Overrepresentation of Indigenous students in school suspension, exclusion, and enrolment cancellation in Queensland: is there a case for systemic inclusive school reform?

Well-established evidence of the ill-effects of exclusionary school discipline, its disproportionate use on students of colour, and association with the “school-to-prison pipeline” has, in the last decade, led to systemic reforms in the United States, which are successfully reducing exclusion and improving outcomes. Few studies, however, have similarly investigated overrepresentation in Australia, with little attention to systemic reform as a result. In this study, we analysed suspension, exclusion, and enrolment cancellation rates in Queensland (QLD) government schools between 2013 and 2019 and found Indigenous students were consistently overrepresented. Suspension incidents proportionate to enrolments increased for all students, but this increase was faster for Indigenous than non-Indigenous students and driven primarily by steep rises in short suspensions during primary school (Preparatory-6). Exclusions increased—again disproportionately—for Indigenous students, chiefly in secondary school (7–12). During 2019, Physical Misconduct had the highest incident rate for both groups; however, Indigenous students were most overrepresented in suspensions for Disruptive/Disengaged behaviours. Further, while Indigenous students were overrepresented in all QLD regions, one region’s Indigenous suspension rate was higher than all others despite no difference in the distribution of Indigenous/non-Indigenous enrolments across regions. The scale and nature of Indigenous overrepresentation in exclusionary discipline incidents in QLD indicate clear need for further research to secure political commitment to systemic inclusive school reform, as well as to produce high-quality evidence capable of guiding that reform.

Collaborative Learning Environments for Autistic Children in the Inclusive School

One of the major challenges facing inclusive education for children with ASD is the identification and the removal of barriers of learning, ranging from attitudinal barriers to those related to how we organize workspaces and the conception of educational resources. The collaborative approach is one of the most effective ways of learning, and it has the benefit to develop the culture of inclusion in schools. In fact, the major challenge of the system is to personalize the educational therapeutic approach, respectively to create learning environments that generate meaningful learning experiences for each beneficiary. When the authors refer to the personalization of inclusive learning environments during pandemic period, they think both of indoor environments, but also of outdoor environments, as well as virtual environments, models of innovative practices regarding the preparation and organization of personalized collaborative spaces both in classrooms and also in learning spaces from the community, having a multi-, inter-, and transdisciplinary approach in order to develop life skills.

Enhancing the Pedagogical Competence of Inclusive School Teachers in Handling Children with Special Needs

This study aimed to: 1) analyze the level of pedagogic competence of inclusive school teachers in dealing with children with special needs; 2) carry out activities to increase this competence; and 3) investigate the impact of these activities. An action research design was used. Data were collected through pretest and posttest questionnaire instruments and interviews. Two cycles of activities to increase the level of pedagogic competence were carried out: cycle 1 involved training and cycle 2 involved a workshop. The results showed that the training and workshops were effective in improving the pedagogic competence of inclusive school teachers in dealing with children with special needs and in improving the skills of teachers in preparing learning tools according to the learning needs of students, and this effect was significant. Keywords: teacher pedagogical competencies, inclusive schools, children with special needs

Designing an Inclusive School_ICIE conference Presentation_Mridul Chowdhury Konok

The Paper was presented in the International Conference on Inclusive Education, Dhaka, in 2013. The Researcher outlined the blue print of an Inclusive School that is accessible to all students regardless of their physical barriers. The school design was contemplated by the Researcher in the context of a developing country, which indicates that it is possible to build this school with all the described facilities with a small budget. Thus, making the school a cost saving one.

Principals' perspectives of inclusive education involving students with autism spectrum conditions – a Swedish case study

PurposeThe aim of this case study is to describe what commitment and actions are needed in the Swedish school so that principals — within the Swedish school policy framework and with the goal of creating an inclusive school culture and practice — can positively affect schooling for students with disabilities, with a particular focus on students with autism spectrum conditions (ASC). Three research questions guide the study: (1) What commitment and actions do principals consider important for developing an inclusive school for all students, with a particular focus on students with ASC? (2) How do the principals reflect on their own leadership in the development of inclusive education, with a particular focus on students with ASC? (3) Based on the results, what are the implications of the study in practice?Design/methodology/approachAs part of a three-step data collection method, a snowball sampling was conducted in which n = 6 principals were initially interviewed and the data analyzed by an inductive thematic content analysis.Findings(1) Certain structures are needed when planning how to develop mutual values when organizing an inclusive school involving students with ASC, (2) the principals could, at times, feel a sense of loneliness in relation to their superiors and decision-makers and (3) more accountability from educators and greater consideration for the student perspective in decision-making are needed.Practical implicationsIt was found that (1) certain structures are needed when planning how to develop mutual values when organizing an inclusive school involving students with ASC, (2) the principals could, at times, feel a sense of isolation in relation to their superiors and decision-makers and (3) more accountability from educators and greater consideration for the student perspective in decision-making are needed.Originality/valueIndex for inclusion and elements from the inclusive leadership model were used in the data collection and analysis.

The Discourse of Drama

In this article, we consider how girls are positioned in school by what we have chosen to call the discourse of drama. The widely held notion that Nordic girls have it all along with this drama discourse are seen to be the key narratives that reinforce a hegemonic form of girlhood. This ethnographic study focuses on the relations of students between the ages of 13 and 15 in the light of uninformed school staff-member practices. Our findings suggest that girls, despite living in what is seen to be a country that upholds gender equality, are silenced through this discourse of drama. We suggest that teacher education should lead to the facilitation of a gender-inclusive school environment free of stereotypical ideas of gender as a fixed binary.

The role of the school leader in the inclusion of migrant families and students

Social, political and economic upheavals, coupled with natural disasters, are recurring, major causes of the displacement of people worldwide. Hosting nations are constantly seeking ways and means to meet the diverse needs of migrants, immigrants, refugees and asylum seekers, with schools incessantly being urged to play a major role in the inclusion of migrant students in all aspects of school life. The study highlights the strategies being employed by a Maltese school leader in his quest to fulfil his noble mission of effectively including all students, irrespective of background of origin. The study also seeks to develop and expand the role of the school leader towards meeting the needs of migrant students and their families within the school set-up and beyond. It also seeks to engage readers in a critical and constructive discussion surrounding the effective inclusion of migrant students in schools and society. It transpired that the school leader‘s work can be summarised under four categories: 1) reconceptualising the meaning of diversity 2) promoting an inclusive school culture, 3) strengthening of language support and 4) the extension of school relationships beyond school boundaries.