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This study clarifies the development process of inclusive education in England (London) with Disability Equality Training (DET) for non-disabled teachers and pupils. It focuses on the practices of graduates of special schools who are members of the Integration Alliance (IA), an organization of disabled people. The shift in education policy from segregation to integration in the 1970s and 1980s influenced the development of the inclusion movement among people with disabilities and their parents, some of whom joined the IA and have been campaigning together since the 1990s to end the segregation of children with disabilities. IA members provided DET to non-disabled teachers and pupils in mainstream schools to change their attitudes and practices towards inclusion. The training was delivered during Disability History Month or across the curriculum in each subject area. The training covered the history of discrimination, the concept of the 'social model' of disability, and the role of 'allies'. Through DET, non-disabled teachers and pupils were encouraged to raise awareness of issues of exclusion and to work together for inclusion. It is also found that inclusive education movements with non-disabled allies have been developed since the 1990s. Under the Labour government, the campaign grew and education policy shifted towards inclusive education. However, the current situation has deteriorated, and the IA's successor is still practicing DET in mainstream schools, as inclusive education requires the cooperation of non-disabled allies and the reform of mainstream schools. This paper concludes that raising non-disabled allies through DET and campaigning together was important in achieving inclusive education. It shows, in comparison to previous research, that DET has played an important role in the process of making allies for inclusive education.

Tensions exist between providing inclusive education in mainstream classrooms and market-driven neoliberal values such as academic success and school ranking. These values impinge on teachers' responsibilities to teach students with disabilities. Schools are ranked based on students' performance in national examinations and schools sometimes use unscrupulous methods to achieve good results. In a culture that ranks schools based on test results, the schools themselves find it hard to embrace the idea of inclusion and some will use a variety of means to exclude students with disabilities to maintain their high rating. In this article we explore how some key tenets of neoliberalism in inclusive education, such as testing mechanisms to leverage accountability and improvement, inter-school competition, marketisation of education and parental choice, among others, affect the provision of education to students with disabilities in Kenya. We highlight how neoliberalism has affected inclusive education in Kenya and explain how hegemonic neoliberal culture has changed the way schools operate and how teachers teach. We also show how neoliberal culture in schools helps exclude students who are different from the norm.

This study examines experiences with aesthetic bias as perceived by individuals with physical disabilities (i.e., vision, hearing, orthopedic/mobility). We used the concept of aesthetic bias to guide our quantitative and qualitative data analysis. A quantitative Needs Assessment Survey (NAS) gathered demographic information, degree of appearance management behavior and assessed participants' perspectives on their experience with aesthetic bias during the interviewing process and in the workplace environment. In addition, we conducted interviews with 12 participants that assessed their experiences with aesthetic biases. The results revealed four themes: appearance creditability, concealing or revealing the disability, inconsistent feedback from others, and disability awareness. The findings add value to the extant research and the community and can be incorporated into workshops and education sessions on aesthetic bias and disability.

Underestimating the important role that disability plays in our growing world, the environment, and our inter-dependent economies is no longer acceptable. Far from being placed in a subaltern position, disability plays a significant role in theory and research development in the most recent waves of initiatives addressing work, resources, and the impact of climate (Berman-Bieler et al., 2023; Olusanya et al., 2023; Stein et al., 2023; Tampubolon, 2023). However, various foundational elements across global disability policies center around disabled peoples' material support needs (Bailie et al, 2023; Fisher et al., 2023) and the impact of disabled peoples' labor market employability across the world's economies (Pinilla-Roncancio & Gallardo, 2023; Revillard, 2023). The articles in this Special Issue of the "Journal of Postsecondary Education and Disability" show us how some of these realities of "what is" can be disrupted, and we are honored to provide our unique perspective piece in response. We focus on the nuanced power dynamics often prevalent, albeit looked over, in the purpose of research by unpacking who decides when equity and justice have been met. We do so to engage future disabled possibilities in STEMM.

Using data from a multi-institutional grounded theory study, this paper details the thoughts, feelings, and behaviors that 59 U.S. college students with disabilities used to cope with ableist stressors in postsecondary learning environments. Specifically, this manuscript highlights the varied coping strategies students adopted as they responded to the following stressors: (a) bullying; (b) labels, assumptions, and stereotypes; and (c) low expectations and discouragement. The paper concludes with recommendations for practice.

Early education helping young children manage prejudiced attitudes towards themselves and others is urgent. Early childhood (EC) teachers in Saudi Arabia are making significant changes by applying an anti-bias approach to deal with such issues with young children. In the study reported on here we used a quantitative approach to explore anti-bias education, including an analysis of approaches to the cultural environment, which includes teaching practices and associated learning resources. Many teachers (n = 142) in the cities of Jeddah and Riyadh in Saudi Arabia contributed to this study by completing a questionnaire. Teachers' classroom practices, such as role-play, pictures, books, toys, and materials in teaching children the concept of antibias, were deeply explored. The results of the study show that the greater the previous experience of teachers in teaching children from a culture different from their own, the greater the application of the concept of anti-bias in creating the classroom environment. There is a need for further studies on the extent to which anti-bias education is being implemented on a larger scale in primary schools in Saudi Arabia.

