Inclusion In-class material 1. Read the first part of the article and fill in the missing words: Inclusion (2x) educators Mainstreaming modifications excluded regular special Inclusive (2x) Integration (2x) accept ______________ assumes that students with disabilities may share the same physical space (classroom, playground, etc.) with those who have no disabilities only when they are able to do the same activities as everyone else with minimal ______________. The term ______________ , as used by special ______________, conveys the idea that students with disabilities ought to be desegregated from special programs, special schools, or institutions, and integrated into the ______________ classrooms. Further, this term may include also academic and social ______________. ______________is a more values-oriented term than integration. "The true essence of _____________ is based on the premise that all individuals with disabilities have a right to be included in naturally occurring settings and activities with their neighborhood peers, siblings, and friends" (Erwin, 1993, p. 1) Inclusion is about the child’s right to participate and the school’s duty to ______________ the child. It rejects the use of ______________schools or classrooms to separate students with disabilities from students without disabilities. ______________ schools no longer distinguish between "general education" and "special education" programs; instead, the school is restructured so that all students learn together. ______________ education is a process of removing barriers and enabling all students, including previously ______________ groups, to learn and participate effectively within general school systems. 2. Read also the second part of the article and decide if the sentences below are True or False: Inclusion has two sub-types: the first is sometimes called regular inclusion or partial inclusion, and the other is full inclusion. In a "regular inclusion" setting, 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. 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 (such as speech therapy). 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. Full inclusion is the complete integration of the student with a special need into the general education classroom. The student receives all special services in the same general education classroom as all other students. This is very common with students whose needs are easily met in a classroom, such as a modification that allows the student more time to complete written assignments. Schools that practice full inclusion for all students have no separate special education classes. However, full inclusion of all students, regardless of their particular needs, is a controversial practice, and it is not widely applied. Students with disabilities who are not included are typically either mainstreamed or segregated. A segregated student attends no classes with non-disabled students. He or she might attend a special school that only enrolls other students with disabilities. Less common alternatives include homeschooling and, particularly in developing countries, exclusion from education. 1. Children with disabilities can join mainstreem education only if they are able to learn without any special modifications. 2. A child with an impairment can be included to mainstreem education only if she/he has an assistant. 3. Integration is just a legal term that means the opposite of racial and social segregation. 4. Inclusion means that children with disabilities should be educated in a regular classroom of the school in the surrounding they live in. 5. Inclusion is only for children with a mild type of impairment/disability. 6. Regular inclusion means that pupils with disabilities attend the regular classroom for most of the day. 7. All the special services needed are provided as a part of the education in a regular classroom in the concept of regular inclusion. 8. In a regular inclusion setting, it is not common to receive special services such as physical therapy. 9. Exclusion from education is common in developing countries nowadays. 10. Segregation of pupils with an impairment means that they have to attend a special classroom of a mainstreem school. (adapted from http://www.sedl.org/change/issues/issues43/definition_inclusion.html and www.wikipedia.org) 3. Below find some of the most important things needed for a successful inclusion. In pairs mark them 1 (= the most important) to 12 (= the least important) according to the level of their importance: Well-designed individual education plan that identifies specific accommodations, modifications, and goals for each student Professional development for all teachers involved, general and special educators alike Time for teachers to plan, meet, create, and evaluate the students together Reduced class size based on the severity of the student needs Professional skill development in the areas of cooperative learning and peer tutoring Collaboration between parents, teachers and administrators Providing after-school activities for children with special needs Sufficient funding so that schools will be able to develop programs for students based on their needs Family-school partnership Collaboration between general and special educators Providing of special services such as speech therapy, physical therapy, psychotherapy or social work Buying extra materials and stuff for children with special needs (adapted from http://www.sedl.org/change/issues/issues43/definition_inclusion.html and www.wikipedia.org) 4. Read about the situation that happened in Florida in June 2008. What is your opinion on the situation and what would you do if you were 1) in the role of the mother, 2) in the role of a director of the kindergarten? Recently, a Florida teacher seeking relief from a challenging special-needs student named Alex Barton did the unthinkable: She stood him before his kindergarten peers and encouraged them to say what they didn't like about his behavior. Then she asked the students if they wanted him back in class after his disruptive actions earlier that day. By a vote of 14 to 2, they booted him. Alex's mom was understandably outraged and she plans to sue. (http://www.csmonitor.com/Commentary/Opinion/2008/0610/p09s01-coop.html?page=1) "When inclusive education is fully embraced, we abandon the idea that children have to become "normal" in order to contribute to the world... We begin to look beyond typical ways of becoming valued members of the community, and in doing so, begin to realize the achievable goal of providing all children with an authentic sense of belonging" (p. 38-