As a child It was constantly stated to me by my family and teachers “If everyone was the same, what a boring place the world would be” a famous quote by an unknown author about celebrating individual differences. Difference is defined by Ashman and Elkins; as varying levels of social, emotional, physical and intellectual qualities that make us all different from other people (Ashman & Elkins, 2009). In today’s world this is viewed as society’s version of normality (Ashman & Elkins, 2009). Inclusion involves the incorporation of all types of differences into a mainstream classroom (Ashman & Elkins, 2009). It is unfortunate that even in the 21st century that the policies and legislations related to inclusive education are different between all the different states and territories of Australia as well as between the public and private school systems. These current differences in policies in legislation between the states and different school structures in my opinion don’t encourage the students’ with diverse needs. As a nation Australian authorities do promote and encourage inclusion into their mainstream classrooms (Campbell, Gilmore & Cuskelly, 2003). But this promotion cannot and does not ensure that this as a policy will be accepted by all individual classroom teachers (Campbell, Gilmore & Cuskelly, 2003). As a whole teachers with bad attitudes towards inclusion impact their own views onto their pupils and onto their students general level of educational outcome (Campbell, Gilmore & Cuskelly, 2003). As time moves forward more and more schools are becoming involved with the idea of inclusive education (Ashman & Elkins, 2009). One of the negatives or variations as seen by a school with inclusion is that if the child has high... ... middle of paper ... ...ther diverse the new generations will become. Works Cited Ashman, A & Elkins, J. (2009). Education for Inclusion and Diversity (3rd ed.). Frenchs Forest, NSW: Pearson Education Australia. Campbell, J., Gilmore, L., & Cuskelly, M. (2003). Changing student teachers’ attitudes towards disability and inclusion. Journal of Intellectual and Developmental Disability, 28, 369-379. Carpenter, L. (2010, March 4). Developing an Inclusive Curriculum 4030EPS. Lecture presented for the Griffith Education Lectures in Inclusive Curriculum, Griffith University, Gold Coast, QLD. Lachlan, F., & Boyle, C. (2007). Labels and Special Education: Is the use of labels in special education helpful?. Support for Learning, 22, 36-42. Queensland Government. (2005). Inclusive Education Statement (Reference Information paper ). Queensland Government Department of Education.
Culturally and socioeconomic diverse students already have to overcome one stigma, but when they are placed in special education, they find their selves struggling to overcome another. If they need the support of specialized education then the eventual outcome is more beneficial than the label. One the other hand, when students are placed in special education services they do not need i...
Educators can have strong feelings on the subject because having special needs students in a regular classroom can have a large impact on the classroom community. Those who believe in inclusive classrooms realize that, to be successful, it requires allot of classroom management and differentiated instruction, but feel the benefits are worth the work involved. Those who do not believe in inclusion feel that it leads to “l...
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
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)
Peterson, J. Michael and Hittie, Marie Michael. Inclusive Teaching : Creating Effective Schools for All Learners. Pearson Publishing. (2003)
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.
Through ratification of the Conventions the Australian Government has expressed its commitment to an inclusive education system in a multitude of policies and documents, including the National Education Agreement , Australian Pro...
The implementation of policy and legislation related to inclusive education, thus being a focus on the diversity and difference in our society (Ashman & Elkins, 2009), would have vast implications on the way society views that which is different to the accepted “norm”.
Therefore inclusion is not seen as submissive, being ‘done to’ certain groups of children, but as a vigorous process which engages all children in the life and learning of the school (Spratt & Florian, 2013). Forlin states the role of the teacher is vital in the carrying out of such modifications in approach (2001), Rouse suggests that this is determined by teachers ‘knowing” this referring to the theoretical, policy and legislative issues, ‘doing’ which would be turning knowledge into action and lastly ‘believing’ which is the capacity to support all children
Glazzard J, Hughes A, Netherwood A, Neve A, Stoke J. (2010). Teaching Primary Special Educational Needs. British library: Learning Matters. p7.
...Elkins, J. (2008). Education for Inclusion and Diversity Third Edition. Frenchs Forest, NSW: Pearson Education Australia.
Munro, J. (2008). Education systems and services. In A. Ashman & J. Elkins (Eds.), Education for inclusion and diversity (3rd ed.). Frenchs Forest, NSW: Pearson Education Australia.
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 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...
To be truly inclusive teachers, we need to first know the student and identify the real reasons for any individual to be classified as having a learning disability.