INTRODUCTION
1.1 Overview
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).
The main conflicting issue that has given rise to this research topic is that inclusion of students with special needs is not a consistent practice
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I anticipate that the knowledge generated from this study will contribute to Dubai’s reforming education policies. This chapter begins with a brief background of the UAE, followed by an overview, and then the context and background of this study. Following that is further explanation of the research problem and purpose, along with the research questions and an introduction to my proposed research design. The chapter concludes with a discussion of the significance of the study along with my assumptions as the researcher, personal factors that have lead me to this topic and ending with definitions of some key terms related to this study.
Background of UAE Situated on the Arabian Gulf, east of Saudi Arabia and north of Oman, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has grown from a small federation in the Middle East into a modern metropolitan nation in the region. The UAE is comprised of seven cities, also known as 'Emirates ': Abu Dhabi (Capital city), Dubai, Sharjah, Ras Al Khaimah, Umm Al Quwain, Fujairah, and Ajman. Each emirate is governed by a hereditary ruler (Figure 1) who jointly formed the Federal Supreme Council, which is the highest legislative and executive body in the country. The President of the UAE, who is also the ruler of Abu Dhabi, is Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan. Islam is the dominant religion of the UAE and Arabic is the official language. 1.2 UAE
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, in the world of education, is an approach or teaching strategy that focuses on including students with disabilities in the general education setting. The goal of inclusion is to educate students who may struggle with a variety of disabilities. The views on inclusion differ. Some educators are very receptive to the ideals of inclusion and all that it in tells. “The teachers (a) had favorable views of the concept of inclusion; (b) differed in their efficacy in achieving successful inclusion, and (c) faced challenges in their inclusive practices” (Hodge, Ammah, Casebolt, LaMaster, Hersman, Samalot-Rivera, & Sato 2009, 402). Some educators believe that it takes away from student learning for the non-disabled student. Jana Kratochvílová states: teacher have to address the fundamental question: how to most effectively organize the learning process for a diverse community of pupils within the class and therefore he needs to think through the possibilities of internal differentiation in the organizational aspect” (Kratochvílová 2015, 640). It is true, not all students with disabilities can be included in a general education classroom successfully. The student’s placement may require reevaluation in order to help provide the student with the best opportunity to succeed. Reevaluating the staff and their level of understanding and education concerning inclusion may increase the changes for a student to be successful. The staff should not
Located in Western Asia at the South-East end of Arabian Peninsula on the Persian Gulf is the oil-rich economy viz. United Arab Emirates (UAE). The demographic of the economy consists of 11.6% Emiratis, as much as 59.4% South Asian (including 38.2% Indian) and 29.1% others (2015 est.). The economy constitutes young population with majority of the population between 25-54 years of age (61.27%) and about 96% are aged below 54 years of age. Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah account for 85% of the total UAE population.
The more knowledge educators and administrators gain on the topic of inclusion, the greater benefit it is for all actors involved, teachers, administrators, students, parents and the community. Studying and exploring the many, different aspects of inclusion will provide the foundation to make educated and informed instruction. The goal being to assist teachers, administrators and parents to gain a good working knowledge of what inclusion means for a student with a disability. Along with knowledge about inclusion, studying inclusion will provide information about the different disabilities along with the characteristics and behaviors of each. Information on inclusion is imperative for teachers and administrators who teach students with disabilities in order to protect the rights of all involved.
Public education is free for male and female citizen children through the university level. Beginning in the academic year 2006–7, expatriate students may, for a fee, attend government schools. The UAE has one of the lowest student-to-teacher ratios (15:1) in the world.
This area of research is of particular interest to the researcher, firstly because inclusion is widely recognised by the National Curriculum. It highlights ‘A wide range of pupils have special educational needs’ and consequently, ‘Lessons should be
Social inclusion is understood as a process by which efforts are made to ensure equal opportunities for all, regardless of their background, so that they can achieve their full potential in life. It is a multi-dimensional process aimed at creating conditions which enable full and active participation of every member of the society in all aspects of life, including civic, social, economic, and political activities, as well as participation in decision making processes. Social inclusion is understood as the process by which societies combat poverty and social exclusion. One of many goals of special education is to give students with disabilities the opportunity to participate in the least restrictive environment so that they receive as much education as possible with non-disabled students. There are many strategies and models school systems are using to ensure special education students are participating within the mainstream classroom setting; however, the inclusion model seems to prove to be the most beneficial in the areas of academic achievement and social interaction. The inclusion model centers on educating students with disabilities in the general education setting along with their non-disabled peers. Most general education teachers do have concerns about teaching students with learning
In Australia, educators and schools must accept all children as they have the right to learn alongside same age peers within a mainstream education, no matter their diversity. Inclusive schooling supports all children with disabilities and learning disorders and allows children to learn. Inclusive education recognises and complies with a range of different government acts. These include Equal Opportunity Act (1984) and Disability Discrimination Act (1992), which protect the rights of all children. In 1970 students with disabilities began to attend mainstream education as researched proved that having children with special needs segregated was not how they deserve to be educated as they have the same rights as every other student (Konza, 2008, p.39). A series of documents and policies were put in place, offering students with disabilities the education they were entitled to and making inclusive education a part of Australian education. These documents include the National Disability Strategy, the National Quality Framework, the Early Years Learning Framework of Australia, the Australian Curriculum, and the Australian Professional Standards for Educators. This report looks at these policies and different services, which have been implemented in Western Australia. This report builds an awareness of the views the community, parents and educators of children with special needs have on inclusive education and what recommendations educators can implement in
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
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.
Both were used as a reference in order to gain staff feedback regarding the effectiveness (or ineffectiveness) of inclusive practices within the school. Questions were develop using the notion that schools must not classify students with learning difficulties into a specific group, but rather ensure all students are part of an inclusive education with equal access to the curriculum (Melbourne Declaration, 2008). These questions were aimed to discover any improvement areas where the perception is that learners with special needs must be segregated from mainstream classes (please refer to Appendix B for results from
Many researches show that students with learning disabilities have a high rate of victimization. This paper gives few case studies about how elementary schools implement the policy and guidelines to inclusive the students with learning disabilities. The purpose of special education is giving students who have special needs the optimal development of their academic and professional skills, also support their career in order to be able to contribute to the society and manage his/her own life to reach
In a perfect world, everyone would be accepted just because we are all human beings, but, that is not the case. Children with special needs have been subjected to everything from separate classes and schools to institutions and facilities for years. With the passing of laws children with special needs were taken into consideration and the need for inclusion was brought forth. Inclusion is when all students learn, participate, and contribute to all aspects of the learning process.
Over the past twenty years, there has been a strong movement within schools around the United States to integrate students with disabilities in to general education classrooms. Schools have been making more efforts to increase educational opportunities for students with disabilities, and while there are many benefits to inclusion, there are also many challenges. Inclusion of special education students in a regular education classroom continues to be the center of debate amongst administrators and teachers. Everyone has their own ideas and attitudes towards inclusion, and research studies have revealed that there are many things that contribute to those positive or negative attitudes.
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.)