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Creating Inclusive Classrooms

Creating Inclusive Classrooms. Chapter Twelve. The Ability/Disability Continuum and the Health Dimension. (c) 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.  All rights reserved. Cushner/McClelland/Safford, Human Diversity in Education , 5/e. Rationale for Inclusive Classrooms.

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Creating Inclusive Classrooms

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  1. Creating InclusiveClassrooms Chapter Twelve The Ability/Disability Continuum and the Health Dimension (c) 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.  All rights reserved. Cushner/McClelland/Safford, Human Diversity in Education, 5/e

  2. Rationale for Inclusive Classrooms • Over the past 175 years, public education in the United States 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 (c) 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.  All rights reserved. Cushner/McClelland/Safford, Human Diversity in Education, 5/e

  3. 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 con’t. (c) 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.  All rights reserved. Cushner/McClelland/Safford, Human Diversity in Education, 5/e

  4. The Philosophical Basis for Inclusion • 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 (c) 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.  All rights reserved. Cushner/McClelland/Safford, Human Diversity in Education, 5/e

  5. 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 • ADA—Americans with Disabilities Act (1990)—extends these prohibitions to the private sector con’t. (c) 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.  All rights reserved. Cushner/McClelland/Safford, Human Diversity in Education, 5/e

  6. 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 con’t. (c) 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.  All rights reserved. Cushner/McClelland/Safford, Human Diversity in Education, 5/e

  7. Like societal inclusion, inclusive education implies fully shared participation of diverse individuals in common experiences • The concept is interpreted differently by different people • Full inclusion = • a student will attend the same schools he/she would if he/she had no disability • participate with all of the same groups of learners as he/she would if he/she had no disability • he/she will, however, have supportive services as needed (c) 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.  All rights reserved. Cushner/McClelland/Safford, Human Diversity in Education, 5/e

  8. Definitions of Exceptionality • Ability/disability and health are distinct dimensions of human exceptionality • Some individuals may have a physical or developmental disability (e.g., 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 (c) 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.  All rights reserved. Cushner/McClelland/Safford, Human Diversity in Education, 5/e

  9. 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 con’t. (c) 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.  All rights reserved. Cushner/McClelland/Safford, Human Diversity in Education, 5/e

  10. The Ability/Disability Continuum • 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 child’s development may be somewhat arbitrary • Nevertheless, most exceptional children have the same needs, interests, and concerns as their more “typical” peers (c) 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.  All rights reserved. Cushner/McClelland/Safford, Human Diversity in Education, 5/e

  11. 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 (c) 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.  All rights reserved. Cushner/McClelland/Safford, Human Diversity in Education, 5/e

  12. 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 world’s first school for the blind in Paris (1784) (c) 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.  All rights reserved. Cushner/McClelland/Safford, Human Diversity in Education, 5/e

  13. 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 con’t. (c) 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.  All rights reserved. Cushner/McClelland/Safford, Human Diversity in Education, 5/e

  14. Some Historical Highlights • Major concerns of 19th-century reformers • proper care • some form of instruction • maximum independence and integration into society • While 19th-century facilities were often called asylums, they were intended as training schools • using utilitarian pedagogy to enable students to support themselves con’t. (c) 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.  All rights reserved. Cushner/McClelland/Safford, Human Diversity in Education, 5/e

  15. Some Historical Highlights • 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 con’t. (c) 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.  All rights reserved. Cushner/McClelland/Safford, Human Diversity in Education, 5/e

  16. Some Historical Highlights • 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 con’t. (c) 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.  All rights reserved. Cushner/McClelland/Safford, Human Diversity in Education, 5/e

  17. Some Historical Highlights • “Ungraded classes” for those who just “didn’t 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 con’t. (c) 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.  All rights reserved. Cushner/McClelland/Safford, Human Diversity in Education, 5/e

  18. Some Historical Highlights • 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 testing—a seemingly more “scientific” approach—that led to different, life skills curricula for students with disabilities con’t. (c) 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.  All rights reserved. Cushner/McClelland/Safford, Human Diversity in Education, 5/e

  19. Some Historical Highlights • 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 schools were not offered any particular adaptations or pedagogical supports con’t. (c) 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.  All rights reserved. Cushner/McClelland/Safford, Human Diversity in Education, 5/e

  20. Some Historical Highlights • In 1975, however, P.L. 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) con’t. (c) 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.  All rights reserved. Cushner/McClelland/Safford, Human Diversity in Education, 5/e

  21. Some Historical Highlights Interest in gifted education has waxed and waned over the years; two problems remain: • The inclusiveness of schools’ definition of giftedness, and • The identification of gifted students who are ethnic and linguistic minorities

