Inclusive education: making sense of everyday practice

Inclusive education has emerged internationally over the past thirty years as a way of developing democratic citizenship. Core to inclusive principles are that improved equity in education can only be achieved by eliminating the economic, cultural and physical barriers that currently impede learning for particular students. To strengthen inclusive practice to this end inexorably requires that we attempt to make sense of it in its current form: to examine how it is enacted in educational settings from early childhood, schools, and communities and further and higher education; to contemplate the restrictions that it might inadvertently create; and to consider its effects on members of educational communities. Contributions to this edited collection represent diverse perspectives, yet share a commitment to challenging existing forms of educational marginalisation through policy, practice, theory and pedagogy. The chapters emerged from discussions at the inaugural Inclusive Education Summit that was held at Victoria University, Australia in 2015. They present research that was conducted in Australia, New Zealand, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Spain and the UK—illustrating transnational interests and diverse approaches to practice. Presented in four sections—provocations, pushing boundaries, diverse voices, and reflections, the chapters explore everyday practice across a range of contexts: from educating culturally and linguistically diverse, refugee, and/or socially and economically disadvantaged students, to issues of diversity brought about by and through gender, giftedness and disability. The book will appeal to academics, students and practitioners in disciplines including: education, sociology, social work, social policy, early childhood, disability studies, and youth studies.