Addressing the inclusion imperative: an urban school district’s responses

Abstract

Over the past forty years, schools across the United States have become more inclusive for students with disabilities. However, in many high-poverty urban school districts, a disproportionate number of minority children with disabilities are segregated from their nondisabled peers. This article presents findings from a qualitative case study of one urban school district implementing special education-related inclusion reform over the course of four years. The district had a history of segregating students and numerous compliance issues with special education mandates; however, the arrival of a new superintendent brought new hopes for change. The authors argue that existing research regarding inclusion has typically ignored the policy implementation processes employed by school districts in establishing more inclusive schools and improved special education programs. This article provides a case description of a district's special education inclusion policy implementation process, the challenges district administrators were confronted with, and the positive and negative outcomes of the district's policies. The findings inform nextgeneration policy initiatives and future lines of inquiry. Keywords: special education; inclusion, urban education, policy, school districts epaa aape Education Policy Analysis Archives Vol. 21 No. 612 Abordando el imperativo de la inclusión: respuestas de un distrito escolar urbano. Resumen: Durante los últimos cuarenta años, las escuelas de los Estados Unidos se han vuelto más inclusivas para estudiantes con discapacidades. Sin embargo, en muchos distritos escolares urbanos de alta pobreza, un número desproporcionado de niños de minorías con discapacidades son separados de sus compañeros no discapacitados. Este artículo presenta los resultados de un estudio de caso cualitativo de un distrito escolar urbano que esta implementando una reforma de inclusión relacionada con la educación especial durante cuatro años. El distrito tiene una historia de segregación de estudiantes y numerosos problemas de cumplimiento con los mandatos sobre educación especial, sin embargo, la llegada de un nuevo superintendente trajo nuevas esperanzas de cambio. Los autores argumentan que la investigación existente sobre la inclusión ha ignorado generalmente los procesos de aplicación de las políticas empleados por los distritos escolares en el establecimiento de escuelas más integradoras y programas de mejora de la educación especial. Este artículo proporciona una descripción del proceso de implementación de políticas de inclusión de educación especial, los retos que enfrentan los administradores del distrito, y los resultados positivos y negativos de las políticas del distrito. Los resultados sugieren elementos para pensar futuras iniciativas políticas para la próxima generación y líneas de investigación. Palabras clave: educación especial; inclusión; educación urbana,; política; distritos escolares Atendendo ao imperativo da inclusão: respostas de um distrito escolar urbano. Resumo: Durante os último...

Making Sense of Social Justice Leadership: A Case Study of a Principal’s Experiences to Create a More Inclusive School

“…1 The origins of these failures are related to the intersection of raceand class-based discrimination that culminates with a student being inappropriately identified as having a disability and/or placed in a more restrictive than necessary educational placement. District failures often stem from a lack of funding, training, and inequitable special-education structures that may or may not be due to deficit perspectives held by policymakers and educators (DeMatthews & Mawhinney, 2013;Harry & Klingner, 2006).…”

Deconstruyendo la noción de inclusión: Un análisis de investigaciones, políticas y prácticas en educación

“…La unidad de análisis privilegiada es la escuela como comunidad y sus actores presentes o futuros, como factores de la inclusión escolar. Las investigaciones se centran en el análisis del sistema escolar (Blanco, 2006), en estudios de casos de escuelas o de aulas (Ainscow, 2000;DeMatthews y Mawhinney, 2013;Fernández, 2013) y de representaciones del personal docente y del estudiantado de pedagogía (Bhopal y Rhamie, 2014;Garnique-Castro y Gutiérrez-Vidrio, 2011;Sánchez, Díaz, Sanhueza y Friz, 2008). Por lo contrario, el concepto de inclusión/exclusión social cuestiona el modelo democrático en su conjunto y sus consecuencias en el sistema escolar.…”

Effects of Social-Emotional Instruction on the Behavior of Students with Learning Disabilities

“…Notably, the school district being studied did not provide ample training or financial support to the schools that were expected to teach an expanded number of students with disabilities due to a change in policy (DeMathews & Mawhinney, 2013). Likewise, many principals reported that they did not support the district's approach to shifting towards more inclusion, and admitted to not following the district's mandate when possible (DeMathews & Mawhinney, 2013).…”

“…Notably, the school district being studied did not provide ample training or financial support to the schools that were expected to teach an expanded number of students with disabilities due to a change in policy (DeMathews & Mawhinney, 2013). Likewise, many principals reported that they did not support the district's approach to shifting towards more inclusion, and admitted to not following the district's mandate when possible (DeMathews & Mawhinney, 2013). Not only does this echo the importance of administrative support raised by other studies, but it also raises questions about the true equity and the quality of instruction that was provided to special education students as this district shifted towards inclusion practices (DeMathews & Mawhinney, 2013).…”

“…Likewise, many principals reported that they did not support the district's approach to shifting towards more inclusion, and admitted to not following the district's mandate when possible (DeMathews & Mawhinney, 2013). Not only does this echo the importance of administrative support raised by other studies, but it also raises questions about the true equity and the quality of instruction that was provided to special education students as this district shifted towards inclusion practices (DeMathews & Mawhinney, 2013). Access to quality instruction is important for student success in all academic settings.…”