In the 1960s and 1970s, a major push for the

special education began, when the parents and

teachers of children with exceptional condition
concluded that traditional education was not meeting
the needs or goals of their children (e.g. academic
and social competence, and equal excess to and
opportunity for a robust educational experience).
 Over the last decades, a number of significant
trends have emerged, for example, advances in cognitive
psychology, in both academic and applied settings,
which indicate that we can improve on our ability to
develop students’ higher cognitive processes. In
education, professionals in school districts, colleges
and universities are eager to find ways of increasing
their students capacity to learn, think and behave more
effectively. In recent years, various cognitive strategies
have emerged, aimed at enhancing students learning and
thinking so they might become more independent
learners and more efficient problem solver.
 Trends for the last couple of decades have provided
impetus to emerge regular and special education into a
unified system. The emerging belief of 1990s –that all
teachers are responsible for addressing all students
unique learning needs –is encapsulated in such slogan
as “ All teachers are teacher of children of children with
special needs”. The increasing number of children who
need individualized programming, the expanding
knowledge and skill of teachers in students diversity,
effective assessment, and teaching methodologies and
the lower level of funding for special services for suggest
that the slogan for the 21st century might be “It is normal
to be different”.
 Time Key descriptor Predominant Educational Trend
period

Early Exclusion Elitist orientation, education, reserved for privilege

History classes, handicapped individuals were scorned and
excluded from general society.

1800s Institutionalization Separate residential schools provided care primarily for

visibly handicapped students.

1900-1950 Segregation Public education system develops, Special schools and

classes are formed. Residential schools increase and
become large

1950s and Categorization Increased numbers and categories of special classes

1960s particularly for high incidence exceptional learners.
Testing labeling emphasis. Low incidence students
remain in residential schools.
 Time Key descriptor Predominant Educational Trend
period

1970S Integration Philosophical shift to promote education for

handicapped students in the least restrictive
environment. Placement alternatives are developed.
Moderate and severe handicapped students are served
within the public school.

1980s Mainstreaming Emphasis on serving the needs of the high incidence

exceptional students in the regular classroom.
Physical, social, instructional needs are met in the least
restrictive environment.

1990s Inclusion Merging of special education and regular education

into a unified education system. Student-centered,
individual learning needs are the focus.
A philosophy that supports the full
participation of children and adults with
disabilities, as equal and accepted
members of the community and of
society.
 A place!
 Something we can do in isolation!
 Mainstreaming without support!
 Something that happens overnight!

Just a trend that will pass!
All children, learning together in environments that provide
special services, supports, and supplements for all children
as needed!
The Philosophy in an inclusive school
is that each belongs and all are valued
and have a right to learn there
regardless of needs or abilities.
Inclusion is primarily about school ethos and the kind of
arrangements which are required to put that ethos into
practice. The mainstream school is restructured to meet
the needs of all its students.
Inclusive education refers to educational practice
based on the philosophical belief that all learners,
those with and without disabilities, have the right to be
educated together in age-appropriate class groups,
and that all will benefit from education in the regular
classrooms of community schools.
Within these settings, teachers, parents, and others
work collaboratively using appropriate and sufficient
resources to interpret and enact the regular
curriculum in flexible manner in accordance with
individual abilities and needs of all learners.
Gary Bunch, York University
When one student is not a full participant in his/her
school community, then we are all at risk

Inclusion: A Matter of Social Justice

ASCD, October 2003
Much of the best research suggests that for
struggling learners, homogeneous learning
experiences are not beneficial.

e.g., Oakes, 1985; Slavin, 1993

“Inviting all children to learn together in classrooms
creates an environment where they learn to work
effectively with those different from themselves, where
learning increases for all, and where a sense of
belonging is pervasive.”
Whole Schooling Consortium
 Inclusive schools put into place measures to support
all students to fully participate in the life of the school
with their age peers.

 Where barriers to full participation exist, inclusive

schools change the way they are organized, adapting
the physical premises and/or programmatic elements
within classrooms to the needs of students.
Our children need to be educated in
heterogeneous classrooms where the diversity
of students is welcomed, celebrated and
nurtured.
Inclusion is Not Exclusion:
 Inclusion is the future
 Inclusion is belonging to one race, the human race
 Inclusion is a basic human right
 Inclusion is struggling to figure out how to live with one
another
 Inclusion is not something you do to someone for
someone; it is something we do with one another

Marsha Forest
Inclusion Advocate & Founder of Marsha Forest Centre
Inclusive Education UNESCO
 It is a universal goal to achieve Education for All
children (EFA) by the year 2015.
 This goal will only be achieved when all nations
recognize that the universal right to education
extends to individuals with disabilities.
It is only when we question a prevailing paradigm that
we can be open to changing not only our beliefs, but
our actions.