Students who are deaf or hard-of-hearing (DHH) have long been educated in segregated settings. The move toward inclusion now means that DHH students may choose to have their educational needs met within a non-segregated setting. Challenges face all stakeholders. Students who are DHH may experience significant needs in the areas of communication, social development and academics. Teachers and administrators must work together to model acceptance and provide a positive and successful educational experience.

This collaborative, descriptive research project in urban Texas looked at the at the development, implementation, and student perception of effectiveness of a multi-stage pedagogical intervention in a classroom to help preservice teachers become more confident during discussions of controversial identity issues; specifically, ableism, classism, heterosexism, racism, and sexism. Researchers developed classroom experiences based upon worldview threat and defense as well as mindfulness, using qualitative analytic strategies to "foresee" and "assert" the effectiveness of these experiences via mid- and end-point course evaluation surveys. Participants felt more confident and capable when talking to others with differing worldviews due to the experiences and tools provided.

College students with disabilities continue to experience various challenges in their transition into postsecondary education. However, limited research has focused on their initial transition, despite the significance of its impact on college students with disabilities. This qualitative study examined first-semester transition experiences among freshmen with disabilities at a public research university in the Southeastern United States. Responses (i.e., post-course interviews, course reflections, online discussion boards) from thirteen students of 2018 to 2021 cohorts of the Engage 100 course (an orientation program for freshmen with disabilities) were analyzed through a qualitative analysis approach. The results indicated that college freshmen benefit in their social and academic transition through enrolling in the Engage 100 course. The results highlight the need for disability support services and for college campuses to foster transition success for college students with disabilities.

The phenomenon of microaggressions is well established within the counseling literature, particularly as it relates to race, ethnicity, gender, and affectual orientation. However, research related to disability or ableist microaggressions is still in its infancy, so counseling professionals have limited information about experiences of disability and ableist microaggressions. The purpose of this qualitative content analysis was to describe participants' self-reported experiences with ableist microaggressions. Participants (N = 90) had a diagnosed disability and the majority (91.11%) identified as having two or more nondominant identities beyond their disability. We report two categories and 10 themes. While participants were part of the general population, we position our discussion and implications within the context of professional counseling to increase counseling professionals' awareness and knowledge so counselors can avoid ableist microaggressions and provide affirmative counseling services to persons with disabilities.

Artificial intelligence can support increasingly complex conversational interactions and also has the potential to interpret meanings from free text input and make recommendations based on patterns in data. There are important opportunities to apply this to real-world problems faced in access to education. In this paper, we summarise existing research and trends linking disability support and technology, then report on a survey conducted with students with disclosed disabilities (n = 138) to explore what systems might need to do to effectively understand disabled students in their own words, and provide suggestions of technologies, strategies and resources that could be relevant to overcoming barriers to learning. Through thematic analysis, five approaches that students used to talk about their disabilities are identified(medical, functional, support, experiential and administrative), and three major types of suggestions they make around what supported them and may be useful to others are also identified (external tools, university support and practices, concerns and solutions). The survey approach and the findings of the analysis provide a potential foundation for the effective design of systems that could crowdsource a knowledgebase around disabilities, hold conversations to understand disabilities and barriers and make relevant recommendations to individuals as to how they could overcome these barriers.

The study examined the use of Assistive Technologies (AT) among pupils with hearing and visual impairment in selected primary schools in Zanzibar. The study involved 127 respondents. Data was collected using questionnaires, focus group discussions, and observation. Findings indicated that primary schools in Zanzibar had access to hearing aids, sign language interpreters, braille, and speech recognition software. However, the utilization of these technologies posed challenges for most pupils. While pupils with impairments perceived the positive impact of assistive technologies in learning and performance, they encountered several obstacles, including shortage of devices, insufficient training for both teachers and pupils, lack of qualified teachers for instructing pupils in their use, communication issues with hearing-impaired pupils, negative attitudes toward Assistive Technology, and inadequate quality of available devices. The study recommends that the government allocate substantial funds for the procurement and maintenance of assistive technologies and establish support systems and resource centers to enhance effective utilization of assistive technologies in primary schools. This will ultimately promote inclusivity and improve educational experiences of pupils with hearing and visual impairments in Zanzibar.

Microaggressions are commonplace overt and covert forms of discrimination that convey disparaging messages to individuals who hold marginalized identities, including people with disabilities (PWD). Although PWD are a prevalent nondominant identity group in the United States, little is known about the occurrence of ableist microaggressions in this culturally diverse community, including how ableist microaggressions are experienced based on disability characteristics and other nondominant identities. A sample consisting of 201 PWD completed an electronic survey that examined the occurrence of ableist microaggressions based on visibility of disability, type of disability, and nondominant sociocultural identities. We found that PWD have a moderate level of lifetime occurrences with ableist microaggressions, the visibility of disability impacts the occurrence of ableist microaggressions and the types of ableist microaggressions experienced, and sociocultural identities may predict minimization types of ableist microaggressions.

