Why Inclusion Isn’t Coming, It Is Already Here: Catholic Schools and Inclusive Special Education

Catholic school personnel are increasingly recognizing that many of their students, including students with disabilities, need and benefit from inclusive educational practices. These oftentimes ad hoc practices are motivated by the Catholic identity and mission of the school, as well as the diverse educational needs of students. This article responds to these recognized realities, arguing that Catholic Social Teaching (CST) and the practical reality of academically diverse students requires understanding disability as being unique to each student, though within categories recognized in the Individuals With Disabilities Act (IDEA) that serve as starting points for interventions. CST and the recognition of student needs necessitate that teachers be equipped with the appropriate intervention skills, and convincing school communities to embrace this responsibility. To this end, current educational terms are defined and explained, models of inclusion are summarized, and five common misperceptions about inclusion of students with disabilities in Catholic schools are debunked

Ten years after: a systematic review of the literature on postsecondary education and disability from 2013 to 2022

This article presents the results of a systematic review of the literature related to postsecondary education and disability published in peer-reviewed articles from 2013 to 2022. It replicates a prior investigation that examined the literature published on this topic between 1952 and 2012. Results indicated a nearly 200% increase in the number of published articles in this 10-year period, and moreover, a nearly 1,400% increase in articles that were based outside of the United States. Articles were published in 636 unique journals. There was also an increase in the number of articles presenting original data. Although most of the articles featured descriptive designs, there was also an increase in articles using mixed methods, single subject, or group designs. Comparisons across the two time periods of investigation are presented, as are implications for the field

PASSing College: A Taxonomy for Students with Disabilities in Postsecondary Education.

The study of postsecondary students with disabilities has a relatively short history that largely began with descriptions of programs designed for returning World War II veterans with disabilities and expanded in the 1970s with the advent of Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. Currently, the literature about postsecondary-level students with disabilities is principally descriptive, is published in professional journals reflecting a range of disciplines, and lacks a guiding organizational taxonomy. A taxonomy is particularly useful when organizing, discussing, and conducting research and practice efforts. This article presents a four-domain taxonomy that was developed based upon a comprehensive analysis of the body of literature about postsecondary education and students with disability

Literature on postsecondary disability services: A call for research guidelines.

Support services for students with disabilities is now a distinct field of practice in higher education, with a significant increase in the number of students receiving services, programs to serve them, and professionals who oversee the programs. The field has professional and program standards, a code of ethics, and a disability service specific professional organization. Correspondingly, an extensive corpus of professional literature has emerged. However, though the research base has great breadth, it lacks significant depth, has poor sample and setting descriptions, and lacks methodological rigor. The result is that there is insufficient evidence spelling out what practices work with which students and in which settings. Guidelines intended to steer future research could have significant impact upon scholars conducting research and, subsequently, higher education. The present article describes the current state of the research base and proposes future directions to guide research