Teacher Education Departments at most liberal arts colleges serve as professional certification programs as much as departments with academic majors. We train our students to work in P-12 education in an era of inclusion and require them to support their students with disabilities in preparation for college and career. The federal government…

Much of the recent focus of educational policymakers has been on improving the measurement of teacher effectiveness. Linking student growth to teacher effects has been a large part of reform efforts. To date, neither researchers nor practitioners have arrived at a consensus on how to treat test scores from students with disabilities in…

The perceptions and beliefs of 303 special education professionals toward currently available playgrounds in their school or community were examined. Survey respondents (a) indicated that their students with a disability could not fully participate in their school or community's playground offerings, (b) discussed the need for a peer buddy program…

In September 2012, the process changed in England for how parents (and carers) can appeal against their child's exclusion from school. This paper is one of the first accounts of how parents experience the new system. Using data from a research study with a range of stakeholders in the appeals process, this paper focuses on the accounts of the 21…

Technology has shaped the definition of literacy from the traditional meaning of having the ability to read and write to being a social practice that enables individuals to learn and interact with the world. With this notion of literacy, technology has become a tool to motivate and engage all learners through broad practices and platforms that…

Individuals in their mid-thirties are expected to be employed and economically independent. However, people with disabilities and health problems--for example, former students with special educational needs (SEN)--may have problems in this domain of adult life. In Norway, individuals with SEN frequently rely on social security and support measures…

Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is an orientation to instructional design that aims to diversify pedagogy for the purpose of responding to inherently diverse neurological processes that comprise learning (Rose & Meyer, 2002). In the Higher Education Opportunity Act, UDL is recommended as means to provide appropriate accommodations toward…

In this commentary, we revisit "NCLB and the Demand for Highly Qualified Teachers: Challenges and Solutions for Rural Schools," an article we published in this journal in 2005. We consider the predictions we made then about the impact of the Highly Qualified Teacher mandate on special education teacher (SET) shortages in rural states and…

The primary mechanism for ensuring students with disabilities receive the right educational content and rigor at the right moment in their education is the individualized education program (IEP). This document, "Ensuring an Equitable Opportunity: Providing a High-Quality Education for Students with Disabilities," details policy and…

This volume in the International Perspectives on Inclusive Education Series explores innovative perspectives and practices regarding social inclusion of potentially marginalized individuals from multiple perspectives. This book blends theoretical and evidence-based research about social inclusion and belonging, while simultaneously giving voice to…

This conceptual article synthesizes the empirical research on punitive environmental norms of schools and the disproportionate effects on certain child and adolescent groups, particularly within urban schools. This involvement has come to be known as the school-to-prison pipeline. The young people affected by harsh school discipline protocols and…

This paper explores how to balance test security and accessibility on licensure, credentialing, and certification exams. It examines K-12 test security policies related to educational assessments across states to discover lessons learned about how to meet accessibility needs of individuals with disabilities while minimizing test security risks. It…

Online teacher professional development (oTPD) researchers have been concerned with design features, teacher change in practice, and student learning, as well as establishing guidelines for directing funding support. Even so, previous work suggests that high-quality instructional support for all students with disabilities is still on the horizon.…

This article explores how choral music educators can facilitate access to meaningful music experiences for all students in their schools. In a changing landscape that honors equity and diversity, music education environments must also change to align with these values. To provide the optimal environment for successful inclusive practice, choral…

Kindergarten through 12th-grade classrooms is almost exclusively inclusive instructional settings. Supports for the regular education teachers vary as time and budgets permit, placing increased responsibility for providing instruction to children with disabilities on these teachers. Professional development targeted at teachers' self-efficacy with…