Benefits Of The Inclusive Classroom Model

Inclusion is one of the very controversial topics concerning the education of students in today's society. It is the effort to put children with disabilities into the general education classes. The main purpose is to ensure that every child receives the best education possible by placing them in the best learning environment possible. Inclusion is a very beneficial idea, supported by law that promotes a well-rounded education while also teaching acceptance of others.

Inclusion is beneficial for all students in a general education classroom, not just the students with disabilities. Inclusion teaches all students understanding, compassion, respect, and acceptance of others. Students with disabilities are able to learn from peers and teachers alike. Inclusion also boosts a student’s confidence because they feel accepted within the classroom, the school, and the community. Inclusion leads to more success in achieving the goals set forth in the IEP. The Common Core State Standards go hand in hand with inclusion because they address the knowledge and skills

In elementary school, my classroom had students with and without disabilities, and we all shared the same space while working towards a common goal, but over time this diverse community diminished. This phenomenon of tracking and hierarchy of opportunity in education that I notice today is also responsible for creating an environment in which secondary special education is often a segregated locale, physically and socially removed from mainstream public schooling. I've witnessed Syracuse University push against this norm and challenge these boundaries time and time again, and I feel that before entering my own my classroom I want to address these issues of homogeneity and continue to build my tool box of inclusionary practices that extend past my current

According to the latest figures available from Data Accountability Center, U.S. Department of Education, 2,415,564 students were identified as having a Specific Learning Disability in the Fall of 2010 (“Full Inclusion”). With the severity of the number of individuals with disabilities in the school system, the controversy of the best way to support them arises. One of the solutions of this controversy is the issue of full inclusion. Those opposed to the idea of full inclusion fear that the approach may impede on the children without disabilities and put a strain on the students with disabilities. The major stakeholders against full inclusion also fear that the process will negatively affect the teachers, as well as, the atmosphere of the classrooms. Many of these parties and individuals are not fully against inclusion all together, but do not support the idea of full inclusion.

Inclusion can be defined as the act of being present at regular education classes with the support and services needed to successfully achieve educational goals. Inclusion in the scholastic environment benefits both the disabled student and the non-disabled student in obtaining better life skills. By including all students as much as possible in general or regular education classes all students can learn to work cooperatively, learn to work with different kinds of people, and learn how to help people in tasks. “As Stainback, Stainback, East, and Sapon-Shevin (1994) have noted, ‘...the goal of inclusion in schools is to create a world in which all people are knowledgeable about and supportive of all other

Students with special needs need deserve the same education general education students are presented with. The philosophy of “ Disability Inclusion” concentrates on creating a safe, loving, and effective learning environment for students who suffer from physical, learning, and behavioral disabilities. When a student with disabilities is placed in the same environment as a non-disabled student, the results show wonderful improvement. When we are able to discover the strength of the student we are able to see just how much the student can improve in an inclusion classroom. Disability Inclusion not only sets a new beginning for an equal education of special education students, but it allows for more interaction with the child, and a more hands-on assessment.

The more knowledge educators and administrators gain on the topic of inclusion, the greater benefit it is for all actors involved, teachers, administrators, students, parents and the community. Studying and exploring the many, different aspects of inclusion will provide the foundation to make educated and informed instruction. The goal being to assist teachers, administrators and parents to gain a good working knowledge of what inclusion means for a student with a disability. Along with knowledge about inclusion, studying inclusion will provide information about the different disabilities along with the characteristics and behaviors of each. Information on inclusion is imperative for teachers and administrators who teach students with disabilities in order to protect the rights of all involved.

Inclusion in classrooms can further benefit the communication skills and sense of community among students with and without disabilities. “Children that learn together, learn to live together” (Bronson, 1999). For students with special needs, inclusive classrooms provide them with a sense of self-belonging. The classrooms provide diverse environments with which the students will evolve feelings of being a member of a diverse community (Bronson, 1999). For students without disabilities, they learn to develop appreciation of the diversity. The classrooms provide many opportunities for the students to experience diversity and realize that everyone has different abilities that are unique and acceptable. From this realization, the students will learn to be respectful for others with different characteristics (Bronson, 1999). Inclusion in classrooms is beneficial to all students’ individual and community growth.

Over the years, there has been a continuous debate over how effective inclusion classes really are for students in school. The whole idea of inclusion classes is to place students in the kind of environment where they can work with other peers who do not need special education and in a sense, not be secluded to just one classroom setting. There are those who feel that students who are in inclusion classes perform better academically and then there are those who feel that inclusion is not beneficial to those who need special education. This debate has left many people wondering, “Is inclusion really best for all students?”

Maya Angelou once said, “It is time for parents to teach young people early on that in diversity there is beauty and there is strength.” When we send our children to school, they are segregated based on the letter D (diversity, disabled, dysfunction), showing the young that not all children can enjoy the same educational opportunities that they are provided in schools. This is due to a controversial topic among teachers and parents known as inclusion. It’s time we put an end to this separation and bring inclusive classrooms to all schools. Inclusion secures opportunities for students with disabilities to learn alongside their non-disabled peers in general education classrooms. Classrooms that establish a healthy inclusive environment benefits

Many children have had learning disabilities for many years. Each year more and more of these children are being helped. Schools are working to improve their special education programs and to have all kinds of students work together in the same classroom. The practice of inclusion was started because educators felt that special needs students would achieve more in traditional classrooms with non-learning disabled students than they would in special education classes. However, research findings suggest that there really is no difference in academic achievement levels for special needs students when they are placed in regular classrooms.

One of the most controversial issues facing educators today is the topic of educating students with disabilities, specifically through the concept of inclusion. Inclusion is defined as having every student be a part of the classroom all working together no matter if the child has a learning disability or not (Farmer) (Inclusion: Where We’ve Been.., 2005, para. 5). The mentally retarded population has both a low IQ and the inability to perform everyday functions. Activities such as eating, dressing, walking, and in some cases, talking can be hopeless for a child with mental retardation.

Over the past twenty years, there has been a strong movement within schools around the United States to integrate students with disabilities in to general education classrooms. Schools have been making more efforts to increase educational opportunities for students with disabilities, and while there are many benefits to inclusion, there are also many challenges. Inclusion of special education students in a regular education classroom continues to be the center of debate amongst administrators and teachers. Everyone has their own ideas and attitudes towards inclusion, and research studies have revealed that there are many things that contribute to those positive or negative attitudes.

Inclusive education is concerned with the education and accommodation of ALL children in society, regardless of their physical, intellectual, social, or linguistic deficits. Inclusion should also include children from disadvantaged groups, of all races and cultures as well as the gifted and the disabled (UNESCO, 2003). Inclusion tries to reduce exclusion within the education system by tackling, responding to and meeting the different needs of all learners (Booth, 1996). It involves changing the education system so that it can accommodate the unique styles and way of learning of each learner and ensure that there is quality education for all through the use of proper resources, suitable curricula, appropriate

Uniquely, in inclusive classrooms, students with special needs have access to the mainstream curriculum, thus giving them more opportunities for academic growth. (Is Integrating Children with special needs in mainstream classrooms beneficial?) Students with disabilities do better when in a setting where expectations are higher and more is asked of them. The students will flourish academically because in regular