Pros/ Advantages
Inclusion
There are countless benefits in having students with disabilities included in a regular classroom. Students with and without disabilities are positively affected as well as teacher attitudes and professionalism. According to a study done by the university of Vermont, 17 out of 19 teachers ranging from Kindergarten to Grade 9 experienced a positive transformation. This transformation affected students with disabilities, their classmates and the teachers themselves.
"My attitudes about educating students with significant disabilities in general education have become more positive as a result of teaching a child with significant disabilities," The teachers in the survey indicated a strong agreement by responding with a mean score of 8.59 on the 10-point scale. Fourteen of the nineteen teachers rated this item 8 or higher; 10 teachers gave it the highest agreement score (10). (Giangreco et al, 1993)
It is important to note here that through teaching a student with a disability teachers became increasingly confident and had a positive experience. Teachers need to be challenged with inclusion to grow. Teachers described an emerging recognition that their initial expectations regarding the student with disabilities were based on unsubstantiated assumptions. This prompted teachers to reflect and reconsider previously assumed positions. (Giangreco et al, 1993)
The common themes in successful inclusion are interaction with the student, learning the skills needed to teach the student, and a shift in attitude towards the student.
The following are quotes from teachers surveyed about their opinion on inclusion after having experienced inclusion. The quotes refer to the positive transformation of students with disabilities, students without disabilities and the teacher’s professional and personal experience.
Students with Disabilities: They were challenged and became more observant
I think she became much more aware of her environment because of being in my classroom. Being in the other [self- contained] classroom, there wasn't anything to be awake for because there wasn't anything really going on; whereas in my classroom and in any regular ed classroom there are always kids there, doing things, talking, just there. And so she had a reason to be more alert and could be more involved with her environment because there was something to be involved with. So there was a purpose to her life rather than sleeping.
He is growing accustomed to the way people do things. He is more able to carry on a conversation and stay relevant for more than two sentences. He is learning turn taking; I'm sure that it was worked on before, but I think in a regular classroom you really learn it or someone is on your case all the time.
Students without disabilities: Promoted building of character traits; empathy, acceptance.
I also saw in them the willingness to have him there in that room, to treat him like everybody else; that they didn't feel that he was any different.
I never heard them say, "Poor Jon ," or "Jon can't do this, Jon can't do that." It was always, "Come on, Jon, let's go!" Never any pitying attitude.
Teachers Professional, personal outlook was changed for the better.
It made me more aware of how important it is for someone like that to be included... to be with her peers, to be in a regular classroom.
One of the most important things to teach kids about is that everyone is different and unique and that's OK; and we are all kind of doing the best we can. I just feel that that is a really important lesson.
I really think it changed the way I teach a lot. I think it was really for the better. I think it made me more flexible.
I've used a lot of the ideas that I started out using last year because I spent a lot of time thinking about them to incorporate Katie. I've used them again this year even though I don't have a special needs kid and because I found them successful with the regular ed kids. But my purpose in developing them was thinking about Katie.
Successful inclusion does not rely on fitting the student to the mold of the school; rather it challenges the school to fit the needs of the students with disabilities. In order for the school to rise up to this challenge it calls on an open mind and involvement. The two teachers that were apart of the study that did not experience a positive transformation admit to not being involved with the student with the disability.
School can be seen as mini society, thus by fostering an inclusive environment, and promoting normalization (wolfensberger) this can then be perpetuated into the ideologies of society. Normalization is the philosophical belief that all individuals who are exceptional, no matter what their level and type of disability, should be provided with an education and living environment that is as close to normal as possible. (Winzer, 2005)
As stated by Bunch “ You learn to talk by talking, you learn to read by reading, you learn to write by writing and you learn to include by including.” (1999)
Integration / Mainstreaming
Allows students to have the best of both worlds. Students are able to be a part of a regular classroom. This promotes embracing individual differences and increases positive social and behavioral skills. According to Dr. Karen T. Carey, children with disabilities who are mainstreamed show "improvements in social and play skills, increased social engagement with their peers, increased motor involvement in play, and decreased rates of inappropriate or stereotypical behavior." (Gonzalez, 1999)
There are public schools that offer some mainstream classes to hearing impaired students from special schools. This gives these students exposure to the hearing world and teaches them means of coping with it. The advantage does not solely reside in a gradual exposure but also it is done in a place where there are professionals around, making it a safe environment. (Brantlinger, 2008)
There are three areas of Integration as explained by (Jenkinson, 1997). These areas are location integration; meaning that students with disabilities are integrated in ‘regular’ classrooms periodically throughout the day however is still able to go to a specialized class when needed. Secondly, there is social integration; this involves the student with a disability to participate in extra curricular activity to promote social skills. Lastly there is full integration meaning students participate equally in all areas of school.
