Abstract
Over (for) the past decade Inclusion in special education has been a controversial topic among administration, teachers, and parents. Inclusion represents the belief that students with disabilities should be integrated into the general education classroom whether or not they cannot meet traditional curriculum standards. The purpose of the study is to examine the potential advantages and disadvantages of inclusion of students with disabilities into the general education classroom. The hypothesis is that students with disabilities can benefit from inclusion. The implications is that those who favor inclusion believe that disabled students in the regular classroom will be more accepted by their peers, (develop new friendships)have balanced relationships, and gain more academic knowledge through small group and teacher instruction. This in turn, will result in continued higher achievement. The survey consisted of demographic information, 26 Likert scale items and one comment section. The surveys were disturbed to staff members, including special education and general education teachers in one elementary school. Results of the survey were tabulated with frequencies and percentages for each response reported.
Introduction and Literature Review
The number of students with disabilities being served in general education classes has steadily increased over the last decade (U.S. Department of Education, 2006).
Each person has their viewpoint on what is
Inclusion is the act of having students with disabilities and abled body students in the same classroom. In concept this has many benefits not only for the students but it also saves time and money for the school, however in practice I do not think inclusion works the way it was hoped to. Inclusion in theory will put light strain on the classroom because of safe guards such as helper teachers are in place to help out. In my experience these teachers are in the way most of the time when students are trying to learn, and students feel cheated when the special needs students are handed a supplemented test making the students feel bad. Lastly that the pros of inclusion in the classroom are set in perfect conditions with good teachers on both sides special education and general education, however most of the time that is not the case.
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.
Teachers attitude toward inclusion are important factor that can cause inclusion to succeed or fail. Survey results indicated that numerous educators have a positive attitude towards the inclusion of special needs students and the beneficial outcomes that
For the majority of educational history, students with disabilities are placed in segregated classrooms in order to protect them. However, recent controversy details the existence of increased negative impacts on classroom segregation. The importance of classroom inclusion falls under three main categories: mutual acceptance and equal treatment of students with disabilities in society, increased personality development in disabled students, and quicker development of crucial skills (Soponaru, Camelia, et al. 1). Overall, integrated classrooms appear to be effective, but many regular education teachers lack the qualifications to properly instruct integrated classrooms. Even though some regular education teachers are qualified to teach integrated classrooms, regular education teachers with integrated classrooms need to be more thoroughly educated about special needs to ensure an optimal learning environment for all students.
Within the past decades and a big discussion has occurred regarding the most appropriate setting within which to provide education for students in special education. Although the change in the educational environment is significant for handicapped student the concepts of inclusion also bring up new issues for the regular education classroom teachers.
Special Education Inclusion addresses the controversy of inclusion in education. It argues that inclusions controversy stems from its relation to educational and social values in addition to individual worth. Stout states the important questions that should always be asked when discussing inclusion. She gives us some arguments from advocates on both sides of the issue and everyone in between. She recognizes that inclusion has no simple answers. She merely intends to overview the concepts of inclusion and offers some recommendations to ensure the needs of all students are met. Her overview begins with definitions of common vocabulary, discusses laws governing inclusion, court decisions that have governed placement under IDEA
This article discussed the benefits of students with learning disabilities being in an inclusive environment rather than being in a pullout program. According to data, pullout programs do not assist in student academic growth. Students sometimes do not try hard enough when they are not around their peers in a classroom setting or they can feel disconnected to their peers in a pullout program. The trend seems to be that positive when it comes to putting the special education students with leaning disabilities in an inclusion classroom. This article examines eight grade middle school students at two different schools who are learning disabled with some being served in a pullout program and the others in an inclusion program. At Enterprise Middle School, there was an inclusion model set in place. There was team teaching between the special and general educators and they had opportunities to plan lessons, discuss student progress, and examine classroom management techniques. The teachers bought the lesson to the students in many different ways such as: parallel teaching, station teaching, and alternative teaching. These techniques allowed for lessons to be more individualized even though there was a group of diverse learners. On the other hand, Voyager Middle School did not have an inclusion program; they used the pullout program for the learning disabled students. Interaction between the special
Orr (2009) conducted interviews with special education teachers and the attitudes they have seen in their schools since inclusion was implemented in their schools. Orr (2009) chose fifteen teachers, which included fourteen female and one male teacher who agreed to participate in the study so it was a purposive criterion sample. Twelve of the fifteen teachers taught in a suburban area, two in a rural area, and one in an urban area; but they varied in the age they taught and school. Seven of the fifteen teachers taught in a self-contained classroom while the remaining eight taught in a resource room, where they only saw a student for less than an hour or two a day. Another pattern that showed was that many teachers found that they did not receive any classes that focused on differentiation or inclusion while completing their undergraduate work (Orr 2009). These results are important when considering the implementation of inclusion because it may mean that there is a need to reteach teachers. It is important to consider professional development classes district-wide before implementing inclusion in the classroom.
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.
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.
For years children with special needs were ushered off to separate classes and schools. Children with special needs have the right to attend classes with their same aged peers in the same classroom with support. Students with special needs deserve the same opportunities they would have if circumstances were different. Inclusion gives those students with special needs the chance to be part of the community; able to form relationships outside of the family unit. All students benefit from inclusion; students with disabilities develop social skills and develop friendships while non-disabled students learn tolerance and acceptance.
According to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, students with disabilities should be placed in a “least restrictive environment.” One of the main ideas of this act was to improve the learning experiences of students with disabilities by giving them learning opportunities outside of a special education classroom. The number of students with disabilities being placed in their general education classrooms is increasing more and more each year. The U.S Department of Education’s 27th annual report to Congress on the implementation of The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (2005) indicates that the number of students with disabilities in general education classrooms has risen to almost 50 percent. This is about a 17 percent increase from the 1997 U.S
Through this study, I seek to explore the phenomenon of how inclusion of students with special needs is understood, implemented and enforced across private schools in the Emirate of Dubai in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The purpose of this study is to better understand, through interviewing private school administrators and policy makers in Dubai’s education sector and by analyzing policy and legal documents, what inclusion means to these key agents which in turn effects its enforcement (by the government authority) and its implementation (by the private schools).