Background
The inclusion of learners with special needs is gradually becoming a major concern to various governments (Holt, 2004). With the enactment of the Disability Discrimination act of 1992 and changes in community perceptions towards individuals with disability in Australia, mainstream primary educational institutions have had to prioritize children with disabilities’ inclusion (Forbes, 2007). Holt (2004) gives a social model definition of disability as the disadvantage or restriction of activity resulting from contemporary social organization which takes either little or no account of individuals with physical impairments thereby excluding them from mainstream social activities. Generally, children are considered learning disabled if they are unable to learn normally comparative to children of the same age group and have a disability which makes them unable to use educational facilities provided to children of the same age group making them unable to learn normally if special educational needs are not provided for them (Holt, 2004).
Presently, there exist multiple services that cater for primary related child education services in Australia whose society generally favor the philosophy of full inclusion, (Forbes, 2007). This indicates that a large proportion of children have disability although it is reported that many children with mild forms of disability tend to be unrecorded hence it most likely feel that children with disability are unrepresented in primary institutions (Keeffe-Martin, 2001). Nonetheless, there are limited comparative data on inclusive versus noninclusive education in primary schools in Australia (Keeffe-Martin, 2001).
Legislations on inclusion
A number of legislations that protect individuals with disabilities are in effect in Australia with the key one being the Disability Discrimination Act of 1992 (Holt, 2004). The legislation stipulates that grounds for unlawful discrimination include physical, psychiatric, sensory, intellectual, and neurological or learning disabilities which encompass physical disfigurement, illnesses, disorders, inability to perceive reality, lack of judgment or results in disturbed behaviors. Areas covered include; education, accommodation, access to premises, club or sports related activities, provision of goods and services and buying or selling of land (Keeffe-Martin, 2001). The legislation upholds that special needs should by all means not form the basis of admission of a child into educational institutions (Keeffe-Martin, 2001). Besides demanding that students with special needs be given equal learning opportunities like their normal counterparts, the law prohibits the administration of a learning institution from expelling any learning disability student on the basis of disability (Keeffe-Martin, 2001). Keeffe-Martin (2001) further asserts that most states in Australia by the year 2000 had enacted the equal opportunity or the anti- discrimination legislation that also seek to ensure proper inclusion of learners with special needs into the normal classroom learning programs. Notably, though inclusion has not been effectively implemented in all Australian states as it faces local and international barriers, virtually all states in Australia have adapted the concept of inclusion (Forbes, 2007). Researches indicate a number of inclusive strategies that have been successfully implemented in Australian Academic institutions. Additionally, Qualities of an inclusive environment should ensure that every child has participates in and have access to curriculum and activities, that the goals of all children with disability are met within a typical early childhood experience, that all necessary support services that best meet the child’s needs are made available to the teachers, providers or the staff and that expertise and resources are shared (Forbes, 2007).
The Need for Inclusion of Students with special needs
Holt (2004) contends that inclusion of learners with special needs in mainstream primary schools has multiple merits comparative to segregation. Generally, including children with disability within mainstream primary educational institutions reduces the possibility of later prejudice and shifts their perceptions leading to more positive social interactions and behavioral outcomes (Holt, 2004). Inclusion proponents have noted that segregated programs do not meet the archetype objectives for special education, besides being detrimental to students. They also contend that learners in inclusive settings learn to develop skills from their classmates, have an opportunity to develop friendships typical with their peers and have opportunities to develop positive attitudes with themselves and their peers (Holt, 2004). A number of researches have also confirmed that inclusion expands the opportunities for children in primary schools with key indicators being reduced fear of individual differences especially in terms of increased awareness and comfort, improved self concept, growth in social cognition, developed personal principles and a generally improved attitude towards individual ability to advocate for friends and peers with disability (WEAC, 2012).
Classroom Geographies with Regards to Special Educational Needs
Geographic constitutions of classrooms should be all inclusive in terms of seating arrangement, teaching strategies, and emotional inclusion. According to Huanga and Diamond (2009), researches in Australian institutions found that seating arrangements in inclusive institutions had seating arrangements, which did not take into account learning differences. Besides classroom micro spaces did not have distinct specialties to carter for disability needs. The layouts of classrooms have nonetheless been found to be a cardinal determinant in the effectiveness of inclusion and resulting performances. Inclusion related classroom geography designs have been found to have multiple constraints some of which include; limited research, socio-spatial constraints of the school, and external interferences since learning environments tend to reproduce already biased identities from the wider society, (Holt 2004). Classroom geographies directly influence children with disabilities’ performance since it defines the context in which communication between the learner, peers and other learners which is vital. According to WEAC, in fifty studies likening the academic performance of segregated and mainstreamed students found that the latter had a 50th percentile score comparative to the 80th percentile of the former.
