Inclusion of Students with Special Needs:

Systems Change

 

Inclusive learning environments incorporate change based on research findings.  The change is planned in regards to organizational development and personnel's attitudes and skills.  The outcome of the change is to add value in student learning and student performance.

Articles

Creating Systems Change   Gail Hanninen
As Director of Special Services of the Sumner School District, Gail Hanninen shares with us her knowledge of systems change, making change that endures and changes at the heart of the organization.  

Special Education and the Concept of Neurodiversity    Thomas Armstrong
A well known educator and author describes how new research on neurodiversity is very much in line with contemporary psychology's new approach to "positive psychology" and will be fundamental in changing the attitudes and outlook of people toward children in special education programs.

Leading Beyond Compliance: Integrated Comprehensive Services© for All Learners   Elise M. Frattura and Colleen A. Capper
Two university professors address the needs of special education, ELL, at- risk, and Title I students by describing ways to infuse integrated comprehensive services into the primary components of school educational plans.

What Would it Look Like if All Students Felt Included?   Carol Frodge
Administrative Intern describes the development of a small school within an Edmonds, Washington middle school. This is the first in a series of three articles about the project as it evolves.

What Would It Look Like if All Students Felt Included? Part II
Carol Frodge
Administrative Intern charts the development of a small school within a larger middle school in Edmonds, Washington. This is the second in a series of three articles about the project as it evolves.

What Would It Look Like If All Students Felt Included? Part III   Carol Frodge and Lori Armstrong Lynass
The successes and challenges of beginning and implementing a small school model are highlighted in this article. Detail is given to how a shift in staff and administration affected this newly formed model, now in year two of implementation. Lessons learned and future outlook from this experience conclude this article.

Nobody's Coming to Save Us    Barbara Mick
The principal of a small rural school describes her school's transformative experiences with inclusion.

How Do You Get Black Kids to Learn? You Just Teach Them! A Conversation with Anitra Pinchback   Jill Hearne
Interview with an award-winning teacher from the African American Academy in Seattle, WA, about her successful strategies for raising the academic achievement of her students.

A Thinking Development Approach For Working With Disadvantaged Students Stanley Pogrow
University Professor describes his successful Higher Order Thinking Skills (HOTS) program, its outcomes, and its relevance to today's needs in education.

Wahluke School District Sees Unique Challenges As Opportunities to Increase Student Achievement    Dr. Bill Miller, Superintendent and Delcine Mesa Johnson, Director of Curriculum
 Wahluke School District sees the unique challenges districts face as an opportunity to "pull out all the stops" and find innovative ways to support teaching and student learning.   Wahluke is located in Mattawa, a small agricultural community an hour outside of Tri-Cities and Yakima on the Columbia River.  Their four schools consist of a diverse student population with 40 percent migrant children.  

Alderwood Middle School Makes a Difference    Pat Steinburg and Suzie Baier
A Special Education specialist and a school principal share their strategies to create a learning environment that resulted in improved test scores, school participation, and parental satisfaction for students with disabilities.

Portraits of Inclusion Through the Eyes of Children, Families, and Educators    Susan Janko and Alice Porter, et al.
A valuable report prepared under the auspices of ECRII, Early Childhood Research Institute on Inclusion, by a consortium of researchers from the University of North Carolina, Vanderbilt University, the University of Maryland, San Francisco State University, Washington State University, and the University of Washington.

Special Education in Restructured Schools: Findings from Three Multi-Year Studies     Naomi Zigmond, Joseph Jenkins, Lynn Fuchs, Stan Deno, Doug Fuchs, Janice N. Baker, Linda Jenkins, and Martha Couthino
Researchers from the University of Pittsburgh, University of Washington, Vanderbilt University, University of Minnesota, Mt. Vernon School District, WA, and Central Florida University studied three innovative models for providing special education services for students. Their report supports continuation of the continuum of services for students with learning disabilities, and finds no simple answers to the challenge of delivering services to children at risk.

Inclusion at the Preschool Level: An Ecological Systems Analysis    Samuel L. Odom, Charles A. Peck, Marci Hanson, Paula J. Beckman, Ann P. Kaiser, Joan Lieber, William H. Brown, Eva M. Horn, Ilene S. Schwartz
Social policies that guide the implementation of preschool inclusion require a full understanding of the multidimensional nature of the inclusion process. An ecological systems perspective is proposed to facilitate developing a program of research that could identify barriers to and facilitators of preschool inclusion. 

Recreating Schools for All Children   John Morefield
Morefield draws from experience and research to outline twelve characteristics of successful schools.

A Global Village     Wendy Wardlow
A dedicated principal describes an inclusive public school where all students learn about and develop empathy for others with special needs.

Recommended Reading

Adolescents and Inclusion: Transforming Secondary Schools    edited by Anne M. Bauer and Glenda Myree Brown

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