Inclusive Practice
Inclusive Education and inclusive society A fundamental rethink and the role of academics. Louise Arnold, Senior Lecturer in the Early Childhood and Education department at the University of East London, asks: Has the UK government made inclusive education and movement towards inclusive societies a priority? Inclusive education is wellembedded in the international rights treaties and documents we have signed and ratified on the world stage, but our government has not enshrined these in national policy documents. We must ask ourselves - has the government made inclusive education and movement towards inclusive societies a priority? If we accept the rights outlined in international documents such as the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) and UNRCPD, we should be moving away from debating inclusive education as if it is optional and instead working to find solutions at all levels - creating a system of inclusive education that serves the community rather than trying to force students into a system of education that excludes and marginalises. As academics, our role holds responsibility in contributing to shifts in thinking, language, representation and elimination of barriers in disability and inclusion, alongside Disabled people, children and Young people. ‘SEN’ (special educational needs) is a term that is still used because of its place in policy and legal guidance documents (most recently the Children and Families Act 2014 and the accompanying Special Educational Needs and Disability Code of Practice, 2015), but it is not
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