Barriers
Multiple barriers have, however, been identified that have to be overcome for successful inclusion with Australian primary educational institutions, (Forbes, 2007). These are inclusive of poor staff to child ration, insufficient staffing, inadequate staff training to deal with inclusion, negative attitudes of major stakeholders, lack of available places, limited resources and equipment, difficulty in accessing supplementary funding and the type and severity of the disability which makes it difficult in properly placing the learners (Forbes, 2007). Forbes (2007) acknowledges that there is a serious shortage qualified special educators as well a general shortage of undergraduate degree opportunities that permit aspiring special educators to specialize in special education. Workers were also found to be uncomfortable with the level of discomfort increasing with severity of disability, besides teachers also tended to have negative attitudes towards learners with severe disabilities.
Notwithstanding, Cagran and Schmidt (2011) while investigating the attitude of Slovene teachers towards inclusion found out that the teachers attitudes varied significantly with the type of special need of a learner. For instance, teachers of learners with physical impairment showcased positive attitude towards inclusion of such learners in the normal school system as opposed of teachers of learners with behavioral problems (Cagran and Schmidt, 2011). Similarly, based on the interpretative paradigm through which attitudes towards inclusion of students of students with special needs have always been described, it has always been noted that parents have strong, positive attitude towards the concept of inclusion and openly profess their understanding of the emotional benefits accruable from an inclusive education system, (Cagran and Schmidt, 2011).
Analysis
Aggregately, researches have shown that parents, both of children with disability and without, favor inclusion of children with disabilities in mainstream institutions, as opposed to segregation. Parents of children with disability noted that inclusion developed their children’s social skills, age-appropriate behaviors and language. Besides, a number of researchers have indicated that inclusion is cost effective with the employment being higher for primary learners who attended inclusive institutions compared to those from segregated education programs, (WEA, 2012). Inclusion of children with special needs has also been found to carter for their needs for acceptance, belonging and to developmentally appreciate appropriate practices.
Recommendations of inclusive strategies have noted that teachers should teach in small steps, give clear directions, speak slowly, move all the children physically through tasks, help the disabled children to recognize the world by using structures and consistencies and work with other agencies in providing equipment and personnel thereby creating an all inclusive environment (WEAC, 2012). On the same note, a number of researches have come up with propositions of what needs to make up inclusive programs with key strategies noting that there are needs to assess the physical accessibility of learners’ homes, evaluation of enrollment, recruitment and employment policies, ensuring that there are adaptive equipment within the schools, and learning the fundamental communication signals with the children since teachers in mainstream environments tend to be lacking in the skill (Holt, 2004).
Conclusion
Concisely, teachers, learners and parents all have positive views towards inclusion with the general attitude being that inclusion benefits children both with and without disabilities, (Huanga and Diamond, 2009). An undoubted fact is that inclusive programs within primary education maximize children’s learning opportunities, (Huanga and Diamond, 2009). However, from a personal standpoint, the quality of the inclusive environment for students with special needs can only be enhanced if the needs of the child with a special need are met from childhood. This implies that the effectiveness of the inclusive environment to ply for the needs of a grown up student with special needs is always compromised if the inclusion is wrongly timed (Forbes, 2007). Additionally, the inclusive environment should be designed in such a way the learner has access and participates in the activities stipulated in the curriculum in the same as other normal learners though there must be a support system to help the learner with their special needs and as the Australian Special Education Principal Association (ASEPA) recently recommended, the curriculum needs of learners with special needs need to be bolted in the existing curriculum and not just being built-in (Forbes, 2007).
Article Summaries
Cagran, B. and Schmidt, M., 2011. Attitudes of Slovene teachers towards the inclusion of pupils with different types of special needs in primary school. Educational Studies, 37(2), p. 171–195.
Cagran and Schmidt articles analyses one of the most crucial issues in light of inclusion. The study done by the two researchers aimed at investigating the attitudes of Slovene teachers with regards to inclusion of students with variant special needs such as physical impairment and emotional disorders. The study also strived to unravel the relationship between the teachers’ level of professionalism in handling learners with special needs ad their attitudes towards inclusion. Using an IIQ questionnaire the researchers were able to measure teachers’ attitudes towards inclusion. The researchers concluded that the type of special need and the level of training of a teacher in handling special needs students has a profound effect on their attitudes towards inclusion and hence the implementation of inclusion.
