Max Dodge-Harkins
Professor Enos
ENGW 3309
22 April 2015
Inclusive Classrooms: an Imperfect Solution
Introduction
My researched argument will discuss the role of inclusive classrooms in modern education, and it will offer new solutions that are currently being overlooked. One article I found in my research, written by the Special Education Service Agency, describes what an inclusive classroom is: “ inclusion is a term which expresses commitment to educate each child, to the maximum extent appropriate, in the school and classroom he or she would otherwise attend. It involves bringing the support services to the child (rather than moving the child to the services) and requires only that the child will benefit from being in the class (rather than having to keep up with the other students)” (SESA 2). More specifically, students with disabilities are placed into classrooms with their peers, instead of being grouped into a “resource room”. Depending on the severity of the disability and the specific case, resources are brought to the student in their regular classroom, or they are given a permanent aide. However, inclusive classrooms are not always ideal for the student, depending on his or her disability and specific needs: my argument will stem from this idea and it will draw from several sides of the inclusive or non-inclusive classroom debate: it is a complicated issue with several potential solutions.
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I plan to take all sides of the argument into account in the form of academic sources, and
I will synthesize them to attempt to find an ideal solution with elements from all sides of the

argument. It is debatable whether or not any solution I could propose would be viable in most
2 public school systems, due to lack of staff or funding, but there is an alarming lack of writing on such a prevalent issue in education, and I want to change that. My researched argument would hopefully be featured in an academic journal in an attempt to raise more discussion on the issue.
The audience of the researched argument will be the educational discourse community, including teachers, other educators, and those involved in the study of pedagogy.
Background
This researched argument needs to be made because inclusive classrooms are a step in the right direction, but in specific cases they hurt children more than they help them. There is a lack of current literature on the inclusive classroom argument, yet it is a debate that affects millions of children in the United States. The most recent stance on inclusive classrooms by the National
Education Association, the nation’s largest and most powerful teacher’s union, was approved in
1994. There has been a plethora of research regarding education in the past twenty years, so why is the inclusive classroom argument not been updated accordingly?
I hope to add something to this debate with my own research, in an attempt to reopen and revitalize the issue. One argument from my sources contends that “instruction, not setting, is the key to achievement of success as measured by student outcomes” (3).
This source isn’t necessarily against inclusive classrooms, but the author finds that a high level of instruction more than where the student is educated matters most. Another source argues that even students with extremely debilitating disabilities need to be integrated into classrooms because of the first-hand human experiences. The author asserts that “students with severe disabilities can benefit from well-planned and -organized integration experiences” (Cromwell 1). These are experiences these

students miss in their education without inclusive classrooms, even if their “special education”
3 teacher is exceptional. Another argument from my sources discusses the potential of a technique called co-teaching: “co-teaching usually consists of one general education teacher paired with one special-education teacher in an inclusive classroom of general education and special education students” (Scruggs 392). Co-teaching is a compromise between inclusive and noninclusive classrooms, and it attempts to improve upon inclusive classrooms with permanent or multiple aides. This is a valid method, yet in certain circumstances students may require more help than just two teachers could possibly provide.
I have personal experience on the inclusive classroom topic: I worked as an aide in a fourth grade classroom at the Cabot School in Newton, Massachusetts. The entire Newton school system utilizes inclusive classrooms, in part because of the affluence of the town. All four fourth grade classrooms had permanent aids, an opportunity most school systems cannot provide, and there were at least three children with disabilities in each classroom. In the classroom I worked in, there were six different students with different disabilities and none of them received the full attention they required. One of the fourth graders read at a kindergarten level and could not complete any of his work because he could not decipher the directions, and another student breezed through any work given to her with ease, yet she was prone to fits of rage and violence, including throwing multiple pencils at the principal of the school. These children can both be grouped into the category of “having disabilities” but their needs, in terms of education, are vastly different. Neither student fully benefits from being in an inclusive classroom, nor would it be ideal for them to be sent to a resource room. This example perfectly illustrates the point that I will be attempting to prove in my researched argument: instances such as these need to be resolved on a case by case basis, with each child potentially requiring a differing mode of

4 education. There are multiple variables: the amount of time spent in the classroom, in independent instruction or with peers who have similar disabilities.
Annotated Bibliography
Bucholz, Jessica. "Creating a Warm and Inclusive Classroom Environment: Planning for
All Children to Feel Welcome." Electronic Journal for Inclusive Education 2.4
(2009): 1-13. Web. 5 Mar. 2015.
<http://corescholar.libraries.wright.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1102&contextee
>
This source discusses the importance of a teacher’s ability to establish a classroom environment that is beneficial to students. A well cultivated classroom environment can greatly assist a student’s learning ability, but a poor classroom environment can make it almost impossible for a student to learn properly. Often times children with disabilities compare themselves to their peers, and it is possible for them to feel inferior as a result of their disability.
This interaction can create a very negative classroom environment for all students, and it is something that the teacher is fully in control of. I will use this to prove more about how inclusive classrooms are mostly beneficial, but not always, and there should be alternatives for differing situations.
Special Education Service Agency. "Educating Students with Disabilities in General
Education Classrooms: A Summary of the Research." BSNPTA.org. 1 Jan. 1997. Web. 25
Feb. 2015. <http://bsnpta.org/user/Inclusion_Research_Summary.pdf>.
This source will help me frame my researched argument through helping me explain what an inclusive classroom is. Furthermore, the article contends that students with disabilities

