216 Pages
    by Routledge

    216 Pages
    by Routledge

    The field of special needs education is well established, and although it continues to develop in exciting and controversial ways, involving some of education's leading thinkers, many people feel it is lacking a coherent theoretical analysis of its own.
    Students and practitioners, looking for some solid theory to reinforce their own study or practice, commonly have to 'borrow' from other disciplines, such as psychology and sociology, since there has been no attempt to provide a theoretical foundation for the special needs community. This book does exactly that, bringing together contributions from key names in the field from UK and beyond.
    The book will establish itself as an essential text for students and teachers, as well as all those involved in special needs across the social sciences.

    Notes on contributors, 1 Introducing the issue of theorizing, 2 Would it work in theory?: arguments for practitioner research and theorising in the special needs field, 3 Permission to speak?: theorising special education inside the classroom, 4 From theory to practice: special education and the social relations of academic production Medical and psychological models in special needs education, 6 Models of complexity: theory-driven intervention practices, 7 The poverty of special education: theories to the rescue?, 8 Embracing the holistic/constructivist paradigm and sidestepping the post-modern challenge, 9 Decision making in uncertainty, 10 From Milton Keynes to the middle kingdom: making sense of special education in the 1990s, 11 The politics of theorising special education, 12 Conflicting perspectives on learning disabilities, 13 Theorising special education: time to move on?, References, Index

    Biography

    Catherine Clark, Alan Dyson, Alan Millward

    '... rich and stimulating collection ... While it has been around for some time now, Theorising Special Education remains a book for many audiences. All who take up the challenge of this valuable book will emerge ... with at least some of their perspectives on this important subject changed.' - Robert A. Davis, Journal of Moral Education