Achieving Inclusive Education in the Caribbean and Beyond: From Philosophy to Praxis

This book offers an international perspective of philosophical, conceptual and praxis-oriented issues that impinge on achieving education for all students. It sheds light on the historical, systemic, structural, organizational, and attitudinal barriers that continue to be antithetical to the philosophy and practice of inclusive education within the Caribbean. The first section of the book examines how globalized views of inclusion informed by philosophical ideas from the North have influenced and continue to influence the equity in education agenda in the region. The second section considers how exclusion and marginalization still occur across selected Caribbean islands. It provides both quantitative and qualitative data about the nature and experience of exclusion in selected Caribbean islands, the UK and USA. The third section tackles the practical realities of transforming education systems in the Caribbean for inclusion. In particular, it identifies teacher practices as the main site of interrogation that needs to be tackled if inclusion is to be successful. The fourth and final section examines the contribution of principals and exemplars to the development and advocacy for inclusive education. It discusses how educational leadership is understood, as well as the role of school principals in making inclusion a reality in schools, the challenges experienced and the qualities of education leaders.

Stacey Blackman is a senior lecturer in special education at the University of the West Indies Cave Hill campus. She completed her first and second degrees at the University of the West Indies, and her PhD at Cambridge University (UK) as a Cambridge Commonwealth Scholar. She was also a past deputy dean of the Faculty of Humanities and Education at the University of the West Indies, Cave Hill. She is a fellow of the Cambridge Commonwealth Trust and member of many professional organizations such as the American Education Research Association (AERA), The Council for Exceptional Children (CEC), and the British Psychological Association. Her research addresses a broad range of topics and activities on teachers’ pedagogical practices, inclusion, pupil perspectives, and wider issues related to persons with disabilities in the Caribbean region.

Dennis A. Conrad is a professor of education at the State University of New York (SUNY), Potsdam. Before completing his PhD in policy studies and educational leadership at Virginia Tech, Professor Conrad completed studies at Mausica Teachers College, Sheffield University, and the University of London. He has taught at both regular and special schools; he has served as an alternate school principal and in higher education institutions in both Trinidad and the U.S. Professor Conrad has received several awards including the President’s Award for Excellence in Research and Scholarship related to Cultural Pluralism. He has been a board member of the EERA, chair of AERA’s Caribbean and African Studies in Education SIG, and more recently was the chair, Department of Inclusive and Special Education at SUNY–Potsdam. His research interests include the intersection of leadership, diversity, disability, culture, and education.