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Whilst increasing literature elucidates academic ableism and its impact upon faculty and PhD students, far less attention is paid to aspiring academics who are excluded from academia altogether. Through a first-person narrative, this article explores the experiences of a disabled postgraduate seeking a PhD placement, who is largely unable to leave home owing to the interplay between 'rare' and neglected health conditions and an ableist society. The impact of academic exclusions, notably institutional resistance to providing remote access, is explored through the lens of psycho-emotional disablism. It is contended that, for all the talk of equality, diversity and inclusion, the academy represents yet another landscape of power and exclusion where disabled people struggle to be recognised as fully-fledged citizens. The emergence of long Covid and persistent threat of infection adds urgency to the academic and wider social need to include disabled people who are unable to leave the home. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Article 24 of the CRPD guarantees inclusive education as a fundamental human right. In Japan, the education policy has shifted from a segregated education to an inclusive one with the ratification of the CRPD. However, recent lawsuits on children with disabilities and their school placement/attendance reveal such policy changes are not reflected in practice. In this article, we reviewed notable court cases in Japan to investigate how Japanese courts interpreted the reform of the legal system. We divide the article into two parts: Firstly, we describe the history of Japanese education reform. Secondly, we discuss the court cases with regard to Japanese education system reform and the schooling of children with disabilities over three time periods. Our findings show that the court continues to make judicial decisions based on the old notion of segregated education and fails to recognize or even understand that inclusive education is a fundamental human right. Inclusive education should be a human right, but many countries, including Japan, still have school systems where students are segregated. The history of changes in laws on Japanese schooling system is explained. This study analyzed the main purports of legal cases about school attendance of children with disabilities in Japan and its changes over time. This study found that the court's decisions made after the changes in laws to schooling system in Japan still did not adequately reflect its philosophy of inclusive education as a human right. The study recommends that it is necessary to have open discussions about 'inclusive education' as a human right. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

People with disabilities have an inviolable right to equitable access and participation in tertiary education and support systems are known to be indispensable in making this right a reality. This article presents the voices of students with disabilities regarding aspects that influence their successful access and participation in tertiary education in Ghana. A qualitative approach was adopted for the study with data collected through interviews with 12 students with disabilities in three public universities. From the perspective of these students, successful inclusion of people with disabilities in tertiary education in Ghana is influenced by enrolment practices, the built environment, teaching and learning approaches, and assessment provisions. The context influenced provisions and support provided. Attitudes of the university community and lack of knowledge of inclusive practices such as Universal Design play a role in students' access and participation. Comprehensive awareness-raising on disability and inclusive practices is recommended to address this issue. This paper explores inclusion practices in three Ghanaian public universities focussing on the combined voices of students with disabilities. The context of the three universities influences the provisions and support available for people with disabilities. The students with disabilities involved in the study reported that access to the university environment and support for academic engagement impact their university experience. The attitude of the university community is a factor in ensuring access, participation and success of people with disabilities in higher education. Creating awareness of disability issues within the university community is pivotal in building and sustaining inclusive culture. The application of universal design principles is essential to improving access and participation of people with disabilities in higher education institutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Emergency situations such as pandemics typically widen inequities, and Australian children and young people with disability already face significant inequities in the education system. In this paper we draw on survey data from over 700 respondents exploring education experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic. Many families reported being left behind, finding it difficult to access education remotely, and that this was having a significant impact on wellbeing and mental health. We find that of all support offered by schools, social supports have a stronger association with learner engagement than educational interventions. This finding indicates the importance of social and emotional supports in learning. The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly disrupted education for most learners; There is good evidence to suggest this impact is felt more keenly by students with disability, because there is disability discrimination in the Australian education system; This paper reports survey responses from over 700 families of students with disability exploring the impact of COVID-19 on education; Many families report being left behind and that students found it difficult to learn away from the school campus, which for many students and families led to poorer wellbeing and mental health; Our results suggest that supporting students to have social contact with peers made the biggest impact on students with disability feeling engaged with learning during this time. This shows it is important for teachers and schools to pay attention to social as well as educational aspects of school life when thinking about how to educate students with