Practitioner Development

This new field of inclusive education: beginning a dialogue on conceptual foundations.

Danforth et al. (2015) · Intellectual and developmental disabilities 2015
★ The Verdict

Old special-ed labels hold kids back; fresh concepts and shared ABA tools can fix that.

✓ Read this if BCBAs coaching teachers in public or private schools.
✗ Skip if Clinicians who only run 1:1 home cases.

01Research in Context

01

What this study did

Scot and colleagues wrote a position paper. They asked, "What big ideas should guide inclusive education?"

The authors say the old special-education frame is worn out. They want fresh concepts to steer research and practice.

No kids were tested. The paper is a call to start a new conversation.

02

What they found

The team did not collect data. Instead, they argued the field needs a new map.

They claim current labels and categories block progress. A new lens could help every learner belong.

03

How this fits with other research

Lerman (2024) picks up the baton. That paper gives a step-by-step plan for sharing behavior-analysis tools with teachers. It turns Scot’s call for new ideas into a ready-to-use training package.

Black et al. (2019) surveyed school staff. Workers saw main autism or Down syndrome traits but missed hidden needs. This gap shows why Scot’s new framework is needed.

Farmer (2012) looked for lessons tied to genetic syndromes and found slim evidence. Both papers doubt the value of old special-ed boxes and push for better, broader thinking.

04

Why it matters

You shape inclusive classrooms right now. This paper says stop patching the old system. Start building on new pillars that fit every learner. Use Lerman’s blueprint to share ABA tools with teachers. Point to Jo’s survey when you justify extra training. The conversation starts with you.

Free CEUs

Want CEUs on This Topic?

The ABA Clubhouse has 60+ free CEUs — live every Wednesday. Ethics, supervision & clinical topics.

Join Free →
→ Action — try this Monday

Hand your general-ed partner a one-page script from Lerman’s blueprint and plan one shared lesson.

02At a glance

Intervention
not applicable
Design
theoretical
Finding
not reported

03Original abstract

Numerous scholars have suggested that the standard knowledge base of the field of special education is not a suitable intellectual foundation for the development of research, policy, and practice in the field of inclusive education. Still, we have yet to have a dialogue on what conceptual foundations may be most generative for the growth and development of the field of inclusive education. This article imagines and initiates such a new dialogue among educational researchers and teacher educators about the intellectual resources that can best support inclusive educators everywhere. As inclusive education gets increasingly taken up within international policy discourses, it may be imperative to explore and identify theories and ideas that can be responsive to diverse and hugely unequal contexts of schooling. This article forwards an initial collection of intellectual resources for an inclusive education that can accommodate such complex schooling conditions and invites rich scholarly exchange on this issue.

Intellectual and developmental disabilities, 2015 · doi:10.1352/1934-9556-53.1.70