Introduction
Inclusion is the process of acknowledging the fact that all members of humanity are one despite their differences and that they have the right to access all the resources and privileges available. Inclusion encompasses the fight against social evils that have propagated exclusion in the past. This means that there is no room for racism, handicapism or even sexism. Consequently, there is a need to acknowledge the fact that everyone is born equal and no one has the right to deny them opportunities just because they think that they are different from them. (Hanson, et al, 1998)
Inclusive education may be defined as the provision of all-encompassing -education. In this sort of approach, no child is discriminated upon regardless of their abilities or disabilities. It was created after the realization that normal children’s development could be enhanced through interaction with all types of pupils. It was also useful for those children with special needs because they would get an opportunity to grow both socially and psychologically. Inclusive education is opposed to the separation of children with special needs into special schools that alienate them from the rest of the world. (Odom et al, 1999)
Inclusion within classrooms requires a lot of preparation from all stakeholders involved in the process. First of all, teachers need to change their curriculum to accommodate children with special needs. Additionally, they also need to change their method of delivery in the classroom. Communication needs to be done in such a way that it can include those children with special needs. Children with special needs require overwhelming support from teachers, school administrations and their parents too. Consequently, schools wishing to implement this program need to plan and research adequately before embarking on an inclusion exercise. Training may be necessary in order to achieve this and there may also be a need to ensure that resources and structures needed by all children are well in place.
How inclusion in education started (Mitchell, 2005)
Inclusion in classrooms started after the realization that people with disabilities had been accorded historical injustices. There was a misconception that Inclusion means inviting those who are out ‘in’. But there were many persons with disabilities, human rights groups and concerned parties that made a cry about those ideas. They asserted that this definition of inclusion was totally inaccurate since there were no clear stipulations on who had the right to invite another ‘in’ or who was supposed to receive the invitation. They argued that all persons had the right to take part in society and that it was their right from the start; that every human being was born ‘in’. (Bunch and Valeo, 1999)
Such ideas prompted legislations such as The American with Disabilities Act and ‘The every Child Matters Act’ in the UK. (The Children Act, 2004) These legislations were passed after many complaints were raised about the fact that most children or persons with special had been ignored in society. And even those who had been recognized were not given the incentives to go about their daily chores with ease. There were complaints about having access to wheelchairs, getting more material written in Braille and the need to see more people understanding the sign language. There was also a cry for more integration and this is the reason why inclusive education was started.
Ion the 1980s, the notion that having compulsory placements of special needs children in special schools was beginning to phase out. Many people started seeing it as a form of discrimination. These views were carried forward by numerous international bodies such as the United Nations in the year 1989; UN had a convention on Rights of the Child. (UNESCO, 1994) The body set up a ‘UN Standard Rules on the Equalization of Opportunities for persons with Disabilities’ in the year 1993 and thereafter, there was Salamanca Statement (1994). (UNESCO, 2001)
Thereafter, governments started to include some of their special needs children into mainstream classes. As time went by, more and more integration was facilitated and this became something acceptable.
Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) conducted report called Inclusive Education at Work: Students with Disabilities in Mainstream Schools (Paris, 1999) this is what it states:
‘The rights of students with disabilities to be educated in their local mainstream school is becoming more and more accepted in most countries, and many reforms are being put in place to achieve this goal. Further, there is no reason to segregate disabled students in public education systems. Instead, education systems need to be reconsidered to meet the needs of all students.’
This has acted as a foundation for most of the non governmental and governmental bodies spearheading the implementation of inclusive education.