Persistent ableism in higher education, counseling practice, and society necessitates disability justice advocacy. In this article, the author explores the historical context of disability and the importance of disability knowledge for counselors and counselor educators. In addition to discrimination and inaccessibility, able privilege and lack of representation present significant barriers to equity and empowerment of disabled people. Better awareness of disability culture and community-oriented frameworks for the collective liberation of disabled people, such as disability justice, can improve disability equity and allyship within counseling and counselor education.

Educators in Belize are charged with ensuring that all Belizeans are given an opportunity to acquire a quality education that promotes personal development and productive citizenship. Consequently, Belizean law now requires all children from ages five through fourteen to attend at least eight years of primary school. Students with special needs have historically not received accommodations in the education system, so many teachers struggle with meeting the needs of students with learning disabilities in these inclusive settings. This qualitative case study explored teaching strategies and contextual factors in inclusive primary classrooms in Belize and was conducted in the form of Community Engaged Research in partnership with the Ministry of Education, Youth, Sports, and Culture (MOE). Findings suggest consistent approaches for differentiating instruction, teacher passion for teaching and commitment to meeting student needs, a need for additional resources and training, and a disconnect between families and schools. Interpretation of these findings through Hornby's (2015) theory of inclusive education suggests that Belize is primarily following inclusivity as students with disabilities are integrated into the mainstream educational system. However, while some principles and practices of inclusion are followed, other features are absent. Adding a special education component could enhance student learning as individualization and standardization of instruction, expectations, and assessment could occur between teachers, across grade levels, and in communication with families. A special education component with associated teacher training could support teacher desire for additional resources and meet the needs of an increasingly diverse population of students.

This article aims to highlight the importance of teachers training about inclusiveness by relying on statistical differences in teachers' perceptions of who are trained in the last five years and those who are not, in the realm of inclusive education as regards the socialization of SEN children with their class peers. The approach of this study was quantitative, and sample extraction is carried out through the stages sampling method. For the data collection, it was used a Likert scale with a Cronbach's coefficient alpha reported 0.86. The dimension of this research, "Teachers' perceptions as regards the socialization of children with SEN with peers" consists of three factors, respectively: (1) "Teacher perceptions as regards the adaption of children with SEN to the group of peers," (2) "Teachers' perceptions as regards the participation of children with SEN in managing the situation," (3) "Teachers' perceptions as regards the social participation of children with SEN with their peers." The results of the "Mann-Whitney U Test" revealed significant differences in the perception of trained and untrained teachers, as regards the three factors of the study.

Inclusive work-integrated learning (WIL) requires collaboration between universities, host organizations and students, particularly, when designing and delivering WIL for students with disabilities. Host organizations, however, are not often included in the collaborations. This study explored host organization knowledge, capacity and challenges to providing WIL experiences for students with disability. A case study multi-method approach comprising an online survey and focus groups was undertaken. Host organizations, represented by supervisors, providing WIL to students enrolled in health courses at two Australian higher education institutions participated. The perceived need for student disclosure, office building limitations, and host organization limited knowledge of WIL expectations, training and student needs impeded the development and provision of optimal WIL experiences for students with disability. A strengths-based approach is proposed to improve the inclusion of host organizations in stakeholder collaborations, their capacity and confidence to support students with disability on WIL and to provide relatable student WIL experiences.

Students with disabilities are far less likely than their peers to participate in work-integrated learning (WIL). This gap may contribute to the high levels of unemployment for people with disabilities. Unemployment rates compound when accounting for intersectional identities, with disabled people of color experiencing even higher rates of unemployment. Skill development through opportunities such as WIL is critical to ensure equity-deserving groups can transition successfully from post-secondary institutions into the workforce. Without a transparent, collaborative accommodations process in an environment that is actively reducing stigma and ableism, it is likely students with disabilities will continue to be underrepresented in WIL and the workforce after graduation. This paper presents an overview of disability, barriers to participation, and relevant Canadian legislation. The authors then propose an outline for developing a collaborative accommodations process for WIL opportunities.

This article describes inclusive education based on gender equality, disability and social inclusion (GEDSI) in elementary schools. The research was conducted because the school work plan for inclusive education has not yet included gender equality, disability and social inclusion in elementary schools in Central Java, Indonesia. Elementary school managers still adhere to an exclusive and segregated paradigm, and they are not one hundred per cent inclusive in managing elementary schools. This impacts gender bias, injustice to children with disabilities, and the lack of social inclusion. The research used the participatory action research method through the empowerment of 20 school principals under the Educational Institution Ma'arif Nahdlatul Ulama of Central Java, Indonesia, with the stages of introduction, inculturation, team organizing, action planning, action, evaluation, and reflection. The research findings state that the inclusive education program based on GEDSI is a program prepared in the school work plan by including elements of gender justice, disability, and social inclusion in the standards of content, process, graduate competencies, educators and education personnel, facilities and infrastructure, management, financing, and assessment. The implementation of inclusive education based on GEDSI in 20 elementary schools is carried out through annual programs, semester programs and learning activities. The implementation of this program involves all stakeholders in the school, from the head to the students. Future research must explore inclusive education based on GEDSI in the curriculum and technical aspects of learning.

