Gary Thomas

Inclusion is a buzzword of the 1990s. Politicians now stress their commitment to inclusion and social justice - not competition. For schools, inclusion means accepting and educating all children, irrespective of their difficulties.The new inclusive mood is about including everyone in society's institutions. It has created a growing demand for schools to find effective ways of including and teaching all children - even those who at one time would have been sent to special schools.The book combines a theoretical examination of inclusion and its rationale with the story of a group of schools in which teachers, assistants and children have striven to make inclusion happen.This new book* explores the arguments for inclusive schools* examines the international evidence about children's well-being and academic progress in inclusive schools* describes how the pioneers have developed their practice for inclusion* presents the findings of an in-depth 18 month study of a group of schools which have striven to make inclusion happen

Inclusion is a buzzword of the 1990s. Politicians now stress their commitment to inclusion and social justice - not competition. For schools, inclusion means accepting and educating all children, irrespective of their difficulties.The new inclusive mood is about including everyone in society's institutions. It has created a growing demand for schools to find effective ways of including and teaching all children - even those who at one time would have been sent to special schools.The book combines a theoretical examination of inclusion and its rationale with the story of a group of schools in which teachers, assistants and children have striven to make inclusion happen.This new book* explores the arguments for inclusive schools* examines the international evidence about children's well-being and academic progress in inclusive schools* describes how the pioneers have developed their practice for inclusion* presents the findings of an in-depth 18 month study of a group of schools which have striven to make inclusion happen

The nature of classroom practice is undergoing change as more and more adults are being brought into classrooms in response to such trends as parental involvement and the integration of children with special educational needs. The parents, teachers, ancillary staff and support workers comprising these new groups probabley fail to recognise themselves as teams, but nonetheless they are characterised by the same stresses which mark teamwork in any oter setting. This book is a guide to working together as an effective team, designed to show that they are part of a team, and employ strategies to minimise chances of failure. Gary Thomas identifies key areas of concern, including poor communication, status barriers and inadequate role definition, and offers guidelines for dealing with these stresses and tensions in teamwork.