Count Me In!: Ideas for Actively Engaging Students in Inclusive Classrooms

School really should be the best time in a yoning person's life-full of discovery, enjoyment and friendship. In reality, school can be a negative experience where young people feel powerless, bored and disinterested. Count Me In! shows how, by involving young people in their own learning, they not only improve their education but also feel empowered and have ftm along the way.

This book provides positive and practical ways of involving young people in the inclusive classroom. At its heart is a recognition of the power of getting students involved and the value their empowerment can bring to their education. Student empowerment can mean anything from forming a partnership between teacher and student to really listening to students and allowing their voices to be heard. The book includes a whole host of practical ways to get children involved, from seeking their opinions on lessons and how they are learning, to allowing them to have a say in their assessment and in school life.

This practical book will be an invaluable resource to teachers in mainstream and special schools, teacher trainers, student teachers, educational researchers and anyone interested in how to get students involved in and excited by their own learning.

The `Innovative Learning for All' series features accessible books that reveal how schools and educators can meet the needs of vulnerable students, encouraging them to engage in learning and to feel confident in the classroom. Grounded in the latest innovative practice and research, these books offer positive guidance on improving the educational standards for all children by ensuring the most vulnerable are supported.

Richard Rose is Professor of Special and Inclusive Education at the University of Northampton, UK. Michael Shevlin is Senior Lecturer in Inclusive Education at Trinity College Dublin in the Republic of Ireland. Richard and Michael have worked together for several years on projects to encourage young people from marginalized groups to voice their opinions and experiences of education. They are currently engaged on Project IRIS (Inclusive Research in Irish Schools); a longitudinal study into special needs provision in Ireland.