Forbes, F., 2007. Towards inclusion: an Australian perspective. Support for Learning, 22 (2), p. 66-71
This article outlines the views of the Australian Special Education Principal (ASEPA) on the idea of inclusion. The article discusses the impact of policy changes that have occurred with regards to inclusion of special needs student as well as the current context of inclusion in Australian. The author is opinionative that inclusion is currently overly present in Australia, but since it has attracted several policy changes, the concept has potentially profound effects that will be witnessed in the near future. The author goes ahead to look at the impact of inclusion particularly with regards to the findings by ASEPA before emphasizing the essence of a curriculum as the main pathway in achieving inclusion.
Holt, L., 2004. Children with Mind–Body Differences: Performing Disability in Primary School Classrooms. Children’s Geographies, 2(2), p. 219–236.
In this journal article, Holt discusses the geographical shift in primary education of children with special needs in England. Holt begins by giving various definitions of the term disability before proceeding to analyze classroom micro space geographies of students with special needs. This article that is largely based on Rose Hill School also maps out the abilities and dependency of learners with special needs in various learning institutions besides instituting the various in which the curriculum is designed to regulate defiant behavior. According to Holt, the need for inclusion is increasingly gaining momentum and students with special needs are growingly getting accepted in mainstream primary school classrooms.
Huanga, H. and Diamond, K. E., 2009. Early Childhood Teachers’ Ideas about Including Children with Disabilities in Programs Designed for Typically Developing Children. International Journal of Disability, Development and Education, 56(2), p.169–18
In their article, Huanga and Diamond examine how information about children disability influences teachers responses with regards to inclusion of children with disabilities in their classroom. The researchers collected data from 155 preschool teachers in the United States before analyzing the collected data in terms of their admissibility is special needs learners into their classrooms, among other facets. The researchers report that most teachers view the concept of inclusion positively with their response to children with disabilities also being positive. To top it off, the researchers also study the relationship between teachers responses and the type of disability involved. This assertion underscores the fact that teachers have variant notion about various special needs hence tend to respond differently to the different type of disability.
Keeffe-Martin, M., 2001. Legislation, case law and current issues in inclusion: An Analysis of trends in the United States and Australia. Australia and New Zealand Journal of Law and Education. 6(1&2). P. 25-46.
The article compares some of the inclusions laws in the United States and Australia. The paper gives an apt description of the Disability Discrimination Act of 1992. It goes ahead to foreground some of the principal aims of the disability Act in addition to giving a definition of the term disability. Further, the article discusses some of the direct and indirect ways through which discrimination always occur in education. The article also espouses some of the parameters of reasonable accommodation such as the appropriate action that should be taken in case of discrimination based educational needs. Finally, the article speaks about some of the litigation trends with regards to inclusion.
Winscosin Education Association Council (WEAC), 2012. Special Education Inclusion. [online]18 August. Available at: http://www.weac.org/issues_advocacy/resource_pages_on_issues_one/special_education/special_education_inclusion.aspx
This online article gives a vivid picture of inclusion by reviewing some of the American policies for inclusion. The policies discussed in the article are; IDEA and how it recognizes inclusion, and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 with influences on the American education system with reference to inclusion. Most importantly, the article reviews some of the famous court decision that act as guidelines to schools on matters that have not been conclusively highlighted in the IDEA policy. Additionally, the article rounds up a number of studies that have been undertaken in a bid to try to institute the benefits of inclusion. It also offers recommendations on how the districts can create a more inclusive learning environment.
Reference List
Cagran, B. and Schmidt, M., 2011. Attitudes of Slovene teachers towards the inclusion of pupils with different types of special needs in primary school. Educational Studies, 37(2), p. 171–195.
Forbes, F., 2007. Towards inclusion: an Australian perspective. Support for Learning, 22 (2), p. 66-71
Holt, L., 2004. Children with Mind–Body Differences: Performing Disability in Primary School Classrooms. Children’s Geographies, 2(2), p. 219–236.
Huanga, H. and Diamond, K. E., 2009. Early Childhood Teachers’ Ideas about Including Children with Disabilities in Programmes Designed for Typically Developing Children. International Journal of Disability, Development and Education, 56(2), p.169–182.
Keeffe-Martin, M., 2001. Legislation, case law and current issues in inclusion: An Analysis of trends in the United States and Australia. Australia and New Zealand Journal of Law and Education. 6(1&2). P. 25-46.
Winscosin Education Association Council (WEAC), 2012. Special Education Inclusion. [Online] 18 August. Available at: http://www.weac.org/issues_advocacy/resource_pages_on_issues_one/special_education/special_education_inclusion.aspx
