As a result of globalization, developing markets, and demographic changes in the U.S. labor force, the United States has become increasingly diverse. Therefore, diversity and inclusion is a vital part of our society. Diversity is often viewed as a double-edge sword. Proponents argue that the benefits of diversity include greater creativity, innovation, and improved organizational performance. Opponents argue that organizational diversity is costly, increases conflict, and is overall unfair. No matter what side of the diversity argument that you find yourself, there is a general sentiment that diversity alone, is not enough. The goal is to make workplaces inclusive. In 2014, the Office of Personnel Management introduced the New Inclusion Quotient (New IQ) in an effort to make the federal government more inclusive. The New IQ includes five inclusion factors which include an environment that is fair, open, cooperative, empowering and supportive. Using data from the 2015 Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey, this study examines the appropriateness of the New IQ. The study also examines the relationship between inclusion and employee engagement.

Although participation in social, recreational, and leisure activities is essential to overall well being, children with developmental disabilities (DD) participate in fewer activities than their typically developing (TD) peers (e.g., Solish, Perry & Minnes, 2010). The purpose of the current study was to explore the factors that predict participation of preschool- and early school-aged children by investigating the contributions of the child, the family, and the environment in which the child and family reside. The theoretical model used in the current study is an adaptation of two conceptual models proposed by King et al. (2003) who investigated the factors predicting participation of individuals with physical disabilities between the ages of 6 and 21 years, and Orsmond, Wyngaarden Krauss, and Mailick Seltzer (2004) who investigated the factors predicting participation for adolescents and adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). These authors proposed that a combination of environmental factors (e.g., supportive relationships), family factors (e.g., absence of financial and time impacts on the family), and individual/child factors (e.g., cognitive skills, communication) would be associated with participation. These models were adapted for use in the current study to include: 1) factors that have been shown empirically to be predictors of involvement for children with physical disabilities and for adolescents/adults with ASD (e.g., child’s functional ability); and 2) additional factors that may be theoretically relevant to the participation of preschool-aged children with DD. The outcome variables included the child’s participation in a variety of activities and parental satisfaction with the child’s sense of belonging. The results demonstrate that preschool- and early school-aged children, and children with and without disabilities, differed from each other on a number of variables (e.g., adaptive behaviour, family stress, etc). In addition, children with ASD and children with other DD participated in fewer social, recreational, and leisure activities than their TD peers, and parents of children with ASD and other DD reported lower satisfaction with their child’s sense of belonging. Adaptive behaviour, social skills, number of services used, family active recreation, and income were significant predictors of the child’s participation in activities. Limitations and theoretical and clinical implications are discussed. / Thesis (Ph.D, Psychology) -- Queen's University, 2012-08-31 00:21:52.375

In the past decade, Appropriate Education Programming for students with disabilities was mandated in Manitoba. Consequently, there are now both legal and ethical reasons why educators must endeavor to provide inclusive school settings for all students, including students with special needs. Recent school reforms have been influenced by societal change, educational restructuring, and increasingly diverse students needs. These factors also affect the inclusion mandate and, to a worrisome extent, create confusion about practices related to the education of students with special needs. Many researchers strongly suggest that collaboration is a key to creating and maintaining successful inclusive schools. However, professional development in collaboration skills and collaborative service delivery models has been offered to education professionals, specifically resource teachers and counselors, with mixed results. This study is an examination of resource teachers’ and counselors’ perceptions of the barriers to and facilitators of collaboration in inclusive schools.

In the past decade, Appropriate Education Programming for students with disabilities was mandated in Manitoba. Consequently, there are now both legal and ethical reasons why educators must endeavor to provide inclusive school settings for all students, including students with special needs. Recent school reforms have been influenced by societal change, educational restructuring, and increasingly diverse students needs. These factors also affect the inclusion mandate and, to a worrisome extent, create confusion about practices related to the education of students with special needs. Many researchers strongly suggest that collaboration is a key to creating and maintaining successful inclusive schools. However, professional development in collaboration skills and collaborative service delivery models has been offered to education professionals, specifically resource teachers and counselors, with mixed results. This study is an examination of resource teachers’ and counselors’ perceptions of the barriers to and facilitators of collaboration in inclusive schools.

Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree MASTER OF EDUCATION In the Department of Educational Psychology of the Faculty of Education at the University of Zululand, 2006. / The aim of this study was to investigate educators' attitudes concerning the inclusion of hearing impaired learners in mainstream classrooms As an introduction to the study the attitudes of educators towards inclusion were reviewed by means of a study of available and relevant literature. Educators are the people who make learning possible and their own attitudes towards what is happening in the classroom are of crucial importance. Research done in South Africa on educators' attitudes towards inclusive education indicated that educators in mainstream classrooms generally express negative attitudes to mainstreaming policies. In the new education dispensation educators in mainstream classrooms have to accommodate learners with impairments, such as the hearing impaired child. Inclusion makes additional demands on educators because of the special educational needs of learners with impairments. The attitude of educators towards inclusion and their efficacy in meeting the special needs of learners with impairments play a determining role in the successful implementation of an inclusive education policy. For the purpose of the empirical investigation a self-structured questionnaire was utilised. An analysis was done of 110 questionnaires completed by primary school educators from the Port Shepstone district on the South Coast of KwaZulu-Natal. The data was processed and interpreted by means of descriptive statistics. Essentially the following were the main findings from the empirical study: S Educators' attitudes towards inclusion are influenced by the availability of sufficient support and resources for learners with special educational needs. S Educators' lack of knowledge and experience of learners with impairments have a negative influence on their attitude towards inclusive education. V Many mainstream educators lack confidence in their own abilities to teach learners with diverse educational needs in the same classroom. The study concludes with a summary and findings from the literature study and the descriptive statistics. Based on these findings the following recommendations were made: ■S The development of curricula, institutions and methods of assessment must include a variety of strategies to accommodate learners with special educational needs, such as the hearing impaired. ^ The basic training of educators must include compulsory courses such as orthopedagogics that will enable them to cope with the demands for inclusion of learners with special educational needs.

This case study explores and documents the development of inclusive education in one urban school in the Maldives. It focuses on the steps taken to move the school towards inclusion, the practices and experiences of different stakeholders involved in the process, and the factors that influenced inclusive education in the school. Qualitative data was collected through interviews with some of the key members of the school community and through classroom observations and documents. Findings have revealed that the development of inclusive education in the school came about through a school leader rather than policies. In spite of recognized efforts towards inclusion, a range of exclusionary practices was still observed. Various impediments constrained the development of inclusive education, including, lack of collaboration between the SEN (Special Educational Needs) and the general staff, limited knowledge, awareness and positive understanding about inclusion, scarcity of resources and support services. Factors such as large classes, undifferentiated curriculum, and rigid time tables also negatively affected the developmental process. Findings indicate the complexity of developing inclusive education. The findings also suggest that changes on the societal level, in the education ministry and, in the school and classroom level could help sustain the development of inclusive education. The factors that could contribute to the development of inclusive education at these levels are discussed, as are the implications for the successful development of inclusive education in schools.

Inclusion of special education students in general education classrooms has come to general acceptance by educators as one option in the continuum of special education service delivery. Another view of inclusion is the ideal of providing for all the varied individual needs of a diverse population of students: learning needs, physical needs, language needs, and social emotional needs, together, in all school settings. In the study school, special educators took a step toward the ideal of inclusion by providing all special education services in general education classrooms. Looking at the picture of inclusion in the school during the four years of the study, of how the ideas of inclusion were put into practice in the specific setting, is the puzzle of inclusion.In the study, specific instruments were used, including surveys and questionnaires, observations, whole group dialogue groups, a checklist, and individual interviews, for the purpose of gathering information about the setting to promote inclusion philosophy and practice, determining the activities to promote inclusion, and gaining insight into school members' attitudes and beliefs about inclusion in the school. In response to the specific instruments, school members participated in providing data, and the result was a body of in-depth information that could be helpful to others interested in the experiences andperceptions of the practice of inclusion in one rural elementary school.

