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Sarawak State Library

Read.Innovate.Excel

Access to Academics for All Students: Critical Approaches to Inclusive Curriculum, Instruction and Policy.

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Call no.
: 371.9046 KLU
Author
: Paula Kluth, Diana M. Straut and Doughlas P. Biklen (Editors)
Contributor
: Salina Zawawi
Summary
To me, this book is not really suitable for general readers but more appropriate for both undergraduates and master’s level readers in the field of education. It is nevertheless an essential resource for elementary and secondary teachers, school administrators and parents. Having said that, it could be one of the favourite reading materials for readers who keen to explore into new subject interests which they might not familiar with, to broaden their general understanding of what the field of teaching and learning is all about. Access to Academics for All Students is a compilation of texts of a growing number of voices calling for teachers in diverse, inclusive schools to move beyond facilitating social participation in classroom activities and consider ways to intellectually engage all learners. They draw on emerging work linking critical theory with disability issues; work being done in curriculum studies around issues of social justice teaching, authentic instruction, service learning and critical pedagogy; and the movement in the field of special education away from a deficit-driven model of education to an orientation that values student’s strengths and gifts. The book has essentially examined the perceptions teachers hold about students with disabilities, students are racially and ethnically diverse, students using English as a second language, students labeled “at risk”, students placed in both “high” and “low” academic tracks, and students in urban schools. It also highlights how students who traditionally have been denied access to challenging work and educational opportunities can be supported to participate in academic instruction. Also, it provides ideas for recognizing and challenging inequities, offers a framework for fostering access to academics for students with a range of strengths and needs, and explores pragmatic ways of increasing academic success for all learners.