Inclusion is defined as the action or state of including or of being included within a group or structure. Every day people are excluded in a certain way: not invited to the party, not in the group chat, not getting that A on the test everyone just passed. Feeling excluded may lead to negative emotions, low self-esteem, and overall a sense of not belonging. Every person deserves the right to feel like they belong in a community, especially in school. No one wants to feel left out or feel as if they are not allowed to join in or even talk to a certain person. Inclusion in education is the practice of educating students with and without disabilities together in a regular classroom. Students with disabilities would often be kept separate from …show more content…
Critics believe that inclusive education will hold back nondisabled students and that disabled students should be separated. When inclusive education is taught correctly, everyone gets an equal learning experience. The accommodations made for students with disabilities, actually, benefit every child. It is commonly said that no one person learns the same, this is true for every student. Certain tools used in the classroom that were originally brought in for disabled students are now tools that every student uses. This includes digital formats like audiobooks and music. Creativity with projects and technology are used in inclusive classrooms. This distancing from the traditional way of learning, sitting still while listening to the teacher lecture, has benefited every student. Collaboration between every student has also been beneficial. Each person learning how to interact with one another and even learning certain things from each other. For instance, Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone when he was trying to create a device to help his hearing-impaired parents and the typewriter was invented to help the visually-impaired. All the learning structures are used to fit diverse minds, that have such diverse learning styles and needs. Dr. William W. Henderson Inclusion school located in Dorchester, Massachusetts is called the champion on inclusion. The school has put the inclusive model to work, showing how inclusive is benefiting everyone with culture, curriculum, and creativity, teaching students to be determined, respectful, and responsible. inclusive models are paving the way for the future of
What is inclusion? Inclusion learning is the idea that regardless of a child’s disability they are considered access to a regular education setting that will provide the learning aides needed for that child to learn successfully. The debate of inclusion learning has been on the table for many years. According to the U.S. Department of Education's report to congress in the 2006 school year there were 701,949 children between the ages of three and five years old being served for special needs under the Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA)(17). The IDEA was introduced in 1997 as an amendment to the 1975 Education for All Handicapped Children Act. This amendment was to “to ensure free and appropriate education for children of all learning and physical disabilities in the least restricted environment” (Individuals with DisabilitiesEducation Act Amendments of 1997). One of the purposes of the IDEA law was “...
According to Stout (2001) the concept of inclusion can be differentiated into mainstreaming, inclusion and full inclusion each describing the amount of time special education students become part of a normal education classes. “Inclusion is a term which expresses the commitment to educate each child, to the maximum extent possible, in the school and classroom he or she would otherwise attend” (definitions section, para. 2). This commitment is based on the belief that special needs students would profit from the regular classroom environment (Noll, 2014, p. 225). According to Stout (2001) research based evidence supports this belief as “Recent meta-analyses confirm a small to moderate beneficial effect of inclusion education on the academic and social outcome of special needs students” (Research section, para. 3). There are many who also believe that inclusion is good for the overall class as it can teach empathy, and “teaches us to think about we rather than I” (Sapon-Shevin, 2008, p227). There are others however, who feel that “Contrary to some egalitarians, a good society honors those who through intelligent good will, artistic talent, athletic prowess, or plain honest hard work make our lives better” (Carpenter, 2008, p.235) and therefore believe that it is ok to think of “I” and not we.
Downing, J. E., & Peckham-Hardin, K. D. (2007). Inclusive Education: What Makes It a Good Education for Students with Moderate to Severe Disabilities?. Research and Practice for Persons With Severe Disabilities (RPSD), 32(1), 16-30.
Inclusion in the classroom is a topic that I did not fully understand when I first became a special education teacher. Studying inclusion and all the aspect that it encompasses has enlighten me to the complexities of inclusion in the classroom. Inclusion has expanded to every facet of school activities outside the classroom. I am going on my fifth year of being a special education teacher and continuously find the need for additional education and training among the staff and administration. I feel having a comprehensive understanding has made me a better educator and advocate for children with disabilities.
In order for inclusion to be implemented properly it is important that teachers, parents, and administrators to know the definition of inclusion. An inclusion program means that the student spends all or most of their school time in the general education classroom rather than a self-contained classroom. However, the students will still receive the support and interventions they would have received in a self-contained classroom. There are different types of inclusive classrooms where different types of teaching occur. There is co-teaching where there is both a general education teacher and a special education teacher that co teach. Both will work with students that have an individualized education plan (IEP) and the student will receive more support. In addition, an inclusive classroom can have a general education teacher but has the special education teacher as a resource or aid, which qualifies as a collaborative model of inclusion.
