions, in hope of contributing Chinese wisdom to the “Community of shared future for mankind”. It is suggested in this paper that we should give priority to the construction and perfection of the macroscopic system and operating mechanisms for the lifelong inclusive education service in consideration of input and output efficiency; that we should update our mind and think of the education from a new perspective, that is, regard the lifelong inclusive education service as part of public service for all the people; that we should provide suitable education service for all students, regardless of age, race, disability, gender and wealth; that we should design and implement the educational projects reasonably and scientifically in order to better realize the goal.

scholarly journals “Choose Your Own Adventure”: Web-Based Case Studies of Inclusive Education as a Form of Professional Learning for School Principals

2021 ◽  
pp. 194277512110469
Author(s):  
Steve Sider ◽  
Kimberly Maich ◽  
Jacqueline Specht ◽  
Carolyn Treadgold ◽  
Hillary Winger
Keyword(s):  
School Leadership ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
Inclusive Education ◽  
Professional Learning ◽  
School Principals ◽  
School Administrators ◽  
Function Form ◽  
Multiple Perspectives ◽  
Web Based ◽  
Inclusive School

We examine the process of developing web-based case studies, a novel form of professional learning for principals, specifically related to inclusive school leadership. Based on the input from 39 principals, 5 case studies were developed with branching scenarios that provided multiple options for decision-making. These “choose your own adventure” case studies were used in a special education for school administrators course with 109 participants in Ontario, Canada. We consider the authenticity of the cases, the importance of incorporating multiple perspectives, and issues related to function, form, and choice. We incorporate five lessons for developing web-based case studies.

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