Abstract

School really should be the best time in a young person's life – full of discovery, enjoyment and friendship. In reality, school can be a negative experience where young people feel powerless, bored and uninterested. 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 fun 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.

It also sounds an important warning: "Many young people continue to believe that apparent efforts to seek their views remain at a tokenistic level and are conducted as a sop rather than with the sincerity they desire." Buy this book and you may avoid that pitfall.
Special Children Magazine
The authors of this book have a wealth of experience in research and practical application within the field of inclusion and their passion for and affinity with vulnerable learners is evident... It highlights the need for children's individual experiences and voices, among them the voices of dyslexic learners, to be listened to if the world of school is to be truly inclusive and accessible. Using fascinating case studies from their own and others' research they provide vivid comment from a range of vulnerable learners of all ages, including those with SpLD/dyslexia. The aim of the book is to show how we can encourage these students to participate in the full experience of education... The book offers a broad picture of the school experience of the vulnerable learner and will indeed be a valuable source of ideas and insight for those of us who work with those children who so often seem to end up on the margins.
Patoss Bulletin
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.
Count me in! by Richard Rose and Michael Shevlin, offers teachers ideas for actively engaging students and making the classroom truly inclusive... It is written in a straightforward style and takes a pragmatic approach to classroom challenges, with plenty of relevant quotes and 14 cases studies illustrating the authors' points.
Nasen Special