Creating Inclusive Schools: Theory, Process and Practice

Creating Inclusive Schools aims to simplify the dynamic and multidimensional discipline of Inclusive education for the students of education, and trainee and practising teachers. This book focuses on understanding the learning needs of children with disabilities and those from the socially and economically disadvantaged sections of society. It elucidates and critically analyses how these requirements are currently addressed at various levels of education and the desirable changes that can be brought about. The book explains multifarious concepts in lucid language, and establishes crucial links between theory and practice to facilitate understanding of the different dimensions of inclusive education.

This textbook offers a fresh perspective into inclusive education needs, policies and practices through contextually relevant examples and cases. It is based on the curriculum guidelines prescribed by National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE) and the syllabi recommendations by major universities across India.

Key Features:

· Provides holistic understanding of inclusion in education with focus on various aspects of school environment and administration.

· Contains succinct discussion of the learning needs and strategies to address them in an inclusive education setting.

· Each chapter aided by learning objectives and chapter-end exercise to help readers map their progress and achievements.

Dr Bharti Kaushik, Associate Professor, Department of Education of Groups with Special Needs (DEGSN), National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT), is postgraduate in physics and PhD in education from Central Institute of Education, University of Delhi. The title of her PhD thesis was Inclusive Education in Primary Schools:From Resistance to Reality. She joined Regional Institute of Education (RIE), Bhopal, in 2002 as an assistant professor. Her early duties involved teaching courses associated with inclusive education, CWSN and mental health to students pursuing bachelor in education (BEd) and master’s in education (MEd), as well as postgraduate diploma in guidance and counselling courses from RIE, Bhopal. During her tenure at RIE, Bhopal, she guided MEd dissertations and also acted as a university examiner for Bed students. Upon her transfer to Delhi, in DEGSN, she organized many orientation programmes for teacher educators on the issues and concerns associated with the education of children with special educational needs via distance learning by using the NCERT EDUSAT network and also face to face. She has acted as a resource person for various in-service training programmes organized by institutions such as National Institute for the Visually Handicapped, RIEs, Colleges of Teacher Education, State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT) and District Institutes for Education and Training. She has presented papers in various national and international seminars and conferences. ‘Inclusive education in India: Assessing the systemic readiness!’, ‘Learner’s attainment reports at pre-primary level: An analysis from the perspective of inclusive education’, ‘Creating data based training needs profile of primary schools in inclusive education’ and ‘Participatory approach to in-service teacher training of “resource teachers” in India’ are some of her recent research-based publications in Indian and international journals. She has co-authored a book titled Teachers Creating Inclusive Classrooms: Issues and Challenges.

Recently, she has prepared guidelines for making pre-service teacher education inclusive and developed a handbook for regular teachers suggesting strategies for including children with autism in the classrooms. Currently, she is working on making science classrooms and laboratories inclusive for children with visual impairment.