Inclusive Education In Australia Essay

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

with families are indicators of a best practice inclusive program and are beneficial to all children socially and academically.

Since the 1970’s, there has been a change in attitudes and views in the Western world concerning children with disabilities and how they should be educated.

These children were now being seen as a group in which society had obligations to provide “normalisation” (Bowe, 2007, p.45) and would lead to a revolutionary law being introduced in America. The Education for All Handicapped Children Act was passed in 1975, of which Australia became a signatory. (AIHW, 2004). This Act mandated “that all school-age children with disabilities must receive a free appropriate public education” (Bowe, 2007, p. 101) “in the least restrictive environment” (Bowe, 2007, p. 5). For the first time in a century, Australia no longer segregated these children into an isolated “special facility” (Allen & Cowdery, 2012, p. 8). State governments established special education units within mainstream schools (AIHW, 2004). This is referred to as Integrated education and is described by Talay-Ongan & Cooke (2005), as an environment “where children with similar disabilities in special classes share the normal school environment, and utilise some classes (e.g., art or physical education) or the playground that all children enjoy.” In 1992, the Disability Discrimination Act was introduced in Australia which specifically covered the topic of Education and in 2005 a set of supplementary standards was passed which specifies the support schools are required to provide to students with a

disability.

This Act and standards direct schools today, mandating that children with disabilities have the same rights to access education as non-disabled students. However, there is no specific reference to the least restrictive environment, but most states and territories in Australia have acknowledged it in their policies and interpreted this to mean the regular classroom (p.45 inclusion in action). In educational contexts, this is referred to as inclusive education where “all children share all that is on offer in a normal school” (Talay-Ongan & Cooke, 2005, p. ).

Even though the education system and associated legislation has gone through significant change, many differing opinions and concerns remain in the community as to whether or not children with disabilities should be taught in mainstream classrooms. Some believe it will be beneficial to the child and others believe it will be of no benefit to other children in the class.

A study of Primary school teachers’ perceptions of inclusive education in 2006, found some teachers believed it contributes to increased workloads (Daane, Beirne-Smith, & Latham and Menlove et al., as cited in Subban & Sharma, 2006) and negatively impacts the academic progress of non-disabled students (Forlin, as cited in Subban & Sharma, 2006). The study found “older, more experienced teachers appear to foster less positive attitudes than younger teachers” (Cornoldi et al., as cited in Subban & Sharma, 2006, p. 43). Konza (2008) reported that teacher attitude changed with experience of inclusion and over time teachers were more likely to want to help those students learn. Of notable interest, positive attitudes of younger teachers do not extend to high levels of teacher confidence and expertise. This is consistent with the views of recently graduated teachers who report significant feelings of inadequacy in regard to teaching children with disabilities. This can be attributed to the one-semester pre-service training received which is not enough to prepare them for teaching a wide range of students with a vast scope of skills and abilities (Konza, 2008). Additionally, a lack of knowledge of the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 contributes to less positive attitudes. However, this could be diminished with additional support and training through instructional techniques, professional development programs and awareness of legislation (Subban & Sharma, 2006).

Another issue stems from the parents of typically developing students. These parents are not always satisfied that their children are being offered quality education due to the teacher attention being diverted to children with disabilities (Konza, 2008). Despite these concerns it has been found typically developing students performed better academically in an inclusive classroom (Ekeh & Oladayo, 2013). This may be the result of peer tutoring, a well-documented benefit of inclusion for all children (Allen & Cowdery, 2012). The typically developing child’s skill and understanding is increased when they are given opportunities to tutor others. It provides them with exciting and challenging opportunities “to use their own creativity and ingenuity” (Allen & Cowdery, 2012, p. ). Furthermore it fosters positive interactions among peers (Boyd et al, 2005) and higher levels of acceptance and tolerance of others. Children who are typically developing “are more accepting of human differences”, have less discomfort with people with disabilities and are “unlikely to make negative judgments or comparisons” (Allen & Cowdery, 2012 , p.). Inclusive classrooms can assist all children in acquiring an extensive list of basic developmental skills. It is even more beneficial to children with disabilities as they “encounter a variety of challenging materials, equipment and activities” and can assist in the acquisition of basic developmental skills (Allen & Cowdery, 2012, p.) whilst interacting with other children through imitation and play.

Of notable importance, in addition to fore mentioned concerns there is still a perceived view that children with disabilities will perform better academically and receive more specialised instruction in segregated 'special' schools. However, researchers have found education in segregated environments focus mostly on whole group reading instruction, with little evidence of differentiated learning (Boyd et al., 2005). This type of practice is inconsistent with current legislation which states “educational institutions are expected to make reasonable adjustment” (Kearns, 2002) to accommodate the needs of a student with a disability. Furthermore, it was found there were few differences in the instructional methods used in segregated classrooms (Boyd et al., 2005. This is contradictory to the perception that segregation provides more specialised instruction.

It is evident whilst many challenges remain schools should implement best practice and quality teaching when it comes to providing inclusive education. The National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) has influenced early childhood education and practices for children with disabilities. Its policy statement acknowledges the trend toward inclusive education and emphasises the need for quality programs to reflect best practice recommendations (Willis ch 2). Gyrenot-Scheyer, Schwartz and Meyer (as cited in Kearns, 2012) suggest there are nine key quality indicators to promote inclusive practices. These indicators include using a range of support and services to meet student’s individual needs (Gyrenot-Scheyer, Schwartz and Meyer, as cited in Kearns, 2012). In particular, developing and using an Individual Education Plan (IEP) provides a measure of accountability for the teachers and confidence for the families by delivering clear goals, objectives and instructional strategies for the child (Talay-Ongan, 2005). Other examples include ongoing training about new theories of disability and teachers displaying positive attitudes, actively promoting acceptance and modelling inclusion in the classroom (Purdue, 2011). A second indictor is that teachers develop a sense of community (Kearns, 2012) working in partnerships with families, promoting a sense of belonging and strong sense of identity (DEEWR, 2009). A final indictor of notable interest is teachers use multiple instructional techniques and acknowledge children construct meaning in different ways (DEEWR, 2009). Teachers should evaluate their own teaching strategies, employing alternatives that best match individual student’s learning style (Kearns, 2012).