INCLUSION
PHILOSOPHY OF INCLUSION
• This philosophy is based on the belief that
all children can learn and reach their full
potential given opportunity,
effective teaching and appropriate
resources.
• Inclusion is a way of thinking and acting
that allows every individual to feel
accepted, valued, and safe.
Physical barriers
• Obviously, a student with a disability cannot learn in an inclusive
classroom if he cannot enter the room, let alone the school
building. Some schools are still inaccessible to students in
wheelchairs or to those other mobility aides and need elevators,
ramps, paved pathways and lifts to get in and around buildings.
• Accessibility can go beyond passageways, stairs, and ramps to
recreational areas, paved pathways, and door handles. A student
with cerebral palsy, for instance, may not have the ability to
grasp and turn a traditional doorknob.
• Classrooms must be able to accommodate a student’s assistive
technology devices, as well as other furniture to meet individual
needs.
Economic barriers
• Funding is a major constraint to the practice of
inclusion.
• Teaching students with disabilities in general education
classrooms takes specialists and additional staff to
support students’ needs.
• Coordinating services and offering individual supports
to children requires additional money.
• Inadequate funding can hinder on-going professional
development that keeps both specialists and classroom
teachers updated on the best practices of inclusion.
Attitudinal barriers
• Some of the greatest barriers associated with inclusion in
education are negative attitudes.
• As with society in general, these attitudes and stereotypes are
often caused by a lack of knowledge and understanding.
• The attitudes and abilities of general education teachers and
para-educators in particular can be major limitations in
inclusive education. Training teachers and para-educators to
understand and work with children with disabilities is often
inadequate, or it may be fragmented and uncoordinated.
• If educators have negative attitudes toward students with
special needs or have low expectations of them, children will
unlikely receive a satisfactory, inclusive education.
School as barrier
• Admission: Many schools do not grant admission to children with special
needs. Parents’ inability to provide total support or pay high fees are also
barriers.
• Commutation problem: Non-availability of inclusive school nearby or lack of
proper transport to reach the school is also a barrier.
• Materials and technology: Non-availability of appropriate learning materials,
teaching aids and assistive devices will hinder inclusive education.
• Classroom Size: High teacher-student ratios. If in the classroom there are
more than 50 students it is difficult for children with special needs to adjust
and they often feel alien.
• Curriculum: General educators must be willing to work with inclusion
specialists to make modifications and accommodations in both teaching
methods and classroom and homework assignments.
Teachers should be flexible in how students learn and demonstrate
knowledge and understanding. Written work, for example, should be limited if a
student cannot write and can accomplish the same or similar learning objective
through a different method. Some curricular adaptation have to be made and the
nature of adaptation depends on the kind and level of disability
Social barriers
• One of the final barriers associated with inclusion in education is a lack of
communication among administrators, teachers, specialists, staff, parents,
and students.
• Open communication and coordinated planning between general
education teachers and special education staff are essential for inclusion to
work.
• Time is needed for teachers and specialists to meet and create well-
constructed plans to identify and implement modifications, the
accommodations, and specific goals for individual students.
• Collaboration must also exist among teachers, staff, and parents to meet a
student’s needs and facilitate learning at home.
REMOVING THE BARRIERS
• A deep understanding of the five factors, and other issues that hinder
inclusion, and the elimination of them will make true inclusion a reality
for all children to learn together.
• Learning environments also must be physically accessible to students
using wheelchairs, walkers, and assistive technology devices.
• Adequate funding has to be in place to hire support specialists and
secure resources for teachers and students.
• Inclusive attitudes have to be held by school administrators, teachers,
staff, and parents.
• School facilities and curriculum should be modified and adapted to
meet the needs, and limitations, of a diverse group of children.
• Finally, open and on-going communication must exist among all
involved in educating students with disabilities.
