inclusive education

1. NEW B.ED COLLEGE, NELLIMOOD
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM
ASSIGNMENT ON PEDAGOGY
TOPIC: INCLUSIVE EDUCATION
Submitted By,
NAME: SHINDU SIVAN
SUBJECT: ENGLISH
CANDIDATE NUMBER: 165/13376020 INTRODUCTION Inclusive education differs from previously held notion of integration and mainstreaming, which tended to be concerned principally with disability and ‘special educational needs’. By contrast, inclusion is about the child’s right to participate and the school’s duty to accept the child. Inclusion rejects the use of special schools or classrooms to separate students with disabilities from

2. students without disabilities. A premium is placed upon full participation by students with disabilities and upon respect for their social, civil, and educational rights. Fully inclusive schools, which are rare, no longer distinguish between "general education" and "special education" programs; instead the school is restructured so that all students learn together. PURPOSE OF INCLUSIVE EDUCATION The purpose of education is to ensure that all students gain access to knowledge, skills, and information that will prepare them to contribute to communities and workplaces. The central purpose becomes more challenging as schools accommodate students with increasingly diverse backgrounds and abilities. As we strive to meet these challenges, the involvement and cooperation of educators, parents, and community leaders is vital for the creation of better and more inclusive schools.
INCLUSIVE EDUCATION Inclusion in education is an approach once thought only necessary for educating students with special educational needs. Now it is crucial that all teachers ensure inclusive practice for all students in their classroom and the wider school. Under the inclusion model, students with special needs spend most or all of their time with non- disabled students. Implementation of these practices varies in schools.

3. Inclusion is an educational approach and philosophy that provides all students with community membership and greater opportunities for academic and social achievement. Inclusion is about making sure that each and every student feels welcome and that their unique needs and learning styles are attended to and valued. Inclusive schools put the values upon which America was founded into action; they ask teachers to provide appropriate individualized supports and services to all students without the stigmatization that comes with separation. Research shows that most students learn and perform better when exposed to the richness of the general education curriculum, as long as the appropriate strategies and accommodations are in place. At no time does inclusion require the classroom curriculum, or the academic expectations, to be watered down. On the contrary, inclusion enhances learning for students, both with and without special needs. Students learn, and use their learning differently; the goal is to provide all students with the instruction they need to succeed as learners and achieve high standards, alongside their friends and neighbors. CLASSIFICATION Inclusion has two sub-types: the first is sometimes called regular inclusion or partial inclusion, and the other is full

4. inclusion. "Inclusive practice" is not always inclusive but is a form of integration. For example, students with special needs are educated in regular classes for nearly all of the day, or at least for more than half of the day. Whenever possible, the students receive any additional help or special instruction in the general classroom, and the student is treated like a full member of the class. However, most specialized services are provided outside a regular classroom, particularly if these services require special equipment or might be disruptive to the rest of the class and students are pulled out of the regular classroom for these services. In this case, the student occasionally leaves the regular classroom to attend smaller, more intensive instructional sessions in a resource room, or to receive other related services, such as speech and language therapy, occupational and or physical therapy, and social work. This approach can be very similar to mainstreaming practices, and may differ in little more than the educational ideals behind it.
In the "full inclusion" setting, the students with special needs are always educated alongside students without special needs, as the first and desired option while maintaining appropriate supports and services. Some educators say this might be more effective for the students with special needs. At the extreme, full inclusion is the integration of all students, even those that require the most substantial educational and behavioral supports and services to be successful in regular classes and the elimination of special, segregated special education classes. Special

5. education is considered a service, not a place and those services are integrated into the daily routines and classroom structure, environment, curriculum and strategies and brought to the student, instead of removing the student to meet his or her individual needs. However, this approach to full inclusion is somewhat controversial, and it is not widely understood or applied to date. Much more commonly, local educational agencies provide a variety of settings, from special classrooms to mainstreaming to inclusion, and assign students to the system that seems most likely to help the student achieve his or her individual educational goals. Students with mild or moderate disabilities, as well as disabilities that do not affect academic achievement, such as using wheelchair, are most likely to be fully included. However, students with all types of disabilities from all the different disability categories have been successfully included in general education classes, working and achieving their individual educational goals in regular school environments and activities.
BENEFITS OF INCLUSIVE EDUCATION
All children benefit from inclusive education. It allows them to:
 Develop individual strengths and gifts, with high and appropriate expectations for each child.

