Should Special Needs Be Taught In Separate Schools?

Disability brings problems to schools too causing the child to be disadvantaged. These could include lack of specialist staff or poor staff knowledge which can lead to lack of socialisation and integration into the school.

In some general classrooms, teachers tend to give more time and attention to children with disabilities, leaving general education students who may be struggling with little to no help. Socialization is another whole ballpark, inclusion could lead to children developing negative attitudes about peers with disabilities, especially if they feel they are receiving more attention from the teacher and other students in the classroom. Teachers of general education classes may have a fear of teaching students with disabilities. They feel they do not know them well enough and that they will make a mistake. This can then in return allow the teacher to push the student with a disability away and not give them the best education piece they can. These teachers feel like they should not have to change their classroom for a student that is coming to them. It also shows that these teachers are not trained properly in special education.

Schools have legal obligations to give students with a disability opportunities and choices comparable to those without a disability through the Disability Discrimination Act of 1992 and the Disability Standards of Education 2005 (Department of Education and Training, n.d). To meet these standards, schools must be welcoming and reasonably accommodate for new students. We used the three phase inclusion process when Amir transferred to our school at the start of the year. The three flowing phases; preparation, transition and consolidation help all stakeholders inclusively plan for the best possible transition of a new child where their needs are provided for (Lyons, 2014, pg 80). Inclusive schools help support all students, teachers should work closely with the learning support team at their school to help them decide the best resources and strategies to meet students’ needs and promote their wellbeing (Lyons, 2014, pg 83). Amir has consultations with all relevant stakeholders at the start of the term to set learning goals and then at the end of the term to reflect on his achievements and what could be improved on. All teachers need to use their professional judgement and act ethically as their work significantly impacts the future of the learners in their class (Churchill, & Keddie, 2013, pg 539). Amir’s school promotes diversity and is strongly against bullying. At the start of each year we

The inclusion of children with learning disabilities into normal classrooms has proved to exhibit both positive and negative effects on children with and without disabilities.

Students with special needs should be placed into specialized schools so they are able to receive individualized learning. If they are in a classroom specific to their needs, they are able to receive much needed attention. In order to receive the optimal level of attention that is needed, schools would have to consider reducing class sizes or hiring multiple teachers for one classroom so more help would be readily available for these disabled students. Corwin argues that today’s schools offer a general curriculum and that they should convert to a specialized system. He states that students of various backgrounds, ethnicities, IQ scores, and physical, emotional, and mental disabilities should not all be placed in the same classroom because students learn in diverse ways and at different paces. Further, it is necessary for teachers to become specialized in certain areas in order to effectively teach students with special needs (Corwin).

Special education is a relatively new concept in education. The question is why? Although, the Federal Government required all children to attend school since 1918, this did not apply to students with disabilities. Many state laws gave school districts the ability to deny access to individuals they deem “uneducable.” The term “uneducable” varied from state to state, school to school, and even individual to individual. If students were accepted into the school, they were placed in regular classrooms with their peers with no support or in classrooms that were not appropriate to meet their needs. This started to change with the Civil Rights Movement in the 1950s and 1960s. The lawsuit Brown vs the Board of Education sued to end segregation of public schools laid the ground work for Individuals with Disabilities Act. The next major impact in education was the enactment of Elementary and Secondary Act signed into effect by President Lyndon Johnson in 1965. The purpose of this law was to provide fair and equal access to education for all, established higher standards, and mandated funds for professional development, resources for support education programs, and parent involvement. Under this law, programs like Head Start were created and celebrated their 50th anniversary this year. Despite additional federal funds and mandatory laws, children with disabilities were unserved or underserved by public school due to loop holes with in the law. Many more lawsuit followed Brown vs

There are obvious disadvantages such as the lack of training, general education teacher will have in dealing with disabled students. A teacher trained specifically in special education could and would provide a much better service to the students that need it. Another issue is “depending on the nature of a child's disability, it can affect the way that a student behaves. According to the ERIC article, that pupil's misbehavior and disrespect can be so intense that it disrupts the learning environment” (Koolbreeze, 2017). This type of misbehavior could also be expressed in students without disabilities,

Children should not need to go to different/special school just because they have additional needs or disability. They should be able to attend main stream school, which should be adapted to meet their needs, and if they need support the school should ensure they have the resources e.g. one to one teaching assistants etc.

There are, of course, thousands of schools around the world for the deaf or hard of heating. To me, that sounds very secluded. To make a special school for a group of people because they're different in some way, well I don't think that sounds fair.

School’s that lack the resources and staff to help disabled children, which can mean that children are not able to achieve their potential because the help has not been put in place to help the child achieve.

      Inclusion is not a program that a school system should consider as a way to save money. To do it right will cost more money. However, the pay off for all students is likely to be worth the extra cost. Research has found that in most cases' students with special needs who are included are achieving at far higher levels than they did in segregated classrooms. It was

The idea of children with disabilities, whether they be mild or severe has been a very controversial and misunderstood topic. In the past inclusion has brought about huge changes for not only the students, but also the parents and families of these children, and staff at schools. Teachers and education professionals were the first to really feel the wrath and intimidation of this dramatic shift in education. There were several different factors that were coming about that made it very difficult for schools and teachers, the unorganized mandates were strict and didn’t allow much time for change. “President Gerald Ford signed the Education for All Handicapped Children Act (EAHCA) into law in 1975. Since the original passage of the EAHCA, the law has been amended four times and renamed the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)” (Conroy, Yell, Katsiyannis, & Collins, 2010, para.1).

Many argue whether special needs children should be mainstreamed. Mainstreaming is when a school puts children with special needs into classrooms with their peers who have no disabilities (Masters in Special Education Degree Program Guide). Inclusion is a term which expresses the commitment to educate each child, to maximization extent appropriate, in the school and classroom that he or she would otherwise attend (Wisconsin in Education Association Council). Special education is a term used in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) that is defined as the specially designed instruction to increase the student’s chances for success (Special Education Guide). Special needs refer to children who have learning difficulties or disabilities that make it harder for them to learn than most children of the same age(Nidirect Government Services).

The importance of education for all children, especially for those with disability and with limited social and economic opportunities, is indisputable. Indeed, the special education system allowed children with disability increased access to public education. Apart from that, the special education system has provided for them an effective framework for their education, and for the institutions involved to identify children with disability sooner. In turn, this promotes greater inclusion of children with disability alongside their nondisabled peers. In spite of these advances however, many obstacles remain, including delays in providing services for children with disability, as well as regulatory and

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.