disability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a study which aims to know what faculty members who develop inclusive pedagogy do to foster the inclusion of students with disability. Using a qualitative methodology, individual semi-structured interviews were conducted with 25 faculty members, who were recommended by their students with disabilities. The data were analyzed inductively through a categories and codes system. The results show the participants' experiences working with disabilities and the active and participatory methodological strategies used by the interviewees to ensure the participation of all the students, as well as some key elements to foster inclusion. Lastly, the participants offer some recommendations for other faculty members to move toward inclusion in the university. The conclusion section discusses the results of this work with those of previous studies, and offers some suggestions for further work in the scope of inclusive pedagogy and Higher Education. Faculty members need training and information on inclusive education to meet the needs of students with disabilities. Faculty members who develop inclusive pedagogy do not distinguish between students with and without disabilities, and treat all students in the same way. Active and participatory teaching methods are the most effective and beneficial for all students. Inclusive Faculty members recommend that other teachers become informed about disability, develop a good and close relationship with their students and value their abilities, not their limitations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In South Africa, access to education is regarded as a right enshrined in the Bill of Rights of the Constitution yet issues of inequality, poor access and exclusion remain as intense as they have always been for students with disabilities. When universities closed due to Covid-19, all students suffered in one way or the other but those with disabilities suffered the most as their support is not mainstreamed. This highlighted the need to create a seamless system of student support if we are to leave no student behind. To do this, the paper proposes the adoption of the Universal Design for Learning (UDL), a framework that supports inclusive teaching and learning. Adopting UDL is critical in ensuring curriculum access and in addressing fragmented student support. Supporting students with disabilities should be everyone's responsibility and the sooner we adopt the principles of UDL, the better the learning outcomes for all students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The outbreak of COVID-19 has globally affected many countries and territories. Among COVID-19 influences, the education sector is really becoming an area of public concern. According to UNESCO report, due to COVID-19 more than 1 billion students were affected by school closures in 106 countries. Among that large number of students, students with disabilities need to be given specific attention as they tend to have fewer educational opportunities outside school because of various barriers. Take China as an example, the current study considers there are four challenges that inclusive education for students with disabilities are facing during the pandemic: education policy design lacks a disability perspective; technology offered is not accessible; mainstream schools overlook the responsibility for educating students with disabilities, and parents of students with disabilities are unprepared for distance and home-schooling. The experiences of some related stakeholders being affected by COVID-19 are shared in the article. Additionally, we offer some recommendations to improve the inclusive education provision for students with disabilities during the COVID-19 period, as well as in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores the experiences of 14 students with severe and complex behaviour, their caregivers, and teachers/principals as the students transition from a disestablished residential school back to mainstream schools, with support from the Intensive Wraparound Service (IWS). Interviews were the primary source of data collection. Data were collated into 14 cases, and analysed using a general inductive approach. Two broad themes are addressed in the article: education and relationships/communication. The research found that the IWS is not living up to its rhetoric. Suggestions made for improvement are based on approaches that participants found worked for them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Differentiation has gained international attention as a strategy associated with responsive teaching, and as a means for ensuring access to the curriculum for all pupils. This study investigates the development of differentiated instruction in 34 Greek co-taught classrooms. The aim is to explore how co-teachers understand the term ‘differentiated instruction’, and to identify the conditions surrounding its implementation as an inclusive strategy. Sixty-eight semi-structured interviews and 57 unstructured narrative observations were implemented with mainstream and special education co-teachers. We suggest that co-teachers understood differentiated instruction as a ‘child’s deficit-oriented activity’ for students with disabilities and not as a ‘context-oriented approach’ for all students. Co-teachers attributed the limited differentiated instruction observed to several contextual factors. However, we argue that the understanding of disability through the medical model and Foucault’s ‘medical gaze’ results in the construction of differentiated instruction as a remedial approach and, by extension, its limited use in mainstream classrooms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Until comparatively recently blind/vision-impaired young people were generally assigned to particular education settings based on their impairment. Restructuring of the education system commenced in the Republic of Ireland in the 1990s, resulting in significant changes in special education including a language of inclusive education within policy initiatives. In the research upon which this article is based, the educational experiences of blind/vision-impaired people, the factors that impacted on these experiences and how these facilitated or inhibited their future opportunities were the primary foci for the study. This article explores the themes of how the post-primary school