INCLUSIVE PRACTICES

Inclusive practices

Inclusive practices

Introduction

Inclusion is often used as an umbrella term by many schools to describe programs for meeting the needs of students with disabilities. There are multiple definitions and interpretations of inclusion (see below), but at the heart of them all is the belief that every student with disabilities has the right to be educated in the general education classroom with his or her non-disabled peers. Students with disabilities who participate in inclusion programs may and often do, continue to receive special assistance or therapy outside of the general education classroom, but most of the instruction still occurs in the general education classroom (Ofsted 2004).

Body: Discussion and Analysis

Decisions about including students with learning difficulties are frequently oriented towards fitting the student into the existing general education classroom activities and focus primarily on social integration (Scruggs and Mastropieri, 1996). This social integration focus though negates the opportunity for the 'included' student to receive instruction in content areas. Ainscow (1995) suggests that integration is about making a limited number of changes and adaptions for pupils with Special Education Needs (SEN) in schools which change little overall. Contary to this inclusion implies the establishment of more fundamental changes and a restructuring to include and support all children (Fredrickson and Cline, 2003). Or as Corbett and Slee (2000) detail, a fundamental reorganisation of schools so that they are intrinsically competent in educating all students in the community. In these circumstances it has been the insufficiency of the educational surroundings which create difficulties rather than the characteristics of students. Therefore the appropriate response to such difficulties, according to Dyson and Millward (2000), is the review and development of the environment rather than individual interventions with students themselves. Ainscow (1994) points out that this would demand a particular approach from teachers:

'…involves teachers becoming more skilled in interpreting events and circumstances, and using the resources of other people around them as a source of support'.

Some schools are finding new and innovative ways to create learning environments that are responsive to the needs of students with mild/moderate difficulties. One of these approaches is that of 'Collaborative Inclusion'. This essay willl explore the implications of Collaborative Inclusion for pupils with learning difficulties and comment on its usefulness as a method of improving the learning environment for these pupils.

Inclusion is a model that emphasises the collaborative efforts and shared responsibility between special and general educators. Inclusion is a collaborative relationship that is difficult for many teachers because in general education it is the system that mostly dictates to the curriculum; while in special education it is the pupil that dictates the curriculum, (Lieberman, 1985). However, successful inclusion is only achieved when both equity and excellence are reached for all students (Lacey 2003).

Providing Opportunities

It could be argued that the current emphasis on inclusive education is a further step along a historic road that began in the 19th Century with the demand for help, from educators, for children that were excluded from educational planning, (Ainscow ...