Thirty-one middle school students (grades 4-7) were interviewed at length about their perspectives regarding academic and social inclusion of students with disabilities; the barriers they perceive to a compassionate, inclusive learning community; and what they believe helps overcome these barriers. In discussing the inclusion of students with…

This article discusses School-wide Positive Behaviour Support (SWPBS), an evidence-based approach to teaching social competencies and enhancing the school social environment. The focus of this article is on the value of evaluation and evaluation plans at a district level for maintaining and increasing the effectiveness of SWPBS in a district. We…

The transition from kindergarten to Grade 1 is marked by a sudden decrease in children's play time (Brostrom, 2005; Hartmann & Rollett, 1994). This study sought to examine 69 Montreal-area Grade 1 children's beliefs about out of school play, as well as their parents' (N = 56) perceptions of their play. Findings indicate that parents value play for…

In this study, we examine how transformative leadership enables students from a low-income and multicultural neighbourhood to learn about democracy, responsible citizenship, and community engagement at school. As part of a graduate seminar on critical pedagogy and cultural studies in education, in-depth group interviews were conducted with…

The purpose of this paper is to describe a variety of teaching and learning strategies that were used within a classroom of Deaf adults participating in a high school English course as part of an upgrading program. The class was conducted in a bilingual manner; that is, being Deaf and communicating with American Sign Language (ASL) was not…

This paper provides a description of the demographic characteristics as well as the social and academic experiences of a nationally representative sample of Canadian students receiving special education services for an Emotional/Behavioural Difficulty (EBD) and a comparison group of students without disabilities (ND). Data summarized in this…

One of the most significant changes in education over the last few decades is the movement toward inclusive education. Many schools have adopted an inclusive approach of educating students with learning disabilities (LD) in the regular classroom. The present study utilized a multiple case study approach to examine the perspectives of stakeholders…

This article reviews three studies that provide evidence that students with learning disabilities (LD) display optimistic academic self-beliefs, even in the face of relatively poor academic performance. In the first study, a quantitative approach was used to explore the spelling and writing self-efficacy of 133 adolescents with and without LD.…

In the inclusive/special education literature, practitioners often claim that using portfolios is excessively time-intensive, while other researchers lay claim to positive possibilities for students with disabilities/exceptionalities, such as increased self-esteem, internal locus of control, choice-making, and active participation in learning. To…