The Importance Of Inclusive Education

Students use basic skills every day from looking at the clock to tell the time to handling money when paying and making change. Students who have jobs need to

Inclusive practice is about adapting what is being delivered to make learning accessible to everyone regardless of ability, special education need (SEN) or any other barrier that might exist. When planning to meet the needs of everyone in the group it is essential that the teacher has as much information about everyone as possible. (The City and Guilds textbook level 3 Award in Education and Training). Features of inclusive teaching and learning starts with knowing which learning styles your learners prefer, to do this you can use VARK (visual, aural, read/write and kinetic) test which was designed by Neil Fleming to help learners and teachers know what learning methods they are best suited to e.g. in the first lesson my tutor asked for us

Schools most frequently use them for selected students with mild to severe special needs. Inclusive education differs from previously held notions of 'integration' and 'mainstreaming', which tended to be concerned principally with disability and 'special educational needs' and implied learners changing or becoming 'ready for' or deserving of accommodation by the mainstream. By contrast, inclusion is about

Inclusion is one of the very controversial topics concerning the education of students in today's society. It is the effort to put children with disabilities into the general education classes. The main purpose is to ensure that every child receives the best education possible by placing them in the best learning environment possible. Inclusion is a very beneficial idea, supported by law that promotes a well-rounded education while also teaching acceptance of others.

An inclusive environment is a condition where everyone has an opportunity to fully participate. In education, this means everyone has the same opportunity, there should be no borders such as ethnicity, gender or disability. All students should feel valued, be able to mix and participate with all members of the group be in a safe and positive environment.

Creating an inclusive learning environment is an extremely important aspect of modern education, which, according to Gravells (2008: p18), ensures that “[…] all learners are entitled to be treated with respect and dignity. Everyone is an individual, with different experiences, abilities and needs.” She also offers a brief explanation of inclusivity (2008: p18), which is “[…] involving all learners in relevant activities rather than excluding them for any reason directly or indirectly.” Inclusion has also been defined by John Tomlinson (1996: p26) as “the greatest degree of match or fit between individual learning requirements and provision”. In the other words, inclusive learning environment nurtures individual potential of all learners,

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.

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.

Collaboration in the world of education has become an increasingly popular method of addressing a variety of school issues, such as curriculum design, behavioral plans, professional development and management of resources. One of the areas in which collaboration is becoming more popular is co-teaching in special education, where special education teachers and general education teachers share the planning and instruction responsibilities for inclusion classrooms (Friend & Cook, 2010). As academic standards for the education of students with disabilities are held to the same standards as their typical peers due to the No Child Left Behind Act and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, the co-teaching model has been increasingly

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.

Inclusive education in South Africa is too idealistic because pragmatic things like the environment in which learners with learning barriers are situated in does not accommodate for their barriers. For example in township schools learners with barriers are excluded due to the fact that they only have stairs for learners who do not have disabilities, they do not have ramps for those learners who make use of wheelchairs to walk. Inclusionist say that learners with disabilities should be included in the general education regardless of their disabilities but this tends to be disruptive in the

Educators face increasing concerns and challenges in providing equal opportunities for all students especially students with special needs. A classroom should be an environment that individually accepts, motivates, engages and challenges students, while the curriculum is presented in multiple ways to meet diverse students’ needs. Education authorities recognise special needs as a wide spectrum of special educational needs often inter-related in the areas of communication and interaction, cognitive and learning behaviour, emotional and social development and sensory and physical impairment (Florian 2004, 13). Barriers to inclusion such as teacher’s negative discriminatory attitudes and practices, lack of support to facilitate inclusion and adequate professional development result in failing children to realise their full potential. More importantly, educators are legally obligated to practice inclusive education and provide an education equal to any other student as reflected in the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 and Disability Standards for Education 2005 (Forlin, et al. 2014, 20). Clearly, a shift in teacher’s attitude, instruction delivery and materials, assessment and evaluation, and accommodation are demands that need to be met to successfully implement inclusive education. The effective integration of technology provides teachers multiple ways to address the diverse demands students including students with special needs. Therefore, the application of technology

Students with disabilities are covered under the Federal Law of free and appropriate education, also knowns as FAPE. This law ensures that students with disabilities are serviced in the best environment that will not negatively impact their educational access due to their disability. Some students with disabilities needs are best met in an inclusive setting. This would include a special education teacher and a general education teacher. In some co-teaching classrooms, there is the misunderstanding of what co-teaching or inclusion should look like, or for some, how to evaluate its effectiveness. Dr, Maureen Pugach (March 2011) states in her article that special educators often take a back seat in the general education classroom, as opposed to truly co-teaching. Teachers who co-teach should be co-planning and co-assessing. However, there seems to be an abstention of these practices in the inclusion setting. There is a true benefit to students academically, socially and emotionally when there are two teachers fully invested in the inclusive classroom model.

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.)