Why inclusion is needed in classrooms
Inclusion can bring bout numerous benefits to children with special needs, children without special needs and also to teachers handling inclusive classrooms. However, some critics have argued that these benefits are few and far between. Perhaps the best response to such a point of view is that most of the negative effects have been witnessed in areas where the method of implementation was done very poorly. (Reynolds and Fletcher-Jansen, 2007)
Benefits to children with disabilities
Inclusion in classrooms is necessary because children with disabilities get a first hand experience of what it means to be part of society. Taking children with learning disabilities to mainstream schools would provide a platform for them to be able to socialize with other members of society. Since they were learning with other types of children, then they would have the chance of forging friendships with them. They could also get the benefit of engaging in certain social activities that would have been very difficult if they had been placed in special institutions. Consequently, children with disabilities can do simple things like going to the playground, prepare to go home, chatting at the lunch table, preparing for school assemblies and other activities. These activities would not have been available to children with disabilities if they had been in special schools since preparation would be too tedious. (Florian et al, 2006)
Inclusion in classrooms is also necessary because traditional approaches in the past have failed drastically. In the past, there were mainstream schools that were associated with children without special needs while those with disabilities were taken to their own institutions. This approach was not yielding results. The latter group was not doing well in the psychological apect, the academic and even the social realms. Research conducted in special needs schools (schools designed for special needs children alone) found that there were certain negative traits that those children possessed. These include (Evans and Lund, 2002)
low confidence
low levels of enthusiasm
low self image
low motivational levels
It was also found that their overall performance in life was wanting. Special needs children schooled in separated schools had lower chances of joining post secondary institutions and graduating while they got there. The researchers asserted that their employment rates were also quite low as very few of them were even well qualified for their jobs. The situation was made worse by the fact that most of them had very limited levels of independence even in adulthood. They rarely could afford their own residence and still heavily relied on their parents or relatives for these basics. Since this approach to special needs cases has proven ineffective, there is a need to embrace a more proactive method; that of integration and inclusion. Inclusion in classrooms has the ability to equip children with special needs the necessary academic and social skills needed to survive in their adult lives. (Jowett and Moses, 1988)
Inclusion is also needed in the classroom because there are resources to do it. Research has shown that there is a way that teachers and schools in general can change their education settings so as to accommodate children with disabilities. Teachers can make their instructions personal in nature so that they can deal with every child’s unique needs. With the right training, children with special needs need not be placed apart from other members of society. Therefore traditional approaches have not been necessary at all. Besides that, inclusion has a lot of legal backing through the institution of laws in this area. It would therefore be appropriate to utilize some of these opportunities available.(Schwartz et al, 1998)
Experts assert that when children are placed in general schools, they get access to stimulating environments. In the past, when children with disabilities were still placed in separate schools, it was found that children had very little to work with. Most of these special schools were poorly funded and could not adequately meet the needs of the special child. Also, the environment was not conducive for their development. Placing them in mainstream classrooms gives them this opportunity and they are better equipped to go about their daily activities and to achieve their goals. (ICF, 2001)
Children with special needs need to access role models just like their peers without special needs do. This is quite difficult in schools where all pupils happen to be children with disabilities. In those schools, there are minimal chances of getting students with the right adaptive and communicative behaviors. Once special needs children have been placed in general classes, they can identify with the right communicative patterns and they can be well on their way to implementing those patterns. (Armstrong, et al (2000)
Children with special needs should be included in mainstream classes because it will allow them to gain acceptance into by other children. When special needs children are alienated somewhere in school of their own, it makes them feel that they are different and that few members of society accept them for who they are. However, when they intermingle with other members of the classroom, then they will access opportunities to become part of a peer group.
Benefits for children without disabilities
Inclusion is necessary in the classroom because it teaches children without disabilities to accept children with them. In the past, most people wanted to assume that children with disabilities were not part of society. They assumed that when one is different from them. Then they are not quite full members of society. There is a need to eliminate that mentality because it is not true. The best way to tackle that misconception is by placing those disabled children together with other mainstream children. This teaches them how to embrace change and they are better equipped to handle differences in the future. Part of the reason why problems like racism exist is because adults did not get the opportunity to interact with people who were different from them at a young age. Inclusion may therefore prevent future cases of hate crimes and other societal wrongs. (Norwich and Weddell, 1994)
Inclusion in classes will also teach children without disabilities some virtues. For example, it will teach them how to be patient or how to be more helpful. There may be instances when a child with a special need requires help getting to the black board or throwing a ball at base ball practice. These will be many instances when children without special needs will need to chip in and help. They also need to be more patient during class. This is because their teacher might have to deal with a special needs child at a slower rate and other members of the class have to wait for their teacher to deal with that child. Consequently, such children will be encouraged to wait their turn and exercise patience. These are all necessary tools in later parts of their life. Inclusive schools will serve as a platform for creating more harmonious and enduring citizens in the future. (Lieber et al, 1997)
