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Evidence-informed practices play vital roles in teaching and learning in inclusive schools; however, limited research has been conducted to explore inclusive early childhood teachers' perspectives on research-informed teaching. This study, which was informed by the Cognitive Apprenticeship Theory (CAT), used structured and online focus groups to explore the views of 26 inclusive early childhood teachers in Thailand regarding their understanding and value for evidence-informed practice, how they source, analyse and use evidence to inform their professional practice and the factors supporting or inhibiting evidence-informed practices in their schools. A combination of framework and descriptive data analysis identified findings suggesting teachers value evidence-informed teaching. Still, they need to gain more skills in identifying, analysing and using evidence from relevant academic journals in their professional context. In addition, teachers' endeavours to access and use scholarly resources were also inhibited by a lack of professional skills, time, and support from school leadership. The findings validate Cognitive Apprenticeship Theory suggesting the need for research skills training and including teachers as co-constructors of research knowledge. These processes can lead schools to better integrate research into practice in early childhood educational settings.

The recent COVID-19 pandemic has forced many institutes of higher learning across the globe to consider alternative modes of providing quality learning for students. However, developing and implementing safe spaces for academic advisement in online platforms that allow college students to explore their environment in an open and curious manner is challenging. The view that unsafe spaces put college students at risk for departure if they experience disengagement and a lack of support led this paper to explore how college students make sense of safe and unsafe advisement spaces, and how this understanding affects the ways they achieve academic success. Utilizing the PALEO framework, this paper contributes to existing knowledge on academic advisement by theorizing and offering practical ways to create tools that extend the capacity to solve problems during a global pandemic. The implications for re-imagining and coping with this new normal is discussed.

Findings from child development research support inclusive practice in early childhood education to enable full participation of all children in learning activities and build their core capabilities for life. However, the implementation of inclusive practices in early childhood is often constrained by boundary-crossing barriers. This paper reports a quantitative study that investigated and analysed the inclusive practice experiences of 344 pre-school teachers across the six regions of Thailand. The study identified positive experiences of inclusive practices linked to effective collaboration with minimal barriers related to time, increased workload and lack of resources to help teachers cater to the needs of all children. The findings offer direction for developing teachers as leaders to work effectively across professional boundaries so that Thailand can achieve the goals of inclusive education for all children.

Despite extensive changes in early childhood inclusive education policy and practice, various barriers continue to inhibit access and participation of children with special needs in inclusive schools. Often mentioned barriers include negative beliefs, lack of understanding of inclusive pedagogy and the effectiveness of professional development to improve teacher knowledge to reduce these barriers. This study reports on a Thai Bureau of Special Education professional development partnership program with an Australian inclusive school in which 16 early childhood teachers from Thailand participated. This community of practice inquiry project generated qualitative data from pre- and post-professional workshops semi-structured interviews and analysis of teachers' professional learning journals during the inquiry phases of the project. Thematic analysis of the data showed that the international professional learning immersion program exerted an influential impact on the teachers who participated suggesting; teachers developed better understandings of children with special education needs by creating a mindset for change.

Despite the presence of inclusive education policies in many countries, its implementation continues to raise concerns for many teachers. In this study, we utilised a 22-item questionnaire to assess 344 early childhood teachers' concerns about inclusive education in the six regions in Thailand. The findings showed that limited support from school administrators, time to design educational programmes for students with disabilities and inadequate capacity in respect of therapists were perceived as hampering teachers' ability to meet the needs of all children. One-way ANOVA indicated the impact of teachers' geographical location, work experience and professional roles on some of the items they highlighted for concern about inclusive education. The application of a t-test also showed teachers' concerns about some items differed between those working in private schools and those working in government schools. Results suggest that the teachers' concerns have led to workplace stress. We conclude from the data that policies introduced to promote inclusive practices in early childhood settings in Thailand should factor in support for teachers to increase their competency and the effectiveness of inclusive practice.

