The politics of inclusion is about more than hate, exclusion, and discrimination. It is a window into the moral character of contemporary liberal democracies. The Struggle for Inclusion introduces a new method to the study of public opinion: to probe, step by step, how far non-Muslim majorities are willing to be inclusive, where they draw the line, and why they draw it there and not elsewhere. Those committed to liberal democratic values and their concerns are the focus, not those advocating exclusion and intolerance. Notwithstanding the turbulence and violence of the last decade over issues of immigration and of Muslims in the West, the results of this study demonstrate that the largest number of citizens in contemporary liberal democracies are more open to inclusion of Muslims than has been recognized. Not less important, the book reveals limits on inclusion that follow from the friction between liberal democratic values. This pioneering work thus brings to light both pathways to progress and polarization traps.

"Europe has struggled with Muslim immigration. While opposition to such immigration has become increasingly vocal, in many places efforts have been made to help these immigrants integrate into society. In The Struggle for Inclusion: Muslim Immigrants and the Democratic Ethos, Elisabeth Ivarsflaten and Paul M. Sniderman shift the focus of scholarly work from those who are intolerant of immigrants to those who are tolerant and accept Muslim immigrants. The challenge is how do the tolerant reconcile their often liberal values with the conservative values held by many among the more conservative Muslim immigrants? How do liberal Europeans reconcile their values about, for example, the rights of women, with the conservative values on these issues held by many in the Muslim community? They find that a minority of Europeans are prejudiced against all Muslims, but many hold different feelings about conservative Muslims and their leadership because of conflicts with specific liberal values"--

The book describes the experience of Rafael Calderón-Almendros (the first person with Down syndrome to obtain a professional music degree in Spain) and his family. A confrontation arose with his school at the end of his compulsory secondary education stage. After Rafael had been a student in the centre from the start of his education, the institution lost its vision and denied the student his rights. The school used concealed segregation strategies, legitimized by the institution and its professionals, which were almost insurmountable. However, Rafael’s family embarked on a process of Action Research, began to fight for the recognition of the right for all students to obtain a formal education. This research shows how critical analyses were born from the experiences of a representative of one of the most disadvantaged groups (disabled people), which have been rigorously recorded and evidenced. From an inclusive, engaged and radical perspective, the text presents a solid case of someone outside the able-dominated average completing his education to a high professional standard. His success is endorsed by subsequent events: Rafael passed his compulsory secondary education, the equivalent of the English Baccalaureate and his Elementary and Professional Grades of Music (ten years). He obtained the Gold Medal of Merit in Education of Andalusia and the World Down Syndrome Day Award. He was admitted to the prestigious Academy of Orchestral Studies Barenboim-Said. Rafael has nothing else to prove. Today, his example challenges many of the usual school practices and urges us to rethink the commitment of educators in stimulating the participation of the entire school community, in promoting student autonomy and the recognition of others in their human and social rights. English translation provided by Baker & McKenzie Barcelona, S.L.P. (http://www.bakermckenzie.com/Spain/Barcelona/) and Julian Thomas (www.textos-academicos.com).

This book seeks to explore how disability is understood and the position and experiences of disabled people both within and across different societies. The authors explore the question of politics in relation to specific struggles, providing a wealth of insights and ideas, and examine the nature and value of a social model of disability. They criticize exclusionary barriers while advancing a more democratic and participatory society based on principles of equality, offer cross-cultural insights and present stimuli for debate and further research. The text is accessible, topical, and provides new and innovatory thinking. This book will appeal to undergraduate and postgraduate students, lecturers and researchers with interests in education, social policy, sociology and disability studies.

Historians have long believed that Catholics were late and ambivalent supporters of the German nation. Rebecca Ayako Bennette’s bold new interpretation demonstrates definitively that from the beginning in 1871, when Wilhelm I was proclaimed Kaiser of a unified Germany, Catholics were actively promoting a German national identity for the new Reich.

As Europe’s Muslim communities continue to grow, so does their impact on electoral politics and the potential for inclusion dilemmas. In vote-rich enclaves, Muslim views on religion, tradition, and gender roles can deviate sharply from those of the majority electorate, generating severe trade-offs for parties seeking to broaden their coalitions. Dilemmas of Inclusion explains when and why European political parties include Muslim candidates and voters, revealing that the ways in which parties recruit this new electorate can have lasting consequences. Drawing on original evidence from thousands of electoral contests in Austria, Belgium, Germany, and Great Britain, Rafaela Dancygier sheds new light on when minority recruitment will match up with existing party positions and uphold electoral alignments and when it will undermine party brands and shake up party systems. She demonstrates that when parties are seduced by the quick delivery of ethno-religious bloc votes, they undercut their ideological coherence, fail to establish programmatic linkages with Muslim voters, and miss their opportunity to build cross-ethnic, class-based coalitions. Dancygier highlights how the politics of minority inclusion can become a testing ground for parties, showing just how far their commitments to equality and diversity will take them when push comes to electoral shove. Providing a unified theoretical framework for understanding the causes and consequences of minority political incorporation, and especially as these pertain to European Muslim populations, Dilemmas of Inclusion advances our knowledge about how ethnic and religious diversity reshapes domestic politics in today’s democracies.

To create truly inclusive school and classroom environments, educators must be prepared to include all students--including students with intellectual disabilities, who are not always given the opportunity to be full participants in the classroom. This book provides an overview of the history of inclusion, the philosophy underlying inclusion, and the role that curriculum accommodations and modifications play in making inclusion possible. The author discusses four ways to modify curriculum for students working well below grade level: altering content, conceptual difficulty, educational goals, or instructional methods. She then provides 40 curriculum modification strategies, based on Robert Marzano's New Taxonomy of Educational Objectives, with directions for implementation and samples of student work.