Educational Equality For Students With Disabilities

Have you ever thought about the relationship that special education and multicultural education has? How do teachers include culture in education? Is it by culturally relevant pedagogy? Special education students are put into classes for a specific reason. Most students are put into them for having difficulties learning or are in need of additional needs. Teachers who teach culturally relevant pedagogy should be able to use the student’s culture as a vehicle for learning. This type of teaching could also influence the students learning, as I will show you later in this essay.

Today’s classrooms are becoming more and more diverse with students that have disabilities and those that come from different cultures. It is important for educators to ensure that their teaching strategies are appropriate for all of the children in their classroom. When it comes to the classroom there can be many cultural challenges that educators will have to address to ensure that all students are growing and developing appropriately. Educators need to make sure that they are capable of addressing each of their

Developing an inclusive school ethos is crucial if inclusion is to be understood (Booth & Ainscow, 2002). Within my own setting, we have worked hard to challenge prejudice and discrimination against children with disabilities and special educational needs. Again, like other schools, we still have more to do as we are far from perfect. In all that we say and do, we make a strong case for inclusion, and we try to go ‘the extra mile’ to provide education that is inclusive to all.

The United States population is filled with diverse individuals. It is important for educators to understand that diversity in classrooms is not just based on race but ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender, economic status, learning disabilities, and etc. It may not affect your student directly but it can be a part of their family background. Educators may assume that students have the same social or educational status of each other which in some cases is not true. If they assume that every student is on the same academic level, the students may suffer educationally or emotionally. Teachers need to understand that all students grow and progress at different times and it is up to an educator to help start their growth in the right direction and to make each child feel accepted. Yale University () discussed how it can affect teachers if they do not understand how to assess diversity, “teachers may themselves feel out of place based on their own ascriptive traits (i.e. differences based on class, privilege, etc.).” Diversity in classrooms is becoming more frequent and educators need to understand how to properly assess their student’s based on their educational needs and how to teach other students how each of them are different individually. There is no right choice to teach diversity but it is something that needs to implemented in classrooms.

Students from various racial and ethnic backgrounds bring different learning experiences, interactions skills, values, languages, culture etc into the classroom learning situation. For example, I am African and my learning experiences are very different from those that are here. Students from different ethnic backgrounds share their language or vernacular in the classroom

InTASC Standard #2 (Learning Differences) states, “The teacher uses understanding of individual differences and diverse cultures and communities to ensure inclusive learning environments that enable each learner to meet high

There are different styles of teaching, as each pupil will learn in a different style, these include visual learners, auditory learners and kinesthetic learners. These learners all need different ways of helping them to learn. For example a

A general definition of social justice is hard to arrive at and even harder to implement. In essence, social justice is concerned with equal justice, not just in the courts, but in all aspects of society. This “concept demands that people have equal rights and opportunities; everyone, from the poorest person on the margins of society to the wealthiest deserves an even playing field” (http://www.wisegeek.org/what-is-social-justice.htm). Sturman (1997) notes that theorising about social justice is reflected in recent debates about equity and equality, adding ‘the concept of “social justice” ... is not clearly defined (in fact, the term is often used as a synonym for “equal” opportunities or “equity”)’ (p.1). Thus, the notion of equity often replaces politically motivated conceptions of equality, and social justice reframed in this way is deemed as necessary for democratic life (Theophanous, 1994). This element of social justice involves recognition that there will always be some people in society who will need a lot of support and assistance, no matter how much education, training, encouragement or coercion is provided. There are people who have severe difficulties in understanding or communicating or organising their daily lives. This includes many people with a mental illness, other disabilities, literacy problems and other learning difficulties

Successful classroom teachers need to have a lot of stored knowledge in order to have a classroom that prepares students for the future and teaches them what they need to know. There are certain methods and practices that are more important for teachers to keep in mind. These things include growth and fixed mindsets, along with cognitive and social constructivism. These learning methods are important to incorporate in the everyday classroom, for the environmental changes are positive.

Not everybody is the same. "Research indicates that individual learning styles vary, that all people do not learn in the same way. Of particular interest to multicultural education is research suggesting that learning styles may be related to ethnicity in some ways (Hale-Benson 1982; Shade 1989). On the basis of this research, schools can reject the notion that all students learn in precisely the same way. For too long, educational practices have reflected such universal views of learning and have expected all students to conform to them. Schools should recognize that they cannot treat all students alike or they run the risk of denying equal educational opportunity to all persons. Educators should be aware of behavior that is normative and acceptable in various ethnic and cultural groups. The practices of multicultural schools must be both responsive and adaptive to ethnic differences". They have said that different ethnic groups may have different studying or learning abilities. Also, in the classroom, there will be the task of seating everybody in a spot where there will be no trouble. The idea of favoritism may come up, along with the idea of racism. There are many ways the schools can be affected.

I observed the 2nd-grade general classroom from the Navy Elementary School. Throughout of the observation, the classroom was very diverse, and the teacher had to work with each of diverse students within the lessons. In the United States, the schools are becoming increasingly diverse. Many teachers find the diversity and exceptional learners in their classrooms by English language Learners, special education and the students who are culturally diverse. Due to diverse learners, giving an appropriate instruction to students is very important. Based o what the students receive from the teacher, individual students will accomplish their tasks and perform academic success

In the practice of teaching, it is the responsibility of a teacher not only to teach students subject matter, but to teach students in order to enable them to grow and develop as a person. While it is essential for students to have an understanding of academic material, it is also equally as important that when students finish their education they have skills to use in

Teachers should understand the diversity spectrum that is in a classroom; there are cultures, races, languages, and socioeconomic backgrounds in classroom during the 21st century educational realm. Students need to acknowledge student’s diverse background specially when they arrive late in the school year.

Understanding cognition and how we learn is essential in the developmental stages of children. Not all students learn in the same way, understanding the cognitive process will assist in the development of the students. By modifying my approach when giving instructions I have noticed growth in current students that I am working with. Using concrete materials and giving the opportunity for students to be involved in hands-on activities on a daily basis, is essential in making new material meaningful to learners.. The knowledge gained from this topic has increased my understanding and is benefiting the children I am currently

There are many factors that play a role in the learning process for every human being. Race, religion, language, socioeconomics, gender, family structure, and disabilities can all affect the ways in which we learn. Educators must take special measures in the delivery of classroom instruction to celebrate the learning and cultural differences of each of their students. As communities and schools continue to grow in diversity, teachers are searching for effective educational programs to accommodate the various learning styles of each student while promoting acceptance of cultural differences throughout the classroom. It no longer suffices to plan educational experiences only for middle-or upper class white learners and then