Children with disabilities are increasingly being included in mainstream classes in Australian schools. In addition, many children with disabilities who are currently enrolled in primary school will be moving to secondary school in the next few years. For secondary schools to meet this challenge, it is important that the reasons for their difficulties are understood and ways of overcoming them are explored. This paper provides a discussion of the specific challenges for secondary schools regarding inclusive education, including the school structure, teaching methods, curriculum, external exams, training and the nature of adolescence. A discussion of a broad range of issues will highlight potential solutions to common concerns in secondary schools. While the inclusion of students with disabilities in secondary schools will undoubtedly identify many challenges, it is argued that these may inspire creative solutions that will benefit all children.

Recent research suggests that inquiry‐based approaches can be powerful in stimulating the development of inclusive practices. However, the implementation of such approaches can be difficult, particularly in contexts where there is a strong emphasis on improving standards, as measured by test and examination scores. This article describes and reflects on the authors’ experiences in working with staff in an English secondary school. It illustrates how the use of evidence, particularly the views of students themselves, can be a powerful lever for change. The paper argues that the successful use of such approaches will depend on forms of leadership that foster a willingness to address the challenges that emerge as a result of listening to the voices of different people.

Much of current inclusive education provision in Australian secondary schools relies on ‘specialist’ support from outside the classroom. Students with diverse abilities are placed within the regular classroom and additional specialist services such as therapy, counselling, psychological assessment and special education teaching are required to support their placement. This form of support often relies upon a diagnostic – prescriptive approach where the specialist assumes responsibility for and has a central role in shaping practices. In this paper, we raise issues regarding this model of specialist support in enacting effective inclusive practices in secondary schools. We suggest that one alternative is to shift the focus from the students who are different, to the community of learners in the school. This alternative approach uses collaborative and evidence-based practices to support inclusive ideals and grounds improvement efforts in changes in teachers’ knowledge as well as the cultural and organisational conditions of the school. The purpose of this paper is to prompt further discussion amongst professional community regarding the unique challenges and issues of inclusive practices in secondary schools.

Many students approach the transition to secondary school with feelings of both excitement and apprehension, but it is excitement that usually prevails. For students with Asperger’s Syndrome, however, those aspects of secondary school that most students anticipate with great enthusiasm, such as being in a new and larger environment, having different teachers and increased subject choices, and meeting new people, are sources of great anxiety. Despite the increasing numbers of students being diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome (Safran, 2002), many teachers have limited understanding of the condition, or of appropriate strategies for the successful inclusion of students with this diagnosis (Williams, 2001). This paper examines aspects of secondary school that are particularly challenging for students with Asperger’s Syndrome and describes ways in which these issues were addressed by teachers who approached these challenges with flexibility and ingenuity.

This qualitative study used focus groups and interviews to investigate the inclusion of students with Asperger’s Syndrome (AS) into secondary education from the perspectives of: general teachers; special education teachers; students with AS; and their parents (N = 122). Across the four cohorts, five main themes emerged, however, different cohorts concentrated more on one theme than another. Mainstream teachers concentrated more on the nature of the AS condition and its influence on behaviour and social interactions; special education teachers on collaboration and relationships; parents on burnout and a lack of services; and the students with AS on the notion special educators worked hard to assist others. The fifth theme across the four cohorts was the quality of school facilities. The study found that diversity was both an inter‐cohort and an intra‐cohort variable. The research provides insight into how inclusive practice can be enhanced and why it is a complex, dynamic and multidimensional concept.

This paper reports on processes employed at a secondary state high school in Australia, where students directed inclusive school development. The procedures used in the study were developed from the Index for Inclusion and included a student forum; a student presentation to parents, principal and teachers and a focus group interview with members of the school community. These procedures were designed to empower students to participate in school review and planning and evaluate the procedures developed from the Index for Inclusion. Samples of interview data from the school principal, staff, parents and the students illustrate a growing understanding of what inclusive education means for members of this school community. The research extends understandings of inclusive education in schools, from a focus on students with disabilities to a much broader philosophy that influences school culture, policy and practice for the diversity of students at the school. Discussion about feeling part of a ‘family’ in the school community and the description of the procedures linked to actions for change, provide evidence of a developing inclusive school culture that will inform educators interested in inclusive school development.

In Western Australia (WA), similar to practices elsewhere, there has been a strong focus on the need for schools to reconsider their practices to increase opportunities for more equitable and inclusive access for all children. Subsequent to a major review of service provision for students with disabilities in WA (Department of Education and Training, 2004), a Building Inclusive Schools initiative is being implemented in all Government schools (Department of Education and Training, 2003). This paper explores how, following a trial inclusive program, one middle school is utilizing this initiative to further its own inclusive practices. To support this review a collaborative partnership has been established between the school and a university to provide an avenue for deliberate reflection on the processes employed to develop the school’s vision of Education For All by Incorporating Diversity. A model on sustaining education for all is identified and the impact of government directives is investigated. Consideration is given to the likely impact on the school of systemic procedures being developed to support the progress of the Building Inclusive Schools initiative.

The articles in this journal focus on what is, arguably, the biggest challenge facing school systems throughout the world, that of educational inclusion. It is hardly surprising that this is particularly challenging in secondary schools. Within such schools, internal factors, such as size and organisational complexity, clearly complicate attempts to foster more flexible and responsive arrangements. At the same time, external factors, not least the effects of competition between schools and parental choice, create particularly intensive pressures to achieve improved results in tests and examinations.