Inclusion by Design

Leveraging Co-Teaching as a Social Justice Pedagogy: What School Leaders Need to Know

“…Unfortunately, instruction around co-teaching is largely absent from leadership preparation curricula; leaders who are knowledgeable about it generally acquire their knowledge on the job and through self-initiated professional development (Brendle et al, 2017; Dukes & Lamar-Dukes, 2009; Fluijt et al, 2016; Kamens et al, 2013; Murawski & Dieker, 2012). Additionally, much of the existing literature from the field has focused more on what co-teachers need rather than on providing leadership strategies for meeting the complex challenges of establishing collective commitment to the model, providing specialized instructional supervision, and managing its implementation requirements.…”

“…The effectiveness of co-teaching is largely dependent on the educator's understandings that learning is a social act that is best accomplished in an inclusive set and requires shared commitments to enact practices that fulfill a vision of equity for every student (Ashton, 2014; Dukes & Lamar-Dukes, 2009). In the absence of an inclusive culture and responsive pedagogy, co-teaching practices often lack the fidelity needed to reduce opportunity gaps (Ashton, 2014; Rexroat-Frazier & Chamberlin, 2019).…”

“…Leaders must be able to convey to the school community that equitable access precedes equitable outcomes - and how co-teaching fits into a plan of equity and excellence for every student (Agosto & Karanxha, 2012; Friend, 2007; Friend et al, 2010; Kamens et al, 2013; Rivera-McCutchen, 2014). As such, it is critical that they situate co-teaching in an ethical context of caring and socially-just practice (Dukes & Lamar-Dukes, 2009; Murawski & Bernhardt, 2015). Furthermore, they must follow up on their commitment to it by providing the resources and supports needed to implement it (Friend, 2008; Friend et al, 2010).…”

‘More than an Educator but a Political Figure': Leveraging the Overlapping Intersections of Disability Studies and Critical Pedagogy in Teacher Education

“…Through these discourses that embodied inclusion by design (Dukes and Lamar-Dukes, 2009;Jehlen, 2002), my teacher-students started to more thoughtfully engage with their own practices and experiences in classrooms where (dis)ability was very rarely discussed, let alone criticized for its exclusionary premises. The ending product that emerged was curiosity incarnate, a genuine stance of accepted ignorance that was grounded in the need to come from a place of wanting to assess for one's self the validity used within the narratives imposed onto students before my teachers even saw them -to not assume an IEP, disability label, or special education placement constituted the extent of a student's personhood or possibility.…”

An Examination of Student Perceptions of Regional Safe School and Public School Services

“…The recommendations of the mid-1990s, not yet evident in schools implementing inclusive educational practices, have continued to be made in recent research. Dukes and Lamar-Dukes (2009) posited the idea that inclusive educational practices in secondary schools must be designed to define needs of students, purposes and functions of the educational system, personnel training needed, and evaluation of the system.…”