Inclusive Assignment 1

Discuss the inclusion of students with

ASD and/or disabilities in my practice.

Michael Carmona

15090573

Inclusive Education - Theory, Policy & Practice. Unit 102084

Question:

Why the inclusion of students with ASD and

disabilities in the classroom is important for all
students, teachers, school organisations and
society.

There has been a seismic shift in education over the last few decades for the inclusion of
students with various forms of learning difficulties and/or disabilities within the mainstream

Michael Carmona 15090573 Inclusive Education Assignment 1

classroom of students. The reason for this transition is due to almost 40 years of research
demonstrating the benefits of inclusive teaching practices and the failures of the segregation
of students with additional needs/disabilities (Kurth, Lyon & Shorgren, 2015). One of the
most prevalent forms of additional needs in today’s society is the Autism Spectrum Disorder
(ASD), which is estimated to be attributed to approximately 1-2% of all students today
(Cappe, Bolduc, Poirier, Popa-Roch & Boujut, 2017). With these two key findings in mind,
the importance of incorporating inclusive teaching practice in our education systems is
critical, not only for the success of my teaching practice, but for students, teachers, school
communities, and for the benefit of society as a whole. This essay will discuss why it is
important to these four key stakeholders (students, teachers, schools and society) that our
education systems incorporate inclusive teaching practices, with a specific focus on special
needs students with ASD and disabilities (more so than students with learning difficulties and
other variations of diversity from mainstream students). In doing so, it will also use examples
of some teaching tools and techniques that can help create inclusive classrooms, that I can
apply in my teaching method (HSIE), to demonstrate the effectiveness and potential of
inclusive classrooms.

Students are the primary stakeholders in our education systems, and therefore, they are the
primary stakeholders to consider when it comes to inclusive school practices (Shorgren et
al., 2015). Therefore our discussion needs to start with them. In the Australian context, the
evidence suggests that more than 3.5% of students currently have some form of disability
(Davis, 2012). Given this significant proportion, our teaching practices need to be broad
enough as to not leave any of these students behind. Legally, it is an obligation, as
according to The Disability Standards for Education 2005, all providers of education in
Australia are required to provide the same quality teaching to students with disabilities, as
the rest of the student population (Australian Government, 2005). Australian teachers need
to ensure that students with ASD and disabilities are not only present in the classroom, but
are receiving the same level of education and teaching as any other student. To do this, we
need to incorporate inclusive teaching practices. Inclusive teaching can be defined as a
class where there is “full membership in the regular classroom, and all children with
disabilities spend the vast majority of their time and participate in all class activities, even if
these need to be modified” (Loreman, 2007). The key to this definition of inclusive teaching
is in the term ‘modified’. What Tim Loreman is referring to here is the modification of our
teaching practices or activities to best accommodate the student. Inclusive is not the same
thing as assimilation or normalisation, in that, we are not trying to improve or make changes
to the students with ASD and disabilities and make them more like their non-disabled/non-
ASD classmates, but rather teachers are adjusting their approaches and techniques to
ensure every student , regardless of their skills and abilities, are given the best learning
opportunities (Kinsella, 2018). A common example of an approach to use to have inclusive
classrooms is the Universal Design for Learning (UDL) approach, which is a flexible
approach to curriculum design to accommodate the needs of students while still maintaining
high achievement expectations for all students (Rapp, 2014). At its core, UDL involves
allowing for multiple means of engagement with students (different ways to provide teaching
to students e.g. group vs individual work or structured vs unstructured etc.), multiple means
of representation (variation of presentation of classroom content) and multiple means of
expression (ways for students to demonstrate understanding) (Moore, 2007). Using UDL
gives all students, not just ones with ASD or disabilities, the best opportunities to learn, and
demonstrate their learning, because it allows them to utilize the skills they possess, and not

Michael Carmona 15090573 Inclusive Education Assignment 1

limit them to a predetermined set of standards that could exclude them. An example that I
could use in my method is with students potential to demonstrate knowledge of different
curriculum outcomes. By allowing students to demonstrate their understanding of different
HSIE syllabus content in a variety of ways, I am including all students, some of whom may
have strengths in written work, others in verbal presentations, some may prefer public
presentations while some prefer the opportunity to showcase their understanding in a one-
on-one condition with the teacher. It is therefore in the interest of teachers to use inclusive
pedagogical approaches like UDL, because the evidence has shown that these approaches
actually benefit all students in the class (Florian and Linklater, 2010), and hence allows the
teachers to teach are their optimal potential.