Thomas Kuhn
 sharing the notion in many terms

 different definition applied in different country

Inclusive education means that all children have
the right to be educated in their community
schools, and that classroom teachers have the
ultimate authority and responsibility for educating
them. This does not mean that all children will
necessarily receive all instructional services in
the regular classroom.
 Inclusion is …. about the ability of each individual’s
experiences in school, in terms of learning certainly, but also
in terms of being respected for who they are.

 Inclusion is …. recognizing different types of gifts and abilities

and providing opportunities for everyone to succeed
(everyone is good at some thing).

 Inclusion is ….identifying individual learning needs and

providing for them.

 Inclusion is ….the creation of a learning environment where

barriers to learning are avoided wherever possible.
The practice of providing education to a
student with disabilities within the general
education classroom, with the supports and
accommodations needed by that student
The practice of providing a student with disabilities
with some portion of his or her education in a general
education classroom
This term is used in a variety of ways within the
literature, may mean either inclusion or
mainstreaming. The context of the discussion
determines its meaning.
Inclusive education is based on the simple idea that every
child and family is valued equally and deserves the same
opportunities and experiences.

Inclusive education is about children with disabilities -

whether the disability is mild or severe, hidden or obvious -
participating in everyday activities, just like they would if
their disability were not present.

It's about building friendships, membership and having

opportunities just like everyone else.
Inclusion is about providing the help children need to
learn and participate in meaningful ways.

Sometimes, help from friends or teachers works best.

Other times, specially designed materials or technology
can help.

The key is to give only as much help as needed.

The Individuals with
Disabilities Education Act
clearly states that all
children with disabilities
should be educated with
non-disabled children
their own age and have
access to the general
education curriculum.
Are those places in which children without disabilities
typically participate.

Natural environments are home and community

locations in which children would naturally be if they
did not have a disability.

If it is created for children with disabilities or they only

attend because they have a disability, it is not a natural
learning environment.
 Inclusion of all children with diverse abilities in school they
would attend if they had no disability
 Representation of children with diverse abilities in schools
and classrooms in natural proportions to their incidence in
the district at large
 Zero rejection and heterogeneous grouping
 Age and grade-appropriate placements of instruction and
resources
 Site based coordination and management of instruction and
resources
 Effective schools style decentralized instructional models.
 Students are in their home schools, general education classes
  Appropriate Supports and Services
 On-going" planning for success
 Active Participation
 All students have a sense of belonging
 Achievement of IEP Goals
 Natural proportions
 Classes get ready for students
 Collaboration and Team Planning
 Diversity is valued through out all environments, activities and
events
 Every student has an inherent right to education on basis of
equality of opportunity.

 No student is excluded from, or discriminated within education

on grounds of race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or
other opinion, national, ethnic or social origin, disability, birth,
poverty or other status.

 All students can learn and benefit from education.

 Schools adapt to the needs of students, rather than students

adapting to the needs of the school.
 The student’s views are listened to and taken
seriously.

 Individual differences between students are a source

of richness and diversity, and not a problem.

 The diversity of needs and pace of development of

students are addressed through a wide and flexible
range of responses
 Increased likelihood of meeting IEP goals
 Exposure to mainstream curriculum
 Fosters the probability of inclusion in career and
collegiate settings
 Heightened expectation for achievement: by raising the
bar students will meet it
 All faculty and parental collaboration works together to
assist in education al process
 Opportunities to master and teach others techniques
 More varied teaching styles will be implemented by
instructors
 Greater academic success for all students
 Promotes a safe and accepting environment
 Greater opportunity for friendships
 Expanded Social Network
 Students will model peer behavior
 Increased community involvement
 Prepares students for adult life
 Promotes a Safe and Accepting Environment
 Appreciation of individual differences
 Acceptance of individual differences
 Increased respect for all people
 Prepares students for adult life
 Friendship with meaning
 Reduced fear of people with differences
 Growth in social cognition
 Increased responsibility
Physical Barriers

