The purpose of this study is to investigate how preschool teachers approach an inclusive approach in preschool and increase understanding of the concept. The survey is based on a survey that reached 11 trained preschool teachers in preschool and preschool class. Based on this method, previous research, theories from a sociocultural perspective and concrete examples based on the questionnaire form the basis for this study. Based on the results part of the study, it becomes clear that organization, preschool teachers' attitudes, and pedagogical environment are areas that are important for an inclusive approach to be followed. The results have been analyzed on the basis of theories with which we can link our study. The study has, among other things, been based on Nilholm and Göransson (2014) who describe the concept and discuss it through different perspectives and aspects. This is reported in theoretical points of departure.

This ethnographic study examined the relationship between the sense of community and music education within the community of Santa Marta in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and a public high school in New York City. Guided by Turino’s (2008) framework for participatory music making and McMillan and Chavis’s (1986) framework for the sense of community, the pedagogical and musical practices of Santa Marta were observed and analyzed to form a definition of a participatory music community. This definition was used to examine the impact of participatory practices on a samba ensemble within a New York City high school. The findings describe how participatory music education both influences and is influenced by the participants’ senses of community in both settings and explores applications of participatory music methods to school-based music, particularly within urban settings. Participatory characteristics were found to be imbedded in samba’s musical structure, including the repetition of rhythms, the simultaneous use of advanced and simplified patterns, and the flexibility of the size of the ensemble. Music events in Santa Marta often lacked artist-audience distinctions with situations of performance and learning occurring simultaneously. Decentralized group learning was found to be a pedagogical tool with information stored in the community’s memory. Inclusive pedagogies, which allowed players of various skill levels to perform together in the same ensembles, maximized participation in both sites. These characteristics created a pedagogical structure that addressed many of the identified challenges of urban school music and provided opportunities for active student engagement. This study presents a possible way forward for music education in urban settings, a path based on creating an inclusive educational environment. In schools where sequenced music programs, funding, and stabile student populations don’t exist, participatory music has the potential to create ways for students of varying skill levels to find a place in school music communities.

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 determine the challenges faced by educators in implementing inclusive education in primary schools in the EThekwini Region of Kwa Zulu Natal. The research methodology was in the form of a qualitative inquiry. Individual interviews of educators were conducted, and a questionnaire was administered to collect data. The results revealed that educators do not show an understanding of inclusive education and are uncertain of their roles. The educators' lack of knowledge, little or no experience, uncertainty about roles, inadequate training in teaching learners with barriers in learning and development result in a high percentage of educators holding negative attitudes towards inclusion of learners with barriers in learning into regular classrooms. The researcher observed that a remarkable number of educators are therefore uncertain about inclusion of learners with barriers in regular classrooms. Based on the views of the educators the researcher concluded that educators attempts are influenced by the tradition of referring learners with barriers in learning and development to outside specialists who assessed, wrote evaluative reports , gave counselling to both learners and their parents, prepared and implemented educational r#ogrammes and provided preventative programmes. The study revealed that teachers need quality comprehensive pre-service and in-service training.

A research report submitted to the Wits School of Education, Faculty of Humanities, University of Witwatersrand, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Education by combination of coursework and research. Johannesburg 2018 / Differentiation, as a strategy within inclusive education, seeks to respond to the challenges and opportunities of diversity within classrooms. This is done by adapting and modifying the methods of instruction, curriculum and activities to address effectively the needs and the potential of diverse learners. In the light of this, many teachers believe streaming is a form of differentiation, and a way to respond to the diversity faced in the classroom. To investigate this situation, this study explored the extent to which the attitudes of teachers sustained the practice of streaming in secondary schools. It also assessed whether the practice of streaming was congruent with the principles of inclusive education. Streaming is the practice of separating learners based on their respective cognitive abilities and their placement in similar ability groups. By using a qualitative research approach, this study found that teachers believed that streaming enabled differentiation and effective classroom management strategies. The various attitudes of teachers showed that they assumed streaming helped to deal with the distinguishable differences in learners’ ability, their conduct and their perceived ability to cope with the curriculum demands. However, there was a misalignment between how streaming was practised and the principles of inclusive education. A fundamental issue was that those learners who were placed in the lower-ability groups were labelled negatively, and there was no differentiation that occurred within similar ability classes. In effect, streaming became a selffulfilling prophecy for those in the lower-ability groups. / XL2019

