More handpicked essays just for you.
Past and future of inclusion in the school classroom
Inclusive education and collaboration are inseparable
Inclusive education and collaboration are inseparable
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: Past and future of inclusion in the school classroom
We are required as special education teachers by law under Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA) to make sure that students with disabilities get a free and appropriate education in the least restrictive environment. When changes occur in education we are required to make sure that all students are included in those changes. According to the reading, research has shown that educating students with disabilities in the General Education setting has been successful based on data collected. Implementing inclusion/collaboration in the public schools was known as another step for improving the education of students with disabilities. However, research has also shown this model of teaching can be successful for it has provided teachers to collaborate, differentiate instruction, and identify students that may be at risk for failure before failing.
In the early 1960’s and 70’s it was argued that it was time for students with special needs to educated with their peers and not separately. There were several court cases that led to law being passed. The passing of this law, gave consent ...
Along with many other topics of special education, the topic of inclusion has been surrounded by uncertainty and controversy for as long as the concept has been around.
What do we do with children with disabilities in the public school? Do we include them in the general education class with the “regular” learning population or do we separate them to learn in a special environment more suited to their needs? The problem is many people have argued what is most effective, full inclusion where students with all ranges of disabilities are included in regular education classes for the entire day, or partial inclusion where children spend part of their day in a regular education setting and the rest of the day in a special education or resource class for the opportunity to work in a smaller group setting on specific needs. The need for care for children with identified disabilities both physical and learning continues to grow and the controversy continues.
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...
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
Collaboration in the world of education has become an increasingly popular method of addressing a variety of school issues, such as curriculum design, behavioral plans, professional development and management of resources. One of the areas in which collaboration is becoming more popular is co-teaching in special education, where special education teachers and general education teachers share the planning and instruction responsibilities for inclusion classrooms (Friend & Cook, 2010). As academic standards for the education of students with disabilities are held to the same standards as their typical peers due to the No Child Left Behind Act and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, the co-teaching model has been increasingly implemented to meet those needs. Most research has shown co-teaching to be effective in the inclusion classroom, though there are a few studies which have refuted its significance and identified reasons for problems in implementing a successful co-teaching program.
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”).
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.
...d on teachers and school leaders. The central factor in deciding whether or not inclusion should be practiced should be the students. Research has shown when practiced correctly, inclusion increases students’ test scores and achievement levels. The inclusion model is considered the “Least Restrictive Environment” for students. As specified by IDEA 1975, special education students have the right to be educated in the least restrictive environment with a classroom of peers. Co-teaching, a method used when practicing inclusion, has shown proven effectiveness on both special education students and normal functioning students. Finally, inclusion builds positive relationships and helps students become more accepting of diversity. In conclusion, students with special needs have a right to be included in the general education classroom, and educated with their peers.
The main obstacle faced by students with disabilities in the attempt to achieve educational equality is the continuing debate over the In...
Inclusion of all students in classrooms has been an ongoing issue for the past twenty-five years (Noll, 2013). The controversy is should special education students be placed in an inclusion setting or should they be placed in a special education classroom? If the answer is yes to all special education students being placed in inclusion, then how should the inclusion model look? Every students is to receive a free an appropriate education. According to the Individual Education Act (IDEA), all students should be placed in the Least Restrictive Learning Environment (Noll, 2013).
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.
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.
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.
Special education has undergone immense changes through the years. Research and studies on the debate of whether or not inclusion is appropriate for special education students is just beginning to cultivate. The question has always been, what is best for these students? Schools and teachers are becoming leaders in the exploration of new paths, in search of new teaching styles and techniques. Mainstreaming or inclusion at the middle school and high school level, which is educating students with special needs in regular classes with their non-disabled peers, has proven to be beneficial for the special education students cognitive and social developmental needs. It can not only benefit the handicapped student but all students in the classroom.
Education is a profession which requires a teacher to be able to communicate with a multitude of students on a variety of levels. There is not a class, or student for that matter, that is identical. Therefore, teachers must be able to identify and help educate students from all different types of backgrounds and at different levels. Teaching a singular subject presents difficulties, but teaching students with disabilities should not be one. There are three main teaching areas that need to be focused on when teaching a student with a learning disability. Teachers need to focus on the strategies that will assist students with reading comprehension skills, writing skills, and maintaining appropriate behaviors in a classroom setting.