  22. 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 (c) 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.  All rights reserved. Cushner/McClelland/Safford, Human Diversity in Education, 5/e

  23. 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 that includes schoolchildren • The need and eligibility of children with chronic illness for special education services depends on whether their conditions adversely affects educational functioning con’t. (c) 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.  All rights reserved. Cushner/McClelland/Safford, Human Diversity in Education, 5/e

  24. The Health Dimension • 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 (c) 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.  All rights reserved. Cushner/McClelland/Safford, Human Diversity in Education, 5/e

  25. 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 person’s only identifying characteristic or need con’t. (c) 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.  All rights reserved. Cushner/McClelland/Safford, Human Diversity in Education, 5/e

  26. Another implication is 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 child’s condition, the more able a teacher feels to accommodate that child (c) 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.  All rights reserved. Cushner/McClelland/Safford, Human Diversity in Education, 5/e

  27. 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 con’t. (c) 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.  All rights reserved. Cushner/McClelland/Safford, Human Diversity in Education, 5/e

  28. 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 for students with special needs; • collaboration suggests continuing interdisciplinary teamwork on the part of regular and special educators in implementing the student’s program con’t. (c) 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.  All rights reserved. Cushner/McClelland/Safford, Human Diversity in Education, 5/e

  29. The law requires parents’ 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 family’s concerns and priorities, • that the student’s home and school experiences are mutually supportive, and that professionals respect the primacy of families on children’s development con’t. (c) 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.  All rights reserved. Cushner/McClelland/Safford, Human Diversity in Education, 5/e

  30. 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 to both by fostering positive classroom interactions and creating opportunities for students to respect and learn from each other and develop feelings of group identification (c) 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.  All rights reserved. Cushner/McClelland/Safford, Human Diversity in Education, 5/e

  31. 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 to provide a balance with traditional medical and behavioral models (c) 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.  All rights reserved. Cushner/McClelland/Safford, Human Diversity in Education, 5/e

  32. 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 all the adults in a child’s life • New relationships and cooperative efforts are required of both regular and special educators • All need to participate in multifactored evaluations (c) 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.  All rights reserved. Cushner/McClelland/Safford, Human Diversity in Education, 5/e

  33. Place of Content Knowledge: Old and New • Early ideas about curriculum for children with disabilities focused on employability • Contemporary ideas focus on a “criteria of ultimate functioning,” which means that what is taught is age appropriate, future-oriented, functional, and community-referenced (c) 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.  All rights reserved. Cushner/McClelland/Safford, Human Diversity in Education, 5/e

  34. The advent of the concept of specific learning disabilities, which accounts for more than half the special education enrollment, brought a greater focus on differential instructional strategy than on curricular content • To a large extent, based on an educational profile of each student, remediation or compensatory instruction can be devised within the context of a standard curriculum con’t. (c) 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.  All rights reserved. Cushner/McClelland/Safford, Human Diversity in Education, 5/e

  35. Assessment: Old and New • General meaning of assessment of special needs children is the same as for “typical” children • There are, however, two specific meanings of assessment for children with disabilities: (c) 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.  All rights reserved. Cushner/McClelland/Safford, Human Diversity in Education, 5/e

  36. The determination, as a result of assessment, of eligibility for special education The determination of how accountability for these services is demonstrated; the IEP is also an accountability document Specific Meanings of Assessment (c) 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.  All rights reserved. Cushner/McClelland/Safford, Human Diversity in Education, 5/e

  37. Making Inclusive Teaching Work • 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 child’s progress by both regular and special educators con’t. (c) 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.  All rights reserved. Cushner/McClelland/Safford, Human Diversity in Education, 5/e

  38. The importance of flexibility • Critical to the success of the 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 (c) 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.  All rights reserved. Cushner/McClelland/Safford, Human Diversity in Education, 5/e

  39. Ethical Issues in Inclusive Education • Because federal legislation does not mandate inclusion (although it does forbid exclusion) 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” con’t. (c) 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.  All rights reserved. Cushner/McClelland/Safford, Human Diversity in Education, 5/e

  40. 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 • If inclusion is implemented, there is considerable concern about whether or not sufficient resources are, or will be, provided (c) 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.  All rights reserved. Cushner/McClelland/Safford, Human Diversity in Education, 5/e

  41. Something to Think About Many educators, parents, and persons with disabilities themselves maintain that if the society of the 21st 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. (c) 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.  All rights reserved. Cushner/McClelland/Safford, Human Diversity in Education, 5/e

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