Inclusive Education

>1.o

Introduction

What is inclusive education?

Inclusive education differs from previously held notions of ‘integration’ and ‘mainstreaming’, which tended to be concerned principally with disability and ‘special educational needs’ and implied learners changing or becoming ‘ready for’ accommodation by the mainstream. By contrast, inclusion is about the child’s right to participate and the school’s duty to accept. It is about …

a. rejecting segregation or exclusion of learners for whatever reason – ability, gender, language, care status, family income, disability, sexuality, colour, religion or ethnic origin;

b. maximising the participation of all learners in the community schools of their choice;

c. making learning more meaningful and relevant for all, particularly those learners most vulnerable to exclusionary pressures;

d. rethinking and restructuring policies, curricula, cultures and practices in schools and learning environments so that diverse learning needs can be met, whatever the origin or nature of those needs.

2.0 Principles

- Every student has an inherent right to education on basis of equality of opportunity.

- No student is excluded from, or discriminated within education on grounds of race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national, ethnic or social origin, disability, birth, poverty or other status.
- All students can learn and benefit from education.
- Schools adapt to the needs of students, rather than students adapting to the needs of the school.
- The student’s views are listened to and taken seriously.
Individual differences between students are a source of richness and diversity, and not a problem.
- The diversity of needs and pace of development of students are addressed through a wide and flexible range of responses.


3.0 Practice

The practice of developing inclusive schools involves:
- Understanding inclusion as a continuing process, not a one-time event.
- Strengthening and sustaining the participation of all students, teachers, parents and community members in the work of the school.
- Restructuring the cultures, policies and practices in schools to respond to the diversity of pupils within their locality. Inclusive settings focus on identifying and then reducing the barriers to learning and participation, rather than on what is "special" about the individual student or group of students, and targeting services to address the "problem".
- Providing an accessible curriculum, appropriate training programs for teachers, and for all students, the provision of fully accessible information, environments and support.
- Identifying and providing support for staff as well as students.

4.0 Teaching/programming

It is general practice that students in an inclusive classroom are with their chronological age-mates. Also, to encourage a sense of belonging, emphasis is placed on the value of friendships. Teachers often nurture a relationship between a student with special needs and a peer without need. Another common practice is the assignment of a buddy to accompany a student with special needs at all times (for example in the cafeteria, on the playground, on the bus and so on).[citation needed]

In principle, several factors can determine the success of inclusive classrooms:
- Family-school partnerships
- Collaboration between general and special educators
- Well-constructed Individualized Education Program plans
- Team planning and communication
- Integrated service delivery
- Ongoing training and staff development

Teachers use a number of techniques to help build classroom communities:
a. Games designed to build community
b. Involving students in solving problems
c. Songs and books that teach community
d. Openly dealing with individual differences
e. Assigning classroom jobs that build community
f. Teaching students to look for ways to help each other
g. Utilizing physical therapy equipment such as standing frames, so students who typically use wheelchairs can stand when the other students are standing and more actively participate in activities

5.o Benefits

Inclusive education is claimed by its advocates to have many benefits for the students. Instructional time with peers without need helps the learners to learn strategies taught by the teacher. Teachers bring in different ways to teach a lesson for special needs students and peers without need. All of the students in the classroom benefit from this. The students can now learn from the lesson how to help each other. Socialization in the school allows the students to learn communication skills and interaction skills from each other. Students can build friendships from these interactions.

The students can also learn about hobbies from each other. A friendship in school is important for the development of learning. When a student has a friend the student can relate to a member of the classroom. Students’ being able to relate to each other gives them a better learning environment.

Involving peers without need with special needs peers gives the students a positive attitude towards each other. The students are the next generation to be in the workforce; the time in the classroom with the special needs and peers without need will allow them to communicate in the real world someday. Special needs students are included in all aspects of school-life. For example, homeroom, specials such as art and gym, lunch, recess, assemblies, and electives. Special needs students involved in these classrooms will give them the time they need to participate in activities with their peers without need. Awareness should be taught to students that will be in the classroom with the special needs peers.

