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1. Ministry of Education: Special Education

   The Special Education section of the Ministry of Education website includes pages on ASD, including   ASD evaluation and research. While the reports are made to the Ministry of Education, they are a treasure trove of evidence that school communities...

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   Ministry of Education: Special Education

   The Special Education section of the Ministry of Education website includes pages on ASD, including   ASD evaluation and research. While the reports are made to the Ministry of Education, they are a treasure trove of evidence that school communities can use for their own decision-making. They include:

   • evaluations of professional development programmes such as Tips for Autism and of parent education programmes such as Early Bird and ASD Plus
   • a review of the effectiveness of applied behavioural analysis
   • an investigation into Māori perspectives of ASD.

   Other research publications dealing more generally with special education include:

   • a review of international trends in special education
   • a summary of the public response to the Review of Special Education
   • a literature review on interventions for students whose developmental disabilities are associated with challenging behaviours.

   Resources for:

   Further learning

   Relevant to:

   Leading change, Understanding autism spectrum disorder, Understanding inclusion, Effective schools, Special education and ASD in NZ school settings, Building inclusive school cultures, Producing inclusive school policies, Evolving inclusive practices

   Contributed by:

   Ministry of Education .

2. Including Students with High Needs

   Education Review Office (June 2010). Including Students with High Needs. Wellington: Education Review Office. In t his report, ERO found that half of schools demonstrated mostly inclusive practices for students with high needs. Thirty percent of schools had some areas of...

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   Including Students with High Needs

   Education Review Office (June 2010). Including Students with High Needs. Wellington: Education Review Office.

    In t his report, ERO found that half of schools demonstrated mostly inclusive practices for students with high needs. Thirty percent of schools had some areas of good performance, and 20 percent had few inclusive practices.

   ERO recommended that school staff:

   • use the report’s findings, case studies, self-review questions, and inclusive teaching indicators to review the extent to which students with high needs are included across the school
   • identify where students are not well included and implement a plan to extend the effective practice already in the school.

   Resources for:

   Further learning , Taking action

   Relevant to:

   Inquiry and knowledge-building, Understanding inclusion, Effective schools, Special education and ASD in NZ school settings, Audit, Building inclusive school cultures, Producing inclusive school policies, Evolving inclusive practices, Managing transitions, Specific issues for secondary schools

   Contributed by:

   Education Review Office June 2010 .

3. Learners with Special Needs in Aotearoa New Zealand

   Fraser, D., Moltzen, R., and Ryba, K., eds (2005). Learners with Special Needs in Aotearoa New Zealand, 3rd ed. Palmerston North: Dunmore Press.This book is a standard text for people working in special education. While drawing on international research, it...

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   Learners with Special Needs in Aotearoa New Zealand

   Fraser, D., Moltzen, R., and Ryba, K., eds (2005). Learners with Special Needs in Aotearoa New Zealand, 3rd ed. Palmerston North: Dunmore Press.

   This book is a standard text for people working in special education. While drawing on international research, it emphasises New Zealand research and perspectives and how they are applied to practice. Discussion questions and case studies support the book’s use as a professional tool.

   The theme common to all parts of this multi-author book is a commitment to learner-centred, inclusive education that builds on strengths and addresses needs.

   Resources for:

   Further learning

   Relevant to:

   Understanding inclusion, Effective schools, Special education and ASD in NZ school settings, Building inclusive school cultures, Producing inclusive school policies, Evolving inclusive practices

   Contributed by:

   Fraser, D., Moltzen, R., and Ryba, K. 2005 3rd ed. Palmerston North: Dunmore Press.

4. Disabled Children Negotiating School Life: Agency, Difference and Teaching

   MacArthur, J., Sharp, S., Kelly, B., and Gaffney, M. (2007). "Disabled Children Negotiating School Life: Agency, Difference And Teaching Practice". International Journal of Children's Rights, 15, pp. 99–120.This important journal article covers many of the topics addressed in this resource...

