The Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) landscape in England is bleak. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of pupils with SEND has increased. There is a shortage of places available in specialist SEND provision, and many pupils with SEND are being educated in alternative provision settings which arguably do not meet their needs.…

In this paper we discuss the connection between the lack of special education specific preparation for leaders and decades of evidence of racial inequities in special education. In doing so, we have a four-fold purpose. First, we outline the basic Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) legal requirements that educational leadership…

Turkey regulates the special education of students with disabilities and, particularly, those who have intellectual disabilities (ID) based on international and national legal texts. However, the gap between law and practice cannot be denied. The existence of obstacles to special education for students with disabilities or ID continues in Turkey.…

Ellen Brantlinger's research and activism created opportunities for scholars who seek to locate and interrupt the social processes that shape educational inequities. In this essay, we reflect on Ellen's contributions by identifying three key "signposts"--lessons from Ellen's work that guided our own journeys and shaped the…

The UK coalition Government's call to end the "bias" towards inclusion represents a shift in "policy speak" as the new administration attempts to re-narrate special education by putting forward a "reasonable and sensible" solution to the "problem of inclusion". However, implicit in the call is the assumption…

A recent review of educational provision for children with special educational needs by the House of Commons Education and Skills Committee in 2006 singled out children with autistic spectrum disorder (ASD) as being in need of special attention and highlighted the frustration felt by parents. One implication is that parents of children with ASD…

Handicapism, bias against the disabled, is a major barrier to the successful education and integration of children with disabilities. Educators need to devise strategies to deal with handicapism, beginning with disability awareness programs. A variety of instructional approaches is necessary to capitalize on students' strengths and learning…