curriculum was experienced by blind/vision-impaired students and their future expectations and aspiration. In terms of policy development and practice, it is paramount to ensure both effective curriculum participation and transition opportunities are enabled rather than disabled for these students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, two adolescent sisters discuss and reflect upon the impact that the special education classification of one of them has had on their lives. The sisters, co-authors of this text, participated in designing the study and analyzing the data we produced; their voices are the core of this article. Issues about inclusion, the harms and benefits of special education classification, stigma, the multi-edged meanings of what it means to be “special,” and the often complicit roles of educators in perpetuating exclusionary policies all arise in the sisters’ discussions with each other, with their co-authors, and with pre-service teachers. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Parent involvement in the process of creating an Individualized Education Plan (IEP) is authorized under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, a federal law in the United States that ensures children with disabilities have the opportunity to receive a free appropriate public education alongside their peers without disabilities in the least restrictive environment. Yet much research has shown that parents often feel like outsiders during the process. To understand parent perspectives about how educators might help make the IEP process more collaborative and inclusive, this study collected qualitative data from 35 parents of students with disabilities who have worked to develop an IEP with a school team. Our findings provide insight into parent experiences and evidence that parents have many suggestions for how educators can improve the IEP process. In our discussion section, we provide educators with strategies to address parent suggestions. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Although research on gender mainstreaming (GM) is extensive, literature on disability mainstreaming (DM) is scarce. This article builds on the experience of GM to explore the conditions affecting DM, focusing on the first Flemish policy cycle of DM (2010–2014) in two policy domains: employment and education. We found no substantive difference in the conditions necessary for the successful implementation of DM compared with that of GM. Also, developments specific to the policy domains had more influence on the inclusive character of policies than did the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities or the Flemish approach to DM. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The article explores the experiences of Zac, Bob-Charley, Kip, and Carter (not their real names), four of 15 boys aged between nine and 13 years who, along with their caregivers, families and school principals, were interviewed as part of a project about the students’ transition from a dis-established residential school to mainstream schools. Throughout the course of the project we became increasingly aware of the lack of existing school-focused research that included the voices of students with severe and complex behavioural needs. In this article, therefore, we employ an approach of poetic transcription to illuminate their voices, highlight their experiences, and provide insight into their affective lives. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper examines how students with disabilities in Croatia perceive support, experience barriers and propose ways forward for equality of opportunities in the higher education system. In qualitative interviews, students were satisfied with the informal support they received from family and friends but dissatisfied with the formal support they received from universities and the government. Obstacles to inclusion included: inadequate transport and finance to attend university and minimal adaptation of buildings, toilets, lifts, classrooms and dormitories. Students proposed: investment in adapting buildings, personal assistants, educational grants and transport; coordination within the formal systems from national government to universities and non-governmental organisations; and measures to increase disability awareness for academics, professionals and other students within higher education. The situation for students with disabilities in Croatia is a reminder for those working in countries where policy and practice is relatively advanced that many disability battles are still to be won in newer nations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research about disabled identity reflects diverse perspectives on the merits and challenges associated with such an identity. This paper explores the impact of disabled identity on the inclusion of disabled students in higher education and employment contexts. It considers their experiences of inclusion in a university setting and its associated work-based placements and discusses the extent to which students had to negotiate a range of experiences of disabled identity. The paper suggests that many disabled students, especially those with behaviour-related impairment labels, are subject to continued exclusion in university and, more particularly, work settings, and this contributes to an employment disadvantage compared with their peers. To this end, the paper highlights the importance of enhancing inclusion for disabled students, especially in employment settings, through a focus on reducing destructive identities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents an overview of a study conducted to examine the influence of teacher attitudes, teacher efficacy and perceived school support on teachers’ intentions to include students with disabilities in government primary schools in a region of Bangladesh. All of the variables were conceptualized within the Theory of Planned Behaviour. The participants in the study were 1387 in-service teachers drawn from government primary schools located in urban, semi-urban and rural sectors of Dhaka. Hierarchical regression analysis revealed that all three Theory of Planned Behaviour variables (teacher attitudes, teacher efficacy and perceived school support) explained 40% of the variance in teachers’ intentions to include students with a disability in regular classrooms. This paper describes the process for conceptualizing the variables, discusses the methodology and presents the outcomes concluding with implications for educational policy reform and practices in Bangladesh. Areas for further research are also identified. