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Salamanca Statement

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The Salamanca Statement (UNESCO, 1994) says:

Regular schools with this inclusive orientation are the most effective means of combating discriminatory attitudes, creating welcoming communities, building inclusive society and achieving education for all; moreover, they provide an effective education to the majority of children and improve the efficiency and ultimately the cost effectiveness of the entire education system.

(Quote from the Centre for Studies on Inclusive Education at: http://inclusion.uwe.ac.uk/csie/slmca/htm)

Discuss the Salamanca Statement; what are the implications for society, schools and individual pupils?
The Salamanca Statement (1994) could be seen as one of the most influential policy documents on inclusion. As a …show more content…

The idea of inclusion should be one of balance every time with the needs of the individuals as a central point because:

“Individuals need to develop characteristics that will enable them to respond to the opportunities inherent in inclusion”. (O’Brien 2001 p.30)

Additionally it should not be taken for granted that all children will automatically be able to survive in inclusive environments once they are created.

“Changes in individual human behaviour cannot be assured by the prescription and engineering inherent in imposed policy changes”. (O’Brien 2001 p.30)

The impact of inclusion on individuals cannot be planned out in advance and would continue to need careful consideration at all times. Inclusion is not an overnight process, to achieve “education for all” mainstream schools have to provide equal opportunities for all children regardless of what their need may be. This is achievable by providing them access to the curriculum and encouraging full participation in school life. This would then lead to developing a community that would include clear policies, provisions and values for all.
In creating a welcoming community and building an inclusive society education should be able to provide access for all. Providing clear policies, to all members of the community should enable them to ascertain what provisions are available to them.

Regular schools that adopt the inclusive policy should

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