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Past and future of inclusion in the school classroom
Policies and legislation for inclusive education
Policies on inclusive education
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This essay will be analysing the statement ‘inclusion is a delusion’ by looking into the inclusion systems in place within mainstream schools and special educational schools. This essay will also be looking at research that has been carried out and the current policies that are in place to assist with inclusion, it will also look at the report publishes by Mary Warnock and the impact of the report on inclusion within schools It will then come to a conclusion as to whether or not inclusion within schools is in fact a delusion, using evidence to support the answer. Inclusion within education refers to how practitioners can enhance, develop and design educational settings such as activities, programs and the way that the classroom is set out to ensure that all children are able to participate, learn and achieve together. Inclusion can also be seen as an area that lies within politics, including a variety of participants. Such as, teachers, parents, and the government. (Vaughan, 2004). These groups of people will all have a different interpretation of what inclusion means to them and how they think it the topic should be approached. Therefore it can be difficult to judge whether the current system for inclusion is effective or not. The department for educations view is that Inclusion is not only about the type of school that the child attends but it is mainly depended on the quality of the child’s experience. I.e. how the child is supported and how well the child is achieving (DfES, 2003). Some mainstream schools believe that if a child who has special educational needs is not able to function in a regular classroom setting then that child would be better suited in a special school. Whereas this contradicts with the whole idea of ‘inc... ... middle of paper ... ...y deserve and this is due to lack of understanding and also a lack in the amount of resources available. If teachers within mainstream school were being provided with enough support and further training there is no reason why children with special needs cannot be taught within mainstream schools. Looking at the point stated by the disability discrimination act, it clearly states that people should take steps to take account of people’s disabilities even if it means that they are treated better than other people. There for everything and anything should be done to ensure that anyone with a disability is having their needs met regardless of where they are. As above one schools said that if a child cannot cope within their school they may be better suited in a special school. When it’s the school that needs to cater for the individual with the disability (DCSF, 2007).
If one looks at the word “Inclusion”, its definition states that the word means being part of something or the feeling of being part of a whole. By looking at this term, one gets a sense of 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.
The movement for inclusion in education has advanced since the years of special schools for children with disabilities. Although there have been significant changes to the laws protecting the rights of children with disabilities there remains an underlying debate as to whether these children should be in main stream classes. Most states and territories in Australia practice inclusive education, however this remains a contentious topic with differing attitudes. It is evident whilst many challenges remain, schools should implement and deliver quality programs that reflect best practice policies. Positive teacher attitudes, promoting diversity, modelling inclusion in the classroom and developing a sense of community by working in partnerships
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.
Under the 1944 Education Act children with special educational needs were defined in medical terms and categorised according to their disabilities. Many of those children were considered as ‘uneducable’ and were labelled as ‘maladjusted’ or ‘educationally sub-normal’, and they were given ‘special educational treatment’ in special schools or institutions. In these special schools (institutions) the rights of the children were not considered, as children were socially alienated from family and the society from where they lived. Though the grouping of children with similar disabilities looked positive in the past, such children were deprived their right to association with their peer...
Through the development of Inclusive Education it is possible that children grow up to be more accepting of differences, where once the notion of something “different” and “separate” could cause caution, fear and ridicule. There are multiple policies and processes present within our society supporting inclusivity and the right every child regardless of their special needs or difficult circumstances has to an education. The Salamanca Statement developed world wide in 1994 states every child’s right to an education. In support of this policy the Commonwealth Disability Discrimination Act (1992) sets disability standards in our education system and the Melbourne Declaration (2008) further attempts to promote equity and excellence within our schools.
The education system is arguably the most beneficial system in the world; however, it also contains many controversial practices. Proper funding, discrimination, and curriculum are just some of the problems in today’s education system. Everyone has a different opinion about what is best for our children and it is impossible to please everyone. As long as the educational system is in tact, then there will be confusion and debate within the system and its’ administrators. The only thing that can be done is attempting to make it so that everyone will benefit equally, but this is much more difficult than one would assume. I will focus on the aspect of discrimination on minorities within special education and more specifically the following questions: Does the special education system discriminate against minorities? If so, how? What can be done, if anything, to correct or improve this system?
Schools in today’s society are rapidly changing and growing striving to implement the best practices in their schools. Nonetheless, before a school can implement a program in their school, they need reliable evidence that the new program will work. A new program that schools are aiming to implement is inclusion in the classroom because of the benefits inclusion could bring. The implementation of inclusion is strongly connected by people’s attitudes whether they are positive or negative. However, while inclusion is being widely implemented, there is comparatively little data on its effectiveness. It may be that inclusion benefits some areas such as reading and social skills, more than it does others.
The true purpose of school is to prepare children for their future in becoming lifelong learners and global citizens. For children with special needs, special education services prepare and provide support for them in dealing with the challenges they face daily. Laws such as Individuals with Disabilities Education Act has enforced schools to provide education to all children and reinforces the purpose of the school, which is to provide children the Least Restrictive Environment to help them develop to their optimal potential. There are myriad of concerns regarding inclusion’s effect on typical developing students, yet a research done by Bui, Quirk, Almazan, and Valenti shows that “[p]resence of students with disabilities results in greater number of typical students making reading and math progress compared to non-inclusive general education classes” (p. 3). Therefore, inclusion not only benefits children with disabilities, but it also benefits typical developing student’s academic skills and allows them to learn acceptance and respect for students with disabilities.
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 is not a new idea, but has been rapidly gaining momentum within many disciplines internationally. Inclusive education is a term often associated with special education, and children with additional needs. However, inclusive education is about ensuring that educational settings allow for meaningful participation by all learners. Each child has their own unique identity, ways of doing things, strengths and weaknesses. Ministry of Education [MoE] (1998) states that teachers “should recognise that as all students are individuals, their learning may call for different approaches, different resourcing, and different goals” (p. 39, emphasis added).
Inclusion of all students in classrooms has been an ongoing issue for the past twenty-five years (Noll, 2013). The controversy is should special education students be placed in an inclusion setting or should they be placed in a special education classroom? If the answer is yes to all special education students being placed in inclusion, then how should the inclusion model look? Every students is to receive a free an appropriate education. According to the Individual Education Act (IDEA), all students should be placed in the Least Restrictive Learning Environment (Noll, 2013).
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...
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 has become increasingly important in education in recent years, with the Education for Persons with Special Educational Needs Act being passed in 2004 to ensure equality in our system. In summary, inclusion is the idea of there being no child...
“in order for your child to qualify for the services the student must be found to have one of the 13 categories of special education and it must adversely affect their educational performance” (Hancock, 2016). So to get a better understanding of the special education process we have to view it from both sides of the situation, that is, a parent whose child was diagnosed with a disability, and a professional who works with special education for a living. Knowing both sides and their views we can get a better grasp of the whole system and the flaws and strengths that come with the whole process and