Teacher learning for inclusive education: understanding teaching as a cultural and political practice

Teacher education in practice: reconciling practices and theories in the United States context

“…The program provided opportunities for teacher residents to be immersed in an urban school setting from the first day of their program, think critically about issues surrounding the four themes, and interrogate their own thinking about what it means to create learning spaces with students with a variety of backgrounds, skills, interests, and abilities (Kozleski & Waitoller, 2010). By being immersed in the school setting and working closely with more experienced teachers, new teachers had access to communities of practice and were able to become what Lave and Wenger (1991) refer to as full participants by virtue of their daily presence, proximity and practice.…”

“…Teacher education programs rarely have a practice in which pre-service teachers critically analyze the roles that power and privilege play in the curriculum (Breault & Lack, 2009). The work of Kozleski and Waitoller (2010) reminds us that teaching is a political practice in which the dominant culture is threaded through the teacher and the curriculum in ways that grant access to some students and deny it to others, so it is imperative that teachers are conscious of their role in selecting what to "deconstruct, conserve and transform" (p. 659). Critically reflexive practice requires thinking critically about personal beliefs, values, and assumptions about the world we live in and how these ideologies impact interpretations and interactions with others (Cunliffe, 2004).…”

“…The last decade has demonstrated new conversations and restructuring of many programs to integrate general and special education into one program that prepares teachers to work with all students (Pugach, Blanton, & Correa, 2011). To do this well teacher residents need to understand how to provide opportunities for all students to learn (Kozleski & Waitoller, 2010) while also actively challenging the status quo through reformative practice (Cochran-Smith & Lytle, 2009). As they become teachers, teacher residents must be encouraged to challenge norms, values, and assumptions that contribute to the marginalization of students within the context of schools (Sleeter, 2012).…”

An examination of pre-service teachers' attributions for students with specific learning difficulties

“…Indeed, some authors (e.g., Kozleski & Waitoller, 2010) critique the traditional focus on knowledge and technical skills in teacher training, and argue instead for a focus on selfreflection. While there is some debate as to the relative importance of attitudes, knowledge and skills for teachers in inclusive classrooms, the current research focuses on the attitudes of pre-service teachers who have had minimal exposure in their training to inclusive education.…”

Voices of American and Israeli Early Childhood Educators on Inclusion

“…Buysse and Hollingsworth (2009) take this one step further by suggesting that all early childhood training programs adopt inclusion education as a standard in the curriculum. Kozleski and Waitoller (2010), offer an example of a training program dealing with cultural, political and cognitive aspects of inclusion.…”