The detailed study of learning disability features rarely in university courses. To a large extent this reflects the low value attributed by our society and its human services to people with learning difficulties. This unusual book, based on one of those rare courses, includes contributions from academic specialists, students and people with learning difficulties, all of whom have participated in the course. Its 'social approach' challenges the very idea of what should be taught about the ...

For over forty years Wolf Wolfensberger has been a significant figure in the world of human services, especially in the field of learning disability. His work on normalization and citizen advocacy in the late 1960s and early 1970s has been acknowledged by supporters and critics alike to have been fundamental to developments in a number of countries, most notably his adopted country, and the USA, Canada, Australasia, and the UK. His further work in developing the theory of social role valor...

One of Time's 100 most influential people "shines a new light on the need for a holistic approach to caregiving in America . . . Timely and hopeful" (Maria Shriver).In The Age of Dignity, thought leader and activist Ai-jen Poo offers a wake-up call about the statistical reality that will affect us all: Fourteen percent of our population is now over sixty-five; by 2030 that ratio will be one in five. In fact, our fastest-growing demographic is the ...

This popular text provides a clear, succinct explanation of how reflection is integral to teachers’ understandings of themselves, their practice, and their context, and elaborates how various conceptions of reflective teaching differ from one another. The emphasis on the importance of both self and context is embedded within distinct and varied educational traditions (conservative, progressive, radical, and spiritual). Throughout the text the reader is encouraged to examine his/her assumpt...

Community is an elusive yet frequently invoked concept. Terms like community health, community living, community schools, community policing, community development, and community renewal have become part of the contemporary lexicon.What has led organizations, and particularly Western governments, to take such an interest in community, and why this interest now? What has caused the increasing acceptance of community as the primary vehicle through which a wide variety of government p...

Winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Explanatory ReportingIn this Pulitzer Prize-winning collection, Washington Post reporter Eli Saslow traveled across the country over the course of a year—from Florida and Texas to Rhode Island and Tennessee—to examine the personal and political implications and repercussions of America's growing food stamp program.Saslow shows us the extraordinary impact the arrival of food stamps has each month on a small town's st...

Around three quarters of people who turn to adoption do so because of infertility and those working in this field need information, guidance and support to assist them in the process of adoption to support the adopters and to deal with any issues that may result from infertility.Adopting after Infertility is an accessible and informative interdisciplinary book that addresses the issues that professionals working with adopters and the adopters themselves face when going through the ...

How can schools teach the skills required for a strong democracy to flourish? What Kind of Citizen? asks readers to imagine the kind of society they would like to live in—and then shows the ways in which schools can be used to make that vision a reality. Westheimer draws on groundbreaking research on school programs and policies to sharply critique the current direction of school reform. He points to the many varied and powerful ways to teach children and young adults to eng...

People who live in poverty consider life in different ways than those who have adequate basic resources. Many educators tend to see the world through their middle-class worldview. Because of this, they do not understand these significant and often rational differences. They may misinterpret behavior they see and ascribe negative connotations to how their students are reacting. Their assumptions can affect the quality of both the teaching and the learning that happens. Most teachers have re...

“Marc Prensky—one of the smartest people working in educational reform today—offers us a lucid, inspiring, optimistic, doable, and crucial blueprint for how we can build a future with the schools children desperately need in our modern, high-risk, highly complex, fast-changing, and imperiled world.”—James Paul Gee, Mary Lou Fulton Presidential Professor of Literacy Studies, Regents’ Professor, Arizona State University“Marc Prensky was always ahead of his tim...

Governments and social agencies tackle the toughest social problems their citizens face -- poverty, homelessness, mental and physical illness, violence, abuse, and more. Yet these problems persist in Canada -- in many cases, they are worsening -- and the costs of the social safety net continue to rise.New approaches have been developed by innovators frustrated by the failure of traditional programs and policies, in Canada and internationally. Many of the most promising new approach...

No matter what you teach, there is a 100 Ideas title for you!The 100 Ideas series offers teachers practical, easy-to-implement strategies and activities for the classroom. Each author is an expert in their field and is passionate about sharing best practice with their peers.Each title includes at least ten additional extra-creative Bonus Ideas that won't fail to inspire and engage all learners.Making your l...