With the occurrence of the COVID-19 pandemic in the world in 2019, human life has moved to a different dimension. Accordingly, the education process was carried out remotely in Turkey as well as in the rest of the world. Virtual education was not a new concept for societies, but conducting the entire education process remotely was a very different practice and this practice brought many problems with it. In this context, this study aims to determine the opinions of teachers after the pandemic regarding the virtual education process of primary school students with disabilities who continue inclusive education settings. For this purpose, qualitative research was conducted and data were collected by conducting semi-structured individual interviews with 10 primary school teachers who have students with disabilities in their class. The data were analyzed by content analysis. Research results revealed that teachers did not have any problems in involving students with disabilities who were supported by their parents and who did not have any infrastructure problems in terms of technical equipment, but they have problems in including some children in virtual education. Teachers had difficulty in following the education of students with disabilities during the virtual education process implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, it is a very important issue that our national action plans are ready for the education process of students with disabilities, especially for situations such as pandemics and natural disasters that have recently occurred in our country.

This collaborative and reflective inquiry-based paper critically examines accessibility within the research realm. We focus this inquiry on the principles of equity, diversity and inclusion and specifically address the challenges of establishing accessibility as part of the research enterprise. We acknowledge and reflect on the pivotal role accessibility for persons with disabilities play in an equitable research enterprise and reflect on how nuances in language, behavior, and power dynamics all play a role in creating inclusive environments. This reflective inquiry is a result of a facilitated workshop that took place at a conference attended by professionals working within research administration. Using an inquiry-based workshop approach, facilitators worked with workshop colleagues to discuss, regardless of job title, an ability to influence and shape a more inclusive and accessible system at all levels. Our desired outcomes of this workshop were to collate the collective experiences of our colleagues to uncover barriers and facilitators related to accessibility and to support and learn from our colleagues around ways to create an accessible environment that is a norm. What we find is that accessibility impacts everyone in some way, but it is not a one-size-fits-all solution. Collaboration and communication strategies present possible support pathways to more accessible environments.

This study is a needs assessment of Extension staff in the state of Iowa to implement inclusive programming for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). Electronic surveys were completed by Extension staff on their attitudes and beliefs toward people with IDD, inclusive programming, and training needs. Results showed that Extension staff had positive views, but that staff reporting personal experience with people with IDD had more positive attitudes and beliefs (p < 0.05). The greatest training need was instructional techniques. The study highlights the importance of direct experience in addition to knowledge- based workshops for training Extension staff to implement inclusive programming.

Despite the importance of writing skill development, we know very little about how writing instruction is provided to students with visual impairments (VI) with and without co-occurring disabilities (e.g., multiple disabilities, deaf-blindness). The purpose of this study was to survey a national sample of U.S. teachers of students with visual impairments (TSVIs) on several important constructs, including their preparation to teach writing; their beliefs, attitudes, and experiences about teaching writing; and the writing practices they use for students with various visual conditions. We received responses from 457 TSVIs. The results showed that TSVIs vary considerably in their preparation to teach writing and disagree as to whether writing instruction (above and beyond braille) is part of their responsibilities. Most TSVIs indicated that they believe writing to be important for their students with VI, and they reported using various writing practices in their instruction within different student groups.

Background: Attitudes towards intellectual disability play an important role in the social inclusion and well-being of persons with intellectual disability. Few studies have examined attitudes of staff working in the specialised service industry, which may have an even greater impact. This study aimed to better understand these attitudes. Methods: A sample of 157 direct support professionals and 38 managers working with persons with intellectual disability completed the Attitudes Toward Intellectual Disability Questionnaire (ATTID; Morin, Rivard, et al. (2013). "Journal of Intellectual Disability Research," 57, 279-292). Attitudes were assessed along affective, cognitive, and behavioural dimensions. Results: Results revealed generally positive attitudes in both groups, but more paternalistic attitudes among managers and less positive attitudes in the general population. Positive attitudes were associated with level of education, frequency and quality of contact, and knowledge about intellectual disabilities. Conclusion: Workplace training programs addressing the aetiology of intellectual disability and interventions promoting self-determination may help enhance staff attitudes towards intellectual disability.

I Dream with and through a positionality that lacks critical theorizing in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education research: Students labeled with disabilities; Disability beyond students' accommodations. Understanding this marginalized population can push humanistic STEM scholarship to disrupt ableism by design, thereby honoring students' voices, identities, and Dreams as knowledge-building sources. Engaging purposefully along such a proactive centering of these margins pushes STEM researchers to think beyond past challenges and break away from the free-market value commoditizations of education. I urge we Dream future possibilities of humanistic STEM education where researchers, teachers, and students are aligned to build new cultures of joy and feelings of relational belonging. In this way I seek to nurture the brilliance of students who are historically marginalized, including Disabled people, because of a desire to define their studenthood on their own terms. I argue that STEM education researchers working toward "what if" leveraging intersectionality as a way to critically theorize design can do more than change disciplinary practices: We can help students to Dream beyond "what is."

