Almost all textbooks have some kind of introduction, and this one is no exception. This introduction, however, is somewhat different because this is not a typical textbook. The students from the 2020-2021 Inclusive Education cohort created this book, and it is in many ways a labour of love (or at least we like to think so). Each study pod/student group chose a topic related to inclusion and collaborated to both research and write about the topic for an audience of future students.

Their research and their work ranged far and wide to reflect both current thinking and their own personal beliefs about inclusion. This is not a typical textbook written by people with PhDs and years of research behind them. Instead, this is a book written by student-teachers who are passionate about being the best teachers they can be and committed to meeting the needs of all students. Because that is what inclusion is about – meeting the very diverse needs of the students who fill our classrooms. Inclusion is about equity and removing the societal and systemic barriers that prevent individual students from achieving their potential.

This is perhaps what we are most impressed by in our students’ work – their recognition of and commitment to being teachers who come to work each day determined to remove those barriers. Read this book and you will find ways that you too can be part of making change. Use the activities, the text itself, and the many referenced works to begin your own journey towards inclusion.