The teacher can do a puppet show, show a movie, or have the student talk to the class. The teacher could also read a book to help the student describe his or her special need. The class can ask questions about what they learned and what they want to know. This will help when the students are together in the classroom. Positive modeling is important for the students in the classroom. Positive modeling is the teacher showing a good example towards both special needs and peers without need this will help the students to get along more

Questions on inclusive education

1. How does inclusive education promote successful learning?

Efforts to expand enrolment must be accompanied by policies to enhance educational quality at all levels, in formal and in non-formal settings. We have to work on an 'access to success' continuum by promoting policies to ensure that excluded children get into school coupled with programmes and practices that ensure they succeed there. It is a process that involves addressing and responding to the diverse needs of learners. This has implications for teaching, the curriculum, ways of interacting and relations between the schools and the community.

2. What are the principles of inclusion?

The Convention on the Rights of the Child, the most widely ratified human rights treaty, spells out the right of children not to be discriminated against. It also expresses commitments about the aims of education, recognizing that the learner is at the centre of the learning experience. This affects content and pedagogy, and - more broadly - how schools are managed.

3. The notion of inclusion is still often associated with children who have special needs. Why?

Too often programmes targeting various marginalized and excluded groups have functioned outside the mainstream – special programmes, specialized institutions and specialist educators. Too often the result has been exclusion – second-rate educational opportunities that do not guarantee the possibility to continue studying. In developed countries, the move towards more inclusive approaches is often complicated by the legacy of segregated or exclusive education for groups identified as “difficult” or “different”. But there is increasing recognition that it is better for children with special needs to attend regular schools, albeit with various forms of special support. Studies in both OECD and non-OECD countries indicate that students with disabilities achieve better school results in inclusive settings.

4. How does education need to change to accommodate everyone?

The overall goal is to ensure that school is a place where all children participate and are treated equally. This involves a change in how we think about education. Inclusive education is an approach that looks into how to transform education systems in order to respond to the diversity of learners. It means enhancing the quality of education by improving the effectiveness of teachers, promoting learning-centred methodologies, developing appropriate textbooks and learning materials and ensuring that schools are safe and healthy for all children. Strengthening links with the community is also vital: relationship between teachers, students, parents and society at large are crucial for developing inclusive learning environments.

5. How do curricula need to change to improve learning and encourage the inclusion of all pupils?

An inclusive curriculum addresses the child’s cognitive, emotional and creative development. It is based on the four pillars of education for the 21st century - learning to know, to do, to be and to live together. This starts in the classroom. The curriculum has an instrumental role to play in fostering tolerance and promoting human rights and is a powerful tool for transcending cultural, religious and other differences. An inclusive curriculum takes gender, cultural identity and language background into consideration. It involves breaking gender stereotypes not only in textbooks but in teachers’ attitudes and expectations. Multilingual approaches in education, in which language is recognized as an integral part of a student’s cultural identity, can act as a source of inclusion. Furthermore, mother tongue instruction in the initial years of school has a positive impact on learning outcomes.

6. Teachers have a foremost influence on learning. Yet their status and working conditions in many countries make it difficult to promote inclusion. What can be done to improve their lot?

The way teachers teach is of critical importance in any reform designed to improve quality. A child-centred curriculum is characterized by a move away from rote learning and towards greater emphasis on hands-on, experience-based, active and cooperative learning. Introducing inclusion as a guiding principle has implications for teachers’ practices and attitudes – be it towards girls, slow learners, children with special needs or those from different backgrounds. Adequate pre-service and in-service teacher training is essential to improve learning. Lack of adequately trained teachers. This shortage has unfortunate consequences for the quality of learning. A new curriculum cannot be introduced without familiarizing teachers with its aims and contents. Assessment can help teachers to measure student performance and to diagnose difficulties. But teachers need to understand the value of good assessment practices and learn skills to develop their own tests.

7. Does inclusive quality education lead to more inclusive societies?

Exclusion starts very early in life. A holistic vision of education is imperative. Comprehensive early childhood care and education programmes improve children’s well being, prepare them for primary school and give them a better chance of succeeding once they are in school. All evidence shows that the most disadvantaged and vulnerable children benefit most from such programmes. Ensuring that adults, particularly mothers, are literate has an impact on whether their children, and especially their daughters attend school. Linking inclusion to broader development goals will contribute to the reform of education systems, to poverty alleviation and to the achievement of all the Millennium Development Goals. An inclusive system benefits all learners without any discrimination towards any individual or group. It is founded on values of democracy, tolerance and respect for difference.