Individual Education Plans (IEPs) are ever-present in inclusive education and frequently used in settings where students with disabilities are included. This phenomenological qualitative study investigated the IEP development and implementation process in two independent schools in the South-Eastern metropolitan region of Victoria, Australia. Primary and secondary school leaders and teachers shared their professional experiences with respect to IEPs by emphasising that collaboration, parental involvement and strong leadership through effective communication supported the development and implementation of IEPs that meet individual student's learning needs. The authors suggest that research in Australia should continue to provide a distinct understanding of the voices of parents and students with special education needs and/or disabilities in the IEP process, as well as their preferences for culturally sensitive support within schools.

Given increases in student diversity in our schools and classrooms of which students with varying disabilities and additional needs form a part, school leaders have a greater responsibility of ensuring that all students irrespective of their developmental backgrounds benefit from quality education. One of the approaches school leaders use to make quality education accessible to students with disability and/or additional needs is through the adoption of IEPs to inform pedagogy. Although not a legal requirement in Australian schools, some school leaders have adopted IEPs for use by teachers in supporting students with disability and/or additional educational needs. This phenomenological study explores the roles and experiences of five primary and seven secondary school leaders from two independent schools in metropolitan Victoria who adopt and use IEPs in their schools in programming for quality inclusive education for students with disability and/or additional needs. Thematic analysis of the data indicated that IEPs are used by the school leaders as planning documents which provide a means of communicating students' learning needs. School leaders encouraged collaboration and consultation amongst colleagues when developing IEPs. Continuous professional learning was identified as key to the effective implementation of IEPs; yet, school leaders reported that there was no single best approach in acquiring professional development in utilising IEPs to educate students with disability and/or additional needs.

Inclusive practice in early childhood education has a critical impact on the overall development and future prospects of all children. However, early childhood teachers' understanding and delivery of inclusive teaching have been a persistent problem. In this qualitative study, we collected data through interviews and handwritten notes from seven early childhood teachers teaching Kindergarten 3 in three different public kindergartens in one province of Thailand to explore and describe their inclusive teaching experiences. A thematic analysis of the data identified three themes: grappling with the meaning and implementation of inclusion, searching for critical support and a great desire for a transformative practice. Moreover, difficulty understanding and implementing inclusive teaching, and lack of support from school administrators led to some children being marginalised by the teachers' pedagogical practices. Recommendations are provided for how preschool teachers' capabilities for inclusive teaching can be developed to work effectively within the new Thai inclusive policy context.

In this article, I offer an ontological theorization of belonging. The article interrogates the quality of belonging from a Bourdieuian perspective by critiquing exclusion generated from psychological or biological discourses; I aim to question the way that "belonging" is applied in a technical or an emotional sense within the field of inclusive education. The article works towards offering a new theorization that does not treat the meaning of belonging as deterministic. The paper argues that if belonging is a way of addressing concern for ourselves as human beings, then deepening the theoretical understanding of this concept will add to how we practice the complexity of inclusive education based on the Whole Schooling perspective. By articulating Bourdieu's framing of belonging, it is possible to enable inclusive professionals and families to view conceptions of belonging outside the familiar derivatives applied in everyday discourse. In addition, quality belonging provides the framework for how human relations can be strengthened for inclusive schooling and inclusive society.