This pre-test post-test control group design sought to compare the effectiveness of delivering different types of information ([1] factual information vs. [2] factual information + descriptive and explanatory information vs. [3] factual information + descriptive, explanatory + directive information) in an animated video intervention in increasing university students' autism knowledge and openness toward peers on the autism spectrum. The sample consisted of 92 undergraduates (27 males, 65 females; age range = 18-36) from various universities in Singapore. Participants were randomly assigned to one of the three experimental conditions/videos, where they completed a measure of their autism knowledge and openness scale, before viewing a 5-minute long animated video containing different types of information about autism. After which, participants completed the measure of autism knowledge and openness scale again, followed by a measure of their empathy level. Results indicated that participants' autism knowledge improved following the viewing of the animated video. However, the three different videos containing different types of information did not differ in influencing participants' openness toward peers on the autism spectrum. Nevertheless, qualitative responses proposed that the video containing factual information, with descriptive, explanatory, and directive information was useful in helping participants to know how to interact with their peers on the autism spectrum. The findings of this study provide preliminary support for the most effective method to educate and raise awareness about autism, among the general student population in order to foster a supportive and inclusive environment.

This research investigated the impact popular novels have on knowledge about and attitudes towards Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), compared to that of traditional college textbooks. Study 1 found that participants in the novel condition chose fewer correct and fewer incorrect responses to questions about ASD. Participants did not differ in their desired social distance from individuals with ASD. Study 2 found that participants in the novel and textbook conditions both showed the same amount of learning, with higher scores on the post-test assessment of knowledge than the pre-test. Participants in the novel condition showed significant improvement in their attitudes towards individuals with ASD after reading, while those in the textbook condition showed more negative attitudes after reading the textbook chapter. These findings add to our understanding of the potential of popular fiction to impact consumers' knowledge about ASD while improving our attitudes towards individuals with ASD. These findings also raise concerns about traditional educational material used to teach about ASD.

This study examined teachers' concerns about including students with disabilities (SWDs) in regular classrooms and identified the background variables that were significantly associated with their concerns. A total of 1008 primary school teachers from 236 schools across all 25 provinces and cities in Cambodia participated in the study. The Concern about Inclusive Education Scale (CIES) was used as a research instrument. Descriptive statistics, a principal component analysis, reliability tests, Pearson correlation coefficients and a multiple regression analysis were used for data analysis. The result of the principal component analysis confirmed a four-factor model for the CIES. The study found that Cambodian teachers had high levels of concern about including SWDs in regular classrooms. They expressed the deepest concerns about the inadequate availability of special education instructional materials and teaching aids, the lack of knowledge and skills required to teach SWDs, the increased workloads and the challenges of providing equal attention to all students. The experience of inclusive education training, years of teaching in regular classrooms, and experience of teaching SWDs were significantly associated with their concerns about inclusion. The findings were discussed with practical implications for improved policy and practice to address Cambodian teachers' concerns and promote their inclusive practices.

There is an increasing number of autistic students being educated alongside their neurotypical peers. However, placing a student in the general education setting is not sufficient for meaningful inclusion. Historically, autistic students have had fewer friendships, been less accepted, and experienced stigmatization. Interventions to increase peer attitudes toward autism have emerged as a method for creating more inclusive environments. The purpose of this literature review was to describe the interventions to improve peer attitudes toward autism, review the quality of the research, and determine the effectiveness of interventions. Specifically, this review aimed to answer the following questions: (1) what are participant characteristics and components of interventions designed to improve attitudes toward autistic individuals? (2) What is the methodological quality of interventions designed to improve attitudes toward autistic individuals, as measured by Council for Exceptional Children standards for evidence-based practices in special education (2014) criteria? (3) What is the effectiveness of interventions to improve attitudes toward autistic individuals? A total of 13 studies were located through a systematic search. Included studies were coded for study characteristics, participant characteristics, intervention, and outcomes. Across the studies, there were a total of 2097 participants. All studies included contact (either direct, indirect, or peer-mediation) and most included an education component (k = 10). Findings indicated that interventions are effective at improving attitudes toward autism, but further research is required to determine their overall impact.

This article delves into the processes of disability disclosure, cripped experiences and a particular theoretical flight with posthuman subjectivity. The article critiques disability disclosure for coercively reifying cripped experiences into normative narratives. Moreover, disclosures determine coercive and performative regimes in educational contexts, where disciplinary power defines possible experiences for cripped folks. Drawing on Foucault's and Butler's works to ground our conversations of reification and coercion, I then pull on and complement Deleuze and Guattari's works to argue that disclosure places the nonsensicality of disability outside conventional determinations of sense, defining the cripped being as nonbeing to maintain the productive boundaries of sense/nonsense. Finally, I play with crippedness that refuses definition and disclosure as a posthuman subjectivity that celebrates fluidity, multiplicity and nonsense. My final section of the article offers a cripped path where the disabled, posthuman subject resists sense-making and embraces multiplicity, fluidity and nonsensicality as a particularly embodied refusal. This article critically explores the reifying nature of disclosure while envisioning possibilities where crip and posthuman studies converge, promising a shift towards imagining posthuman subjects that honour the nonsensical and multiplicitous nature of cripped experiences that refuse disclosure/definition qua reification, coercion and sense.

