Inclusive Education In Canada

“An idea which was dismissed by all but a few educators…is now becoming reality in an increasing number of schools across Canada. Students who have a disability are being educated alongside their non-disabled peers” (Porter & Richler, 1991, p. 12).

The 1980s saw a gradual, evolutionary change in special education practices in Canada. Until this period, many children in Canada, including those with disabilities, did not benefit much from public education system. Education was considered as a privilege and as such was reserved for children from the privileged class (Millet, 2004). For instance, in the mid-1970s, the only children with disabilities in Newfoundland and Labrador who were under government funding were blind and deaf students attending

For instance, legislative instruments such as the International Covenant on Eco¬nomic, Social and Cultural Rights, the Convention on the Rights of the Child, and the United Nations’ Declaration of the Rights of Per¬sons with Disabilities have all contributed to advance the inclusion of persons with disabilities and other minority groups (Rieser, 2012; Towle, 2015). For example, Article 24 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) enjoins State Parties to ensure that inclusive education system is developed at all levels to provide “life- long learning directed to the full development of human potential and sense of dignity and self-worth, and the strengthening of respect for human rights, fundamental freedoms and human diversity.” This convention unambiguously recognizes education as a right which must be extended to cover every individual, including persons with special educational needs such as disabilities and intellectual impairment. The adoption of this Convention has contributed to the creation of a society that embraces and respects human diversities (Porter, 2008; Rieser, 2012, n.

Some proponents have argued that inclusion is not limited to children with special needs, but is also about changes within the school climate to ensure that no one is left out (Runswick‐Cole, 2011). The Ministries of Education in Alberta and Newfoundland and Labrador assert that inclusive education goes beyond providing support to students with special needs. According to the Alberta Education (2017), inclusion is considered as “an attitude and approach that embraces diversity and learner differences and promotes equal opportunities for all learners” (n. p). The Department of Education and Early Childhood Development in Newfoundland and Labrador (2016) noted that an inclusive education is not limited to the mere inclusion of students with special needs in the classroom environment. “The goal of inclusive education is that students are included in all aspects of the learning environment regardless of any facet of diversity” (n. p.). Students who may have any form of special needs, “whether for medical, academic, social or emotional reasons, need individualized or small group instruction periodically, in order for their needs to be met” (Newfoundland and Labrador Department of Education and Early Childhood Development, 2016, n. p). Thus, the concept of inclusion is “not necessarily synonymous