EDUC 554 - Pathways to Inclusion: Re-examining Beliefs about Learners

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SP. Schools and classrooms today reflect an amazing diversity of learners. In any learning community, educators must be prepared to create a learning community that meets the needs of students with a variety of differences in ability, gender, sexuality, race/ethnicity, language, socioeconomic status, and more. Yet the reality of developing just and inclusive educational communities is challenging. Through this course, participants are invited to embark on pathways to inclusion by examining the needs of learners with differences in school contexts. Participants will re-examine commonly held beliefs and practices about identity and difference with the goal of developing inclusive learning communities. Readings and discussions will create opportunities that allow participants to consider how cognitive, socio-cultural, and critical perspectives are tools for thinking about shifting understandings of learners’ differences. Learning excursions and projects will become spaces for integrating and applying new understandings about ourselves and others within teaching/learning practice. The course will specifically focus on linguistic differences, language development, and literacy as they support or impede the inclusion of all learners in educational contexts.