Call for Papers “Reimagine Special Education” (RiSE)
Invitation
This is an open call for papers to be submitted to the special issue “Reimagine Special Education” after December 15th, 2023. There is no closing date for this call.
We are happy to receive either:
· Full papers (max. 7000 words excluding references) which will go through the normal review process for the European Journal of Inclusive Education and must adhere to its author guidelines (see this link for details).
or
· an abstract of 250-400 words, with a list of authors and title - should you wish to know if the editors consider whether your idea is relevant to the call, prior to a full paper submission.
Papers can be submitted through the following link:
https://tidsskrift.dk/ejie/submission/wizard?sectionId=3492
If you wish your abstract to be considered prior to submission please send to one of the editors:
Context of the special issue
Inclusive education was introduced as a means to overcome the exclusionary practices and experiences of mainstream and special education systems. Its’ apparent success is that it has globally taken hold even in systems where there is a well-established history of segregatory structures. However, it is understood in many different ways in relation to policy, practice and research (Amor et al, 2019) and in most countries the initial enthusiastic narrative has been met by a continued and frequently resurgent role for special education in various guises (Slee, 2018; Rix, 2015; Hausstatter & Jahnukainen, 2015). Research from across nations show that the drive for an inclusive ethos and culture results in cosmetic and surface-level changes, that numbers of children in special education continues to grow and that it can be supporting upto 40% of all children at some point in their school careers. Across all countries, similar numbers of children spend at least 80% of their time outside of the mainstream classroom, even in those which claim to have closed special education settings. In classroom which seek to enact a pedagogy underpinned by inclusive aims and principles, (e.g.: focussed upon whole class activity and student strengths), practitioners still feel the need to adopt practices for learners identified with special eduational needs that are associated with the special education paradigm (e.g. individualised seating arrangements and behaviour strategies).
In this context this special issue seeks to explore whether we need to reimagine the nature of special education rather than seek to consign it to history. We wish to consider the possibility that inclusion has re-legitimised special education and become a barrier to special education’s necessary transformation. We invite papers that are interested in:
· considering ways in which special education and its traditions are maintained and/or re-legitimised,
· introducing practical possibilities that can move us beyond this impasse,
· exploring possible futures for special education and what alternatives may emerge.
Some possible themes for papers to explore.
· Why does special education fill a gap which inclusion does not?
· Are there aspects of special education which we should be seeking to retain and redevelop?
· What would happen to special education if we prioritise participation and social justice (rather than inclusion)?
· Are there views from across the sector that can help us understand the challenges and opportunities?
· What issues have not yet been sufficiently researched to drive a transformation of special education?
· Reactions to earlier papers in the call.
(This special issue has already accepted 5 submissions on the basis of abstracts provided as part of a seminar series at the European Conference on Educational Research 2023. These papers touch on subjects such as individualisation, relationships with support services, administrative processes, ownership of knowledge and the legitimising nature of categories.)
If you have any questions about this call you can contact Jonathan Rix at jonathan.rix@inn.no or you can join us for a special issue question and answer session on December 15th at 10am (GMT).
This question and answer session will be an Open Zoom meeting at: link
References
Amor, A., Hagiwara, M., Shogren, K., et al (2019). International perspectives and trends in research on inclusive education: a systematic review. International Journal of Inclusive Education, 23(12), 1277–1295.
Hausstätter, R. & Jahnukainen, M. (2015). From integration to inclusion and the role of special education. In F. Kiuppis and R. Hausstätter (eds), Inclusive Education Twenty Years after Salamanca (pp. 119-132). Peter Lang.
Rix, J. (2015). Must Inclusion be Special? Routledge.
Slee, R. (2018). Inclusive education isn’t dead, it just smells funny. Routledge.
