Open the Doors: A Collaborative and Digital Exploration of Inclusive Secondary Schools

• In Event: 79.050 - MTCC Roundtable Session 36
  In Roundtable Session: 79.050-4 - Breaking Through Barriers: Rethinking Teacher Preparation Work With Students With Special Needs

Abstract

Inclusive education can lead to improved academic, social, emotional and post-secondary outcomes for students with disabilities and their nondisabled peers. But the majority of students with complex support needs (i.e. students with labels of intellectual disability, autism, multiple disabilities, and emotional disabilities) continue to experience educational segregation (National Council on Disability, 2018) and poor educational outcomes. This paper reports on findings from a study that used participatory and digital methods to explore the practices and philosphies of inclusive secondary schools in a suburban school district. Participatory digital research methods are growing and promising approaches to educational scholarship and this study provides unique textual, visual and digital insight into the work of secondary inclusion.

Author

• Kathryn MacLeod, Syracuse University