Young learners often are enchanted with the world, fascinated by the ordinary, and absorbed in the present moment. We explore interconnected ideas about how young children's natural proclivity toward being curious and noticing differences among people should be harnessed toward socially just ends. We consider ways in which joyfulness in learning…

This paper highlights one key finding from a larger study where researchers utilised in-depth phenomenological interviews to explore the experiences and perspectives of public school teachers who espouse a disability studies in education (DSE) and social justice teaching identity. It specifically describes the relationship found between a lack of…

Inclusive education is key to the development of civic democracy. Its role is to transform schools into platforms of excellence and equality for all students. This literature review aims to summarize the current state of inclusive education in Eastern European countries and former Soviet states and to identify conditions necessary for their…

This study was undertaken to determine the concerns of primary school teachers about the inclusion of students with disabilities in Ahmedabad, India. A total of 560 teachers, working in government-run schools, returned the completed survey. A two-part questionnaire was used in this study. Part 1 gathered information relating to personal and…

The Central and State governments in India have formulated programs and policies over the years for children with disabilities in order to help them to enter mainstream society. However, despite these policies, children with disabilities are amongst the most disadvantaged in terms of access to schooling and completion of elementary education, as…

The purpose of this study was to examine the beliefs that teachers have about diversity and their level of sensitivity towards some topics related to it. Moreover, beliefs were compared according to teachers' personal and professional views and teaching experience. The "Personal and Professional Beliefs about Diversity Scales" (Pohan and…

Full membership is acceptance and belonging in a school community where all stakeholders have a voice and the culture is reflective of these values and beliefs. This qualitative study compared the perceptions of general and special education teachers from two southern high schools. The author explored how scripts of disability inform teacher…

This paper provides a framework for understanding inclusion in Cyprus. The evidence base is the result of a six-month qualitative research study in five Cypriot mainstream primary schools. Despite the rhetoric in favour of inclusion, it seems that the Cypriot educational system is still highly segregating in its philosophy and does not fully…

This qualitative study explored the perspectives of parents and teachers in the US with regard to the meaning and implications of disability in the context of schoolling, and of raising a child with a disability. The findings revealed broad conceptual differences in the perspectives of these two groups. Teachers' beliefs were generally consistent…

The conceptualization of normal in schools is problematic. It mediates perceptions about ability, achievement and behavior. Normal implies a hierarchy, naturalizing the idea that some students can achieve better than others. This practice places the blame on the student by locating the problem within the child while failing to consider ways to…

The successful participation of students with disabilities in a general education classroom is generally presumed to be contingent on the creation of classroom communities that can nurture the qualities of equity and care and where different forms of diversity are valued. However, there has been less scholarship that documents the production of…

Within the published empirical record, a limited number of investigations exist that study the association between socio-political ideologies of preservice teachers and their attitudes toward disability-related matters within schools. To the extent that individual socio-political ideology and discomfort with disability remain mostly unexplored,…

This paper claims that identifying, confronting, and changing ableist and oppressive views of disability through adult education is an ethical responsibility for educators. This can be construed as requiring changes to the kind of in-service education currently provided for professionals in the fields of special education and disability support.…

The purpose of this study is to investigate the perception of basic school teachers towards inclusive education in the Hohoe District of Ghana. The research makes use of a descriptive survey design, which engaged both qualitative and quantitative research methodologies. A sample size of 100 respondents, comprising of 60 male teachers and 40 female…

Weekly television series have more influence on American society than any other form of media, and with many of these series available on DVDs, television series are readily accessible to most consumers. Studying television series provides a unique perspective on society's view of individuals with disabilities and influences how teachers and peers…