Attitudes have gained much attention for supporting the successful implementation of inclusive education. There is evidence that students' attitudes towards joint lessons with students with special educational needs (SEN) affect peer relations in classrooms. But much less is currently known about the relationships between teachers' and students' attitudes and their effects on inclusive processes. This paper draws on social referencing theory to frame how teachers may affect students' attitudes. It postulates that students' attitudes towards peers with SEN and inclusive practices are affected by their teachers' attitudes towards students with SEN and inclusive practices. It also examines how teachers' and students' attitudes relate to classroom climate and social integration. Using a sample of 1.365 German 6th and 7th graders from 64 classes, we run a series of multilevel path models to investigate relationships between teachers' and students' attitudes with social integration and classroom climate. Attitudes are differentiated by a cognitive and affective facet and by whether they relate to students with emotional-social difficulties (SEN-ESD) or learning difficulties. Results show social referencing for cognitive attitudes towards inclusive practices for students with SEN-ESD. Results also indicate that teachers' cognitive attitudes and students' affective attitudes directly affect social integration and classroom climate.

This paper explores the lived experience of university students with dyslexia, focusing on identity and self-esteem. The qualitative study used semi-structured interviews with five students with dyslexia and discussions with learning support tutors at four UK universities. Thematic analysis of the interview data revealed the impact of dyslexia's stigma on students' academic self-concept and self-efficacy in their studies, including how students manage stigma through decisions on when and with whom to declare dyslexia: some even rejected study support. Concealing dyslexia led to identity conflict and low self-esteem, compounding students' already low academic self-concept, particularly when dyslexia had been unrecognised through school. The study highlights significant academic, practical and identity consequences for students who hide dyslexia from their peers, subject lecturers or study support. The conclusions outline priorities to lessen dyslexia's stigma at university, increase student agency in their support and open dialogue on dyslexia, particularly important between students with dyslexia and subject lecturers. By exploring dyslexia's identity impacts and disclosure, this paper contributes to wider conversations on increasing the representation, achievement and retention of students with dyslexia.

This research aimed to determine whether the Making Friends (MF) program is effective on social acceptance levels of typically developing children in preschool toward their peers with special needs. The research had an experimental design with a control group, pretest, posttest, and follow-up test. The study included 130 typically developing children in inclusive classrooms in educational institutions in Edirne, Turkey; 64 of whom were in the experimental group and 66 of whom were in the control group. In the current study, the MF program was applied to the children in the experimental group as 3 days a week for 6 weeks. General Information Form and Acceptance Scale for Kindergarten were used as data collection tools. The data were analyzed using the Covariance Analysis in the context of Generalized Linear Models (ANCOVA). The MF program was found to be effective on increasing social acceptance levels of typically developing children in inclusive preschool settings.

This self-reflective article describes my experience as a disabled-Latino faculty member in a teacher preparation program at a minority-serving urban university. This personal narrative of the physical, emotional, attitudinal, and resource aspects of the author's experience highlights barriers and challenges experienced in the educational and working environment while identifying strategies that assisted in overcoming these barriers. The article specifically relates my progression through my teaching career as I encounter issues of equality and diversity. With this article, disabled faculty and other minority groups are encouraged to incorporate practices that encourage teacher candidates to explore teaching practices for diverse populations in urban settings.

In this paper, we aim to provide readers with three critical concepts that can maximize inclusivity of learner experience (LX) and user experience (UX) design: accessibility, usability, and universal design for learning (UDL). Although recent K-12 and postsecondary education have experienced rapid change in its student population with the growing awareness of the equal opportunities for all, general design methods of addressing such diversity across formal and informal learning contexts are still prone to retrofitted changes to predefined instructions in favor of standardization. This is due in part to the limited interpretation of accessibility as the concept for the medical model of disabilities where learners with disabilities are not regarded as users or consumers, but as clients or patients. Moreover, LX and UX have been widely designed with the usability of dominant group in mind while trading off exclusion of those who cannot fit themselves into it. However, accessibility and usability are not mutually exclusive; rather, a truly inclusive learning design (i.e. UDL) comes from the interplay between them. Through the paper, we provide definition and description of each concept and provide practical examples of how UDL principles can be applied to inclusive learning design.

The U.S. Supreme Court has heard several cases regarding special education. These cases have resulted in decisions that have addressed issues involving special education programming and procedural issues. On March 21, 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a unanimous ruling in "Perez v. Sturgis Public Schools." This decision, which was the most recent special education case heard by the highest court in the United States, involved litigation in special education. In this brief article, we address the Supreme Court's decision in "Perez" by (a) examining the background of the case; (b) reviewing the decision by the lower courts and the U.S. Supreme Court; and (c) discussing the implications of the case for special educators.

Studies investigating autistic community research priorities indicate a mismatch between what autism research focuses on and what autistic people want to see researched. Furthermore, there has not been a research priority-setting exercise specifically with autistic people in Scotland, where there are unique cultural, political and social contexts. Using a community-based participatory design, we aimed to identify the research priorities of autistic adults living in Scotland. Autistic and non-autistic researchers designed and conducted a survey where 225 autistic adults rated and ranked research topics in order of importance and provided qualitative feedback on issues and questions important to them. The top five research priorities were mental health/well-being, identification and diagnosis of autistic people, support services, knowledge and attitudes towards autistic people and issues impacting autistic women. There were differences in priorities according to different intersections of identity, and qualitative responses indicated a desire for research to focus on support and understanding. The bottom three priorities concerned genetics, treatments and interventions and causes. These findings emphasise the need to address the gap between what autism research focuses on and the everyday lives of autistic people.