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   Disabled Children Negotiating School Life: Agency, Difference and Teaching

   MacArthur, J., Sharp, S., Kelly, B., and Gaffney, M. (2007). "Disabled Children Negotiating School Life: Agency, Difference And Teaching Practice". International Journal of Children's Rights, 15, pp. 99–120.

   This important journal article covers many of the topics addressed in this resource but from the perspective of students themselves. It highlights the barriers to inclusion, but also describes policies and practices that make students feel included. The abstract reads:

   This paper reports on data from a three-year ethnographic study that highlights 11–14-year-old disabled children’s experiences of primary and secondary school. Observations at the micro level of the classroom and school grounds, and disabled children’s accounts of their life at school, combine to illustrate children’s agency as they negotiate a complex, changing, and often challenging social world. Children’s desires and rights to be valued and included as active participants in the group of “all children” are at risk, with some disabled children feeling and being made to feel different, and that difference being experienced in negative ways. Adults and peers at school can support disabled children’s agency, enhance their learning, and uphold their rights, but it is argued that systemic change is vital. The paper supports a focus on those aspects of school culture and pedagogy that are responsive to diversity, and on consistent and explicitly inclusive policy frameworks centred on children’s experiences and rights.

   Resources for:

   Further learning , Others' stories

   Relevant to:

   Understanding inclusion, Effective schools, Special education and ASD in NZ school settings, Building inclusive school cultures, Producing inclusive school policies, Evolving inclusive practices, Specific issues for secondary schools

   Contributed by:

   MacArthur, J., Sharp, S., Kelly, B., and Gaffney, M. 2007 .

5. Learning Better Together: Working towards Inclusive Education in New Zealand Schools (DVD and booklet)

   A prominent New Zealand researcher and disability advocate, Jude MacArthur creates a coherent picture of what we can aspire to in our schools.The Learning Better Together booklet is closely aligned to the principles outlined in the Index for Inclusion. The...

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   Learning Better Together: Working towards Inclusive Education in New Zealand Schools (DVD and booklet)

   A prominent New Zealand researcher and disability advocate, Jude MacArthur creates a coherent picture of what we can aspire to in our schools.

   The Learning Better Together booklet is closely aligned to the principles outlined in the Index for Inclusion. The topics addressed include:

   • medical (deficit thinking) versus social models of disability
   • what inclusion means … and what it is not
   • Māori and inclusion
   • developing an inclusive school culture and inclusive classroom practices
   • inclusive education as matter of human rights and social justice
   • students’ social experiences and learning in regular compared to special education settings
   • the need for teacher professional development
   • the role of leaders.

   A   DVD is also available.It covers similar topics as well as a range of perspectives from children, parents, teachers, and principals. It is particularly valuable for exploring the principle of inclusion and the related concepts of segregation and exclusion. It shows disabled children being included in the classroom and playground context, clearly demonstrating the benefits to them and their peers. Important principles are addressed – for example, the need for active involvement by all concerned, the need for good communication between home and school, and the role of the teacher in addressing individual needs and setting up the classroom culture.

   The DVD shows that strategies for supporting students with special education needs (for example, visual schedules and social stories) are really just about knowing learners well and explicit teaching, and can be used to benefit others. The key message of both the DVD and the booklet is that inclusion is about responding to diversity and that it is a fundamental human right, not an act of beneficence.

    MacArthur, J. (2009). Learning Better Together: Working towards Inclusive Education in New Zealand Schools. Wellington: IHC New Zealand.

   Resources for:

   Further learning , Taking action

   Relevant to:

   Leading change, Understanding inclusion, Effective schools, Special education and ASD in NZ school settings, Building inclusive school cultures, Producing inclusive school policies, Evolving inclusive practices

   Contributed by:

   MacArthur, J. 2009 IHC New Zealand.

6. Inclusive Educators

   Melrose, S., Bissenden, M., and Rutherford, G. (2010, 17 October). Inclusive Educator. Radio New Zealand National Programme, One in Five. (radio broadcast)In this Radio New Zealand podcast, two Otago University students draw from their own experiences to discuss the notion...