Student voice has the potential to prompt changes in teaching and foster teacher development; however, it is underutilised in teacher professional learning. Research on its impact is emerging, and a systematic review is needed to identify trends and themes. This review investigates current trends and themes in the influence of student voice on teacher learning from 2012 to 2023 within K‐12 education. Analysis of 19 empirical papers revealed irregular patterns of publications, a predominant emphasis on secondary education, and qualitative methodologies. Participatory research designs emerged as practical approaches, engaging teachers in inquiry processes and collaboration. Student feedback led to a transformative process for many teachers, prompting them to reflect and change their practice. Supportive school structures and leadership are emphasised for embedding student feedback in classrooms, engaging teachers and students in collaboration, and overcoming obstacles. This review demonstrated that when student voice is valued and acted upon, it can stimulate teacher development. A proposed model for teacher development incorporating student voice consists of three interconnected levels—school leadership support, collaborative practice and learning outcomes—ultimately contributing to overall school improvement. Recommendations for future research are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper argues that whilst inclusive education in early childhood is gaining wider acceptance in the equity and diversity movement, the value and contribution of educators' voices about what is working and challenging are frequently ignored. This small-scale research explored five early childhood educators' understandings and experiences of inclusive education in two kindergartens in Victoria, Australia. A thematic analysis of the data highlights inclusion as a right to belong and fully participate; the need for modifications to orchestrate a culture of acceptance, diversity and inclusion; a lack of support and inadequate professional learning; and supporting effective practice through relationship with families, experts and children. The findings draw implications of evidence-based professional learning that is less focused on the interests of academic researchers and policy makers and more on the everyday needs of early childhood educators.

Educating children with disabilities alongside their peers in mainstream preschools has increased intensely over the past few years, affecting all aspects of early childhood education. Many children who previously would have been educated in segregated special centres are now being included in inclusive preschools. This research paper discusses how Thai preschool teachers' professional knowledge in inclusive education influence the ways they practice within preschool classrooms. Qualitative data obtained through observations and collaborative inquiry with teachers drawn from four preschool in Bangkok, Thailand showed that the lack of adequate teacher preparation for inclusive practice rendered the teachers helpless and unable to deliver curriculum that caters for the learning needs of children with disabilities. This paper contributes to the growing body of research to inform the usefulness of collaborative inquiry in helping teachers explore educational issues in systematic ways and determine solutions through reflection and dialogic inquiry.

Drawing on the social theory concepts of Bourdieu (Field, Capital and Habitus) we explored and gained insights into the perspectives of sub-Saharan African refugee families and preschool educators regarding inclusive education of young children in the South Eastern suburbs of Melbourne, Australia. The study is informed by two curriculum frameworks: The Australian Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF) and the Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Framework [(VEYLDF) (0-8 years)]. These documents support a whole school approach to early childhood inclusive education and professional relationship with families to achieve common outcomes for all children in Australia. The findings point to marginalized identities which are induced by capital, field and habitus differentials, and have resulted in putting astray the achievement of successful early childhood inclusive education for the children of these families. We concluded with a call for teacher educators to engage preservice educators in what Freire called an "epistemological curiosity" to help them reconstruct their profession to facilitate the empowerment and development of all children and their families.

This article presents preliminary findings of an ongoing study that attempts to gauge the level of access to and support for early childhood education and care programs for sub Saharan African immigrant families living in Melbourne Australia. Using the Australian Early Years Learning Framework as a guide, we explored 30 parents' perception of their children's care experience through face-to-face in-depth interviews. Initial findings show that the parents felt their children are Othered, labelled and denied citizenship, and that their children's future is uncertain. We provided discussions of these issues alongside offering suggestions for improving the research and conditions for children from African families.

This paper explores internationally mobile global middle class families (GMCF) in terms of how they rationalise moving away from their home country, select schools and reimagine their young children's futures in an international setting. Building on Appadurai's notion of 'the future as a cultural fact' and Anagnost's concept of 'life-making in neoliberal times' we analyse how the search for escaping the past is dialectically related to seeking better futures. For GMCFs, the search for better futures within current neoliberal times leads to them discursively constructing spatial-temporal movements across international boundaries. The term 'futurescaping' is introduced and used to understand the act of imagining futures that are shaped by a person's past and present experience. We argue that futurescaping is more than simply transnational mobility, but is a multidimensional act, which is dynamic, culturally value-ladened, historically embedded, futuristic and provides a unique view into the everyday lives of internationally mobile GMCF.

