Part One: Stating the case.- Chapter 1 Research to Practice and Inclusion.- Chapter 2 The RTP literature: Mind the gap!.- Chapter 3 The collective case study design: Comparing six research to practice cases.- Part Two: Making the case.- Chapter 4 Meet the teachers.- Chapter 5 The Exploration Phase.- Chapter 6 The Explanation Phase.- Chapter 7 The Expansion Phase.- Part Three: Building a solution.- Chapter 8 Teacher Education: Engaging connections between people, projects and preparation.- Chapter 9 The RTP Model: An interactive Research to Practice framework.- Chapter 10 Aligning our focus with strengths and solutions.
Dr Christine Grima-Farrell was an experienced school teacher and special education coordinator prior to her academic career as a teacher educator. She is the President of the NSW Institute of Educational Research and is the Convenor of the Australian Association of Research in Education Teachers’ Work and Lives special interest group. Chris was awarded the NSW Premier’s Award for Excellence in Teaching for her work in the area of inclusive education and research on practice initiatives. Her PhD entitled “Identifying factors that bridge the research to practice gap in inclusive education” was awarded the 2013 Beth Southwell Outstanding Doctoral Thesis Award and the Charles Sturt University Most Outstanding Thesis award. Chris has been honoured with an Australian Government Citation for Outstanding Contribution to Student Learning and also holds other University Excellence in Teaching Awards. She lives her scholarly work as she strives to raise awareness of ways to merge research and practice initiatives to support the diverse needs of students and enhance their wellbeing and resilience through promoting collaborative partnerships.
This book introduces a comprehensive RTP Model that reframes research to practice knowledge and inclusive education philosophy to promote the sustained use of research to promote and enhance meaningful education for all students.
“In these welcome days of implementation science, research has to be real. There has to be a direct and rich connection between what is known and what translates from such data. In this volume Grima-Farrell delivers exactly that balance: a triumph of deep analysis on a complex and synergistic area, namely, inclusive classrooms and schools. This is a must read if you want to know what is happening in this challenging and compelling field and where we need to head if research is to inform daily practice.”
Michael Arthur-Kelly, University of Newcastle
“Much is written about the challenges education faces in bringing its research to professional practice at scale. Little of that work reflects a rigorous empirical investigation of the research to practice process. This book stands alone as a research-based account of the challenge based upon the study of multiple applied research cases each targeted at implementing an evidence-based innovation in an inclusive education setting. The essence of the book is the story of these case studies and the way the findings derived from them are employed to produce a practical model for bringing evidence-based practice to scale in inclusive education. This is truly a unique offering that ‘walks the talk’ of research to practice and should be read by anyone interested in better professional practice in inclusive and general education.”
Alan Bain, Charles Sturt University
“An innovative working relationship is proposed and celebrated in this book. This relationship can best be described and constructed as a partnership of equals.”