Guided by developmental cultural psychology, this volume focuses on understandings and responses to disability and stigmatization from the perspectives of educators practicing in Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, and the United States. Synthesizing research that spanned over a decade, this volume seeks to understand disabilities in different developmental and cultural contexts. The research presented in this book found that educators from all four cultural groups expressed strikingly similar concerns about the impact of stigmatization on the emerging cultural self, both with children with disabilities and their typically developing peers, while also describing culturally nuanced socialization goals and practices pertaining to inclusive education. In providing a multicultural view of common challenges in classrooms from around the world, this book provides important lessons for the improvement of children's lives, as well as the development of theory, policy, and programs that are culturally sensitive and sustainable.

Misa Kayama is Assistant Professor in the School of Applied Sciences, Department of Social Work at the University of Mississippi, Oxford. Wendy L. Haight is Professor and Gamble Skogmo Chair in Child Welfare and Youth Policy in the School of Social Work at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities. May-Lee Ku is Emeritus Associate Professor and Director in the International Center for the Promotion of Partner Based Learning in the College of Social Science at Fu Jen Catholic University, New Taipei City, Taiwan. Minhae Cho is Assistant Professor in the School of Social Work at the University of Memphis. Hee Yun Lee is Professor, Associate Dean for Research, and Endowed Academic Chair on Social Work and Health in the School of Social Work at the University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa.

Acknowlegements Guide to Japanese, South Korean, Taiwanese, and U.S. Terms/Concepts Part 1: Introduction Chapter 1. Overview Part 2: The Contexts of Educational Practice Chapter 2. Cultural-historical contexts Chapter 3. Educational policy and practice contexts Chapter 4. Children's development as context Interlude 1: The Voices of Children Part 3: Educators' Perspectives Chapter 5. Research program Chapter 6. Disability and stigmatization as threats to the cultural self Chapter 7. Preventing and repairing harm to children's cultural self Chapter 8. Parent-educator relationships Interlude 2: The Voices of Parents Part 4: Conclusion Chapter 9. Lessons learned and ways forward Appendix A: Definitions of special education disability categories in four countries Appendix B: Diagnostic criteria for disabilities in ICD-10 References