Society and education are inherently ableist. Disabled people are routinely excluded from education, or have poorer outcomes within educational systems. Improving educational experiences and outcomes for people of color has required educators to design antiracist curricula that explicitly address racial inequality. Here, we explore parallel antiableist approaches to bioscience education in an essay coauthored by a disabled bioscience student and able-bodied faculty member in bioscience. Our work is underpinned by Critical Disability Theory and draws on disability and pedagogical scholarship as well as our own experiences. The biosciences has a unique need to confront its history in the discredited pseudoscience of eugenics, which has led to discrimination and human rights abuses against disabled people. We provide a brief history of the relationship between biological sciences research and eugenics and explore how this legacy impacts bioscience education today. We then present a recommended structure for antiableist biology education. Our approach goes beyond providing disability access, to a model that educates all students about disability issues and empowers them to challenge ableist narratives and practices.

The Division for Early Childhood (DEC) collaborates with the Early Intervention and Early Childhood Special Education (EI/ECSE) community and allied partners to create resources (such as publications like Young Exceptional Children [YEC] and The Journal of Early Intervention [JEI] and products like The DEC Recommended Practices and Learning Decks) that reflect collective expertise. These resources address field needs and support DEC's mission of guiding early intervention and special education services for infants, toddlers, and preschoolers with or at-risk for disabilities and their families. To advance equity, DEC members are committed to studying, discussing, and applying DEC's Racial Equity Point of View (RE POV; Division for Early Childhood [DEC], 2023) to all its resources and the system that produces them. To create transformative change within DEC's resources, this article includes reflections on how DEC's RE POV can inspire new associated practices and policies to foster a more equitable and inclusive resource system. Also included are reflective questions for readers, DEC members, and non-members alike, to build their critical consciousness related to the need to disrupt structural racism and ableism and (re)build DEC's resource system into one that prioritizes equity.

Teachers' beliefs may influence their teaching practices and use of strategies and interventions. In recent years, the prevalence of autism spectrum disorder has been on the rise, and there has been an increase in the number of students with autism enrolled in mainstream schools. However, teachers often feel ill-prepared to provide appropriate support for students with autism and may hold different beliefs about these students and how to support them. Although empirical studies exploring teachers' beliefs exist, very few studies have systematically examined and analysed teachers' beliefs about teaching students with autism. This study used a systematic review methodology to locate previous studies focused on exploring teachers' beliefs towards students with autism, published in peer-reviewed journals in the past 10 years (2012-2021). The results of the data analysis conceptualised five major themes about different types of teachers' beliefs. The implications for teachers' practices, education reforms, and further research directions are also provided.

Disabled people encounter numerous barriers to accessibility and face discrimination and inequalities in their daily lives. The situation is even more complex for migrants with a disability, who have to learn how to navigate a new bureaucratic system. This study focuses on deaf adult migrants and the linguistic and bureaucratic challenges they face in Swedish society. The data consists of interviews with 43 deaf migrants participating in language learning courses in four folk high schools catering to deaf people in Sweden. Crip Theory and Crip Linguistics are used as lenses to explore the impact of able-bodiedness and linguistic norms on this particular group. The findings show that deaf migrants experience infantilisation, that sign language interpreters are often seen as a one-size-fits-all solution without much consideration for other factors influencing communication, and that normative able-bodiedness underlies many of the bureaucratic issues deaf migrants face.

Currently there is a severe lack of research on autism and Indigenous people in Canada. This scoping review explores this literature gap and assesses the same literature from an Indigenous perspective. Scoping reviews are an effective means to explore the literature in a specific area, in this case, autism and Indigenous people in Canada. We explored existing literature as it pertains to Indigenous populations and autism in Canada. To support this review, the Indigenous Quality Assessment Tool (QAT) was adapted to appraise the quality of literature. In total, there were a total of 212 articles identified of which 24 met the inclusion criteria: (1) some focus on autism, (2) a component specific to Indigenous people, and (3) specific to Canada. Of the 24 articles and reports, 15 were peer-reviewed and the rest considered grey literature. Most articles focused on program delivery with some literature using primary data (quantitative and/or qualitative). Overall, the quality of the research was appraised as poor, as determined by the QAT. Findings reaffirm the critical need for research that addresses autism in Indigenous communities within Canada and show the importance of having research done in full partnership with, or led by, Indigenous people.

