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The View Of Best Practice For Educating And Caring For People With Disability

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Over time, the view of best practice for educating and caring for people with disability has changed to one of inclusion in all aspects of life in society. In Australia, there was some resistance initially, fear and misunderstanding guided the decision making processes which meant those with disability were kept apart longer than in some other countries (Heward, 2009). Gradually, legislative changes, influenced by medical knowledge and researched based practice meant that people were no longer allowed to be separated by social barriers and were granted legal rights to guard against all forms of discrimination (Dempsey, 2008). In 2014, the expectation is that people with disability are included in all aspects of education with the same …show more content…

For students with disability, this means services and specialists will need to be accessible therefore, Governments and schools are challenged to meet their responsibilities for all students, through the provision of sufficient funding support (Australian Government: Department of Education, 2010). Special education (SE), according to McCarthy, Dyer and Hunter (2002) differs from the education which is provided to all students enrolled in Australian schools. They state, the main principles of inclusive education are that barriers to inclusion and marginalisation are removed or reduced and that the key ideas of SE focus on in-class support and whole school practice. Despite there being no unified definition of what inclusion looks like, the Federal government, via the State governments requires all students have access to a minimum standard of education, outlined in the Australian curriculum documents. (Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority, 2014). However, some children cannot access the curriculum, therefore educators must provide access to learning which will support all students in achieving success (Heward, 2009). Just as each person is an individual, it stands that their learning needs are unique, leading to the development and delivery of learning programs and spaces which reach those exceptional students (Brady & Scully, 2005). Within the school environment, there are expectations of quality inclusive

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