The vast majority of centres of learning are physically

inaccessible to many learners, especially to those who
have physical disabilities. In poorer, particularly rural
areas, the centres of learning are often inaccessible
largely because buildings are rundown or poorly
maintained. They are unhealthy and unsafe for all
learners. Many schools are not equipped to respond to
special needs, and the community does not provide local
backing. Environmental barriers included: doors,
passageways, stairs and ramps and recreational areas. A
major problem identified by many students is physically
getting into school.
Attitudes
The greatest barriers to inclusion are caused by society, not
by particular medical impairments. Negative attitudes towards
differences result in discrimination and can lead to a serious
barrier to learning. Negative attitudes can take the form of
social discrimination, lack of awareness and traditional
prejudices. Regarding disabled children some regions still
maintain established beliefs that educating the disabled is
pointless. Often the problem is identified as being caused by
the child's differences rather than the education systems
shortcomings.
Curriculum
In any education system, the curriculum is one of the major
obstacles or tools to facilitate the development of more inclusive
system. Curriculum is often unable to meet the needs of a wide
range of different learners. In many contexts, the curriculum is
centrally designed and rigid, leaving little flexibility for local
adaptations or for teachers to experiment and try out new
approaches. The content might be distant to the reality in which
the students live, and therefore inaccessible and unmotivating.
Teachers
Teachers' abilities and attitudes can be major limitations for
inclusive education. The training of staff at all levels is often
not adequate. Where there is training it often tends to be
fragmented, uncoordinated and inadequate. If teachers do
not have positive attitudes towards learners with special
needs, it is unlikely that these children will receive
satisfactory education
Language and Communication

Teaching and learning often takes place through a

language which is not the first language of some learners.
This places these learners, at a disadvantage and it often
leads to significant linguistic difficulties which contribute to
learning breakdown. Second language learners are
particularly subject to low expectations and discrimination.
Socio-economic factors

Inadequacies and inequalities in the education system and are

most evident in areas which have sustained poverty and high
levels of unemployment. The impact of violence and HIV/AIDS
can also have adverse effects.
Funding

A major constraint is serious shortages of resources – lack of

schools or inadequate facilities, lack of teachers and/or shortage of
qualified staff, lack of learning materials and absence of support.
The inadequacy of resources available to meet the basic needs in
education is a pervasive theme. It is estimated that achieving
education for all will require additional financial support by countries
and donors of about US$ 8 billion per year (Dakar Framework for
Action, 2000).
Organization of the education system

Education systems are often centralised and this can inhibit

change and initiative. Responsibility for decisions tends to be
located at the highest level and the focus of management remains
orientated towards employees complying with rules rather than on
ensuring quality service delivery. There is also a lack of
information within many systems and often there is not an
accurate picture of the number of learners excluded from the
school system. Only a small percentage of learners who are
categorised as having ‘special needs' receive appropriate
education in ordinary schools or special settings and there is no
support available for those learners who are outside the system.
Existing provision after primary school is inadequate to meet the
needs.
Policies as barriers

Policy makers who do not understand or accept the concept of

inclusive education are a barrier to the implementation of
inclusive policies. In some countries there may still exist
policies that facilitate the possibility for authorities to declare
that some children are ‘uneducatable'. Usually this practice
applies to children with severe intellectual disability. In some
other countries, the education of some specific groups of
learners might the responsibility of another authority than the
Ministry of Education. Very often this leads to a situation where
these learners are not expected to participate in mainstream
education and, consequently, they do not have equal
opportunities for further education or employment.
Effective educational policy including the following points

 seeking and using pupil and parents perspective;

 Designing and enacting clear procedures for recording and
acting on racist incidents;
 Generating and sustaining an ethos that is open and vigilant,
and enables pupils to discuss ‘race’ issues and share concerns.
 Developing and communicating high expectations with clear
communication that underperformance by any group is
unacceptable.
 Reviewing curricular and pastoral approaches to ensure their
sensitivity and appropriateness
 Using ethnic monitoring as a routine and rigorous parts of the
school’s self evaluation
1- Defining the problem This involves establishing a shared
recognition of the existence of a problem as well as a shared
understanding of exactly what the problem
2- identifying causes The collaborative team needs to consider the
antecedents of the problem. Teams can ask themselves what the most
likely explanation for the occurrence of a problem is and what
variables influence the cause or causes
3- setting objectives At this stage the collaborative team looks to where it
wants to be when the problem is solved. Team need to consider
at what point the problem will be considered ‘solved’. Setting objectives
allows collaborators to plan a sequence of interventions aimed at
solving the problem.
4- Identifying solution activities Having examined causes and set objectives,
the collaborative team should now be in a position to develop a plan for
solving a problem.
5- Monitoring for success Evaluating and monitoring the process is
important in order to see if the plan is actually solving the problem or if
the collaborative team needs to revisit some of the stages.