Research into special and inclusive education aims tounderstand and respond to the needs of students with a lived experience of disability.An associated researchteamat – the Special and Inclusive Education Research Group (SIERG) – seeks to engagewith the wider community of schools, people with disability and service providers, with the goal ofimprovingthe outcomes of people with disability acrossat all stages of education.

SIERG membership is comprised of prominent researchers, higher degree research students, educators and people with lived experience of disability.Much of this research is accomplished through participatory and inclusive research, action research and community consultation.

Research team – who we are

  • Wework towards ensuring the principles of inclusive and special education and research are promoted where all people–regardless of disability, difficulty or disadvantage–are afforded quality education through appropriate adjustments to learning activities and resources, throughout their lives.

    Thisgoal is reflected inthe vision statement ofour associated research group,SIERG:

    “A nation should not be judged by how it treats its highest achieving citizens, but by how it values, embraces and supports all people, especially its most vulnerable ones.”

    Some of themethods we useto achieve our aims include:

    • Addingto the existing body of knowledge through the publication of academic journal articles, professional journal and magazine articles, books, conference papers, conference presentations, social media,and exposure in mainstream media
    • Conductingresearch that contributes to increased social and educational inclusion of people with disability
    • Conductingresearch that contributes to the knowledge base on special education interventionsand supports across a wide range of educational environments
    • Conducting– where appropriate –inclusiveresearch,in which people with disability havetherole of co-researchers (and not just participants)
    • Usinginnovative methodologies to enable accessto researchfor people with diverse disabilities(for example,arts-based methodology)
    • Endorsingand supportingthe use of the principles ofUniversalDesign forLearning(UDL)in the teaching process in schools and all educational institutions
    • Disseminatinginformation about current research to members of our team, the community and the wider public
    • Advocatingfor the use of evidence-basedacademic andbehaviouralpractices to be used in all educational settings, particularly in K-12 education
    • Providingprofessional learning opportunities for educators in disability, and special and inclusive education
    • Engagingwith educational institutions to support action research in schools

    Through these methods, we strive tolessen the‘research-to-practice’gapand promote the concept that all people should have the opportunity to be educated to reach their full potentialtobecome positive and confident individualswhoare able to self-advocate and embrace lifelong education.

    • Transitions in lives of people with disability
    • Capturingthevoicesofstudentswithmoderate and high support needsabout their education experiences
    • Sex education for students with intellectual disability
    • Impact of self-advocacy on wellbeing of people with intellectual disability
    • The provision of wraparound services for students with complex support needs
    • Theimplementation of Universal Design for Learning in schools and in tertiary education
    • The implementation of PositiveBehaviouralInterventions and Supports (PBIS) in schools
    • The use of technology to improve the learning andbehaviouraloutcomes of students with disability.

    • Dr Sue O'Neill
    • Michelle Tso
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    • Chen Han
    • Dr Sarah Mulholland
    • Michelle Davies
    • Helen Bryce
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    • Helen Shearing
    • Sarah Hayes
    • Michelle Selvaraj

    • MatravilleHigh School

    • Centennial Park High School

    • Self AdvocacySydney

    • Arizona State University Department of Special Education

    • EDST5111 Intellectual Disability
    • EDST5113 Students on the Autism Spectrum
    • EDST4080 Special Education
    • EDST5133 Creating Engaging Learning Environments
    • EDST5458 Researching Special Education
    • EDST5106 Advanced Behaviour Support Strategies
    • EDST5134 Addressing Special Needs
    • EDST5118 Professional Practice for Special Education
    • EDST5138 Inclusive Education
    • EDST5129 Transitions in the Lives of People with Disability
    • EDST4084 Managing the Classroom Environment