This is beneficial as it caters to the needs of the child with a disability, ideally there would be a movement to the full inclusion, but at a pace that the child is comfortable with.
Specialized education
Special education is a way to provide needs that are beyond expertise of a regular classroom teacher (Jenkinson, 1997). Sometimes a ‘regular’ classroom isn’t the best fit for a student with severe special needs. In this case their needs to be an institution that allows these students to reach there full potential. With specialized schools like this focus is on social skills, work experience, and community involvement. An example in Ottawa in the OCDSB board there are three specialized schools. Crystal Bay is one of these schools and the following from (http://www.crystalbayse.ocdsb.ca/index.php?id=14) is what the 2012-2013 school year will bring:
Work experience: to provide opportunities for as many of the students as possible to learn skills to assist them towards achieving independence to the greatest degree possible.
Technological skills: to provide materials, Voice Output Communication Devices, computers and computer programs to assist, encourage and support students to enhance communication.
Partnerships: to provide a rich and academic environment for all students/staff by establishing ties with: community schools for integration and reverse integration opportunities for our students through participation in cultural activities such as dance performance, and theatrical groups and small group involvement; Businesses: Nortel Community Volunteers: who built sensory, cause and effect training tools for our students as well as a tactile Mural; Nortel Networks: who have enhanced our site with donations of : landscaping, furniture, hot tub pad, painting our gym, sanding and staining our picnic tables, tending to our mechanical problems and University of Ottawa MBA students who have built and donated picnic tables and supported our fundraising events.
Curriculum: to develop and implement programs to enrich student’s basic living skills and communication skills.
SIP Goals:
1st goal: We will have in place an Assessment of Basic Language and Learning Skills (ABLLS) program embedded in our daily teaching practice and IEPs.
2nd goal: We will have in place a Core Vocabulary assessment, learning and teaching program embedded in our daily teaching practice and IEPs.
3rd goal: We will have in place a functional numeracy program, with a focus on problem solving, embedded in our weekly teaching practice and IEPs.
Other specialized schools include schools for the Deaf and the Blind. These schools benefit the culture of the disability.
There are countless benefits in having students with disabilities included in a regular classroom. Students with and without disabilities are positively affected as well as teacher attitudes and professionalism. According to a study done by the university of Vermont, 17 out of 19 teachers ranging from Kindergarten to Grade 9 experienced a positive transformation. This transformation affected students with disabilities, their classmates and the teachers themselves.
"My attitudes about educating students with significant disabilities in general education have become more positive as a result of teaching a child with significant disabilities," The teachers in the survey indicated a strong agreement by responding with a mean score of 8.59 on the 10-point scale. Fourteen of the nineteen teachers rated this item 8 or higher; 10 teachers gave it the highest agreement score (10). (Giangreco et al, 1993)
It is important to note here that through teaching a student with a disability teachers became increasingly confident and had a positive experience. Teachers need to be challenged with inclusion to grow. Teachers described an emerging recognition that their initial expectations regarding the student with disabilities were based on unsubstantiated assumptions. This prompted teachers to reflect and reconsider previously assumed positions. (Giangreco et al, 1993)
The common themes in successful inclusion are interaction with the student, learning the skills needed to teach the student, and a shift in attitude towards the student.
The following are quotes from teachers surveyed about their opinion on inclusion after having experienced inclusion. The quotes refer to the positive transformation of students with disabilities, students without disabilities and the teacher’s professional and personal experience.
Students with Disabilities: They were challenged and became more observant
I think she became much more aware of her environment because of being in my classroom. Being in the other [self- contained] classroom, there wasn't anything to be awake for because there wasn't anything really going on; whereas in my classroom and in any regular ed classroom there are always kids there, doing things, talking, just there. And so she had a reason to be more alert and could be more involved with her environment because there was something to be involved with. So there was a purpose to her life rather than sleeping.
He is growing accustomed to the way people do things. He is more able to carry on a conversation and stay relevant for more than two sentences. He is learning turn taking; I'm sure that it was worked on before, but I think in a regular classroom you really learn it or someone is on your case all the time.
Students without disabilities: Promoted building of character traits; empathy, acceptance.
I also saw in them the willingness to have him there in that room, to treat him like everybody else; that they didn't feel that he was any different.
I never heard them say, "Poor Jon ," or "Jon can't do this, Jon can't do that." It was always, "Come on, Jon, let's go!" Never any pitying attitude.