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This narrative inquiry examined how a small group of general educators constructed three essential understandings of themselves as teachers within the context of inclusive education: (a) To move past their fear of disabilities and negative perceptions of students with disabilities, they had to learn to see children with disabilities in new ways, identify what it was about their differences that mattered, and respond to them as valued members of their classrooms; (b) To move past feelings of inadequacy and incompetence, they had to figure out how to negotiate those learning differences that mattered the most; and (c) To keep from being overwhelmed with the additional demands inclusion placed on them as teachers, they needed to garner support through a variety of relationships, and work through conflicts that arose from trying on new roles and patterns of interaction. These understandings were constructed through two interrelated processes: Learning through experience, and learning through narrative, specifically, informal talk, structured dialogue, and stories. The representation of this inquiry was a polyvocal text which privileged what the teachers had to say, and which featured their voices in solo and in dialogue with others. This alternative format was used to convey the evolving nature of the teachers' practice, as well as the contradictions and complexities that expand our understanding of teacher learning and development in inclusive educational settings. / Ph. D.

Children with specific learning disabilities (SLDs) are often placed in a separate and unequal learning environment in public schools. Although federal legislation governing children with SLDs requires they receive their education in the least restrictive environment (LRE), which is the general education setting, many are placed in other settings, including Special Day Class (SDC) and the Resource Specialist Program (RSP). Leaders are critical to the process of designing and implementing a school culture inclusive of students with SLDs, yet few are prepared for the responsibility. A school that affords students the opportunity to learn about and practice respect, diversity, and the democratic process is made possible through a leader who makes decisions based on what is best for the children, knowing that separate educational systems for children with is unjust. Based on a review of literature of (a) leading based on the characteristics of transformational leadership, (b) managing change, (c) having an awareness and understanding of the regulations governing special education, and (d) designing and implementing new structures, the following three questions gave purpose to this study: .What organizational processes are essential for the design and implementation of an inclusive Small School? .What leadership knowledge and beliefs are essential for the design and implementation of an inclusive Small School? .What leadership practices and behaviors are essential for the design and implementation of an inclusive Small School? Qualitative methodology, including interviews, observations, and document review, were used to gather information to respond to the questions. The premise of this case study is that a leader who embodies the characteristics of a transformational leader can design and implement an inclusive Small School, as it has the capacity to provide the structure for the inclusion of children with SLDs and their non-disabled peers. A triangulation of qualitative data was conducted, which included (a) interviews with the school leader and small groups of additional stakeholders; (b) observations of the leader in various settings with multiple stakeholders; and (c) document review of public and personal records. The data yielded six primary findings in response to the three questions that flamed this case study. In response to the first question, which addressed the organizational processes essential for the design and implementation of an inclusive Small School, restructuring provided an opportunity for creativity and was the essential finding of the organizational processes. The second question, which explored the leadership knowledge and beliefs essential for the design and implementation of an inclusive Small School, yielded several findings, including (1) knowledge of the characteristics of an inclusive school culture, (2) belief in the value of building and maintaining relationships, (3) belief in shared decision making, and (4) knowledge of how to create a safe learning environment. The final question, which examined the leadership practices and behaviors essential for the design and implementation of an inclusive Small School, provided one primary finding, to maintain the focus on students and their needs. The information gathered from this study contributes to the limited literature on the role of the leader in designing and implementing an inclusive Small School at the middle school level.

