Effective Teacher Education for Inclusion

Deborah Robinson is a Professor of Special Educational Needs, Disability and Inclusion at the University of Derby, UK.

“This is an important book, full of rich insights, that presents a refreshing approach to addressing the challenges of inclusion by boldly engaging with complexity and advocating for the vital preparation of new teachers through navigating the historical, political, and practical hurdles they will face. In doing so, the book confronts the prevailing neoliberal culture that has marketised education, fragmented teacher agency, and standardised practices, thereby marginalising the most vulnerable in our schools. Grounded in research, Deborah thoughtfully emphasises the importance of recognising and reclaiming the intellectualisation of teacher preparation as an integral feature of higher education, highlighting the professional obligations required to support all children.This book is therefore an essential read for anyone interested in thoughtful consideration of teacher development and inclusion as it offers important alternatives to the prevailing superficial orthodoxies that now exist. By advocating for the redesign and re-politicisation of teacher education Deborah offers important and intelligent insights to address urgent questions, offering a new model of inclusion education that emerges through an enriched curriculum capable of challenging the neoliberal discourses that currently perpetuates the inequalities in our education system.”David Spendlove, Associate Dean and Professor, Faculty of Humanities, Manchester Institute of Education, University of Manchester, UK.“Effective Teacher Education for Inclusion provides a clear and critical overview of teacher education in England using historic and contemporary sources. It presents a convincing argument for the importance of collaborative critical enquiry and action research as a basis for the development of teaching professionals at all stages of their career. It also demonstrates how barriers to reflective practice have existed in our education systems for many years and continue to do so. You may not agree with everything Deborah Robinson has to say nor all of the solutions she proposes, but this book will certainly provoke your thinking about a fundamental educational issue. It will help you to understand why there need to be major shifts in policy if we are to transform our education systems in ways that can enable inclusive practice…”Jonty Rix was a professor of Participation and Learning Support at the Open University and is now Emeritus professor, UK.

• 0. Introduction to effective teacher education for inclusion: critical perspectives on the role of higher education in a neoliberal age 1. The incongruence of neoliberalism and inclusive teacher education 2. Conceptual and spatial complexities and their implications for teacher education for SEND and inclusive practices 3. Principles and practices for effective inclusive teacher education 4. Researching effective inclusive teacher education 5. Research findings: learning to be inclusive - conceptual challenges and intellectual labour6. Conditions for learning: critical thought and action in a collaborative milieu 7. Proposals for developing effective inclusive teacher education in a post-neoliberal age