Partnerships for Inclusive Education: A Critical Approach to Collaborative Working [Hardcover]

Shortlisted for the NASEN/TES 2007 Book Award

Increased partnership between professionals, particularly through the integration of services, indicates a major opportunity for child and parent participation, but one that seems in danger of being side-stepped. Drawing on substantial research evidence, this book looks at reasons for this situation; what is happening now, what developments and initiatives have been tried and what can be done to develop a culture of participation?

Some of the main threats to participation are discussed in this book including:

• Has partnership ever been?
• Who is excluded from 'partnership'?
• Which discourses have made participation illusive and what are the implications  theoretical and practical - for how we move forward?

Partnerships for Inclusive Education includes a helpful framework map which guides critical thinking towards the development of a culture of collaboration and presents original and stimulating ideas to open up the complex processes that can frustrate participative practice. Combining socio-cultural ideas with post-structural thinking gives this book a strong yet accessible theoretical basis, making it a valuable resource to both an academic and a professional educational audience.

Liz Todd presents a new way of thinking about partnerships and demonstrates how teachers and education professionals can implement more effective strategies to truly understand how partnerships can meet the needs of everyone involved.1 What partnerships for what kind of inclusive education? 2 Being seen and heard and making a difference: how children participate 3 The absent special guest: children as service users 4 Parent partnership: the need for a richer story 5 Integrated serviceslƒb