Inclusion in education is based on the premise that given the right educational opportunity and support, every student can achieve to his/her optimum level. This paper reports a study of 50 Junior Secondary Students' experiences of schooling using phenomenon auto-driven photo elicitation approach. The paper examines issues of school place in relation to identity, pedagogy and learning that constitute important determinants of inclusive education. Two themes, spaces of learning and identity explain the connectivity of place characteristics to students' general experiences of schooling. The strengths and weaknesses of the research approach are also discussed. (Contains 4 figures and 1 table.)

This paper reports on a study that examined teachers' concerns and attitude toward inclusive education of students with disabilities in Ghana. A 20 item Attitudes Toward Inclusion in Africa Scale (ATIAS) was completed by 100 teachers from five "Inclusive Project" schools and five Non-Project coeducational basic schools in three different localities; central business, coastal and suburban areas within the Greater Accra metropolis. Analysis of the responses indicated four factors: Behavioural Issues, Student Needs, Resource Issues and Professional Competency. Interviews were also conducted with a small sample of the teachers in order to extend the understanding of their attitude and concerns. The paper draws on the findings to provide recommendations for improving practice in inclusive based classrooms. (Contains 3 tables.)

This paper reports on a study that compared the practice of corporal punishment in ten basic schools in the Greater Accra District in Ghana. Five of the ten schools were designated as inclusive project schools (IPS) and the other five as non-inclusive project schools (NIS). The primary purpose was to find out if the inclusive project schools were more effective in eradicating corporal punishment from their schools than were the non-project schools. One hundred teachers responded to a six-item questionnaire. A further 22 participants comprising ten teachers from the survey group, ten pupils and two directors of education were interviewed. Observation of the classroom practices, where these teachers work, substantiated the questionnaire and interview findings. The overall results indicated that corporal punishment still persists in both school sites at relatively the same scale. Three themes were found to underpin the administration of corporal punishment to students in these schools. (1) Punishment as an effective learning imperative (2) Punishment as a moral imperative (3) Punishment as religious imperative. The implications of these findings pertaining to inclusive education are discussed. (Contains 1 table and 1 figure.)

This research utilised a "stimulated recall" methodology [Calderhead, J. 1981. "Stimulated Recall: A Method for Research on Teaching." "British Journal of Educational Psychology" 51: 211-217] to explore the potential of African folklore, specifically Ghanaian folk stories in the development of children's reflective thinking about social life. The research was based on Ghanaian folklore for children, which is popularly known as "By the Fireside Stories", encapsulated traditionally as "Anansesem" or "Spider stories" among the Akan of Ghana. Data were collected through storytelling to a group of children and inviting them to recall their concurrent thinking during and after the storytelling. The children's cognitive recall processes were stimulated by questions and story character dramatisation recorded on a digital video recorder and played back to the children. Findings showed major contributions to children's learning and development related to imagination, concept formation and thinking, and beyond the self in social relationship. This paper draws attention to how traditional oral storytelling can be an important part of early childhood education to develop children's reflective thinking about social life.

The quality of early childhood education has dominated current debates in the ways educators develop and implement learning programs for children yet conceptions of quality vary contextually and culturally. This qualitative case study explored the insider perspectives of six early childhood educators in Sapporo, Japan regarding their conceptions of the quality of early childhood education. Analysis of the data collected through interviews indicated that the most important factor the educators consider when programming for quality learning in early childhood is "happiness". The conception of happiness expressed by the educators emanated from the philosophical thinking of three Japanese philosophers namely, Tsunesaburo Makiguchi, Josei Toda and Daisaku Ikeda. These thinkers argued that for education to be meaningful and serve society, happiness must form the fundamental principle of all learning programs. In this paper we argue that, by framing the quality of early childhood education in happiness, educators and children can engage deeply with learning that has the potential to influence the whole child and their full participation in society.

