Special Interest Group
Inclusive Education

The Inclusive Education SIG provides a forum for critical discussion about all aspects of Inclusive education. Our concerns are with the substantive, methodological and ethical aspects of research into inclusive policy, practice, pedagogy, culture and environments. Our interests are international in scope and span formal and informal education, as well as the compulsory and pre- and post-compulsory sectors. A real strength of the SIG is the diversity of its membership, which comprises researchers, together with policy makers and practitioners, who are interested in promoting and using high quality research in this broad field of study. Many of our members have come to researching inclusive education from professional and /or personal backgrounds in special education or disability and our expertise is wide-ranging. We acknowledge the role that ableism plays in education and society at large, and we encourage an intersectional lens to understand the challenges of implementing and supporting inclusive practice. Wherever possible we work with other SIGS to address these issues and to explore possible solutions and ways forward.
SIG Aims:
- support researchers in developing their theoretical and empirical understandings of the field of inclusive education
- develop an active network of researchers together with policy-makers and practitioners whose work focuses on this field
- encourage critical thinking on the development of inclusive learning environments
- stimulate developments in inclusive research approaches
- engage in debates around shifting national and global political agenda relating to the development of inclusive education, including those affecting the global majority
- offer intersectional and decolonial approaches that acknowledge the role societal and institutional discrimination can play whilst recognising expertise from those with lived experience
The Inclusive Education SIG must continue to be a relevant and useful voice in supporting inclusive practice and policy, and we are keen to include a wide range of stakeholders in any future events. Please get in touch with any ideas.Â
SIG Convenors
Lecturer at Leeds Beckett University
Content associated with this SIG
Guest editing opportunity for Research Intelligence, issue 167
½¿É«µ¼º½â€™s Publications Committee is seeking an individual or team (of up to three people) to guest edit issue 167 of Research Intelligence on the theme of ‘The Curriculum and Assessment Review:...
½¿É«µ¼º½ journals virtual issue: Evaluating the worth of race, ethnicity and education over the last five years
Racism is a shapeshifter that adapts to silence minoritised ethnic voices, unless it is continually made visible. Race research therefore needs continuous development to challenge pervasive...
Call for book proposals: The ½¿É«µ¼º½ Guides series
Call for book proposals: The ½¿É«µ¼º½ Guides series ½¿É«µ¼º½, in collaboration with Emerald Publishing, invites book proposals for new titles in The ½¿É«µ¼º½ Guides series. This series aims to provide short,...
Editorial: Seeking a new paradigm for antiracist multicultural education
English society and its education system have been through several phases of multicultural education – beginning with the colourblind, then through multicultural and antiracist phases, and then...
Continue reading blog postSeeking a new paradigm for antiracist multicultural education
English society and its education system have been through several phases of multicultural education. The current context for race, racism and hope education was discussed by Vini Lander in her...
Rethinking equity and policy coherence: The implications of age-restricted funding for level 7 apprenticeships
As part of a broader strategy to refocus skills investment on young people, the UK government has announced significant reforms to apprenticeship funding in England (DfE, 2025). Central to this...
Continue reading blog postSEND and education, health and care plans in England: In the fast lane to overtake 10 per cent
The Children and Families Act 2014 in England provided a major transformation to the system for identifying special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). Ten years on, the National Audit...
Continue reading blog postCall for book proposals: The ½¿É«µ¼º½ Guides series
Call for book proposals: The ½¿É«µ¼º½ Guides series ½¿É«µ¼º½, in collaboration with Emerald Publishing, invites book proposals for new titles in The ½¿É«µ¼º½ Guides series. This series aims to provide short,...