Session Information
04 SES 12 A, Cooperation between Regular and Special Teachers
Paper Session
Contribution
A wide roster of researchers stress teachers’ important role in the promotion of inclusive education. Teachers’ relations and collaborations with their colleagues, other professionals, students and their parents are beneficial for the provision of equal learning opportunities (Ainscow et al., 2007). Also, teacher methodologies and strategies (Allen, 1999) and teacher leadership (Marshall & Oliva, 2006) are influential in the development and implementation of inclusive education. Both literature and research related to inclusive education indicate that the leadership of the school unit can play a catalytic role in the development of more inclusive educational forms (e.g. Ainscow & Sandill, 2010; Angelides, Antoniou & Charalambous, 2010; Harris & Muijs, 2005;). Some researchers in the field reflect upon the strategy of distributed leadership suggesting the division of responsibilities and the distribution of leadership tasks to teachers across the different levels of schooling. Through collaborative networks which develop within and beyond the school unit, teachers emerge as educational leaders (Angelides, 2010) who can promote inclusive education.
Although at the international level, a lot of research on teacher leadership (e.g. Frost, 2008; York-Barr & Duke, 2004) and/or special teacher leadership is available (e.g. Billingsley, 2007; York-Barr et al., 2005), previous research has been broad and general. Only a small number of researches have examined the role played by special teacher leadership in the growth of inclusive education. In order to overcome the aforementioned limitation, we will examine the following questions:
· How can special teacher leadership promote the development of inclusive education?
· What roles do special teachers adopt in order to promote inclusive education?
· Which barriers do they face in this effort?
Method
Expected Outcomes
References
Ainscow, M., Crow, M., Dyson, A., Goldrick, S., Kerr, K., Lennie, C., Miles, S., Muijs, D. & Skyrme, J. (2007). Equity in education: New directions (2nd annual report). Manchester: Centre for Equity in Education, The University of Manchester. Ainscow, M. & Sandill, A. (2010). Developing inclusive education systems: the role of organisational cultures and leadership. International Journal of Inclusive Education, 1-16. Allen, J. (1999). Class actions: Teaching for social justice in elementary and middle schools. New York: Teachers College Press. Angelides, P. (2010). The efficacy of small internal networks for improving schools. School Leadership and Management, 30(5), 451-467. Angelides, P., Antoniou, E. & Charalambous, C. (2010). Making sense of inclusion for leadership and schooling: A case study from Cyprus. International Journal of Leadership in Education, 13(3), 319-334. Billingsley, B. S. (2007). Recognizing and supporting the critical roles of teachers in special education leadership. Exceptionality, 15(3), 163–176. Frost, D. (2008) Teacher leadership: values and voice. School Leadership and Management, 28(4), 337-352. Harris, A. & Muijs, D. (2005). Improving schools through teacher leadership. London: Open University Press. Lincoln, Y. S. & Guba, E.G. (1985). Naturalistic inquiry. Newbury Park: Sage. Marshall, C., & Oliva, M. (2006). Leadership for social justice: Making revolutions in education. New York: Pearson. Patton, M. Q. (2002). Qualitative research and evaluation methods (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. York-Barr, J., Sommerness, J., Duke, K., & Ghere, G. (2005). Special educators in inclusive education programmes: Reframing their work as teacher leadership. International Journal of Inclusive Education, 9(2), 193–215. York-Barr, J., & Duke, K. (2004). What do we know about teacher leadership? Findings from two decades of scholarship. Review of Educational Research, 74(3), 255-316.
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