Understanding, Operationalizing, and Fostering Inclusion: Development and Implications of an Inclusive Mindsets and Behaviors Framework

• In Event: Promoting Inclusive Mindsets and Practices With Social and Emotional Learning

Abstract

Summary. Over the past fifty years, a range of initiatives, from those implemented in classrooms to those initiated by Congress, have improved educational inclusion for students with disabilities, especially regarding access to general education classrooms and accommodations (Hehir, 2009). Nevertheless, data suggest that work remains to be done to foster meaningful inclusion for students with disabilities in the classroom and beyond, including in social interactions and across broader contexts like communities. For example, Blake et al. (2012) report that the national rate of bullying experiences among students with disabilities in the United States was one to one and a half times the national average for students without disabilities, and Lipscomb et al. (2017) show that youth identified as needing special education services are less engaged in school and social activities. Indeed, in many places across the globe, youth with disabilities continue to be educated separately from their non-disabled peers, or do not attend school at all (Rotatori et al., 2014). Exclusion of students with disabilities may persist in part due to a lack of clarity around what inclusion means and therefore how to achieve it; Hehir and Katzman (2012) refer to the plethora of fragmented prescriptions for promoting inclusive education as “the inclusion cacophony,” and point to the need for a systemic, comprehensive approach to inclusion based on shared understanding of inclusion’s essential elements. To this end, defining and operationalizing the teaching and scaling of inclusion in learning settings continues to be imperative for communities worldwide.
This paper presents the work of a research-practice partnership to develop a framework for inclusive mindsets and behaviors that defines the core knowledge, skills, and actions that enable and encourage young people to include others. Key to this discussion is the exploration of setting-level structures and processes that deepen inclusive knowledge and provide opportunities to practice inclusive skills. These structures and processes provide a foundation for experiences that harness the power of a person’s environment to shape their development. The presenter will share the research and development process undergirding this framework, including findings from field work with stakeholders in eight global sites. Focus groups with an array of stakeholders—including students with and without disabilities—were conducted to gather information about context-specific definitions of inclusion, assets for inclusion, and a host of other data that ensured the framework is reflective of and responsive to the diverse ways in which context influences inclusion. The presenter will also discuss additional tools designed to support implementation of the framework, including vignettes (which use stories to bring the framework “to life”) and a measurement tool to assess impact and implementation of inclusive activities.
Our findings document the multi-dimensional nature of the conceptual framework, which reflects interactions among knowledge, skills, and experiences across ecological contexts (including the individual, social, and community/societal levels). In describing our methods and findings, we aim to share with the field the potential for this framework to inform pedagogy or programming to ensure alignment towards desired outcomes; and lay the groundwork for measurement and scalability.

Authors

• Natasha Raisch, Harvard University

• Rebecca Bailey, Harvard University

• Katharine Brush, Harvard University

• Sonya Temko, Harvard University

• Stephanie M. Jones, Harvard University