Creating Inclusive Classrooms

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Creating InclusiveClassrooms
Chapter Eleven

• The Ability/Disability Continuum and the Health
  Dimension

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Rationale for Inclusive Classrooms

• Over the past 175 years, public education in the
  U.S. has continually broadened the definition of
  who shall be educated.
• Today, that definition includes students with a
  variety of disabilities and those with chronic
  health problems.
• There is both a philosophical and a legal basis
  for inclusion in public schools.

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The Philosophical Basis for Inclusion

• The belief that communities of learners are, by
  definition, inclusive
• The belief that each member of a learning
  community is a unique individual, different from
  every other member
• The belief that heterogeneity is both unavoidable
  and desirable

Continued
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• A belief in the concept of normalization, or the
  idea that the lives of exceptional individuals
  should be characterized, as much as possible, by
  the same kinds of experiences as those without
  disabilities
• A belief that normalization can occur when
  adaptations and supportive services are available
  and offered as unobtrusively as possible

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The Legal Basis for Inclusion

• Elements of Civil Rights Legislation
• Section 504 of the Vocational Rehabilitation Act
  (1973) prohibits discrimination based on
  disability in agencies and settings receiving
  federal funds.
• P.L. 92-194 (1975), amended in 1990 as the
  Individuals with Disabilities Education Act
  (IDEA), mandates education in the least
  restrictive environment.
• ADAthe Americans with Disabilities Act
  (1990)extends these prohibitions to the private
  sector.

Continued
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• Public Law 94-142, reauthorized as the
  Individuals with Disabilities Education Act
  (1990)
• Recognizes a continuum of potential placements
  for individuals with disabilities
• Mandates that, to the maximum extent possible,
  placement be in the least restrictive environment

Continued
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• Like societal inclusion, inclusive education
  implies fully shared participation of diverse
  individuals in common experiences.
• The concept of inclusion is interpreted somewhat
  differently by different people.
• Full inclusion means that a student will attend
  the same schools she would if she had no
  disability, and participate with all of the same
  groups of learners as she would if she had no
  disability she will, however, have supportive
  services as needed.

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Definitions of Exceptionality

• Ability/disability and health are distinct
  dimensions of human exceptionality.
• Some individuals may have a physical or
  developmental disability (e.g., a hearing loss or
  intellectual giftedness or impairment) and have
  no health problems.
• Other individuals may have health difficulties
  (e.g., asthma) but no particular physical or
  developmental disability.

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The Ability/Disability Continuum

• Federal guidelines under IDEA define 13
  disability categories in the following
  dimensions
• Sensory differences (vision and hearing)
• Other physical differences (motor, vitality)
• Communication differences (speech)
• Cognitive, intellectual, and information
  processing differences
• Emotional and behavioral differences

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• Explicit definitions of each category are
  important because the allocation of financial
  resources is involved.
• Schools must ensure that eligible students
  receive the services to which they are entitled.
• Differentiating exceptionality from normality in
  the course of a childs development may be
  somewhat arbitrary.
• Nevertheless, most exceptional children have the
  same needs, interests, and concerns as their more
  typical peers.

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Historical Perspectives on Special Education

• Special education emerged in the context of
  social reform.
• It was inspired by a belief in natural rights and
  individual worth, and the conviction that,
  through education, every person can contribute to
  society.

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Pioneers in Special Education

• Horace Mann (1840s) believed that the goal of
  education as preparation for citizenry applied to
  all children
• Samuel Gridley Howe founded the Perkins
  Institute for the deaf in the 19th century
• Jean-Marc Gaspard Itard French physician who
  taught Victor, the wild boy of Aveyron
• Valentin Hauy founded the worlds first school
  for the blind in Paris (1784)

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Some Historical Highlights

• In 1860, nearly two-thirds of those individuals
  in American almshouses were children with sensory
  or other physical impairments or mental
  retardation.
• By the 1870s, a major child saving effort was
  undertaken by the National Conference of
  Charities and Corrections.