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   Inclusive Educators

   Melrose, S., Bissenden, M., and Rutherford, G. (2010, 17 October). Inclusive Educator. Radio New Zealand National Programme, One in Five. (radio broadcast)

   In this Radio New Zealand podcast, two Otago University students draw from their own experiences to discuss the notion of inclusive education and consider the advantages and disadvantages of mainstreaming and special schools. Their lecturer, Gill Rutherford, then talks about her thesis on the experiences of students with disabilities and their teacher aides.

   Gill's thesis brings out the critical nature of the relationship between student and aide, showing that teacher aides can be both a barrier to and a resource for inclusion.

   Rutherford, G. (2008). “Different Ways of Knowing? Understanding Disabled Students’ and Teacher Aides’ School Experiences within a Context of Relational Social Justice”. PhD thesis, University of Otago, Dunedin.

   Resources for:

   Further learning , Others' stories

   Relevant to:

   Understanding inclusion, Special education and ASD in NZ school settings, Building inclusive school cultures, Producing inclusive school policies, Evolving inclusive practices

   Contributed by:

   Melrose, S., Bissenden, M., and Rutherford, G. October 2010 .

7. Moving Beyond Luck and Love

   Stace, H. (2011). “Moving Beyond Love and Luck: Building Right Relationships and Respecting Lived Experience in New Zealand Autism Policy”. Unpublished PhD thesis, Public Policy, Victoria University of Wellington.In her doctoral thesis Hilary Stace, herself the mother of a son with ASD...

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   Moving Beyond Luck and Love

   Stace, H. (2011). “Moving Beyond Love and Luck: Building Right Relationships and Respecting Lived Experience in New Zealand Autism Policy”. Unpublished PhD thesis, Public Policy, Victoria University of Wellington.

   In her doctoral thesis Hilary Stace, herself the mother of a son with ASD and now a lecturer at Victoria University, traces the history of New Zealand public policy about ASD and considers how it might be transformed through attending to the ‘lived experiences’ of people with ASD and of their families/whānau. At the same time, her thesis provides insight into a range of other issues and concepts, including: 

   • the social versus the medical model of inclusion
   • different ways of thinking about ASD and the concept of an ASD culture
   • ASD and social justice
   • the concept of ‘right relationships’
   • the development and implementation of the New Zealand ASD Guideline.

   This  conference presentation provides an opportunity to get an overview of Stace’s key ideas. Its PowerPoint format makes it very easy to use to prompt discussion.

   Stace, H. (2011, November). “Tackling Wicked Problems: Lessons from Autism Policy”. Paper presented at the New Zealand Disability Studies Conference, University of Otago, Dunedin.

   Resources for:

   Further learning

   Relevant to:

   Leading change, Understanding autism spectrum disorder, Understanding inclusion, Special education and ASD in NZ school settings, Building inclusive school cultures, Producing inclusive school policies

   Contributed by:

   Stace, H. .

8. UNESCO: Education for All

   Education for All is a global commitment to ensuring a quality basic education for all children, youth, and adults. This commitment was first made in 1990, in the World Declaration on Education for All (EFA). It was renewed at the...

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   UNESCO: Education for All

   Education for All is a global commitment to ensuring a quality basic education for all children, youth, and adults. This commitment was first made in 1990, in the World Declaration on Education for All (EFA). It was renewed at the World Education Forum in 2000, which established six goals to be met by 2015.

   UNESCO’s  Education Toolkit can be used to help create a child-centred, learning-friendly environment for all children, including those with special education needs. They include practical teaching strategies, illustrated with examples from around the world.

   There is some tension between the concepts of ‘inclusive education’ and ‘education for all’. If you are interested in exploring this while learning more about disability education around the world, you may find the article by Miles and Singal of interest. Their conclusion includes the suggestion that 'Developing local understandings of the complex concepts of "education", "all" and "inclusion" is critical to the development of appropriate and sustainable policies on teaching and learning' (page 7). (The article cn be access on the  ERIC databse, document number EJ875302.)

