Providing Support And Collaboration For An Inclusive School

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

Introduction This essay will attempt to highlight the importance of inclusive practice in the early years setting. As stated by (Hyder, T. and Jennings, J, 2009) ‘the best inclusive practice aims to build on existing good practice to create educational environments within which all children can develop and learn.’ Through evaluation of the various acts and legislation that are currently in effect to safe guard children’s well being. This essay will assess the impact upon children, if these legal requirements are not adhered too. There are many theories and key concepts that will be referred to in this appraisal, along with some examples of inclusive and non-inclusive practices.

To fully expand on her views, a lot of the students learn differently in which there is no universal approach to help them understand the material. Based on Teacher A’s views, one benefit of inclusion involves how students do not know which ones are receiving general education or special education. To emphasize, everyone is treated equally when Teacher B helps all students, even for those who do not receive special education.

As a teacher I will have many students in my classroom, and my students will not all have the same function. My students will have gifts that differ according to what was given to them. It will be my job as an educator to embrace these gifts and to make sure my students belong. Before this class my knowledge on inclusion was very slim, but after completing the assignments for this class, I am for inclusion if it is right for the child and if it meets the needs of the child. I believe educators should support inclusion because of its ability to increase a child’s richness of ideas, creative power, problem-solving ability, and respect for others.

A further step to take in building an inclusive classroom is the use of IEPs, as Karten (2005) suggests, they should be documents in which the entire community (parents, the student, teachers, administrators, social workers, etc.) should be involved in. Rather than it simply being a goal document in which we lay out benchmarks, it is a plan for managing this type of inclusive classroom and what that should look like for that particular student. Keeping the student, and their parents, involved in the process is an important part of that. If they feel ownership over the plan, they have a stake in following

In order to have an inclusive lesson I believe it is the teacher’s responsibility to pre-plan and prepare each activity to suit each child’s specific needs. “Collaboration is not simply two or more people working together, but more importantly it is how two or more people can effectively work towards a shared goal (Friend & Bursuck, 2009)”. Research has shown that “students benefit from educators seeking assistance and guidance from each other in order to provide a supportive learning environment for students with disabilities within the general education curriculum”, in which could be the most engaging and successful experience for all parties involved (Leader-Janssen, Swain, Delkamiller, & Ritzman, 2012, p.

At the level of school systems, aspects which appear to be common to inclusive school practice for pupils with ASD are ethos, leadership and environment. An important starting point is a shared commitment across all staff towards the inclusion of pupils with ASD (Humphrey and Symes 2013). This can be facilitated through staff training which incorporates whole staff awareness (Ravet 2011) and targeted training according to need (Glashan, Mackay, and Grieve 2004), both of which have been found to reduce teacher stress and increase strategy use (Probst and Leppert 2008).

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.

For instance, according to Derma Sparks, “As children who are typically developing and children with disabilities play and learn together in quality, inclusive learning environments, they come to understand and appreciate each other’s strengths and challenges” (Anti-Bias Education p. 127). By not exposing children to the wide variety and uniqueness that surround us, children might reject a child with a disability out of fear of the unknown. Children in inclusion classroom can benefit of this opportunity, they get to have an open door of sharing thoughts and feelings, and a teacher that can answer and educate them of the different disabilities their peers have. In addition, “it fosters an open and safe environment, do not criticize children fro noticing and asking questions about differences” (Anti-Bias Education, p.

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.

The age of inclusion classrooms resulted in students of varied academic abilities in a single classroom. The general education teacher’s goal was to educate larger numbers of students, including those with mild disabilities, in the general education environment. to increase the overall academic achievement of the school. Over time, the objective of inclusive programming has grown-from simply increasing academic achievement, to also increasing social competence and fostering positive relationships between children with special needs and their differently abled peers (Malmgren,1998). Traditional methods of whole classroom instruction are applicable in some areas of the inclusive classroom, but in others, are a disservice to certain

Communication and collaboration are so important in creating effective inclusive classrooms. Collaboration and communication between professionals is believed to help the effectiveness of inclusive programs. (Salend, 2016, pg 159) Communication and collaboration also help to create a sense of community, in which problems can be solved and strategies can be made to help students. According to our textbook, communication and collaboration also helps create ways to implement solutions that prevent and address learning and behavioral difficulties. (Salend, 2016, pg 159) Inclusive programs will have many students with different needs. Some will have different types of learning disabilities while other may need more challenging material. Working in an inclusive classroom, teachers need to plan differentiated instruction and materials that address different learning needs and styles. Inclusive classrooms usually consist of the general education teacher and the special education teacher. The two teachers work together to provide instruction to all students while also providing the supports needed for the students with disabilities to succeed. Teachers from inclusive classrooms may seek communication with professionals and families to find strategies to help struggling students or adjust curriculum to meet the needs of all students. They may also seek help with a problem or

A lot of people do not agree with inclusion in classrooms. They say, “the disabled student might be disruptive” or “the other students might get upset when the teacher has to slow down for the disabled student.” All students have their right to an education, whether it be inclusive or not. If a student is disruptive, the teacher should be able to handle it. Although people think inclusion has many disadvantages, there are far more advantages and benefits for all students, teachers, families and even for communities. Since everyone can benefit from inclusion,  we as society should make schools and communities inclusive.

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

Every child has the ability to learn, but the way a child learns and processes knowledge can be very different, especially for a child with special needs. (Mainstreaming Special Education in the Classroom) As a society we owe all children the chance to reach their full potential, thus we must set up an environment where this accessible. Integrated education unarguably allows the must vulnerable and excluded children this chance. According to Inclusiveschools.org, “Inclusion” does not simply mean placing students with physical or mental disability in general mainstream classrooms, but rather offers fundamental change to school community and how children learn altogether. Effective models of inclusive education according to various sources, is the right model of education for special needs students because it allows greater access to mainstream curriculum, preparation for integration in an inclusive society, and promotes a tolerant and inclusive society. (Full inclusion: Has its time arrived?, The Benefits of inclusive Education.)