Including students with disabilities in innovative learning environments: a model for inclusive practices

ABSTRACT

The educational provision for students with disabilities has been debated for as long as the term inclusive education (IE) has been part of the educational discourse. Despite IE stemming from a social justice paradigm, globally there remain inconsistencies in access to quality education. As a result, policies and practices to shift towards more equitable access to education are evident across the world. Many IE commentators argue the need for a transformative and systemic change to the status quo, for IE outcomes to be achieved. Innovative learning environments (ILEs) offer the opportunity for new conversations around IE and systemic change. Although IE is generally seen as an important aspect of ILE design, there is a missed opportunity to fully appreciate and address the needs of students with disabilities. Moreover, we argue that ILEs can disrupt traditional paradigms in education in ways that enhance IE. A model is presented in this article that is designed to respond to the gaps in existing ILE models. This conceptual framework offers a means for architects, school leaders, and teachers to improve the educational outcomes of all students, through connecting the notions of inclusive design, inclusive practice and inclusive pedagogy.

KEYWORDS:

• Innovative learning environment
• disability
• inclusive education
• ecology

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Angela Page

Dr Angela Page is an educational psychologist who has worked for over 25 years in the field with a number of publications in the area of the intersection between Innovative Learning Environments and Inclusive Education. She is currently employed at the University of Newcastle as a Senior Lecturer in teaching in the areas of classroom behaviour management and inclusive and special education.

Jo Anderson

Dr Joanne Anderson has worked in the area of inclusive and special education across schools in New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland, with the last eight years in leadership positions. Joanne has a strong belief in the need for the education sector to better support students with disability and considers the new era of ILEs as an opportune time to once again place the needs of students with disabilities at the forefront of policy and practices.

Jennifer Charteris

Dr Jennifer Charteris's research since the award of her doctorate has explored the affordances of these redesigned and purpose-built spaces –and the shifts in practices that are needed for teachers to work effectively in flexible spaces. Jennifer has consulted on school design and developed international collaborations with researchers around pedagogy in flexible learning spaces in the UK, Italy and New Zealand.