Inclusive Education in Practice: District-Level Special Education Administrators\u27 Leadership

Considering six million children ages six through 21 receive special education services in the United States (Department of Education, 2017), it is critical to examine the leadership it takes to provide equitable education to students with disabilities. This study employs a qualitative research methodology utilizing in-depth interviewing to understand the leadership experiences of seven district-level special education administrators who are committed to enacting inclusive educational practices using the following three paradigms or ideological approaches: phenomenological perspective, social construction perspective, and transformative inquiry. The following research questions guide this dissertation: 1) How do district-level special education leaders articulate their conceptualization of and commitment to inclusive education? 2) What strategies of advocacy are evident in the ways that district-level special education leaders make sense of their enactment of inclusive educational opportunities and service delivery for students with disabilities? 3) What actions and decisions have district-level special education leaders implemented in order to remain committed to their district’s enactment of inclusive education? A philosophical approach of inclusive education and theoretical frameworks of social justice leadership and disability studies in education provide the analysis lens in which to understand participants’ resistive actions and leadership practices. The data were analyzed using NVIVO, a digital research software, followed by hand-coding, analytic memos, and member checks. Data demonstrated that participants’ drive for inclusive educational practices stemmed from family experiences or a poignant career event. Another finding was participants’ work in the field of inclusive education was an intentional social justice action to prepare students with and without disabilities to engage in the larger inclusive society. In addition, themes emerged in the data that demonstrate advocacy strategies linked to: 1) personal leadership disposition; 2) advocacy for students with disabilities; 3) capacity building; and 4) actions. Finally, themes demonstrated that leaders worked toward improvement through: 1) an emphasis on the growth process; 2) connectedness with community; and, 3) compliance with legal regulations. I conclude by discussing social justice leadership, advocacy tactics, and district practices that participants have implemented and describe implications for administrator preparation, teacher preparation, and state and federal policy. I propose a theory of inclusive education leadership that illuminates the process for creating systems change at the district level that involves praxis and critical reflection. It is my hope that participants’ subtle resistive tactics, incremental changes, and methods to set innovative district norms provide an exemplar for leaders who feel called and have an opportunity to enact inclusive educational services with a vision of constructing public school districts that seek to educate and include all learners

Detect Misconceptions, Construct Competence-Aligned Pedagogical Practices, and Use Instructional Strategies that Decenter Speech as a Means to Include Autistic Students

In this practice-based article, we use data and research to establish the need to examine inclusive-oriented pedagogical strategies to support autistic individuals. We believe that educators who use critical reflection can detect many of the common misconceptions about autism, learn how to re-frame these understandings, and consider different ways to support these students within inclusive classrooms. This article provides innovative pedagogical approaches for competence-aligned instruction, cultivating a web of communication access, bolstering social interaction, and supporting changes in the environment and with sensory experiences. We also describe ways to de-center speech to create a classroom that values dynamic engagement, divergent ways of thinking, and shifting the hierarchical expectation toward thinking and honoring multiple methods of expression. The purpose of the article is to re-frame common misconceptions and provide pedagogical strategies that center autistic individuals within inclusive classrooms