Inclusion classrooms are rewarding to all children. Numerous school systems today implementing inclusion classrooms, or include students with disabilities into the general education classroom, because of the numerous benefits associated with inclusion. Even though inclusion may not be for all students with disabilities, there are countless benefits of inclusion to consider. In 1975, the Education for All Handicapped Children Act was passed to guarantee that children with disabilities be given the opportunity to receive a public education ("A Brief History of the Disability Rights Movement", n.d.,). In 1990, 1997, and 2004, reauthorizations of this Act were held, and the law came to be known as the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). IDEA mandates that not only should individuals with disabilities be offered a public education, they also have the right to learn in the least restricted environment. Therefore students with disabilities, both in public and in private schools, are to be educated to the maximum extent possible, and in classrooms together with students with no disabilities. Children with disabilities are most importantly children. Inclusion supplies opportunities for socializing and for friendships to grow. It offers a feeling of belonging and the appropriate encouragement of social, behavioral, and academic skills (Karagiannis, Stainback, and Stainback 28). Including children with disabilities in general education classes generates acceptance of diversity. It teaches children how to connect with others of different capabilities. Inclusion continues to be a debatable idea in education as it pertains to educational and social values, as well as to the sense of individual worth. There are supporters on ...
If one looks at the word “Inclusion”, its definition states that the word means being a part of something or the feeling of being part of a whole. By looking at this term, one gets a sense about what inclusion education is all about (Karten p. 2). Inclusion education is the mainstreaming of Special Education students into a regular classroom (Harchik). A school that involves inclusive education makes a commitment to educate each and every student to their highest potential by whatever means necessary (Stout). Their goal is for all children, disabled or not, to be able to attend a typical classroom.
According to Spring (2016), inclusion is the integration of children with disabilities into regular classrooms. Full Inclusion refers to the inclusion of all children with disabilities. (p. 134) Inclusion is challenging in many ways for teachers and students alike. It can also be frustrating.
Full inclusion is like communism. It looks good on paper and may even sound good, but does not actually work to benefit all involved. Full inclusion is the idea of including every student with a disability, regardless of severity, into the general classroom. While it sounds like a great idea, it would not benefit every student with disabilities, every time and could hinder the education of non-disabled students. Full inclusion is not feasible for all students with disabilities.
As a student who has a learning disability, the idea of inclusion in the classroom is very important to me. My learning disability may not be noticeable to everyone but there were still times in school that I needed my teachers to make accommodations ...
Inclusion is the main issue within the inclusive learning environment, if a child doesn’t feel included within their environment then their learning will be effected by this. The Oxford English Dictionary defines inclusion as “the action or state of including or of being included within a group or structure” (Oxford English Dictionary 2011: Inclusion) This means that every child should feel involved and included, no matter of there different learning abilities or levels. This can mean children who have special educational needs, such as dyslexia, physical disability or metal disability. Inclusion should provide opportunities for all children, no matter of their age, race, gender, disability, religion, ability or their background, to be involved within their learning environment. Each child should feel like they belong and feel like they are...
Those who support an inclusion model for all students take the stand that students with disabilities should be placed in and inclusion setting with the idea that all special education students will benefit from an inclusion setting with their general education peers. An inclusion setting will provide academic growth and social growth. The placement of special education students in a general education classroom would also benefit students to respect and accept those students who are different. Students should be placed in an inclusion setting whenever possible (Noll, 2013).
The idea of inclusion within a classroom tends to breed controversy from many people. Currently there is no clear consensus on a definition of inclusion (Heward, 2006). There are many different views on how students with disabilities should be handled. Those views ranged from students being fully included, partially included, or not included at all in mainstream schooling. Different descriptions of inclusion tend to reflect the person's own opinions towards it. People who feel students should not be included in the classroom focus on the negative characteristics of inclusion, such as the challenges of developing plans for students as well as the hard work it requires to incorporate those plans. However, studies show that full inclusion has many benefits to the students, for both students with disabilities as well as students without them. Inclusion has shown to improve the student's social skills, encourage communication, inspire laws and regulations, and improve the overall schooling experience (Gargiulo, 2012). Although it will take longer then some would like or have the patience for, full inclusion can be done in the classroom, with its benefits outweighing the hard work that it requires.
Inclusion in classrooms is defined as combining students with disabilities and students without disabilities together in an educational environment. It provides all students with a better sense of belonging. They will enable friendships and evolve feelings of being a member of a diverse community (Bronson, 1999). Inclusion benefits students without disabilities by developing a sense of helping others and respecting other diverse people. By this, the students will build up an appreciation that everyone has unique yet wonderful abilities and personalities (Bronson, 1999). This will enhance their communication skills later in life. Inclusive classrooms provide students with disabilities a better education on the same level as their peers. Since all students would be in the same educational environment, they would follow the same curriculum and not separate ones based on their disability. The main element to a successful inclusive classroom, is the teachers effort to plan the curriculum to fit all students needs. Teachers must make sure that they are making the material challenging enough for students without special needs and understandable to students with special needs. Inclusive classrooms are beneficial to students with and without special needs.
Inclusion does not only benefit the student, but the parents, teachers, school and the community. It is about understanding additional needs rather than ignoring them and allowing the student every chance that students without difficulties/disabilities have available to them