5 do not necessarily benefit from being placed into inclusive classrooms, and that the instruction is what is most important. Some students fall behind because of less observable disabilities, such as dyslexia. They struggle to catch up to their peers because of a lack of proper support and this can negatively affect their psychological state: they do not necessarily realize that it is their disability that is slowing their improvement, and they think it’s their own lack of intelligence. An inclusive classroom would work great for a student like this, but only once they receive the proper one on one support and psychological guidance to return to the classroom and feel comfortable. This source will assist me in discussing this exact situation: inclusive classrooms can be a boon, but also a hindrance to children’s education.
Educational Resource Information Center. "Integrating Students with Severe
Disabilities." Eric.ed.gov. 26 July 2007. Web. 25 Feb. 2015.
< http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED321501.pdf>
This article argues that even students with severe disabilities should be integrated into classrooms with their peers. The article describes a student with a severe disability as "having physical, mental, or emotional problems to a degree requiring educational, social, psychological, and/or medical services beyond those traditionally offered by regular and special education". It contends that regardless how severe the disability, students should be involved with their peers and be integrated into inclusive classrooms. This source frames my paper because it represents the other side of the inclusive classroom argument, and I can take from parts of it to create a more holistic solution. I disagree with the article: in certain situations students do not benefit in the least by being integrated into classrooms with their peers. Of course, these students need to interact with their classmates, but one on one, or small group lessons are the best way to education specific students. The main point I want to contend in my essay is that there are no

absolutes in terms of educating children with disabilities, and I disagree with this article’s assertion that all children, no matter what, should be integrated into classrooms.
Scruggs, Thomas. "Co-Teaching in Inclusive Classrooms: A Metasynthesis of Qualitative
Research." Education.ufl.edu. 1 Apr. 2007. Web. 25 Feb. 2015.
<http://education.ufl.edu/325t/files/2013/06/Scrugg_2007.pdf>.
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This source discusses the idea of co-teaching. In co-teaching there is a main teacher and a permanent “co-teacher” who attends mainly to the students with disabilities, but of course he or she is also available to assist to the other students. Similar to the previous source, this article is narrow in its scope and its praise of the method of co-teaching. It makes some very good points, and I think co-teaching is a valid method in certain situations, but it also has its flaws. There could be some students who require a fulltime aide, yet others who only need occasional help to stay on track. Therefore, the co-teacher could be under or overworked depending on the situation, or they may lack the necessary tools to help multiple children with differing disabilities that a specialized disabled student professional could handle more easily.
Rodríguez, Isabel R. “Support, Inclusion, and Special Education Teachers’ Attitudes toward the Education of Students with Autism Spectrum Disorders.” Autism
Research and Treatment (2012). Web. 26 Mar. 2015 .
<http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3420736/>
This article outlines how teachers often struggle with assisting students who suffer from severe disabilities. These teachers may be trained in helping one severe disability, but not another and it is almost impossible for a teacher to be fully qualified in all of these ways. Even exceptional teachers cannot possibly hope to educate several students with severe disabilities at

7 the same time, even if they are perfectly trained because each student could require their full attention. This article touches on the specific disability of severe autism. Autism can affect students in various different ways, and students with severe autism can be very difficult to teach.
They oftentimes require a fulltime aide to keep them on track, as well as a very understanding and capable teacher. I plan to use this source to further frame my argument, and to make the point that inclusive classrooms can be a bad thing in certain situations. If a teacher is underqualified in helping students with, for example, severe autism, then that student is receiving a far worse education than they would with a smaller group classroom and a specialist.
Bibliography
Bucholz, Jessica. "Creating a Warm and Inclusive Classroom Environment: Planning for All
Children to Feel Welcome." Electronic Journal for Inclusive Education 2.4 (2009): 1-13.
Web. 5 Mar. 2015.
<http://corescholar.libraries.wright.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1102&context=ejie>
Educational Resource Information Center. "Integrating Students with Severe
Disabilities." Eric.ed.gov
. 26 July 2007. Web. 25 Feb. 2015.
< http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED321501.pdf>
Rodríguez, Isabel R. “Support, Inclusion, and Special Education Teachers’ Attitudes toward the
Education of Students with Autism Spectrum Disorders.”
Autism Research and
Treatment (2012). Web. 26 Mar. 2015 .
<http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3420736/>

Scruggs, Thomas. "Co-Teaching in Inclusive Classrooms: A Metasynthesis of Qualitative
Research." Education.ufl.edu
. 1 Apr. 2007. Web. 25 Feb. 2015.
<http://education.ufl.edu/325t/files/2013/06/Scrugg_2007.pdf>.
Special Education Service Agency. "Educating Students with Disabilities in General Education
Classrooms: A Summary of the Research." BSNPTA.org
. 1 Jan. 1997. Web. 25 Feb.
2015. <http://bsnpta.org/user/Inclusion_Research_Summary.pdf>.
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Response Letter
I would like to thank Elliott, Mari, and Professor Enos for helping me review my paper.
All three of you commented that I was a little vague in certain points, when I used phrasings such as “one of my sources said”, so I tried to be more specific in points, which I think strengthens in my voice in the essay. Elliott made some helpful comments, such as how I should look out for comma splices, but I disagreed with his recommendation to use APA because I personally prefer MLA. Mari made a great point on how I need to strengthen my voice in other ways than being more specific, and both Mari and Professor Enos noted that I should expand on my annotated bibliography section. I expanded on my annotated bibliography section, but I struggled to find ways to strengthen the voice of my essay because I was not entirely sure how to. I really appreciated all the comments on my proposal, so thank you again to my reviewers.