Inclusion: Helping All
Students Succeed
“Children that learn together,
learn to live together
Irene Elliott
Director, Pupil Personnel Services
Encinitas Union School District
All Children are General Education Students First
"Inclusion involves all kinds of practices that are ultimately practices of
good teaching. What good teachers do is to think thoughtfully about
children and develop ways to reach all children.
"Ultimately good teaching is a relationship between two people; teachers
get good results because they enter into that relationship. Inclusion is
providing more options for children as ways to learn. It’s structuring
schools as community where all children can learn. But there’s no recipe
for becoming an inclusive teacher or an inclusive school. It’s not a
mechanized format." -- Dr. Chris Kliewer, Associate Professor of
Special Education, University of Northern Iowa, (taught second grade
in an inclusive school in Syracuse, NY, for four years).
Historical Perspective
• Brown v. Board of Education (1954)
• Civil Rights movement (1950’s/1960’s)
• The Education for all Handicapped Children Act
(PL 94-142)
• Individuals with Disabilities Education Act
(IDEA) (1990)
• Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
• Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973
Historical Assumptions
About Student Differences
p Students are responsible for their own
learning
p When students do not learn, there is
something wrong with them.
p Schools must figure out what’s wrong with as
much precision as possible so that students
can be directed to the track, curriculum,
teachers and classrooms that match their
learning ability profile. Otherwise, no learning
will occur.
Requirements in the Law
• I.D.E.A. Reauthorization and Section 504 of
the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 require that
individuals with disabilities are to receive a
free and appropriate public education
(FAPE) which must occur in the least
restrictive environment (LRE), with
supplementary aids and services, when
necessary.
Least Restrictive Environment
To the maximum extent possible, children with
disabilities, including children in public or private
institutions and other care facilities, are educated
with children who are not disabled, and special
classes, separate schooling, or other removal of
children with disabilities from the general
education environment occurs only when the
nature of the severity of the disability of the child
is such that education in the general class with the
use of supplementary aids and services cannot be
achieved satisfactorily. Section 612 (a) (5) (A)
Key Concepts of LRE
• Must be individually determined and based on a
student’s individual needs
• Applies to all children with disabilities
• The general education class is always the first
choice
• Consideration and use of supplementary aids and
services to make the general education class a first
and viable option is required
Supplementary Aids and Services
Aids, services, and other supports that are
provided in general education classes or
other education-related settings to enable
children with disabilities to be educated
with non-disabled children to the maximum
extent appropriate in accordance
with 300.500-300.556.
Full Inclusion vs. Mainstreaming
• Mainstreaming: Special Education class is
primary placement; student is brought to the
services
• Full inclusion: General Education class is
the primary placement; services are brought
to the student
• Decisions are based on the ability of the
child to benefit from the placement
New Assumptions About Inclusion &
Students with Disabilities
p Inclusion was about changing schooling
experiences for students with disabilities.
p Inclusion was a good that redressed the
discriminatory and disenfranchising educational
practices of the past.
p Schools needed to develop a consensus about
educating students with disabilities and adopt a
shared mission that included them.
p Teachers needed to work together collaboratively
to create successful learning experiences and
outcomes for students with disabilities.
Ø
Inclusion is “happening” in schools across the country.
Ø
Roughly half of the students in a “typical” school receiving special
education services spend at least 80% of their time in general
education classrooms.
Ø
Students with all types and degrees of disability (except for deafblindness) increasingly received schooling in general education
classrooms.
Ø
At the same time, students with more severe disabilities (e.g., deafblindness, serious emotional disturbance & multiple disabilities)
continue to be disproportionately represented in separate schools.
Ø
Where a student with disabilities lives is the most significant
determinant of placement.
Ø
In Socorro, TX the percentage of students enrolled in special
education dropped from 12% - 10% from 1998 – 2001 while the
school population grew by more than 7,000. The percentage of
special education students more than 80% of their time in general
education classrooms jumped from 27% - 82%.
Ø Of the hundred largest, urban districts, more than 80% place
the largest percentage of their students with IEPs in resource
rooms, separate classes or schools for more.
Ø Minority students and students living in poverty are
overrepresented in high incidence categories.
Ø Students in special education are more likely to be AfricanAmerican and Latino than European-American or AsianAmerican.
Ø Among the most frequent reasons for referral to special
education are reading difficulties and behaviour problems
Ø Interventions to improve reading and classroom management
have been demonstrated to reduce the number of children who
fail or are referred to special education.
Ø There are no mechanisms in place to guarantee that students
will be exposed to state of the art reading instruction or
classroom management before they are identified as having a
“within-child” problem.
An inclusive classroom is a
supportive, caring
learning community in
which every student feels
accepted
• "Inclusion works when teachers believe
that all children can learn." dayle timmons
• Inclusion is changing the rules of the
game so that everyone can play and
everyone can win.
Full Inclusion is
• Believing that all children
can learn
• Welcoming all children
and their unique gifts
• Addressing each child’s
educational needs
• Good for all children
• A collaborative way to
teach and learn
• A right of all children
regardless of their
disability
Teachers have the opportunity for:
 setting an example for nondiscrimination and
acceptance of people’s differences
 using creativity in their teaching
 workings closely with parents to understand
student strengths and needs
 working with a wider circle of teachers and
specialists
 being a leader and role model for other educators
 eliminating preconceived ideas about students
with disabilities
 making significant change in the life of a student
with disabilities as well as others in the class
Goals of Inclusion
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Better Instruction
More time on task
Fewer interruptions
Closer monitoring
Higher self-esteem
Sense of belonging
More risk taking
• Fewer labels
• Teacher teamwork
• Ownership by all
Positive self-esteem comes
from engaging in a
challenging task and
succeeding
Benefits of Inclusion
• Students with disabilities have the opportunity for:
 experiencing full citizenship in school and
the community
 forming a wide circle of friends
 experiencing academic challenges
 enjoying the satisfaction of achievements
 learning to rely more on friends than teachers
 taking new risks
 finding they can master activities they may not have tried
in special ed classes
Students without disabilities have the opportunity
for:
 realizing that each person has gifts, talents and challenges
 learning to move beyond their stereotypes of people with
disabilities
 developing a better understanding of citizenship for all
people
 appreciating the similarities and differences among all
people
 working on the sense of their own shortcomings
 increasing their level of comfort around all people
 serving as role models
 solving real life challenges by finding creative approaches
to problems faced by students with disabilities
Classroom Expectations
•
•
•
•
•
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Student response
Teaching style
Assessment
Grading Textbooks
Rules
Written work
Identify what it takes for a
student to succeed in your
classroom
• "A bonus associated with learning to make
modifications is that you can then use these
to help all learners. Not only will this help
you reinforce the idea that all people learn
differently, but it will also help you teach
that everyone needs e xtra help once in
awhile." -- Golomb & Hammeken.
(January/February 1996). Learning.
Curriculum Modification Planning
• What is everyone else doing? ________________
• Can ______participate just like everyone else?
If yes, go for it!
• If no, what can we do to include _________?
• Can we give _________some help from friends?
From who_________?
• Can_______use different materials? What
materials?__________How will they be used?_______
• What else can ______do that is related to what the class is
doing?___________________
Dewey (1902)says..........
What the best and wisest parent
wants for his child, that must the
community want for all its
children. Any other ideal for our
schools is narrow and unlovely;
acted upon, it destroys our
democracy.