Teachers Professional, personal outlook was changed for the better.
It made me more aware of how important it is for someone like that to be included... to be with her peers, to be in a regular classroom.
One of the most important things to teach kids about is that everyone is different and unique and that's OK; and we are all kind of doing the best we can. I just feel that that is a really important lesson.
I really think it changed the way I teach a lot. I think it was really for the better. I think it made me more flexible.
I've used a lot of the ideas that I started out using last year because I spent a lot of time thinking about them to incorporate Katie. I've used them again this year even though I don't have a special needs kid and because I found them successful with the regular ed kids. But my purpose in developing them was thinking about Katie.
Successful inclusion does not rely on fitting the student to the mold of the school; rather it challenges the school to fit the needs of the students with disabilities. In order for the school to rise up to this challenge it calls on an open mind and involvement. The two teachers that were apart of the study that did not experience a positive transformation admit to not being involved with the student with the disability.
School can be seen as mini society, thus by fostering an inclusive environment, and promoting normalization (wolfensberger) this can then be perpetuated into the ideologies of society. Normalization is the philosophical belief that all individuals who are exceptional, no matter what their level and type of disability, should be provided with an education and living environment that is as close to normal as possible. (Winzer, 2005)
As stated by Bunch “ You learn to talk by talking, you learn to read by reading, you learn to write by writing and you learn to include by including.” (1999)
Integration / Mainstreaming
Allows students to have the best of both worlds. Students are able to be a part of a regular classroom. This promotes embracing individual differences and increases positive social and behavioral skills. According to Dr. Karen T. Carey, children with disabilities who are mainstreamed show "improvements in social and play skills, increased social engagement with their peers, increased motor involvement in play, and decreased rates of inappropriate or stereotypical behavior." (Gonzalez, 1999)
There are public schools that offer some mainstream classes to hearing impaired students from special schools. This gives these students exposure to the hearing world and teaches them means of coping with it. The advantage does not solely reside in a gradual exposure but also it is done in a place where there are professionals around, making it a safe environment. (Brantlinger, 2008)
There are three areas of Integration as explained by (Jenkinson, 1997). These areas are location integration; meaning that students with disabilities are integrated in ‘regular’ classrooms periodically throughout the day however is still able to go to a specialized class when needed. Secondly, there is social integration; this involves the student with a disability to participate in extra curricular activity to promote social skills. Lastly there is full integration meaning students participate equally in all areas of school.
This is beneficial as it caters to the needs of the child with a disability, ideally there would be a movement to the full inclusion, but at a pace that the child is comfortable with.
Specialized education
Special education is a way to provide needs that are beyond expertise of a regular classroom teacher (Jenkinson, 1997). Sometimes a ‘regular’ classroom isn’t the best fit for a student with severe special needs. In this case their needs to be an institution that allows these students to reach there full potential. With specialized schools like this focus is on social skills, work experience, and community involvement. An example in Ottawa in the OCDSB board there are three specialized schools. Crystal Bay is one of these schools and the following from (http://www.crystalbayse.ocdsb.ca/index.php?id=14) is what the 2012-2013 school year will bring:
Work experience: to provide opportunities for as many of the students as possible to learn skills to assist them towards achieving independence to the greatest degree possible.
Technological skills: to provide materials, Voice Output Communication Devices, computers and computer programs to assist, encourage and support students to enhance communication.
Partnerships: to provide a rich and academic environment for all students/staff by establishing ties with: community schools for integration and reverse integration opportunities for our students through participation in cultural activities such as dance performance, and theatrical groups and small group involvement; Businesses: Nortel Community Volunteers: who built sensory, cause and effect training tools for our students as well as a tactile Mural; Nortel Networks: who have enhanced our site with donations of : landscaping, furniture, hot tub pad, painting our gym, sanding and staining our picnic tables, tending to our mechanical problems and University of Ottawa MBA students who have built and donated picnic tables and supported our fundraising events.
Curriculum: to develop and implement programs to enrich student’s basic living skills and communication skills.
SIP Goals:
1st goal: We will have in place an Assessment of Basic Language and Learning Skills (ABLLS) program embedded in our daily teaching practice and IEPs.
2nd goal: We will have in place a Core Vocabulary assessment, learning and teaching program embedded in our daily teaching practice and IEPs.
3rd goal: We will have in place a functional numeracy program, with a focus on problem solving, embedded in our weekly teaching practice and IEPs.
Other specialized schools include schools for the Deaf and the Blind. These schools benefit the culture of the disability.