Continued...
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• The major concerns of 19th century reformers were
  proper care, some form of instruction, and
  maximum independence and integration into
  society.
• While 19th century facilities were often called
  asylums, they were intended as schoolstraining
  schools, using utilitarian pedagogy to enable
  students to become, as much as possible, able to
  support themselves.

Continued
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• Specialized instruction began its gradual move
  into the common schools at the beginning of the
  20th century.
• At the same time, schools were struggling to
  accommodate massive numbers of immigrant
  children, a fact that had important implications
  for special education
• Steamer classes, designed to expose immigrant
  children to English, led to programs for children
  with speech impairments.

Continued
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• Classes for unrulies were the forerunners of
  classes for children with behavior disorders.
• Fresh air schools for children with tuberculosis
  or who were physically weak led to classes for
  children with other health impairments.

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• Ungraded classes for those who just didnt fit
  led to classes for students with mild
  retardation.
• Special pedagogy was secondary to the perceived
  need to separate students who were different as a
  way of making schooling more manageable.

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• Although many early special education classes
  sought to integrate their students into the
  regular school activities, over time special
  education became a system within a system.
• In the 1920s, early efforts were directed toward
  children who were academically gifted.
• By the 1930s, schools were adopting IQ testinga
  seemingly more scientific approachthat led to
  different life skills curricula for students
  with disabilities.

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• Special pedagogy, however, took a second place in
  the education of exceptional children.
• With the increasing implementation of
  exclusionary policies, children with special
  needs were more likely to find themselves
  somewhere other than the public school, primarily
  in residential facilities.
• Those who remained in public school were not
  offered any particular adaptations or pedagogical
  supports.

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• In 1975, however, Public Law 94-142, the
  Education of All Handicapped Children Act,
  required schools to identify all children with
  disabilities and to provide them with an
  appropriate public education, documented in an
  IEP (Individual Education Program).
• Interest in gifted education has waxed and waned
  over the years. Two problems remain
• The inclusiveness of schools definition of
  giftedness
• The identification of gifted students who are
  ethnic and linguistic minorities

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• Subsequent amendments to P.L. 94-142 (IDEA and
  ADA) have added requirements for schools
• Extended provisions to children as young as three
• Added a family-focused early intervention
  component for infants and toddlers
• Stipulated a required transition plan by age 16
• Distinguished autism and traumatic brain injury
  from other forms of disability

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The Health Dimension

• While some forms of illness require major
  adaptations or medical intervention, that number
  is relatively small.
• It is the case, however, that all of us may
  experience a health problem at some time or other
  that interferes with our daily functioning, and
  this includes school children.
• The need and eligibility of children with chronic
  illness for special education services depends on
  whether their condition adversely affects
  educational functioning.

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• The number of severe cases of chronic illness has
  risen in the past two decades, due, in part, to
• Life-saving interventions at birth for premature
  infants
• Medical advances in bringing some childhood
  diseases into remission in the first year
• Increases in drug-affected pregnancies
• HIV transmission to newborns

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Implications of Health Needs for Inclusion

• Three principles to remember
• We can all expect to experience serious health
  problems at some time in our lives.
• Serious health impairment in children is not a
  new phenomenon.
• A health problem is not a persons only
  identifying characteristic or need.

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• Another implication is the fear
• Of infection (all school personnel are advised to
  adopt universal health precautions)
• Of harming children with special needs, or of
  neglecting so-called typical children
• Of the unknown in general, the more knowledge
  one has of a childs condition, the more able a
  teacher feels to accommodate that child

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Characteristics of an Inclusive Classroom

• Two fundamental ideas underlie the relation of
  inclusion and human diversity
• A major purpose of schooling is to prepare the
  young for life in a heterogeneous democracy.
• Today, the young must also be prepared for life
  in a global economy.

• These ideas hold for all children, whether they
  have disabilities or not.

