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Introduction
Social justice and inclusion have become important parts of the modern world, especially within the Scottish education system. They allow pupils to reach their full potential and to become fully integrated whilst at school, regardless of background or disability. However these terms are ever changing and require a lot of thought and determination to be fully fulfilled within schools. This paper will look at the importance of social justice and inclusion as well as considering different views on the topics. It will also focus on the teacher’s role in achieving an inclusive environment within school and the implications for learning.
Literature review
Defining social justice and inclusion
The concepts of social justice and inclusion
When looking at a definition of social justice in education, the goals become more specific.
When focussing on schools it is important that social justice ensures that gaining a valuable education is a right offered to all regardless of the child’s background. Education should also not be treated like a “prize” to be given to those who deserve it, it should be offered to every child within the school in order to provide them with the ability to reach their full potential in the future by achieving intellectual growth (Reay 2014). Although focussing on school this view continues to promote social justice as a tool for removing discrimination from learning, making it a truly equal experience.
Many authorities and schools take their cue from the United Nations Convention of the Rights of the Child which was laid out in 1989. It states that all children have the right to an education, and that this education should come with equal opportunities. It continues to ensure that children have equal opportunities, as is states these should be made available and accessible to pupils at all levels of the school (United Nations, 1989). It goes even further and encourages schools to enforce regular attendance and to encourage pupils to stay in education for as long as possible. By promoting this culture within schools, pupils may feel supported and willing to take
However, as well as being included it is also important that those who are at school feel that they belong and are respected and valued. They should also feel supported by the school they are in, and a sense of commitment to provide them with the same opportunities as other pupils (Miller and Katz, 2002). This will ensure that all individuals are valued and should help to remove discriminatory barriers which may limit involvement.
Inclusion can also be viewed as how the schools reacts to these demands. If inclusion is about increasing participation for all pupils then it can be defined as supporting schools to become more responsive to the array of children that need to be included (Booth and Ainscow, 2011). In order to be truly inclusive schools will require help and guidance in order to offer all the services which will be required for taking on pupils whose needs may be more demanding than others.
Despite inclusion having varying definitions it is generally agreed that is involves increasing participation for all pupils whilst decreasing exclusion within mainstream Scottish schools (Booth and Ainscow,
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
Being a teacher for social justice is more than just making sure you include all of your students in your discussions. It is being aware of the injustices that your students may have faced, are already facing, or may face in the future. With this awareness, as teachers, we should be able to reflect on what we know, and respond by using our resources to apply it to the classroom.
In my view, system-wide, large-scale reform is needed to achieve the goal of "getting all young people as close as possible to their upper limits of learning potentialities" (Perrone, p. 15, 1991). This is crucial to ensure change because "trying to transform schools within the existing structure is a contradictory process" (Murphy, p. 38, 1991). The first step is to involve the traditionally voiceless at all decision-making levels to best determine what the needs of the least privileged are, if we are truly committed to providing opportunities that respond to children's needs. I specify, "opportunities" through funding based on my assumption and belief that money can improve education through attracting and keeping good teachers, reducing class sizes, establishing programs to respond to different needs, and maintaining healthy facilities and quality resources. Equitable funding, where all children have the chance to receive a high-quality education, is the first step towards education acting as the great equalizer in a country where oppression limits, dehumanizes, and disempowers in virtually every other life realm.
My definition of social justice in the field of education is based on the United Nations Convention on the Rights of a Child and the British-Colombia School Act that state that every child has a right to a proper education (UNICEF, n.d.; School Act, RSBC 1996, c. 412). A proper education to me is based on opportunity. I believe that in order to have a proper education, children should all be entitled to equal opportunity in their learning process. Children should have equal opportunity to obtain the supports that will assist them in achieving their potential.
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.
It is an educator’s job to embrace and acknowledge the rich diversity all the children collectively bring to the classroom, while understanding that the children do not need to be treated the same because they are not the same as each other, but be respected and accepted for their differences. Inclusion is an essential; plank in the broad platform of social justice and raising achievement is a goal which all educators much hold for their pupils, It is important that early year professionals are aware of all different ways in which society constructs (Neaum 2010) this involves taking account children’s social cultural and linguistic diversity and including learning style, family circumstances, location in curriculum decision making process so all children are recognised and valued (Nutbrown and Clough 2006)
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.
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.
“Social Justice in Education” by R. W. Connell discusses the role of education in society and the implications that social justice issues have on education. Connell begins by establishing that education and social justice can be examined separately yet they are inescapably linked through the social medium of their implementation. “Education concerns schools, colleges and universities, whose business is to pass knowledge on to the next generation. Social justice is about income, employment, pensions or physical assets like housing.”(Connell, 1993) Three points validating the equal importance of social justice and the education system to people of all delineations are: 1.) in Western society public schools are key forums of social interaction and comprise some of the largest social institutions 2.) educational institutions are highly economic bodies and have become “major public assets” (Connell, 1993) 3.) teaching becomes a vehicle by which society is ultimately determined and has a great influence over society’s morality. Connell describes the meaning of justice in education as being “a question of fairness in distribution… equality.”(Connell, 1993) “Justice cannot be achieved by distributing the same… standard good to… all social classes.”(Connell, 1993) By stating this, Connell summarizes that in the attempt to achieve equality, unequal means must be employed.
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.
Belony, S. A. (2011). A Reflection on Equity and Social Justice in Contemporary Educational Practice. Retrieved from http://sambelony.files.wordpress.com/2011/04/a-reflection-on-equity-and-social-justice-in-contemporary-educational-practice1.pdf
My definition of inclusion is “that equality and equity is the right of every student no matter what the barriers exist to meaningful learning. All barriers require removal to allow access, for all, to the Australian curriculum content irrespective of the structural or economic adjustments that this necessitates. Inclusion does not necessarily provide guaranteed outcomes but is grounded on the concept of equal opportunity for all.”
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...