OISE launches new publication on inclusive curriculum research, practice
June 23, 2011
Earlier this week, the Initial Teacher Education program at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education of the University of Toronto (OISE) launched a new publication: Inquiry into Practice: Reaching Every Student Through Inclusive Curriculum. The book brings together diverse perspectives on issues of equity and inclusion in schools with contributions from more than forty researchers and graduate students as well as hundreds of project collaborators and partners from schools and education organizations in the GTA.
The editors are Carol Rolheiser, the director of the Centre for Teaching Support & Innovation at the University of Toronto and the former associate dean of teacher education at OISE; Mark Evans, the associate dean of Teacher Education and a professor in the Department of Curriculum, Teaching and Learning; and Mira Gambhir, a doctoral candidate in the Department of Curriculum, Teaching and Learning. A key message of their editorial is that though "the principles of equity and inclusion are now at the forefront of Canadian education, the contributing authors remind us that inclusive education cannot remain at the level of theoretical discourse...The goal is to have inclusive education become evident in teachers' practices and students' learning." The book provides many examples of how this goal can become a reality.
The publication is part of a series initiated nine years ago by Carol Rolheiser, OISE's then associate dean of Teacher Education, and has resulted in a wide range of inquiry papers across eight publications focused on critical educational issues and accessible to education communities around the globe. This current project received support from the Council of Ontario Deans of Education (CODE), and highlights CODE's commitment to innovation and inquiry in schools.
At an event earlier this week, contributing authors, editors and community partners gathered to celebrate the launch of the publication in its print and digital forms. In addition to the perspective pieces and research reports, the book features a detailed resource section as well as a sampling of student art related to inclusion. Carol Rolheiser, one of the three editors, spoke about the exciting work of the publication: "Responding effectively to the increasing diversity in our schools is complicated and requires new ways of thinking about learning and teaching. High quality teacher education and curriculum development work increasingly involves more sophisticated, collaborative and inquiry-oriented approaches. The OISE faculty and educational field partners who have collaborated on the projects outlined in this publication have combined their theoretical knowledge and practical experience to explore complex questions and generate promising practices for schools and universities. Our goal with this publication is to encourage further discussion and promote actions that support inclusive curriculum."
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