Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Importance of inclusive education
Importance of inclusive education
Keys for successful inclusive education
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: Importance of inclusive education
Shocking and demeaning words such as idiot, moron, and retard were once used as actual labels for disabled children in special education. “Prior to 1975, schools were not mandated to educate students with disabilities . . . . [Those with disabilities] were deemed to be uneducable and were barred from entering schools” (“Exceptional Students”). Federal and state laws, as well as mandates, now require schools to educate all children with disabilities in the least restrictive environment, to the maximum extent possible. The least restrictive environment is considered to be the general or the “regular” education classroom. The preferred language of today is the term “general education classroom”, because using the word “regular” implies that special education rooms would then be considered ‘irregular”. Schools are also bound by law to provide “a full continuum of services” which simply means they need to be able to provide all placement options, from the least restrictive to the most restrictive environment, such as an institution. Each special needs student also has an individualized education plan to meet their unique needs. Inclusion is a controversial subject which has been debated for decades. Susan Crowell in her article, Inclusion in the Classroom: Has it Gone Too Far?, explains that “inclusion is the idea that all children, including those with disabilities, should and can learn in a regular classroom.” In theory, the idea of all students being included and educated together is a philosophy which sounds morally correct, especially when considering that the disabled were not always treated with compassion. Often the disabled were institutionalized and banished from society, even in recent history. Ma... ... middle of paper ... ..., Boarded Up and Overgrown, Still Stands Among the Weeds: A Home for the Indigent and Unwell.." Beaver County Times (PA) 2 Mar. 2014, Community: C1. NewsBank. Web. 9 Mar. 2014. Osgood, Robert L. The History of Inclusion in the United States. Washington, D.C.: Gallaudet UP, 2005. Print. "Special Education." Issues & Controversies On File: n. pag. Issues & Controversies. Facts On File News Services, 7 Sept. 2007. Web. 22 Feb. 2014. . Tompkins, Richards, and Pat Deloney. "Concerns About and Arguments Against Inclusion and/or Full Inclusion." Inclusion: The Pros and Cons. 4.3 (1995): n. page. Web. 10 Mar. 2014. . United States. Department of Education. “Archived: 25 Year History of the IDEA”. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Mar. 2014. .
Least restrictive environment (LRE) is among the six standards enacted by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), to govern the education of students with various special needs and disabilities (Jacob, Decker, & Hartshorne, 2010, p. 106). The other five principles are; free and appropriate public education, individualized education program, parent participation requirement and the protection of rights of children with disabilities and their parents (Farris, 2002, p. 1). This principle supports the education of students with disabilities together with non-disabled learners to the greatest extent that is appropriate. This means that the special needs student should be allowed access to the education curriculum, extra and co-curricular activities and any other program that non disabled scholars benefit from. The San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD) is among the public school districts that offer least restrictive environment opportunities for special needs students. This paper which is an interview with the special education coordinator of the San Francisco Unified School District; addresses various issues concerning least restrictive environment.
Morris, Jerome., et al. Encyclopedia of Education. Ed. James W. Guthrie. 2nd Ed vol. 6. New York: Macmillan Reference USA, 2002. 1961-1971. Opposing viewpoints in context. Web 25 April.2014
Special education is a large part of the education system, which includes the mentally retarded, people with learning disabilities, the emotionally disturbed, hearing impaired, visually impaired, etc. Many people fail to include this system as one that can possibly involve discrimination, but those enrolled in special education has increased among all racial classifications. Between 1980 and 1990, the entire population enlisted in special education has increased. European American increased by 6%, African Americans increased by 13%, Hispanic Americans increased by 53%, and Asian Americans/Pacific Americans increased by 107.8% (Ford, Obiakor, p. 8). In the end, it is these students who ultimately experience low rates of employment, low income, and growing rates of incarceration. Another survey indicates t...
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.
Sharpe, M. N., & York, J. L. (1994). Effects of inclusion on the academic performance of
Retrieved Feb 6, 2010 from http://www.newsforparents.org/experts_. Inclusion_pros_cons.html Villa, Richard A., Thousand, Jacqueline S. (1995). Creating an inclusive school environment. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. Card, Toby.
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.
Mara Sapon-Shevin’s model for inclusion supports the idea that students should not be categorized by their disability, there should be a healthy nurturing culture in the classroom that promotes acceptance of all students regardless of differences in religion, race, or disability (Noll, 2013).
Over many years there has been issues regarding placement of special education students. Determined by which environment is the most effective learning setting is to either place a student into full inclusion general education classes or if he or should be placed in a “continuum of alternative settings” (O’Leary, 2016). As stated in O’Leary (2016), general education teachers and special education teacher’s work together to meet the students need when placed in a general education setting. This setting benefits the student social interactions with peers, but also incorporates the necessary services needed (O’Leary, 2016). Students do not want to seem like an outsider or someone who is “special” so this placement setting makes students feel more
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.
Mazurek, K. & Winzer, M.A. (Eds.). (1994). Comparative Studies in Special Education. Washington, DC: Gallaudet University Press.
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...
During the late 1980’s and 1990’s the number of children with learning disabilities receiving special education services grew rapidly, but during 1998 and 2007 the number of children classified as having a LD has declined by 7% (Cortiella, 2009). “In 2007, 59% of students with LD spent 80% or more of their in-school time in general education classrooms. In 2000, that figure was just 40%” (Cortiella, 2009). In addition, students with disabilities are spending more time with students in traditional classroom settings. According to the Department of Education, “approximately 6 million children (roughly 10 percent of all school-aged children) receive special education services” (Pardini, 2011).
There are millions of children that are passing through the United States school system every day, not all children possess the same traits, and not all children can learn at the same rate, and do not perform at the same ability. The fact that all children learn differently and some have difficulties learning in general classrooms, special education was put into place to try and take care of these issues. Special education programs were put into place to help all students with disabilities. These children range from general disabilities to more complex and severe disabilities. There has been a revolution occurring in the past several years with education systems, and special education. There have now been several laws that have been passed that mandate changes in special education and the treatment that children, and parents receive, it also changes how the children are being taught, and how the teachers are to also change and conform to this idea called inclusion. Inclusion in the school system simply is stating that children who have learning disabilities, and more severe disabilities are to be included in the general education environment for as long as possible daily. There has been several different names other than inclusion that have been used, but in present times and since the 1990’s inclusion has been the most common term used. “The change in terminology was pushed in part by the philosophy that inclusion would mean more than only physical placement of children with disabilities in the same classroom, but rather it conveyed that children with disabilities would become a part of larger social, community, and societal systems” (Odom, Buysse, & Soukakou, 2011, para. 3). There has not been just one major law that was passed...