The most powerful catalyst for my child’s inclusion has always been the teacher’s attitude and skills. I have noticed 10 key qualities. "
Lindie Brengman—A parent of a student with a disability and member of the Queensland Collective for Inclusive Education. This piece was written by Lindie for her presentation at the Inclusive Education Forum, QUT in 2017.
What is Inclusive Education and how does it apply to my teaching?
The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) is a legally-binding international treaty that has been signed and ratified by the Australian government. The UN recently published General Comment No. 4 (2016), which articulates the right to inclusive education. In this Explainer, SELB Research Group Leader Professor Linda Graham and Ms Haley Tancredi discuss what inclusive education is and how it applies to teaching across early childhood, primary, secondary and tertiary education settings.
https://research.qut.edu.au/selb/wp-content/uploads/sites/47/2019/05/What-is-Inclusive-Education_QUT-explainer.pdf |
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As noted by the joint position statement by Early Childhood Australia (ECA) and Early Childhood Intervention Australia (ECIA), inclusion of children with a disability requires:
- program philosophies that reflect shared assumptions about inclusion, the valuing of diversity, collaboration and partnership and what constitutes high quality inclusive practices
- interpersonal warmth and welcome for all families and children in their contacts with services/programs
- programs that acknowledge each child’s strengths, meet each child’s specific needs and abilities and support the active participation and engagement of all children
- intentional teaching that is interactive, purposeful and thoughtful and recognises the individual needs of each child
- environments that support meaningful positive relationships and friendships with peers and other adults
- recognition of and support for parents’ advocacy for their child.
SINE Network is a national network of @AllMeansAllAus led by educators supporting each other to initiate, develop and sustain inclusive schooling practices for ALL.
Website - school-inclusion.com/
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/groups/269801663484124/
Website - school-inclusion.com/
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/groups/269801663484124/
All Means All is the Australian Alliance for Inclusive Education, a nationwide multi-stakeholder alliance of people and organisations working together to implement an inclusive education system and remove the legal, structural and attitudinal barriers that limit the rights of some students, including many students with disability, to access full inclusive education in regular classrooms in Australian schools.
Link allmeansall.org.au/for-educators/
This Inclusion Toolkit for Educators has been written with leading inclusive education experts to assist educators to welcome and support diverse learners in their classrooms and schools. Thank you Starting With Julius IncludED initiative for collaborating on this shared resource.
Contents
Link allmeansall.org.au/for-educators/
This Inclusion Toolkit for Educators has been written with leading inclusive education experts to assist educators to welcome and support diverse learners in their classrooms and schools. Thank you Starting With Julius IncludED initiative for collaborating on this shared resource.
Contents
- What is inclusion in education?
- Why include?
- Inclusion and the law
- Creating an inclusive class culture
- Supporting peer connection
- The role of education assistants
- Including ALL students in the same curriculum
- Behaviour support in the inclusive classroom
Further resources for educators:
inclusiveschooling.files.wordpress.com/2018/01/inclusive-classroom-feedback-tool.pdf |
From 'Ask a child ‘what works’. How classroom teachers can consult children with communication difficulties' By Haley Tancredi www.aare.edu.au/blog/?p=3503 Three elements that can help teachers consult students with communication difficulties:
From 'No child should be sacrificed for the ‘greater good’ of a school or ‘best interests’ of majority. This is what child rights is about' By Jenna Gillett-Swan www.aare.edu.au/blog/?p=3757 Benefits of teachers and schools listening to students Recently we worked with a school on their journey to seek, include, and act upon wellbeing matters identified by students. Through this process, the school evaluated, refined, added, and developed student wellbeing provisions to connect directly to what mattered to students. Throughout the project (funded by QLD Government Horizon Grant), students valued being able to “work on something that’s impactful for the school… normally we don’t get to do that kind of thing… Teachers and adults are [now] able to see our point of view of things that are happening around the school” (Grade 9 student) and actively contribute to enhancing the school experience. Students referred to developing greater confidence in themselves, as well as leadership, and transferable academic and critical thinking skills as a result of their project activities. |