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• Another fundamental idea collaboration
  emerges from general education and goes further
  than the legal requirements of special education.
• The law requires multidisciplinary participation
  in assessing, planning, and monitoring students
  with special needs.
• Collaboration suggests continuing
  interdisciplinary teamwork on the part of regular
  and special educators in implementing the
  students program.

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• The law requires that parents give informed
  consent prior to a multifactored evaluation,
  participation in developing an IEP, and the right
  to procedural due process in the event of
  disagreement.
• Collaboration suggests that all involved ensure
  that the IEP reflects a familys concerns and
  priorities, that the students home and school
  experiences are mutually supportive, and that
  professionals respect the primacy and continuing
  influence of families on childrens development.

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• The law requires that students with disabilities
  be educated as much as possible with peers who do
  not have disabilities.
• Collaboration implies optimizing the potential
  benefits for both by fostering positive classroom
  interactions and creating opportunities for
  students to respect and learn from each other and
  develop feelings of group identification.

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Pedagogies Old and New

• Traditional pedagogies still have a place in an
  inclusive classroom.
• Constructivist approaches are fundamental to
  current conceptions of developmentally
  appropriate practices.
• Constructivist approaches are especially
  important in special education because they
  provide an alternative to traditional medical and
  behavioral models.

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Roles Old and New

• Because most children with disabilities now live
  at home with their families rather than in an
  institution, new roles are required for the
  adults in a childs life.
• New relationships and cooperative efforts are
  required of both regular and special educators.
• All need to participate in multifactored
  evaluations.

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Place of Content Knowledge Old and New

• Early ideas about curriculum for children with
  disabilities focused on employablity.
• Contemporary ideas focus on a criteria of
  ultimate functioning, which means that what is
  taught is age appropriate, future oriented,
  functional, and community referenced.

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• The advent of the concept of specific learning
  disabilities, which accounts for more than half
  the special education enrollment, prompted a
  greater focus on differential instructional
  strategy than on curricular content.
• To a large extent, and based on an educational
  profile of each student, remediation or
  compensatory instruction can be devised within
  the context of a standard curriculum.

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Assessment Old and New

• The general meaning of assessment is the same for
  special needs children as it is for typical
  children.
• There are, however, two specific meanings of
  assessment for children with disabilities

Continued
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?Specific Meanings of Assessment

• Determines, as a result of assessment,
  eligibility for special education

• Determines how accountability for these services
  is demonstrated the IEP is also an
  accountability document

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Characteristics of Successful Inclusive Teaching

• Emphasis on the importance of collaboration
  between regular and special education teachers
• Mutual respect and understanding among all adults
  involved
• Continued interaction and ongoing monitoring of a
  childs progress by both regular and special
  educators

Continued
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• Recognition of the importance of flexibility
• Critical to the successful inclusion of students
  whose learning characteristics and needs may
  require adaptation
• Adaptation may be required in four categories
• Curriculum materials
• Instructional strategies
• Classroom organization
• Behavior management

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Ethical Issues in Inclusive Education

• Federal legislation does not mandate inclusion
  (although it does forbid exclusion), and there
  are some reservations on the part of both parents
  and professionals regarding any concept that can
  be interpreted to mean one size fits all.

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• If inclusion is implemented, there is
  considerable concern about whether or not
  sufficient resources are, or will be, provided.
• There are also concerns about the impact that
  inclusion has, or will have, on typical
  students.
• Modification or adaptation of curriculum,
  instructional strategies, classroom organization,
  and behavior management remains problematic as
  teachers and parents seek to learn what is the
  best mix for individual children.

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Something to Think About

• Many educators, parents, and persons with
  disabilities themselves maintain that if the
  society of the twenty-first century is to be an
  inclusive one in which human differences are
  recognized and celebrated, it must begin with
  inclusive schools and inclusive classrooms. They
  point out, correctly, that it is not inclusion
  that needs to be justified but rather separation,
  for even part of the school day.