Issues and concerns:
1. As inclusion has evolved, the distinction between regular education and special education has become blurred. More and more regular classroom teachers have been expected to program for children with special needs. This has caused a lot of problems because many of the teachers have not been trained in special education. Even current teacher education programs do not provide a significant amount of instruction in special education.
2. Whether inclusive schooling works to provide effective academic outcomes for students with learning disabilities is a matter of conflicting research findings. General classroom placements are appropriate for most students; however concerns exist among parents professionals, and advocacy groups regarding inclusion for students with serious learning disabilities.
3. Universal acceptance of definition of learning disabilities continues to elude those who care about this special need. Nor do the many existent definitions, official and otherwise, seem to be coalescing around key points in any noticeable way.
4. Assessing the presence and extent of a learning disability in a manner that produces clear, indisputable results does not seem to be possible.
The Three Monsters...
In talking to school and human service people internationally, three themes emerge when we discuss inclusion. Inclusion means facing what we call the three monsters.
The first monster is Fear: Will I be able to do this? Since fear is the dominant emotion, it is important to note that the fright is ours, not theirs. This is about our fears. We are afraid we might fail.
The second monster is Control: If I include this child, it will mean giving up control. I can't do this all by myself; I will have to ask others to help. This means admitting that "I" don't have all the answers that "I" am not in total control. We believe it is time to give up this fantastic illusion and learn to share control. Ask for help and watch the future blossom and unfold. Inclusion helps to us to realize that sometimes we need to give up control, and allow nature to take its course.
The third monster is Change: Inclusion is the beginning of change. "I am afraid of change therefore I won't include people." There is no question that inclusion means change. But change is not optional. It is here. Our choices are limited. We can grow with change, or fight a losing battle with the past. Choosing inclusion gives us the opportunity to grow with change. Our motto is: Change is inevitable; growth is optional. We recommend growth. Despite the debate over inclusion, how far it should go, and how much it should cost, the latest developments in special education, to some observers, offer more cause to celebrate than to despair. “The good news is that huge strides have been made to improve the plight of special-needs students.”The question now being asked,' says Judith Heumann, U.S. Assistant Secretary of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services, is “how we can do it, as opposed to should we do it.”
Winser, M. (2008). Children with Exceptionalities in Canadian Classrooms (8th ed.). Toronto, Canada: Pearson Prentice Hall, pp. 167.
Bennett, S., Dworet, D., Weber, K. (2008). Special Education in Ontario Schools (6th ed.).St. Davids, Canada: Highland Press, pp.102-103.
Cromwell, Sharon. "Inclusion of All Children." Education World (2004)
Forest, Marsha. "Inclusion! The Bigger Picture." Inclusion Press (2006):
I believe in inclusion, but in order to make it successful, we have to give teachers more training and support. While it is extremely important to protect the exceptional student's rights to be included in the classroom, we must always take measures to ensure that the typically developing students are also in a safe learning environment. With today's privacy concerns, teachers are not at allowed to discuss another student in a child's classroom, but I wonder how positive it would be to hold a parental class meeting to discuss with parents when a special needs student (I'm thinking the extremes here) into the classroom and thus hopefully promote the positives of an inclusive environment and answer questions and concerns of the parents. This would hopefully be a giant step towards removing the fear many parents have when they discover a special needs or exceptional student in their child's class.
ReplyDeleteI think the idea of a meeting of the parents is great, but lets face it I am pretty sure that the parent of the child with the extreme exceptionality would unfortunately be attacked by the other parents who are either too scared, or ignorant when it comes to the exceptionality itself. People are scared about the unknown and often times are closed minded about things they don't understand. Even with a information session there are still those people who would refuse to admit that inclusion can be a good thing. Looking at it from the point of view of the parents without an extremely violent child, would you want your child subjected the possibility of getting hurt? It's a tough one thankfully I have not had to worry about this yet. My child has been exposed to Autism and he is totally accepting of the child and is even friends with him.
ReplyDeleteI too am a firm believer of inclusion. From what we have come to understand about exceptionalities so far, the general classroom is the ideal setting to foster student growth. At what cost is this to the student population without the exceptionalities? I know of parents who have had real issues with their child's success due to the vast amounts of time the teacher had to spend concentrating on only a couple of exceptional students in the classroom. It was in their opinion, negatively impacting the school year for their child. To make inclusion work to the benefit of all students, the school staff need to work out the "3 monsters" as listed above, teachers need more training and we as future E.A.'s need to bring our new found knowledge to the school classroom.
ReplyDeleteInclusion is always a controversial topic. On one hand we have the students, exceptional or normal developing, who can learn to be more accepting of others differences. On the other hand there are the teachers, who perhaps have no special education background, and who have to deal with the behaviours that the students exhibit. I believe that for some, inclusion can be beneficial, but if there is a continual disruption of class, up to and including the whole class having to be removed to the hall while the behaviour is being dealt with, than a different strategy needs to be employed, and perhaps inclusion is not the best bet.
ReplyDeleteInclusion needs to be look at very closely, what is the pro vs. con? A highly disruptive child could potentially impact the learning ability of the entire class. Whereas, a child with Cerebral Palsy maybe is a little slower, in a wheelchair needing the support of an EA to work with them, yet being in the class they are not interfering with the education or the safety of the other children. Are we stretching our teachers to thin expecting them to understand all these special needs situations? Look at the medical field would you go see a foot doctor for a brain injury, doctors specialize in certain areas. It really is a hard topic as we all want our kids to fit in, to learn and be the best person they can be. I only hope that whatever decision is made it is best for the children and not based on a school budget. I love how this group mentions the 3 monsters – Fear, Control and Change. We all face these monsters.
ReplyDeleteThe issue of inclusion is a very senstitive and controversal issue however i feel that we need to also look at what the quote "normal" children are getting from having these more difficult children in the classroom appose to what issues it causes. If we ever want our world to be free of discrimination and prejudice we must eliminate it right from the moment they walk into the school with an inclusion policy that works for every one.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Tanya. The benefits of Inclusion are many not only for the student with an exceptionality, but for the other students as well. They learn to accept individual differences and acceptance, while also creating a more unified eductional system.In addition,the student with the exceptionality benfits from socialization, not missing out on the learning environment, and having instruction indiviudalized to meet the learner's needs. It is true that teachers do not have the skills to deal with the varying needs. That is where a paraeducator and support team come in to share their expertise and knowledge.There is also apporpiate teacher trainning for teachers to attend to enhance their understanding.
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