Teachers are the most important resources in the Australian educational networks, as they
have the ability to have the greatest educational impact on students, from within these
educational environments (the schools or classrooms) (AITSL, 2011). Because of their
position, a teachers ability (or lack thereof) will be the one of the most important determining
factors to how inclusive our classrooms can be. Studies have shown that when teachers
have positive attitudes towards the challenges of having students with ASD and disabilities
included in your classroom activities, and take responsibility for their learning, the chances of
creating effective inclusive classrooms increase (Gilor & Katz, 2018). Teachers hold the
balance of power here, and a lot of it has to do with their attitudes towards inclusive
teaching. If the teachers do not believe it is an essential part of today's education system,
the chances are inclusive teaching practices will not work in their classroom, or for their
students. It is also important to note here that what is crucial for teachers is that they know
and can utilize a variety of inclusive pedagogical teaching tools, rather than have an
extensive knowledge of the variety of learning diversity that can be found in a classroom
(e.g. know the specifics of ASD and other disabilities) (Kinsella, 2019). Teachers do not
need to know the specifics of a students diagnosis, because what teachers should be
interested in more, is what abilities the students do have and how can they as the teacher
best use these strengths to educate them. As long as they know how and when to apply
these different approaches, teachers should still be able to get the most out of every student
in their classroom. Of course, one of the major challenges to the movement towards
inclusive education is the lack of awareness from many current teachers of the potential
positive effects it can have for all students, not just those with special needs. This is because
the value of inclusive teaching has only gradually been incorporated into teacher training
since the late 90’s (Grskovic & Trzcinka, 2011), and most of the teachers who trained before
this time, would still be of the mindset of the importance of segregated classrooms.
Hopefully, as a new trained teacher entering this profession, I will be able to incorporate
inclusive practices in my teaching of HSIE, and demonstrate to other professionals the
benefits of inclusivity to other teaching professionals, because inclusive teaching is a
practice that works best when it is incorporated into the culture of the whole school.

Questions may need to be asked as to what the priorities of our schools systems in society
are, if the successful incorporation of inclusiveness are to be fully utilized. Because schools
seem to be continually battling between different priorities placed on them by society, be that
to be an agent of social change or a production line of qualified citizens etc. (Forlin, Watkins
& Meijer, 2016). As discussed previously, inclusion is not a synonym for assimilate or
normalise (Kinsella, 2019), but about having high expectations for every student (NSW
Department of Education, 2010), regardless of what that level may be. Teachers are

Michael Carmona 15090573 Inclusive Education Assignment 1

responsible for the learning of all students, with today’s social expectations being that those
with diagnoses like ASD etc. are still catered for (not just to be able to focus on mainstream
students and have them perform high academically). But what if students who are high on
the Autism spectrum or have severe disabilities, are limited to how high they can achieve
academically? Are schools supposed to focus on academic achievement only, or individual
achievement overall? It can be argued that they need to focus on both, but schools are
continually challenged with an ever increasing amount of responsibility while seemingly
dealing with a declining pool of funding (Kennedy et al., 2012). This seemingly continual
conflict of interest can severely impact a schools ability to focus on and incorporate inclusive
practices that seem to contradict the pre-existing ideals that schools should normalise
students and focus students on achieving high standards (Grskovic & Trzcinka, 2011). When
schools can choose to focus on being centres for equal learning for all students, and remove
themselves from the competitive educational environment they sometimes find themselves
in (Slee, 2013), they can focus on introducing school wide inclusive practices, that will have
the potential to build off the individual work of teachers already using inclusive practices in
their own classes (Rowe, Stewart & Patterson, 2007). Examples of this could include
educating all teachers (school wide) of instructional strategies that can be catered to
individuals and optimize opportunities to learn for students, and have this be used across
disciplines and years, as research has shown this can be highly effective teaching method
(especially for students with ASD) (Mitchel, 2014) and is a highly valued strategy by teachers
(Grskovic & Trzcinka, 2011). When schools are able to focus on being centres that aim for
the best from every student, we can fulfill some of the important goals of our wider society.

Using an international definition for inclusive education from the International Conference on
Educations 2008, we can see it as the continual process by which diversity is respected and
discrimination is eliminated, with the removal of all barriers thus allowing students to
achieve, both academically and after (as a memebr of the wider society after school life)
(Forlin, Watkins & Meijer, 2016). The goal of inclusive education here, needs to transcend
for life after school. If students are accepted and succeed only in the school world, but fail to
achieve outside of school, has the school system not failed them? Inclusive schools, indeed
all school, should always be charged with the responsibility of empowering students with the
skills and knowledge to best handle themselves in the world that is outside of school (Gilor &
Katz, 2018). In order to have the best chances to achieve this objective for all students, but
especially those with ASD and disabilities, inclusive classrooms are required. Inclusive
classrooms can ensure special needs students achieve the highest they possibly can with
good teaching, while still benefiting the needs to educate mainstream students (Florian and
Linklater, 2010). And with the success of UDL teaching principles have had in classrooms
over the past few decades, has resulted in UDL ideals starting to influence policies for the
wider education networks, to try and create larger scale applications of the strategies
(Edyburn, 2010). Here we can see that the ideals that form inclusive education principles are
not only impactful to students with special needs like ASD or other disabilities, but have
wider applications that can benefit all students in schools.