Children without special needs also get the opportunity to practice leadership skills. Children with special needs may not have the ability to do certain things. This means that those with the ability to do it will b seen as role models. The special needs children can gain motivation from the fact that some of their peers have the ability to have ambitions, pursue them and eventually achieve them. In order top have the ability to inspire special needs children, other children may have to develop leadership skills which will be quite instrumental in their future lives. (Jenkinson, 1997)
In line with this argument, mixing children with and without special needs helps the latter group develop better self esteem. This is because they will learn to appreciate the fact that they were blessed to have all their bodily function in place. Besides that, they will also feel relevant since they can give their counterparts when it is needed and can also serve as role models. For example, when a classmate needs help doing certain things and they receive it adequately for another child, then the helper will always feel better about themselves. (Fletcher-Campbell, 1994)
Children with disabilities teach children without them a chance to lean how to communicate. This is because some special needs children may not have the ability to perceive using conventional techniques. Consequently, their colleagues need come up with ways that will be the most appropriate. For example, when one’s classmate happens to be dumb and deaf, there is a need for his classmates to first learn them and then come up with communication strategies. For example, they could learn sign language or they could create objects and symbols that covey their message. This enhances their communication tools and they can apply that knowledge in the outside world. (Bradley, 1994)
Benefits of inclusion to teachers
Teachers are role models in society. They are supposed to inculcate certain virtues to the children they are working with. Consequently, when teachers carry certain misconceptions, then chances are that it will trickle down to the children they are working with. By placing children with special needs in mainstream classes, teachers have the opportunity to embrace and accept the individual differences among members of society. This will make them better at their profession because they can teach children those values that they have acquired. Research has shown that most biases are created by those around us and especially those who seem at a level greater than another’s. Since children spend most of their time in schools, then most of their values are acquired from their school environment including their teachers. By teaching inclusive education, teachers will be at a better position inculcate values. (Odom et al, 1996)
Teachers who deal with inclusive classrooms also get the chance of acquiring certain facilities and resources that will be beneficial to other members of the classroom other than the children with special needs. There have been complaints in the education fraternity that so teachers do not employ adequate efforts in the process of teaching. Most of them restrict themselves to the curriculum and do not go out of their way to enrich the learning experience. Therefore inclusive education allows teachers to have that opportunity. Teachers dealing with inclusive education can use either of these three areas to derive knowledge, competency and skills from;
early childhood education
special education
bilingual education
Teachers dealing with inclusive education have the opportunity to meet with other teachers and to meet other stakeholders in the education sector. By attending those seminars, teachers have an opportunity to grow in their profession. They learn about numerous techniques that can be used for handling children. For example, a special needs child may have an assistant teacher to help them when they get home, they may also have an itinerant teacher. In order for inclusive education to work out –properly, then classroom teachers need to collaborate with all other parties involved in the process. Teachers are also expected to exchange philosophies with other teachers and they will therefore learn about what is needed to become better at their profession. (Lieber, et al (1998)
In relation to this, teachers also learn how to collaborate with members of the community. By doing this, teachers realize that education is an all encompassing phenomenon. Teachers have to be ready for unannounced visits by local; politicians who may have interest in the issue of special education. They must also work hand in hand with various committees set up to deal with special education. In line with that, they mist be ready to make committee reports. Additionally, teachers may also entertain education assessment authorities in their classroom at certain instances that may not be stipulated. This means that a teacher will always try her best to deliver adequately since she does not know when a stakeholder may pop in. this also motivate them to be equipped with all the latest curriculum changes and technological innovations available since those stakeholders expect her to know this. One can therefore say that special needs teachers are more prepared for the classroom than other types of teachers. (Daniels, 2000)
Inclusion is also critical to teachers because it makes them more diverse. They learn how to cop with different circumstances are different times. They also learn certain virtues. For example, a teacher was teaching in an inclusive classroom where one of their children had cerebral palsy. This child had difficulties understanding basic instructions and did not know how to express themselves properly. His teacher quickly learnt that she had to teach the child how to respond in the affirmative or the negative; this would be her first step. She had to focus on that issue for a period of four months but eventually, the child was able to understand that nodding his head laterally meant no and nodding his head vertically meant yes. The next step was to teach the child how to ask for permission before going to the restroom. This took another six months but the point was made. When this teacher was asked what she learnt from that experience e, she asserted that she was able to individualize instructions. She now understood that all children have different capabilities and that an effective teacher was one who changed their instructions to suit the situation i.e. one has to be diverse. (Mittler, 2000)
Conclusion
Inclusion was started after the realization that every human being had a right to access equal opportunities. It was founded on the belief that all people can think and feel. Besides that, a person is not deemed worthy just because of their abilities. Inclusive education is also founded on the principle that real education occurs when relationships are created. (Beckman et al, 1998)
Inclusion is necessary in the classroom because it raises the self esteem of all children; it teaches them how to accept diversity and also enhances their leadership capabilities. Inclusion also makes teachers better in their profession as they become more diverse. (Sebba and Sachdev, 1997)
References
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