About this Research Topic
There has been considerable interest internationally in how research can be effectively translated to have an impact on practice in schools. The application of evidence informed approaches in the field of education is contested and debated. Such debates are intensified in relation to the issue of how best to include children with diverse learning needs in the classroom. The role of knowledge, science and evidence in how we both conceptualize and best support children with special educational needs and other forms of diversity in the classroom, remains an open question in terms of booth policy and practice.
Although there is a considerable and growing body of literature on evidence informed practice in education in general, there has been less attention paid to its implications for the domain of educational inclusion specifically. However, tensions between differing conceptualisations of difference and the role of categorisation present questions as yet not fully answered as to the ways in which evidence can and should articulate with practice in this specific domain. For example, issues of what is inclusion, the place of norms and values that define inclusion, how we conceptualize and think about difference, across culture, language and cognition, are raised when we think about the application of evidence to practice in the area of educational inclusion.
The goal of this Research Topic is to provide a forum for scholars who are involved in cutting-edge research in the field of inclusion
a) to report on their research and its potential impact on practice in education systems, and b) to reflect on the complexities, scope and limitations of achieving inclusive practices through research in the broad sense of conceptual and value clarification and the use of empirical evidence. To that end, we aim to publish a collection of articles (e.g., Original Research, Brief Research Reports, Reviews, Perspectives, Conceptual Analysis, Opinion) that address the implications of research for practice in the areas of: research studies or reviews on effective inclusion of children and young people with special educational needs in K-12 classrooms; research studies or reviews on wider conceptualizations of inclusion including language, culture, ethnicity or other aspects of diversity in K-12; research studies or reviews on pre-service and in-service teacher education for inclusion; research studies on strategies or interventions directly designed to engage schools and teachers in engaging with evidence in the domain of inclusion.
Although there is a considerable and growing body of literature on evidence informed practice in education in general, there has been less attention paid to its implications for the domain of educational inclusion specifically. However, tensions between differing conceptualisations of difference and the role of categorisation present questions as yet not fully answered as to the ways in which evidence can and should articulate with practice in this specific domain. For example, issues of what is inclusion, the place of norms and values that define inclusion, how we conceptualize and think about difference, across culture, language and cognition, are raised when we think about the application of evidence to practice in the area of educational inclusion.
The goal of this Research Topic is to provide a forum for scholars who are involved in cutting-edge research in the field of inclusion
a) to report on their research and its potential impact on practice in education systems, and b) to reflect on the complexities, scope and limitations of achieving inclusive practices through research in the broad sense of conceptual and value clarification and the use of empirical evidence. To that end, we aim to publish a collection of articles (e.g., Original Research, Brief Research Reports, Reviews, Perspectives, Conceptual Analysis, Opinion) that address the implications of research for practice in the areas of: research studies or reviews on effective inclusion of children and young people with special educational needs in K-12 classrooms; research studies or reviews on wider conceptualizations of inclusion including language, culture, ethnicity or other aspects of diversity in K-12; research studies or reviews on pre-service and in-service teacher education for inclusion; research studies on strategies or interventions directly designed to engage schools and teachers in engaging with evidence in the domain of inclusion.
Keywords: inclusion, evidence informed practice, special educational needs, teacher education, school improvement
Important Note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.