The transition that has occurred in education is a significant one. Attitudes are still moving,
but the ideals have clearly been researched and proven, that inclusive education is a
principle that works for all students in the classroom. All students can benefit from the
application of inclusive pedagogies, as all students have a variety of strengths and
weaknesses, regardless of whether they would have been categorized as mainstream or

Michael Carmona 15090573 Inclusive Education Assignment 1

special needs classrooms. Therefore, these inclusive principles have much wider
applications for teachers, and can only help them in their professional life, with or without the
presence of so-called special needs students. Schools can flourish when they are
empowered to embrace inclusive education, and society acknowledges their critical role in
the development of all students, regardless of their strengths or weaknesses, and educate
them to achieve the best they can out of life.

Reference list

AITSL, A. (2011). Australian professional standards for teaching | Australian Institute for
Teaching and School Leadership. [online] Aitsl.edu.au. Available at:
https://www.aitsl.edu.au/docs/default-source/national-policy-framework/australian-
professional-standards-for-teachers.pdf?sfvrsn=5800f33c_64 [Accessed 14 Aug. 2019].

Australian Government (2005). Disability Standards for Education 2005.

Cappe, Bolduc, Poirier, Popa-Roch, & Boujut. (2017). “Teaching students with Autism
Spectrum Disorder across various educational settings: The factors involved in burnout.”
Teaching and Teacher Education, 67, 498-508.

Michael Carmona 15090573 Inclusive Education Assignment 1

Davies, M. (2012). Accessibility to NAPLAN Assessments for Students With Disabilities: A
'Fair Go'. The Australasian Journal of Special Education, 36(1), 62-78.

Edyburn, D. (2010). Would You Recognize Universal Design for Learning if You Saw it? Ten
Propositions for New Directions for the Second Decade of UDL. Learning Disability
Quarterly, 33(1), 33-41.

Florian, L., & Linklater, H. (2010). Preparing teachers for inclusive education: Using inclusive
pedagogy to enhance teaching and learning for all. Cambridge Journal of Education, 40(4),
369-386.

Forlin, C., Watkins, A., & Meijer, C. (2016). Implementing Inclusive Education : Issues in
Bridging the Policy-Practice Gap (Vol. 8). Bingley: Emerald Publishing Limited.

Gilor, O., & Katz, M. (2018). From normalisation to inclusion: Effects on pre-service teachers’
willingness to teach in inclusive classes. International Journal of Inclusive Education, 1-16.

Grskovic, J., & Trzcinka, S. (2011). Essential Standards for Preparing Secondary Content
Teachers to Effectively Teach Students with Mild Disabilities in Included Settings. American
Secondary Education, 39(2), 94-106.

Kennedy, M., Ely, E., Thomas, C., Pullen, P., Newton, J., Ashworth, K., . . . Lovelace, S.
(2012). Using Multimedia Tools to Support Teacher Candidates’ Learning. Teacher
Education and Special Education, 35(3), 243-257.

Kinsella, W. (2019). Organising inclusive schools. International Journal of Inclusive

Education, 1-17.

Kurth, J., Lyon, K., & Shogren, K. (2015). Supporting Students With Severe Disabilities in
Inclusive Schools: A Descriptive Account From Schools Implementing Inclusive Practices.
Research and Practice for Persons with Severe Disabilities, 40(4), 261-274.

Loreman, T. (2007). Seven Pillars of Support for Inclusive Education: Moving from "Why?" to
"How?". International Journal of Whole Schooling, 3(2), 22-38.

Moore, S. (2007). Teaching Every Student in the Digital Age: Universal Design for Learning.
Educational Technology, Research and Development, 55(5), 521-525.

NSW Department of Education (2010). Every Student, Every School. Available at:
https://education.nsw.gov.au/teaching-and-learning/disability-learning-and-
support/personalised-support-for-learning/eses [Accessed 14 Aug. 2019].

Rapp, W. (2014). Universal Design for Learning in Action : 100 Ways to Teach All Learners.
Baltimore: Brookes Publishing.

Rowe, F., Stewart, D., & Patterson, C. (2007). Promoting school connectedness through
whole school approaches. Health Education, 107(6), 524-542.

Michael Carmona 15090573 Inclusive Education Assignment 1

Shogren, K., Gross, J., Forber-Pratt, A., Francis, G., Satter, A., Blue-Banning, M., & Hill, C.
(2015). The Perspectives of Students With and Without Disabilities on Inclusive Schools.
Research and Practice for Persons with Severe Disabilities, 40(4), 243-260.

Slee, R. 2013. “How do we Make Inclusion Happen when Exclusion is a Political

Predisposition?” International Journal of Inclusive Education 17 (8): 895–907.

Michael Carmona 15090573 Inclusive Education Assignment 1