Elizabeth Kozleski, Professor, Special Education, University of Kansas; Dean’s Senior Scholar for Teaching and Learning, Stanford University

Two classroom research projects bookmark the glacial pace of implementing inclusive education.  In the end, who benefits and why?  This talk will explore some of the opportunities and challenges associated with making significant shifts in how, why, and when we educate students with the most significant disabilities alongside their peers.  What we know will be juxtaposed with the realities of today’s schools and the pressure educators face when trying to design for learning, equity, and opportunity to learn.

Professor Elizabeth Kozleski works with schools, districts and states on equity and justice issues in inclusive education. Her research interests include the analysis of systems change in education, how teachers learn in practice in complex, diverse school settings, as well as how educational practices improve student learning. Prof. Kozleski is involved in four funded projects:  SWIFT, CEEDAR, Emergent Literacy Curriculum for Students with Intellectual Disabilities in General Education Classrooms, and Special Education Leadership in System-wide Equity and Access for Students from Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Backgrounds.  Her recent books include Ability, Equity, and Culture (with co-author Kathleen King Thorius) published by TCP and Equity on Five Continents (with Alfredo Artiles and Federico Waitoller) published by Harvard Education Press. She has published on the design and development of teacher education programs that involve extensive clinical practice in general education settings and have led the development of such programs at the University of Colorado–Denver, Arizona State University, and the University of Kansas.  Prof. Kozleski's work has been recognized with the following awards:  University of Kansas 2018 Budig Award for Teaching Excellence in Special Education, the 2017 Boeing-Allan Visiting Endowed Chair at Seattle University, the University of Kansas 2016 Woman of Distinction award, the 2013 Scholar of the Century award from the University of Northern Colorado, the 2011 TED-Merrill award for leadership in special education teacher education in 2011, and the UNESCO Chair in Inclusive International Research.