An ever-increasing number of children with and without disabilities are attending early childhood programmes and learning together. Early childhood inclusion considers all children with and without disabilities, and their families as full members of the early childhood community. Although many early childhood teachers accept the educational rights of children with disabilities and the core principle of inclusion--that early childhood learning programmes should provide for the needs of all the children in their centres, regardless of ability and disability, there remain significant barriers in terms of teacher professional knowledge in achieving these goals. In this article, we report a study on Thai preschool teachers' knowledge of inclusive early childhood education. Quantitative data obtained through a questionnaire were supplemented by teacher interviews. Both the quantitative and qualitative data focused on the teachers' assessment of their professional knowledge. Findings from this study can inform effective professional development programmes in preparing early childhood teachers for successful inclusive practices.

International research findings offer inclusive education teachers various pedagogical tools to support student diversity in inclusive classrooms to counter educational disadvantages. However, according to previous research, embedding research evidence in pedagogical practice at the classroom level is rare in schools. Our study explored Ghanaian teachers' perspectives in 10 purposively selected inclusive Basic Schools in Ghana. The study focused on teachers' frequency of use of Research-Based Information (RBI), the type of use of RBI, opinions about RBI, awareness of useful activities that facilitate the use of RBI, individual expertise, or skills necessary for RBI use in everyday practice, organizational factors that influence the use of RBI. The study identified non-use and minimal to moderate use of RBI in professional practice. Sources of RBI were mostly from non-scholarly journals because the schools did not subscribe to peer-reviewed journals, and teachers were not willing to use their financial resources to access close-ended journal articles. An independent t -test was not significant between female and male participants. However, a Pearson product-moment correlation to assess the relationship between the various factors about RBI use found positive associations between organizational factors and expertise and between awareness factors and expertise to use RBI. Education must promote increased adoption of RBI in professional practice to enhance educational quality for all students. This can be accomplished by building ongoing solid school-university partnerships to develop context-specific frameworks that support inclusive teachers to conduct and use more research in their practice. Plain Language Summary: Teachers' views on research-informed teaching This study explored Ghanaian basic school teachers' perspectives on the frequency of use of Research-Based Information (RBI), the type of use of RBI, opinions about RBI, awareness of useful activities that facilitate the use of RBI, individual expertise, or skills necessary for RBI use in everyday practice, organisational factors that influence the use of RBI. The study utilised a descriptive survey approach, and the findings identified non-use and minimal to moderate use of RBI in professional practice. Sources of RBI the teachers often utilised were mostly from non-scholarly journals because the schools did not subscribe to peer-reviewed journals, and teachers were not willing to use their financial resources to access close-ended journal articles. Female and male participants did not differ in their approaches to RBI use. However, we found positive relations between organisational factors and expertise and between awareness factors and expertise to use RBI. It is important to support teachers to increase adoption of RBI in professional practice to enhance educational quality for all students. This can be accomplished by building ongoing solid school-university partnerships to develop context-specific frameworks that support inclusive teachers to conduct and use more research in their practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

"Clear grounding in a location gives us the confidence to engage with knowledge from other locations as we deconstruct and reconstruct them with our purposes" (Canagarajah, 2005, p. 15). This quote serves the basis of what this paper presents on language policy and pedagogical practices in Ghana. Language plays an important role in pedagogy, it is the medium through which concepts are thought, learned and also assessed. The use of foreign language as a medium of instruction in multilingual classroom is often characterized by a number of challenges. This paper reports of a study which sort to explore headteachers' and teachers' knowledge about the Ghanaian medium of instruction policy and how this policy is being applied in Ghanaian schools. Interviews were carried out with 10 headteachers selected from 10 schools. Qualitative analysis of the results revealed what appeared to be gaps between what the policy says and what the research participants do in their schools. Implication for these gaps between policy and practice on students' learning outcomes is discussed to inform future policies in Ghana and other Sub-Saharan Africa that have similar situation as in Ghana. (Contains 1 table.)

