In Australia and elsewhere, aged care and disability services are being transformed by the introduction of person-centred approaches. This radical reform to prioritise the dignity and needs of the people receiving care or support is an urgent matter of justice. Person-centred approaches are also transforming the organisation and conditions of…

Recent national and state-level policy changes have created an imperative for service providers to transform from sheltered work to competitive integrated employment. The current study sought to understand the impact of participation in a 1-year, comprehensive technical assistance pilot designed to support service providers to transform away from…

Background: Very few studies have evaluated the performance of transition to work (TTW) service providers after the TTW program was implemented in New South Wales, Australia since 2005. This paper examines employment outcomes achieved by 35 TTW service providers in Sydney. Method: Descriptive statistics and chi-square were used to analyse the TTW…

This policy memo provides an overview of the policy and practice of EU Member States in offering children with special educational needs (SEN) access to education. It sets out the policy framework, the main approaches taken by Member States, and identifies five key challenges for policy-makers and practitioners. While acknowledging there are…

As more Teacher Assistants (TAs) take on the responsibility of supporting students with disability and learning difficulties questions arise as to the appropriate qualifications for such work, the adequacy of training, and the policy and practice of schools employing TAs. A qualitative study, informed by multiple perspectives, was conducted in…

Although access to formal education has improved internationally for children with disabilities, concerns remain about education quality for this student population. Using data on 121 173 teachers from 38 countries in the 2013 Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS), this study examined the qualifications and professional development…

The purpose of the current study was to examine barriers, if any, reported by special education directors to providing extended school year (ESY) services. Results indicate four barriers to providing ESY services listed in order of importance by special education directors: difficulty in finding qualified personnel to work over the summer,…

This paper utilises the national "Survey of Disability Ageing and Carers" to summarise the educational disadvantages and vocational inequalities for those with disabilities in Australia. Amongst persons with a disability, there is a decidedly lower rate of school completion. Distinctly fewer persons with a disability obtain degrees.…

Based on Lev Vygotsky's social constructivism theory, this study examined the perceptions of Hong Kong physical education (PE) teachers regarding the inclusion of students with disabilities in general PE programmes. Eight secondary PE teachers (female = 5, male = 3) were recruited for individual semi-structured interviews. Data gathered from the…

Christian schools are not obligated to accept children with disabilities. However, the growing trend in Christian schools is to serve children with disabilities. Recent literature has begun to identify enrollment trends, areas of disability served, and professional development in Christian schools as it relates to disability. Literature exists…

Although the caseload of students with categorical disabilities and limited English proficiency has increased in recent years for secondary engineering design graphics teachers, the level of preparation to teach students with these characteristics has not. Given that teachers must develop inclusive classroom environments for all students, the…

The study explored teachers' perspectives on the curriculum, the physical environment and their preparation for the inclusive education programme. Data was collected using questionnaires. A sample of 120 teachers from schools identified as inclusive was used for the study. The t-test of independent samples and chi-square test were used to analyse…

Post-school employment outcomes for individuals with disabilities continue to be inadequate when compared to their peers without disabilities (Newman et al., 2011). One barrier to employment for individuals with disabilities is a lack of employment "soft skills" (Riesen, Morgan, Schutlz, & Kupferman, 2014), such as punctuality and…

This publication on out-of-school-children (OOSC) in the Pacific is a timely and important contribution to consider interventions to ameliorate educational disparities in the region. A contemporary view of the nine Pacific Island Countries (PICs) that are also members of the Commonwealth are captured as distinct case studies in the publication.…

This paper explores post-secondary faculty perceptions of awareness and preparedness relating to Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Institutions of higher education are businesses. The largest threat to sustained viability for many businesses is litigation. Business-related litigation is often the result of non-employment discrimination or…