Call for a Special Issue in the Journal of Policy and Practice in Intellectual Disabilities
International Association for the Scientific Study of Intellectual and Developmental
Disabilities (IASSIDD)
Inclusive Education SIRG ~ Down Syndrome SIRG ~ Inclusive Research SIRG
Inclusive research in education for learners with intellectual and developmental
disabilities: Lessons learned and future directions
Guest Editors: Sofia Mavropoulou (Queensland University of Technology, Australia), Rhonda Faragher (University of Queensland, Australia) & Lieke vanHeumen (University of Illinois, Chicago, US), Fionn Crombie Angus & Jonathan Angus, Fionnathan Productions.
What is the value of inclusive research?
Inclusive research as a research paradigm has a long history in disability studies. Its original definition has pushed researchers to explore research problems owned by people with disability, stand on the side of people with disability and build collaborations with them in ways that extend their interests, giving them greater control over the research process and outcomes and disseminating the research question, process and reports in accessible formats (Walmsley & Johnson, 2003, p.64). However in their authoritative review of inclusive research in developmental disabilities, Walmsley et al (2017, p.758) proposed an updated definition to guide the second generation of inclusive research foregrounding issues important for people with intellectual disability, contributing to social change, fostering and communicating the contributions people with intellectual disabilities can make, campaigning for change and the facilitating alliances between researchers and the people whose issues are being explored.
Which approaches guide the aims of this Special Issue?
The three approaches to inclusive research proposed by Bigby et al (2014) can guide our understanding of inclusive research in education and the development of our propositions for future directions contributing to greater inclusion for learners with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). In the first approach people with disability have an advisory role to researchers and organizations about research agendas, conduct and dissemination of research; in the second approach, disabled people have a leading and controlling role in the research process; in the third approach disabled people act as collaborators or co-researchers with people without disability. Furthermore, in this Special Issue our approach is underpinned by Nind’s (2016, p.196) vision of a second generation of inclusive research, which is conceptualised as a fluid and diverse research undertaking that will hopefully generate methods to research with people with profound and complex requirements.
What are the issues in inclusive research this special issue will address?
In this Special Issue we invite education researchers, utilizing inclusive research in inclusive early childhood, primary, secondary, tertiary education and vocational training contexts across the globe to share their perspectives about the affordances and shortcomings of employing inclusive research to address issues related with the quality of inclusive education for individuals with IDD. We hope that this Special Issue will address the existing gaps in our knowledge and evidence about the application of inclusive research in regular schools and other educational environments.
Questions this Special Issue will endeavour to address are:
1. How has inclusive research been used in educational research for people with IDD?
2. What are the key lessons from inclusive research in education for learners with IDD?
3. What methods of inclusive research have been used to explore matters related with the social and academic inclusion of learners with IDD?
4. How can inclusive research help achieve inclusive education?
5. What is the quality of inclusive research in the education for learners with IDD?
6. What are the tensions and challenges in conducting inclusive research in education for learners with IDD?
7. How far different is inclusive research in education from inclusive research in other areas?
8. Other issues related with inclusive research but not strictly related with the above questions.
We welcome abstracts (up to 500 words) that focus on the questions outlined above by 31 December 2023.
Lead authors will be notified about the outcome of their abstract by 31 January 2024.
Manuscripts will be peer-reviewed through a double anonymized peer review process and should be up to 5000 words, including references. The deadline for manuscript submissions is 31 June 2024.
Questions can be addressed to any of the SIRG Executive Committee members below:
Inclusive Education SIRG: sofia.mavropoulou@qut.edu.au
Down Syndrome SIRG: r.faragher@uq.edu.au
Inclusive Research SIRG: lvheumen@uic.edu, fionnathan.productions@gmail.com