   Miles, S., and Singal, N. (2010). “The Education for All and Inclusive Education Debate: Conflict, Contradiction or Opportunity?” International Journal of Inclusive Education, 14(1), pp. 1–15.

   Resources for:

   Further learning , Taking action , Others' stories

   Relevant to:

   Understanding inclusion, Special education and ASD in NZ school settings, Building inclusive school cultures, Producing inclusive school policies, Evolving inclusive practices

   Contributed by:

   UNESCO .

9. UNESCO European Agency for Development in Special Needs Education: Inclusive Education in Action

   UNESCO’s  Policy Guidelines on Inclusion in Education are intended as 'a resource for policymakers, teachers and learners, community leaders and members of civil society in their efforts to promote more effective strategies for reaching the EFA goals' (Foreword, page 4). They...

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   UNESCO European Agency for Development in Special Needs Education: Inclusive Education in Action

   UNESCO’s  Policy Guidelines on Inclusion in Education are intended as 'a resource for policymakers, teachers and learners, community leaders and members of civil society in their efforts to promote more effective strategies for reaching the EFA goals' (Foreword, page 4). They highlight the fact that each of us has a part to play in achieving these goals.

   The Guidelines can be used to consider the concept of inclusion and its relationship to EFA. They include checklists on attitudinal change, inclusive curriculum, and teachers and the learning environment that are intended for national policy makers, but might be adapted for use in individual schools.

   The Guidelines sit on the  Inclusive Education in Action website, where you can also find examples of policies, accounts of practice, stories, and videos.

   UNESCO (2009). Policy Guidelines on Inclusion in Education. Paris: UNESCO.

   Resources for:

   Further learning , Taking action , Others' stories

   Relevant to:

   Leading change, Understanding inclusion, Effective schools, Special education and ASD in NZ school settings, Audit

   Contributed by:

   UNESCO/European Agency for Development in Special Needs Education .

10. Katherine Rees, Disability Advocate

    Carroll-Lind, J., and Rees, K. (2009). “School for All: Children’s Right to an Inclusive Education in New Zealand”. Proceedings of the Making Inclusive Education Happen: Ideas for Sustainable Change Conference. Wellington: Te Papa.Katherine Rees does not have ASD but is...

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    Katherine Rees, Disability Advocate

    Carroll-Lind, J., and Rees, K. (2009). “School for All: Children’s Right to an Inclusive Education in New Zealand”. Proceedings of the Making Inclusive Education Happen: Ideas for Sustainable Change Conference. Wellington: Te Papa.

    Katherine Rees does not have ASD but is a strong advocate for students with disabilities. While still in school she was a member of the Young People’s Reference Group to the Office of the Children's Commissioner. She continues this advocacy work today in groups such as  Action for Children and Youth Aotearoa and  Be.Accessible.

    Katherine contributes her voice to “ School for All: Children’s Right to an Inclusive Education in New Zealand”, which discusses the concept of inclusive education, the commitments New Zealand has made to this goal, and the reality for students and their families and whānau.

    In  Whakarongo Mai Katherine describes further her experiences as a disabled student at school, and especially at secondary school. She calls for greater collaboration that includes the voice of the student in decisions affecting their schooling experience.

    Both items can be used to prompt thinking on what is happening in your school – for example, how you engage with students, use teacher aides, construct IEPs, and manage students in large groups such as at assembly.

    These  video clips in which Katherine talks about disability, inclusion, and her role as a member of the Children’s Commission’s Young People’s Reference Group are several years old now but still provide excellent insight.

     Rees, K. (2010). “Beyond inclusive education: How to get there and why it matters”. In Whakarongo Mai, Listening – Stories from the Inside. Wellington: NZCER/Cognition Institute/Office of the Children’s Commissioner.

    Resources for:

    Further learning

    Relevant to:

    Understanding inclusion, Special education and ASD in NZ school settings, Building inclusive school cultures, Evolving inclusive practices, Specific issues for secondary schools

    Contributed by:

    Carroll-Lind, J., and Rees, K. 2009 Wellington: Te Papa.