Catholic Schools and Inclusive Special Education: A Reponse from the Field to "Why Inclusion Isn't Coming, It is Already Here"

Abstract

F aggella-Luby and Engel (this issue) trace the cause for inclusion in Catholic schools to the roots of our faith and uphold it rightly as integral to our identities as Catholic communities. Making a strong and compelling argument that inclusive education can no longer be viewed as an optional practice within Catholic schools, the authors review available data to illustrate that Catholic schools have been educating students with diverse learning needs for decades, using whatever means possible. Moreover, the article is a call for more nuanced data and research on the state of inclusion in Catholic schools. Faggella-Luby and Engel outline a roadmap for transforming the narrative around inclusion in Catholic schools by reviewing research, models, trends, and surfacing dangerous misconceptions. Highlighting the advantages for all learners to have classrooms in which all students are present to receive instruction informed by each students’ specific learning strengths and challenges, the authors urge that if we want to meet the needs of all of our students, then we need to take the emphasis off of labels and instead design instruction that is student-centered.