Introduction
In Australia, diverse student population in today’s classrooms has become the norm. The student diversity may include general students, students with disabilities, gifted and talented students and students for whom English is an additional language or dialect (EAL/D) (ACARA, 2014). In order to improving educational outcomes for all young Australians, the Melbourne Declaration on Educational Goals for Young Australians (2008) proposes one of important goals is to promotes equity and excellence in Australian schooling. This means that inclusion education is advocated by the Australian Government to ensure that all children in Australia have the right to an inclusive education.
As a pre-service learning support teacher, the purpose
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Every learner is unique in his or her strengths, talents, skills and challenges. (Willis, 2007). More importantly, all individuals are entitle to acquire knowledge and skills. Individuals’ educational opportunity should be not restricted by their gender, cultural background, disability, religion or sexuality. In the light of this, an effective school needs also provide an inclusive curriculum and learning environment to accommodate the particular learning needs of each learner. Foreman (2011, p. 9) claims that “inclusion in education is often as much a rights issue as it is an issue of what works best in all circumstances”. He also asserts that the changing attitudes towards equality of educational opportunity resulted in the change in education due to the great influence of a broader social justice movement. Inclusion in education is considered as a basic human right and the cornerstone of a more equal and inclusive society (European Agency for Development in Special Needs Education, …show more content…
On the one hand, I need to ensure all students including students with special needs be accessible to knowledge, skills and understanding covered by the Australian Curriculum. On the other hand, I need to customize my teaching strategies as well as learning activates to suit a range of needs of diverse student population in the school to assist them achieve personal goals.
In a word, as a teacher, especially learning support teacher, I need provide support and assistance to all students including students with special needs. Meantime, it is my responsibility to promote inclusive education and practice in the school setting.
The principle of least restrictive environment
It is essential that all students have access to a quality education and an inclusive education system should meet their diverse needs. The Victorian Department of Education and Early Childhood Development [DEECD] (2014) stipulates that education providers must make ‘reasonable adjustments’ to support students with disabilities to comply with the standard. Graduate teachers should also demonstrate an understanding of legislative requirements and be able to identify teaching strategies that support the involvement and learning of students with disabilities (AITSL, 2014). They should understand the importance of focusing on what a student with a disability can do and work with the student’s strengths. A graduate teacher should know what resources, agencies and assistive technologies are available to support the learning needs of a student with a disability.
Smith, T. (2012). Teaching students with special needs in inclusive settings. 1st ed. New Delhi, India: PHI Learning Private Ltd.
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
My personal philosophy of special education drives not from teaching in the field, but from, observations, and personal experience, and the workshops I attended. I have had the opportunity to work with individuals with special needs in many different settings, all this help cultivate my knowledge in handling the needs of the special needed student. Special needs students have the ability to learn, to function, to grow, and most importantly to succeed. The difference comes into how they learn or how they need to be taught. There are as many beliefs about the "hows" as there are teachers and each of us forms our own philosophy through our experiences and research. As a student in a special education teachers’ program, learners with special needs includes all students in special education programs in the public school system or other appropriate settings. However, the students I would like to focus on in my career are students with learning disabilities and therefore when thinking about learners with special needs, my mind focuses on this population.
Two years ago, I embarked on a journey that would teach me more than I had ever imagined. As a recent college graduate, I was thrilled to finally begin my teaching career in a field I have always held close to my heart. My first two years as a special education teacher presented countless challenges, however, it also brought me great fulfillment and deepened my passion for teaching students with special needs. The experiences I have had both before and after this pivotal point in my life have undoubtedly influenced my desire to further my career in the field of special education.
Students with learning disabilities in the regular classroom may have challenges that require special attention. If the teacher is able to identify the disabilities and the features associated with them then the teacher can tailor the lessons to meet the needs of the students. These may include differentiated instruction and facilitating an inclusive classroom which will see inclusive strategies employed that will cater to the needs of students with learning disabilities. These inclusive strategies can range from individualized learning programs to team and co-teaching. In some cases, the teacher can arrange for a special education teacher or arrange for a pull out program to assist students who have learning disabilities. Strategies that will also cater to learning disabilities may also include the use of technology. According to Ford 2013 ‘In some situations it may be best for students with LD to be taught in separate pull out classrooms with a teacher who can provide targeted skill instruction in areas where a student is struggling.’ ‘When provided appropriate support within this setting, many of these students can achieve academically and develop positive self-esteem and social skills. (American Speech-Language-Hearing Association 1991). They also recommend that schools should ‘require in-service programs for all school personnel to give them the knowledge and skills necessary to provide education for students with learning disabilities in the regular education classroom.’ Schools should include activities to help participants learn strategies to meet individual needs of students, foster attitudes conductive to educating students with learning disabilities in the regular education classroom, and promote
Slee (2001) argues that inclusive schooling demands schools to recognise all types of difference from disabilities, ethnicity, gender, class and sexuality. Furthermore, he challenges schools to accept difference, to encourage and promote flexibility thus benefiting not only the curriculum and pedagogy, but the community and students themselves (Slee, 2001).
Glazzard J, Hughes A, Netherwood A, Neve A, Stoke J. (2010). Teaching Primary Special Educational Needs. British library: Learning Matters. p7.
Many people seem to look past how learning-disabled students would feel to be placed in a mainstream classroom which includes students without disabilities rather than go to class in a segregated/special education classroom with only other students who also have learning disabilities. There are many researches constantly going on studying the effects of inclusion in classrooms to see if learning-disabled students achieve better in mainstream classes. Students with learning disabilities feel better about themselves when they are included in classes with their peers who don’t have learning disabilities.
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).
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.
When teaching students with disabilities it is important to know and understand the needs of all the students in the classroom. Ultimately, the goal for any educator is to educate all of the students in the classroom and ensure that appropriate accommodations are being made for students with disabilities. By utilizing these skills in reading, writing, and classroom management, an educator will be able to help all students be successful.
There is so much to know about special education that is separate from teaching in a traditional classroom. One thing that has really stood out to me is how many acronyms and terminology these teachers need to know. IEP, LRE, IDEA, FAPE, IFSP, and that is just to name a few (DREDF, 2017). Special education teachers, really need to be knowledgeable about a ton of things. Not only all of the terminology associated with special education, but about disabilities and the best way to go about educating a child with disabilities. When working with children in special education, there will be students of all ages with all kinds of disabilities and different ability levels that you are teaching. It is important to know about each child’s disabilities, what they should be learning and how they should be learning it. There may be times that are challenging education students with disabilities, but when a teacher properly educates themselves on all the aspects of special education and the resources out there for them, it may help make your classroom run more smoothly and easier to