Background: The present study examines the relationship between stereotypical beliefs about people with intellectual disabilities, desire for social distance, and general knowledge about human sexuality with attitudes towards the sexuality of adults with mild intellectual disabilities. Method: Two hundred fifty participants from staff, family and community samples completed an online set of questionnaires. Results: Higher agreement with stereotypical beliefs and lower sexual knowledge were associated with less normalising and more paternalistic attitudes towards the sexuality of adults with mild intellectual disabilities. Higher agreement with stereotypical beliefs was also associated with more negative attitudes. On the other hand, willingness to interact with these adults was associated with more normalising and less paternalistic attitudes. Conclusions: Interventions that aim to support adults with intellectual disabilities in relation to their sexuality should also address the perceptions of their support network towards them as individuals with disabilities, as well as their knowledge about sexuality.

In this interview study, we utilize a theoretical framework that combines Bell's theory of choice sets with DisCrit to explore how parents of students with IEPs (SIEPs) experienced a forced school choice embedded with the 2013 mass school closures in Chicago. We find that a child's disability was a primary factor in parent's choices. Further, all parents in our sample had conceptions of ideal schools, but a child's IEP and other barriers--including safety and transportation--could prevent parents from enrolling their child in an otherwise desired school. In this way a child's IEP could provide access to needed services while also denying families from desired learning environments. These findings point to the ableist nature of school choice and contribute to the growing body of research that questions the theoretical underpinnings of school choice as an education reform strategy.

Children with severe multiple disabilities face numerous possibilities for enjoying music and participating in performance activities; however, the research practice for realizing these possibilities involves various difficulties. To understand the disabilities of children and their engagement with music, awareness of one's perception of disability is necessary for each practitioner-researcher. The researchers of the current study reflected on their personal views about disability and life histories and described and analyzed them through collaborative autoethnography (CAE). The study was conducted through the practice of combining electronic music equipment and traditional instruments as a music education project for children with severe multiple disabilities. The results demonstrated that the perceptions of the researchers about disability and their life histories interacted with and transformed their research practice. Additionally, the study highlighted how endeavors in CAE encouraged dialogue among researchers and deepened mutual understanding. The suggestions for researchers of music education practice with children with disabilities include analysis of disability from the first-person perspective and sharing of views among co-researchers.

Autistic people diagnosed in adulthood often report that the experience can be life-changing, but there are issues with the diagnostic pathway. Few studies consider the views of people "currently" seeking diagnosis or contextualise the experience of diagnosis around developing an autistic identity. In this qualitative participatory study, we explored experiences of navigating an autism diagnosis in adulthood in the UK. We recruited six women (aged 21-46 years) who were seeking diagnosis, who worked with the academic researchers across four sessions to develop the study, share their experiences and analyse the themes. In one session, they completed a semi-structured interview alongside photovoice, a community-based action method, to explain and reflect on their experiences. We used reflexive thematic analysis to identify patterns, with four key themes identified: (1) 'everything shattered', (2) 'being seen', (3) 'understanding not judgement, please' and (4) 'here's a leaflet, off you go'. The themes reflected a desire for change and improved support for both diagnosis and developing autistic identity. Following photovoice methodology, together we identified actions to improve adult diagnosis, including involving autistic people in making improvements to the diagnostic criteria, for key professional and community groups to listen more to autistic people and for diagnostic support services to be flexible and appreciative of wider neurodivergence and intersectionality.

This study aimed to investigate the impact of external factors on the experiences and family relationships of autistic adolescents and their families. A qualitative approach was used, with in-depth interviews conducted with 30 participants, including autistic adolescents, siblings and parents from within families with an autistic adolescent family member. The findings suggest that external factors significantly influence the well-being of autistic adolescents and their families. The school environment was identified as a significant factor, with sensory overload, bullying and adverse interactions with teachers having a negative impact on the mental health and quality of family relationships for participants. In addition, the study highlighted that isolation and stigma were major concerns for families, suggesting a need for public efforts to raise awareness and understanding of autism. The lack of appropriate support and services was also identified as a significant challenge that families face. The study highlights the need for person-centred approaches to service provision, which involves including autistic adolescents and their families in the design and delivery of support and services. The study recommends collaboration among schools, service providers, and families, as well as efforts to promote autism-friendly environments in schools and the broader community.

Despite the widespread promotion of inclusive environments within higher education, social barriers and a lack of understanding among university staff continue to hinder students with disabilities in their goals of graduating and finding employment. Using ableism as a theoretical framework, this study aimed to explore attitudes among higher education institution employees towards students with disabilities and their feasibility in different types of education and employment positions. "Employees" in this study included teaching staff, student support, and administration. We conducted a factorial survey experiment in which respondents were invited to evaluate vignettes describing fictional students with and without disabilities. Other factors such as age, gender, ethnicity, and motivation were also included in the vignettes. A total of 2157 higher education employees across Norway participated in the survey and answered four questions regarding the likelihood of the student described in the vignette graduating, finding employment, and being suitable for relevant work tasks. Additionally, respondents were asked to rate how likely it was that they could make arrangements for the student during their studies. Results from multilevel regression analyses suggest that higher education employees are generally positive towards making arrangements for students with disabilities. However, despite this, students with disabilities were considered less likely to graduate, find employment, and less suitable in performing relevant work tasks in comparison to students without disabilities. We argue that ableist expectations continue to dominate perceptions of students within academia, and until ableism is addressed at an institutional level, higher education will remain far from inclusive.