School leaders are charged with responding to the challenges presented by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and the education of students with disabilities in the least restrictive environment. The idea of least restrictive environment moves schools from educating students with disabilities in special education to regular education classrooms, from special education schools to neighborhood schools. Providing inclusive settings poses many obstacles and challenges to school based administrators and in their capacity school leaders can either alleviate or generate barriers for the process; they can inhibit or inspire school personnel to accept the inclusion of students with disabilities in the general education classroom. Furthermore, their attitudes are critical in the design and implementation of programs and practices in their schools. Principals' attitudes can either promote or discourage the inclusion practices in their schools. The purpose of this study was to examine the factors related to school based administrators' attitudes toward inclusive education and the relationship of these attitudes on the placement of students with disabilities. The Principals and Inclusion Survey (PIS) developed by Praisner (2000) was used to collect data from 175 school based principals in a large urban district in the southeastern part of the United States. The results of the study indicate a relationship does exist between principal's attitude toward inclusion and decisions pertaining to student placement. The study also found that those principals with positive experiences with students with disabilities also demonstrated beliefs of serving students with disabilities in less restrictive settings than those principals with negative experiences with students with disabilities.

The study investigates a systematic organisation and management of whole school inclusive processes in two mainstream secondary schools in Cameroon. These schools are implementing the official action plan of Education for all (EFA) and inclusion of 1998 alongside other inclusive legal and policy frameworks in response to the needs of student diversity with focus on those with Special Educational Needs/Disabilities, Difficulties in learning, Disadvantages in background (SEN/DDD) and special abilities. Using a diverse range of participants namely a pedagogic inspector, head teachers, teachers, students and parents (N=23) with a multi-method approach to data collection through semi-structured interviews, document review, observation and analysis, the qualitative research enquiry has a number of findings. On the one hand, it discovered that whole school inclusion is complex and incorporates a wide range of curricular (academic/linguistic) and extracurricular (social/intercultural) support services and benefits through grouped/individualised, in-/out-class and on/ off school ground activities (technology of inclusion) designed to equalise educational opportunities and to enhance the participation of all in learning. The results further indicated that whole school inclusion widens learning horizons and maximises possibilities for developing diverse potentials of student diversity. It also revealed that, in a subtractive bilingual education system with official/foreign language as media of instruction, the inclusion of students with SEN/DDD is more effective through bilingual special education services. This incorporates intercultural participation, curriculum/foreign language learning support and/or mother tongue-based mediated education to facilitate leaning, development and attainment. On the other hand, its results indicated that the bulk of barriers to whole school inclusion arise from the gap between the officially centralised policy / planning and practical inclusive schooling. The barriers include: centralised and prescriptive nature of educational services; partial or non-implementation of legal and policy frameworks; insufficient provision and management of human resources including staff pre-/ in-service training programmes, didactic materials and financial resources; lack of effective coordination, professionalism and accountability in service delivery that underlie the inadequate organisation and management of whole school inclusion development. Thus, support services are more charity driven (integration) than human rights-oriented (inclusion). The work suggested that in order to adequately accommodate students with SEN/DDD, the schools’ organisational and management strategies need to be systematically reconceptualised, through a review of key issues: the macro system level support services; decentralisation of services; more autonomy with active cooperation between the schools and their stakeholders; restructuring of contextual factors like staff training programmes, curriculum and environment accessibility among others to improve all forms of support activities. The study also contributes to the understanding of inclusion in a global context through its combination of special educational needs, disability, bilingual and intercultural dimensions. In this way, conceptualisation of inclusion in countries of the North which is frequently limited to the provision for children with disabilities/special educational needs and the issue of location are insufficient in their application to certain countries of the South, especially in postcolonial societies where the linguistic and cultural dimensions are emphasised.

No description available.