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper is concerned with the contradictions and tensions in disability theory that have generated an uncertain professional knowledge base in relation to the education of students with disabilities. This tension has produced concern regarding the enculturation of teachers into reductionist understandings of disability that limit the development of inclusive educational environments. A critical realist lens is employed to better understand the boundaries and contributions of three disability models and their connections to education practice. This perspective asserts that the models are social constructions of a real phenomenon requiring critical reflection on their adequacy for explaining and informing real-world practices. It draws upon the work of Bhaskar and Danermark to present a framework for positioning disability theory in a manner that may prove a useful theoretical guide for practitioners. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper studies barriers and support affecting access, experience and performance as identified by students with disabilities at the University of Seville. Biographical-narrative research methodology is employed and the study is limited to an analysis of the design and development of subjects across the curriculum. Findings, which give voice to the students themselves, are organized in four topic areas: subject structure, methodology, tutorials, and assessment. The paper concludes with a review and discussion of key findings as well as suggestions for improvement and policy-making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study analyses the experience of parents of children with cognitive disabilities attending compulsory school in regular classes or in special units. It relates this experience to the arguments presented by the staff of special education services in a Swedish municipality, their administrative decisions and the organization of special education services. The parents had different standpoints: some defended the existence of special units and the resources available to them, while some fought to have their children accepted in regular classes, while other parents accepted the special units but were critical of certain aspects of their functioning. The situation presented here seems likely to generate conflicts between parents and educational administrators, and even among parents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines participatory arrangements for students with physical disabilities in mainstream education, cooperation between teachers and therapists to ensure that these arrangements are efficient and the organizational prerequisites for such cooperation. The study comprises data obtained from 14 'groups', with each group consisting of a student with physical disabilities aged 9-19 years, their main teacher and the relevant therapists from the local habilitation centre. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews, field observations and a review of relevant documents, including legislation. The results reveal a lack of cooperation between teacher and therapist which results in students with disabilities receiving suboptimal participatory arrangements in school. Differences in the perspectives of the teachers and therapists and in the way they act and perceive their responsibilities were anchored in institutional and societal documents and the distribution of resources. The implications for students with disabilities are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although the latest education policy for disabled students is one of inclusion, some students are moving out of mainstream schools into specialist colleges for their further education. This research uses a combination of group and individual interviews to explore why this move away from mainstream education is made. Results show that these students' moved into specialist education because of the inadequate physical accessibility of their mainstream colleges, the quality of disability services available to them and their previous experiences whilst in mainstream school. These students were able to identify both strengths and weaknesses within mainstream and special education for disabled students, and believed that educational placement should therefore be a matter of choice depending on the physical, academic and emotional needs of the individual. It would appear, however, that for the students participating in this research, their local mainstream colleges were unable to cater for their needs, indicating that their decision to move into a special needs college was not based on a real choice. Mainstream colleges are challenged to create a truly inclusive environment so that disabled students are offered a real choice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the protection provided by Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act, there remain barriers to inclusion of people with disabilities in institutions of higher education and in particular in professional programmes. Focusing on the case, Ohio Civil Rights Commission v. Case Western Reserve University (1996), this paper presents legal actions that are helping to clarify the policies protecting people with disabilities from exclusion from institutions of higher education. In particular, the paper focuses on a legal decision from the Ohio Supreme court affirming the right of Case Western Reserve's Medical School to reject a blind woman for admission to the medical school. By analysing this case using a policy analysis framework, the paper discusses the present impact and concerns for the future of these pieces of federal legislation on people with disabilities related to inclusion in institutions of higher education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a doctor thesis written by PhD student Jacqui Shepherd at the University of Sussex, England, which focuses on the transition of young people with autism from special school to mainstream college. The research was based on person-centred approach to the experiences of educational transition for six young people; and also includes semi-structured interviews with parents and professionals.