The purpose of this qualitative study is to make the case for organizing teaching and learning in early childhood around the concept of inclusion rather than transmission of pedagogy through fear and domination. The study explored final-year early childhood pre-service teachers' curriculum planning and evaluation processes, professional education experiences and pedagogical practices, including teacher-child relationships in three kindergartens in Cape Coast, Ghana. A blend of critical postcolonial discursive and framework analysis of data produced three themes: "curriculum visibility and invisibility", "children as colonized bodies" and "pre-service teachers as voiceless identities". The article concludes that by clarifying and establishing a realistic postcolonial identity for teacher education, positive concepts of teaching and a new image of teachers and outcomes can emerge.

"We want our classrooms to be just and caring, full of various conceptions of the good. We want them to be articulate, with the dialogue involving as many persons as possible, opening to one another, opening to the world" (Greene 1993 as cited in Nieto & Bode, 2008). These words sum up inclusive education as a multifaceted practice that deals with value and belief systems, invites and celebrates diversity and difference arising from family background, social class, gender, language, socio-economic background, cultural origin or ability with human rights and social justice at its core. In this paper we reflect critically on current pedagogical practices in Ghana in relation to inclusive education. Using a critical post-colonial discursive framework the paper takes up the challenge to problematise the existing pedagogical practices, which are intensely oppressive. It examines the impact of colonial and cultural practices (beliefs, values, norms) on teaching and learning, using data obtained from three focus groups with 21 student teachers, a total of 42 hours of non-participant observation of their classroom teaching and existing research commentaries. We found that current pedagogical practices are prescriptive, mechanistic, and do not value student diversity and different learning styles. We conclude with new directions for teacher education programs in Ghana that value and celebrate diversity, and difference.

Safe learning spaces allow children to explore their environment in an open and inquiring way, whereas unsafe spaces constrain, frustrate and disengage children from experiencing the fullness of their learning spaces. This study explores how children make sense of safe and unsafe learning spaces, and how this understanding affects the ways they engage with their learning spaces. Using a qualitative research method that employed auto-driven visual and observation approaches, this research conducted at one centre in the Mornington Peninsula in Victoria, Australia, examined children's movement and interaction within their learning spaces. The results suggest that the children felt safe in spaces that offered them the best opportunities for play. These are the spaces where they behaved well, laughed freely, reacted positively, and played without too much restriction and intimidation, keeping in mind the restrictions imposed on them by their teachers at other spaces. The implications for constructing and managing safe learning spaces for children are discussed. (Contains 1 note, 4 figures and 1 table.)

Several psychological instruments have been developed and used over the years to measure various domains of child development. The Australian Early Development Index (AEDI) is a current assessment tool being used as a community measure of young children's development. It measures the following domains: Physical health and wellbeing; Social competence; Emotional maturity; Language and cognitive skills; Communication skills and general knowledge. This article examines the tacit nuanced construction of the child within the AEDI, and critiques this within a cultural-historical theoretical perspective of child development. The paper argues that the AEDI image of the child has its roots in Piagetian and Gesellian stage theories of universality. This position is juxtaposed with more encompassing views held in the Vygotskian tradition. The paper advances arguments for an alternative consideration of child development that does not prescribe vulnerability to certain groups of children.

Even though several attempts have been made by the government of Ghana towards its goal of eradicating child labour, poverty, and marginalisation in educational outcomes for all children, the condition of disadvantaged children remain terribly devastating compared with those of more advantaged children. This article discusses the extent to which two new major Ghanaian education policy initiatives impact on this situation--namely, the introduction of early childhood care and development (ECCD) and the capitation grant (CG) policies. The article raises concerns regarding corruption, mismanagement and lack of proper monitoring of the policy implementation process and argues that the current trend seems unlikely to deliver the type of outcomes necessary to end marginalisation and suffering of children in Ghana. It proposes inclusion of parents and community participation in all aspects of the policy production and implementation processes.