Call for Occasional Papers: July 15
With the expansion of inclusion classrooms across the country, we have moved beyond the question of whether children with disabilities have the right to a free and appropriate public education, to a continuing debate about what "appropriate" means and to what extent children with disabilities can be fully included with their typically developing peers.
Inclusive education is not new. There have always been classrooms serving children with a wide range of abilities. What has changed is the growing presumption of policy makers that inclusion classrooms are the most appropriate places for children with all but the most severe disabilities. In New York City, for example, there is an increasing number of team taught classrooms in which general and special educators work side by side. At their best, inclusive classrooms embrace children with a wide range of abilities. They deepen the expertise and collaborative skills of educators. And they enact a vision of society where all members are valued and fully integrated.
Inclusion classrooms also bring enormous challenges to general and special education teachers, therapists, learning specialists, administrators, children and families. Central among these is the difficulty of serving learners with a wide range of cognitive, physical, sensory, emotional, and behavioral abilities, particularly in an age of high stakes testing. Many educators struggle to create cohesive, child-centered communities in a climate that measures students and teachers according to an increasingly restricted range of outcomes.
An additional challenge to building inclusive classroom comes with the ongoing need for complex collaborations. Teachers and other professionals working together find themselves in a state of disequilibrium. At stake are traditional roles and responsibilities. Educators are increasingly forced to reinterpret definitions of expertise and experience as they collaborate to effectively serve children and their families. While policy mandates proliferate, the voices of those working in inclusive settings are seldom heard.
Bank Street's Occasional Paper series seeks essays that explore what works and what doesn't work in inclusive classrooms.
Possible questions for exploration include:
Occasional Papers is calling for essays/ first person accounts/ critical analyses/case studies of 2000-3000 words.
If you have questions or would like to discuss your ideas, please contact Guest Editors Valentine Burr at vburr@bankstreet.edu or (212) 875-4791 or Eve Andrias at eandrias@bankstreet.edu or (646) 479-5621.
July 15, 2010 - Letter of Intent. Include a brief description (500 words) about your proposed submission. Send to Valentine Burr, Guest Editor, Occasional Papers, Bank Street College, 610 West 112th Street, New York, NY 10025 or Email.
January 1, 2011 - Final Papers.