This study explores Saudi educators’ (teachers’ and administrators’) perceptions of and attitudes to Deaf and hard of hearing (DHH) inclusion in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia in two phases. Data were collected in sequential quantitative and qualitative phases. A questionnaire was first administered to 120 teachers and administrators in direct contact with DHH students, giving a broad picture of the themes under investigation in phase 1. Attitudes were examined in terms of three components: their beliefs, emotions and behaviour. This phase investigated the influence on educators’ beliefs and attitudes of these factors: type of D/deafness, length of experience, teachers’ qualifications, stage/grade of education, type of school and in-service training. In phase 2, understanding of educators’ attitudes was deepened by conducting semi-structured interviews with a purposeful sample of five teachers and six administrators of diverse experience, covering five themes: the DHH concept, the inclusion concept, the inclusion process and requirements, barriers to DHH inclusion and changes needed to promote it. The first phase revealed positive attitudes towards hard of hearing inclusion but not with regard to Deaf students, a distinction confirmed by the qualitative findings. The Al-Amal Institute for the Deaf was considered the best educational alternative for Deaf students. Relatively negative attitudes towards Deaf inclusion were related to various factors, especially lack of professional training and expertise in cued sign language, inadequate resources in mainstream schools and poor preparation for receiving DHH students. Participants considered integration to be a matter of equal (part-time) access to the nearest possible local school, but not inclusion as an issue of school restructuring, full participation and active social and academic engagement. Regarding barriers and change, participants were more concerned about the lack of professional training, overreliance on individual donations rather than the local authority to fund and support teaching aids, the absence of strict procedures regarding student referral and teacher transfer from general to DHH education. It was felt that there should be more rigorous diagnosis and differentiation of the national curriculum in order for mainstream schools to be more DHH-friendly. I have discussed the contributions, implications, strengths and limitations of the study. It was concluded that the progressive perspective of inclusion in terms of school restructuring, respect, welcoming, participation and belonging is a far-reaching objective in the Saudi context.

This qualitative research inquiry explores the perspectives of a diverse range of participants, namely head teachers, teachers and mothers, towards inclusion of "slow learners" in two primary mainstream schools in the State of Kuwait. The concept of inclusion, through a review of major issues and limitations in the current practice of inclusion is highlighted by this case study. A multi-method data collection approach, using semi-structured interviews and critical discourse analysis of the policy document for inclusion in Kuwait, has led to identifying what has been done, so far in practice, for inclusion, as well as identifying the potential changes that need to be made. Kuwait is a signatory to the UNESCO Salamanca Statement, set out in 1994, which requires states to move towards systems "enabling schools to serve all children". However, to date, "inclusion" in Kuwaiti mainstream schools is limited to two groups of children: those with Down's Syndrome and those referred to as "slow learners", a term used to describe certain children with low IQ. All other children with special educational needs are educated in segregated settings. This study examines policy and explores participants' perspectives towards the inclusion of children identified as "slow learners" in primary mainstream schools in Kuwait, in order to arrive at insights which might further the policy and practice of supporting inclusion of children with special educational needs. This study found that the dominant conceptual model underpinning policy and practice in Kuwait is the "medical model" of disability, as the current understanding and practice of inclusion, teachers' and mothers' perspectives towards inclusion and articulation of the inclusion policy in Kuwait is informed, conceptualized and affected by this model. This understanding lends itself to practices of integration rather than inclusion, However, "the term 'inclusion' replaced 'integration' and is often contrasted with 'exclusion' " (Topping & Maloney, 2005, p.42). Inclusion means equal access and increasing the participation of students with special needs in mainstream school as promoted by the Salamanca Statement (UNESCO,1994), while integration means limited access and less participation of students with special needs in mainstream school, thus integration is "largely a 'disability' or SEN issue" (Topping & Maloney, 2005, p.42). This study also found that perspectives of inclusion are influenced by the social, cultural and religious context of the country. Finally, this study concludes that in the context of Kuwait, there is a clear effect of the cultural understanding of disability on the way that the current policy of inclusive education is represented. Such cultural influence not only affects the policymakers of the region and the way inclusion is implemented, but also it effects "slow learners" in the light of how disability and inclusion are constructed by the head teachers, teachers and mothers in this study. Such cultural and social values and beliefs of Kuwaiti culture pose obstacles to the existence of inclusion in Kuwait, as promoted by the Salamanca Statement. As a signatory to the Salamanca Statement, this study suggests that in order to adequately accommodate "slow learners" and other students with disability in mainstream schools in Kuwait, policy needs to be reconceptualised.