CANADIAN RESEARCH CENTRE ON
INCLUSIVE EDUCATION
Research Themes
Mission
This partnership will evolve the Centre for Inclusive Education at the
University of Western Ontario into the Canadian Research Centre on Inclusive
Education for the purposes of understanding and building knowledge in the
area of inclusive education on a national level.
Community partners and post-secondary faculty will come together to discuss
professional education, instructional techniques, socio-cultural aspects, and
policies related to inclusion in the Canadian context, thus facilitating the
multidirectional flow of information.
Research in inclusive education will be synthesized into a practical
framework that incorporates all of the effective, evidence-based practices in
inclusive education in a way that educators from Kindergarten to Grade 12 can
access and implement each day in their classrooms. This Centre will be a
conduit for engagement, exchange, and dissemination of activities relative to
research-based knowledge of inclusion in Canada for educators, administrators,
researchers and families.
Community Partner Affiliations
Bridges Canada Inc.
BC Provincial Integration Support Team
BC Teachers’ Federation
CanAssist, Victoria BC
Edmonton Public Schools
Edmonton Regional Coalition for Inclusive Education
Getting Ready for Inclusion Today (GRIT) Program Alberta
Inclusive Education Canada
Langley BC School District #35
Learning Disabilities Association London Region
Learning Disabilities Association of PEI
London District Catholic School Board
North Vancouver School District #44
Pembina Hills AB Regional School Division #7
School District #42, Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows BC
Vancouver School District #39
Webster Centre for Teaching & Learning
1.Professional Education (led by Drs. Bennett and Gallagher, ON): The ultimate goal of inclusion is to create communities in which all members are valued for their
contributions and participation. Education is a protracted pursuit of transition into the community and seeks to prepare individuals for their place therein. Educators model
inclusion, and support learners in an environment in which all students belong. Research has shown that educators perceive that they are well supported when they engage in
job-embedded professional learning alongside colleagues with slightly more competence and confidence (Mattatall, 2010; Villeneuve & Hutchinson, submitted). This research
will examine the policies, procedures and promising practises of educators that encourage the inclusion of all students.
2.Instructional Techniques: (led by Dr. McGhie-Richmond, BC): The essence of Universal design is accessibility for all. Applied to inclusive education, Universal Design
for Learning (UDL) provides accessibility to the curriculum, learning activities, and social life of the classroom community for all students. Increasingly, research on the use of
instructional, digital, and assistive technologies has produced results indicating that these approaches can significantly enable student access, engagement, participation and
independence in learning. A comprehensive, research approach is needed that pulls together each of the elements into a framework for educators. A UDL framework proposed
by Katz (2010) synthesizes decades of research on inclusive educational practice into a three-block model for UDL encompassing the cornerstones of education: 1) developing
community/social and emotional well-being; 2) instructional practice; and 3) systematic strategies and structures. Building on the work of Katz, this project will employ
quantitative and qualitative research methods to undertake collaborative and integrated investigations that address key research questions.
3.Socio-cultural Inclusion (led by Dr. DiGiorgio, PEI): Socio-cultural studies are interested in the communities to which individuals belong. It is very important to understand
the complex lives that all humans experience. Our team brings together many facets of socio-cultural aspects of inclusion. This group intends to collaborate on a variety of
research interests that they share, using qualitative and meta-analytic methods to explore deeply and compare the experiences of students and their educators and families as they
move through the educational system. A pan-Canadian view of the social and cultural underpinnings of inclusion is long overdue. Canada is seen as a model of inclusion for the
rest of the world yet we, as scholars, have not connected as we could to piece together and better understand how the similarities and differences across our country speak to our
unique cultural landscape. This research network’s activities will inform our understanding of the complexity of inclusion as more than an issue of learning but as a part of our
social fabric as a country.
4.Policy and Practice (led by Dr. Specht, ON): Policy drives existing practice and must be revised based on empirical outcomes. The implementation of inclusion varies across
the country because of the provincial nature of inclusion (CCL, 2007). In PEI, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, full inclusion is the only option; in other provinces a range of
services is available. The result of this variation is that students with exceptionalities do not receive equitable access to education in Canada; some are educated in segregated
settings, other in inclusive settings. With the mandate of the Centre to provide a national voice for inclusive education, cross-Canada studies will be undertaken
Post-Secondary Partner Affiliations
Acadia University
Brock University
Concordia University of Alberta
Fanshawe College
Memorial University of Newfoundland
Queen’s University
University of British Columbia
University of Manitoba
University of Moncton
University of Prince Edward Island
University of Regina
University of Victoria
University of Western Ontario
Visit us at www.inclusiveeducationresearch.ca
National Director:
Dr. Jacqueline Specht
University of Western Ontario
Faculty of Education