Interrogating the Notion of Inclusive Education Through Research, Policy, and Teacher Preparation

Session Type: Symposium

Abstract

This symposium proposal unites scholars with interests in multiple areas including decolonial studies, special education, sociology, policy studies and implementation in search of tools to interrogate the idea of inclusive education as practiced within the classroom for all students. The notion of inclusive education is complicated in its implementation due to the nature of undergirding factors including culture, history, spaces, contexts, and agencies involved within and outside the school building. The scholars in this symposium use several theoretical lenses including cultural historical activity theory, decolonial theory, theories around teacher agency, DisCrit, and street level bureaucracy theory to understand how teachers, school professionals, and families deal with the practice of inclusion.

Sub Unit

• SIG-Special and Inclusive Education Research

Chair

• Elizabeth B. Kozleski, Stanford University

Papers

• Interrogating What Counts as an Inclusive Classroom: Toward Power, Participation, and Voice - Inna Stepaniuk, Simon Fraser University

• Forging Teacher Agency for Inclusive Education: Exploring Teacher Education and Development - Courtney L. Wilt, University of Wisconsin - Whitewater; Samantha Gross Toews, California State University - Northridge

• Achieving Teacher Agency for Inclusive Education: An Exploration of Teachers' Perspectives - Marco Andreoli

• Translating the Least Restrictive Environment Mandate of the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act Into Practice: Interrogating Inclusion on the Ground - Suman Rath, University of Memphis

• Excluding Inclusion: How White Parents Hoard Educational Opportunities and Resist Inclusive Education - John Christopher Wilt, University of Kansas

Discussant

• Amanda L. Miller, Wayne State University