New publications

The Irregular School explores the foundations of the current controversies and argues that continuing to think in terms of the regular school or the special school obstructs progress towards inclusive education. The book argues the need for a better understanding of exclusion, of the foundations of the division between special and regular education, and of school reform as a precondition for more inclusive schooling in the future. It suggests that schooling ought to be an apprenticeship in democracy, and inclusion is a prerequisite of a democratic education. Adapted from publisher's description. See also review by Lyn Yates in the Journal of Education Policy May 2012.

The book contains advice on how to plan schemes of work and lessons, and make use of opportunities for learning outside the classroom, ICT, and cross-curricular links. It covers thinking skills and offers examples of best practice. It also includes reflective questions and activities. See publisher's description.

Early childhood programs, if designed correctly, pay big economic dividends down the road because they increase the skills of their participants. And since many of those participants will remain in the same state or local area as adults, the local economy benefits: more persons with better skills attract business, which provides more and better jobs for the local economy. Bartik measures ratios of local economic development benefits to costs for both early childhood education and business incentives. He aims to show that early childhood programs and the best-designed business incentives can provide local benefits that significantly exceed costs. Adapted from publisher's description.

This book looks at what it means to be a child today and the challenges children face in different parts of the world. The authors examine the effects of changes in family circumstances and of poverty, rural and social isolation and trauma on young children's lives, and consider also how new technologies are changing policy in education. Chapter six, by Jennifer Bowes, Kerry Hodge and Rebekah Grace, is titled 'Isolation and Inclusion in Australian Early Childhood Settings'. Other contributors cover issues in Britain, the USA, Eastern and Western Europe, and two African countries. Each reflects on the nature of childhood from their personal perspective, illustrating their theme with case studies. Questions are posed to encourage readers to relate the issues to their own environment. See publisher's description.

In the USA more than a million students drop out of school every year, and the numbers are rising. After considering the requirements and pathways for completing high school, the book considers the nature and extent of the dropout crisis in the USA; individual and social consequences of dropping out, in terms of employment, crime, family, health, and civic engagement; explanations and predictors of drop-out; the impact of past efforts to solve the crisis, and the most promising strategies for the future. See publisher's description.