6.  Work on individual goals while participating in the life of the classroom with other students their own age.
 Involve their parents in their education and in the activities of their local schools.
 Foster a school culture of respect and belonging. Inclusive education provides opportunities to learn about and accept individual differences, lessening the impact of harassment and bullying.
 Develop friendships with a wide variety of other children, each with their own individual needs and abilities.
 Positively affect both their school and community to appreciate diversity and inclusion on a broader level.
In principle, several factors can determine the success of inclusive classrooms:
1. Family-school partnerships 2. Collaboration between general and special educators 3. Well-constructed plans that identify specific accommodations, modifications, and goals for each student 4. Ongoing training and staff development CLASSROOM PRACTICE Students in an inclusive classroom are generally placed with their chronological age-mates, regardless of whether the

7. students are working above or below the typical academic level for their age. Also, to encourage a sense of belonging, emphasis is placed on the value of friendships. Teachers often nurture a relationship between a student with special needs and a same-age student without a special educational need. Another common practice is the assignment of a buddy to accompany a student with special needs at all times. This is used to show students that a diverse group of people make up a community, that no one type of student is better than another, and to remove any barriers to a friendship that may occur if a student is viewed as “helpless”. Such practices reduce the chance among students in later grades and encourage cooperation among groups. Teachers use a number of techniques to help build classroom communities:  Using games designed to build community  Involving students in solving problems  Sharing songs and books that teach community  Openly dealing with individual differences by discussion  Assigning classroom jobs that build community  Teaching students to look for ways to help each other  Encouraging students to take the role of teacher and deliver instruction focusing on the strength of a student with special needs

8. THE PROMISE OF INCLUSIVE EDUCATION
Inclusive education brings all students together in one classroom and community, regardless of their strengths or weaknesses in any area, and seeks to maximize the potential of all students.
 Inclusion is an effort to make sure that diverse learners – those with disabilities, different languages and cultures, different homes and family lives, different interests and ways of learning – are exposed to teaching strategies that reach them as individual learners
 Inclusive schools ask teachers to provide appropriate individualized supports and services to all students without the stigmatization that comes with separation
 Teachers in inclusive classrooms vary their styles to enhance learning for all students.
CONCLUSION
Inclusive education means that all students attend and are welcomed by their neighborhood schools in age-appropriate, regular classes and are supported to learn, contribute and participate in all aspects of the life of the school. Inclusive education is about how we develop and design our schools, classrooms, programs and activities so that all students learn and participate together.

9. Every person in our province has worth, is valued and has the right to be included in our communities. Disability supports make it possible for people with developmental disabilities to live and participate as full citizens. A decent quality of life means having the supports you need to contribute to your community and live a safe, healthy and productive life.
REFERENCES 1. . "Transformation Ahead for Special Education" Carroll, Doug, The Arizona Republic. 21 September 2006 2. “Attention deficit hyperactivity disorders: A handbook for diagnosis and treatment” (2nd Ed.). Barkley, R.A New York: Guilford. (1998) 3. . “Preserving Special Education” Lieberman, Laurence M, Nobb Hill Press Inc, 1988. 4. “The Exceptional Child: Inclusion in Early Childhood Education” (4 ed.), Allen, K. E.; Schwartz.2000. 5. “Understanding Psychology Eighth Edition”, Feldman, Robert S. (2008).
THE END