Inclusion in the Classroom
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.
Inclusion has adapted to refer to the inclusion of handicapped students in general education classes, but there are many other ways to refer to inclusion. In the early stages inclusion was referred to as integration, it is now defined as
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The Rehabilitation Act of 1973 was created to help all citizens with disabilities and create laws supporting them. In Section 504, the focus is inclusion in schools. It ?established a system of vocational rehabilitation programs and services that were designed to increase opportunities for individuals with disabilities to prepare for, secure, maintain and regain employment.? It also ?prohibits discrimination on basis of disability in programs and activities, both public and private, that receive federal financial assistance.? (Winzer & Mazurek 2000) The Rehabilitation Act of 1973, section 504 also states that a person that is receiving funds from the federal government must arrange 2qhandicapped children in regular classrooms, unless the recipient has demonstrated that the regular classroom is unbeneficial. (Education Issues Series 2001) This act along with Americans with Disabilities Act ?form solid foundation on which today?s special education system is built.? (Winzer & Mazurek 2000) The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) extends the provisions of anti-discrimination that the Rehabilitation Act stated.
The most important law concerning inclusion today is the Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA), which was revised and reauthorized in 1997 and is usually referred to
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 simply to be “included”. Inclusion is used to ensure that people with disabilities and needs are not restricted from activities and tasks due to this. Inclusion is about valuing all individuals and giving them a fair chance to be included without discrimination, inclusion should also include children from disadvantaged groups, of all races and cultures as well as the gifted and the disabled. Equal opportunities and inclusion should take account not only of access to provision or school premises, but also to facilities outside school settings, such as school visits. Everyone
Inclusion is a program that has been in effect for many years, yet has not become standard procedure in all public schools. The program ?inclusion as the name implies, means all students with disabilities, regardless of the nature or severity of the disability and need for special services, receive their total education within the regular education classroom? (Haller 167). Inclusion is an involved program that has taken time to establish in the most beneficial manner, however the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) has helped in the formation of the program (Haller 54). ?The Education of all Handicapped children Act mandated that all school-age children with disabilities receive a free appropriate education in the least restrictive environment? (Haller 54). This means that the education program would cease to pull children out of the classroom for resource instruction. The idea of the
Inclusion is the act of placing students with disabilities into the general education classroom. Students are given the tools, time, and resources necessary to actively participate in all aspects of the general education classroom. Inclusion is not just adding a student with disabilities into the classroom, but genuinely including them as valued members of the classroom. Inclusion is not an easy system to put into practice because it requires a great deal of teamwork and cooperation between teachers, administrators, and parents. Positive Inclusion programs closely supervise the social and academic progress to ensure the students are thriving. When inclusion is done correctly, the teacher finds a way to meet the student’s needs in a way that is natural and unobtrusive. The resources and supports in an inclusion classroom benefit all students, not just the students with disabilities.
Section 504 is a part of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 that outlaws discrimination based upon disability. It is an anti-discrimination, civil rights statute that requires the needs of students with disabilities to be met as adequately as the needs of the non-disabled are met. Section 504 ensures that the child with a disability has equal access to an education. Section 504 does not require a public school to provide an individualized educational program (IEP) that is designed to meet a child's unique needs
Inclusion is the act of having students with disabilities and abled body students in the same classroom. In concept this has many benefits not only for the students but it also saves time and money for the school, however in practice I do not think inclusion works the way it was hoped to. Inclusion in theory will put light strain on the classroom because of safe guards such as helper teachers are in place to help out. In my experience these teachers are in the way most of the time when students are trying to learn, and students feel cheated when the special needs students are handed a supplemented test making the students feel bad. Lastly that the pros of inclusion in the classroom are set in perfect conditions with good teachers on both sides special education and general education, however most of the time that is not the case.
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
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
Some examples of the laws that have been put into place are the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEIA), and Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Special education inclusion has been a controversy for the several past years, it is a widely heated topic today, and there are things that will change and continue to promote inclusion in the future.
Inclusion in classrooms is defined as combining students with disabilities and students without disabilities together in an educational environment. It provides all students with a better sense of belonging. They will enable friendships and evolve feelings of being a member of a diverse community (Bronson, 1999). Inclusion benefits students without disabilities by developing a sense of helping others and respecting other diverse people. By this, the students will build up an appreciation that everyone has unique yet wonderful abilities and personalities (Bronson, 1999). This will enhance their communication skills later in life. Inclusive classrooms provide students with disabilities a better education
Inclusion began when The Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA), was passed in 1974. IDEA marked a turning point for the placement of children with special needs. This legislation stated that all school systems are required to receive federal funding to provide a free and appropriate education for all students regardless of how handicapped they are. The term inclusion does not actually appear in the text of IDEA. Instead, the law requires that children with special needs be educated to the maximum extent appropriate in the least restrictive environment. The IDEA says that the least restrictive environment is the regular education classroom. (Special Education, 2001) The IDEA requires the Individual Education Program (IEP) team to consider placement in the regular classroom in the beginning to determine if it is an appropriate placement for the child. The law specified different environments where special services could take place. The main goal was to place special education students in regular education classrooms for gains in academics and behavior for the children. (Singleton, n.d)
A second law dealing with special needs students is section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. This act requires that schools, which receive federal funding, provide equal education to all handicapped children in the schools jurisdiction (W.E.A.C, 2001). This act also requires that handicapped children be educated with other children who are not handicapped to the maximum extent (W.E.A.C, 2001). This requirement clearly points to inclusion as the best option available for handicapped students, in the opinion of the federal government. Section 504 has helped handicapped people in other areas as well. The act requires that public buildings make architectural changes to increase accessibility for those with special needs (Choate, 1997). This part of the act was important because it put an end to school?s using the structure of the school building as an excuse for providing an unequal education to those children who were handicapped or disabled.
Inclusion in education is the act of including children with special needs into general education classes. Students learn side by side in the same classroom with the support of a team of professionals vested in the success of these
A lot of people do not agree with inclusion in classrooms. They say, “the disabled student might be disruptive” or “the other students might get upset when the teacher has to slow down for the disabled student.” All students have their right to an education, whether it be inclusive or not. If a student is disruptive, the teacher should be able to handle it. Although people think inclusion has many disadvantages, there are far more advantages and benefits for all students, teachers, families and even for communities. Since everyone can benefit from inclusion, we as society should make schools and communities inclusive.
Inclusive education is concerned with the education and accommodation of ALL children in society, regardless of their physical, intellectual, social, or linguistic deficits. Inclusion should also include children from disadvantaged groups, of all races and cultures as well as the gifted and the disabled (UNESCO, 2003). Inclusion tries to reduce exclusion within the education system by tackling, responding to and meeting the different needs of all learners (Booth, 1996). It involves changing the education system so that it can accommodate the unique styles and way of learning of each learner and ensure that there is quality education for all through the use of proper resources, suitable curricula, appropriate