Advocacy for Inclusion

"providing individual and systemic advocacy to improve life for people who have a disability"

Position Paper

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Inclusive Education

Introduction

Advocacy for Inclusion believes that children who have a disability should have an inclusive education of their choosing in the same way that choices are available to students in the broader community. We believe that the ACT Department of Education, the ACT and Australian Governments and the community should support children who have a disability in making and realising their choices, and participating meaningfully in their chosen school community.

School communities must be inclusive of all children, and openly recognise the unique contributions that children who have a disability make to community life. It is essential that an inclusive education be supported to maintain and strengthen the personal relationships and social networks of children who have a disability. Each child’s support must be individualised and flexible, while remaining relevant to their particular needs at the time.

What is Inclusive Education?

An inclusive education is achieved when the education environment of children who have a disability cannot be distinguished from those of others in the school community. The three key components of inclusion are:

1. Physical inclusion…
   • Simply being physically present – attending the local neighbourhood school, playing in the same playgrounds, being in the same classrooms and having access to specialist groupings such as art, computer, physical education, at and for the same time as other children. It goes without saying that if the child is not present, then clearly they cannot be included.
2. Social inclusion…
   • Nurturing positive social inclusion is far more complex than the physical presence of a child in the classroom. One can be rejected and lonely even in a crowded classroom. The people who belong in a group are those who share the same experiences as all the other members and any reduction in the amount of shared time tends to place social inclusion at risk.
3. Curricular inclusion…
   • Curricular inclusion requires the involvement of all children in the same daily learning events and as such careful thought and preparation are essential. It is increasingly being recognised that every child is special, with individual skills and needs, and this has to be addressed by the teacher. The child who has a disability highlights the relevance of this issue for all children. 1

For these three components to come together requires the cooperation of students, parents and teachers, and the support of principals, school communities and the Department of Education.

Education for Students who have a Disability in the ACT

“The department is committed to providing quality education for all students regardless of individual differences to enable positive educational outcomes for each student and will ensure the provision of a range of services and settings to accommodate the wide range of curriculum needs of students with disabilities”

ACT Department of Education School Policy -
Services To Students With Disabilities Policy and Mandatory Procedures

In the ACT at present there are three distinct forms of education provided for students who have a disability. Students who have a disability can be enrolled in one of the four special schools (two primary schools and two secondary schools), they can enrol in a special education unit or centre within a mainstream school or they can enrol full-time in a mainstream school under the Inclusion Support Program. While enrolment is limited to these options, in practice students may not spend all of their time in these settings. Students from the special schools do interact with students in mainstream schools, students in units may spend time working in mainstream classes and students who have a disability in mainstream classes may take certain lessons with students from a special education unit. The following points outline some of the barriers to inclusion in the ACT education system.

Special Schools

• Special schools fail to deliver any meaningful inclusion for students who have a disability.

Special Education Units and Centres

• Special education units and centres create barriers to physical, social and curricular inclusion.

  • Students are physically excluded as they do not learn in the same place as their peers
  • Social exclusion is perpetuated not only by separate classrooms but also by practices such as different times or locations for lunch breaks
  • Most students in special education units or centres experience a vastly different curriculum to those students in mainstream classrooms

Inclusion Support Program

• Out of all the options available to students in the ACT, the Inclusion Support Program is the closest to inclusive education. When appropriate supports are in place, students in the Inclusion Support Program can experience full physical, social and curricular inclusion. Unfortunately, there are a number of issues that can arise for students within the Inclusion Support Program;

  • Conditional Placement – particularly in schools where there is a Special Education Unit – can lead to a reversion to physical exclusion if the student is perceived not to be ‘ready’ for the mainstream classroom, for example if they demonstrate challenging behaviours or difficulty learning
  • Special Teacher’s Assistants can create barriers to social inclusion by marking the student as different and by working so closely with the student as to exclude all other regular classroom interaction
  • Some teachers see curricular inclusion as too difficult to implement, often leaving Special Teacher’s Assistants to do a large amount of the teaching of students who have a disability.

Assessment of Students’ Needs

• One of the biggest barriers to the successful inclusion of students in a mainstream setting is the way in which students’ individual needs are assessed and the attitude towards change at both a school and system level. Under the present method of assessment in the ACT, the Student Centred Appraisal of Need, students are judged on how well they fit into the current school environment. In order to attend their chosen school, students must be able to overcome ‘barriers’ such as the physical environment of the school or preconceived notions that the student will be ‘unable to cope’ within an inclusive setting. Ideally, schools would be assessed (rather than the students) to ascertain what changes to the school’s physical setting and to its underlying values and principles would be required to ensure the student received a safe and valuable education. Any discussions would be based on the ACT Department of Education and Training’s value of inclusivity and its commitment to an education system that is inclusive and recognises the distinctive needs of every student. 2

Background

Studies have shown that on a number of levels inclusion is preferable to segregation or integration (part-time segregation within mainstream schools). Students with and without disabilities have been shown to benefit academically and socially in fully inclusive education environments.

A 2004 Canadian study found that educational arrangements have a tremendous effect on the formation of friendships, the prevalence of abusive behaviour and the frequency of advocacy by children for their peers who have a disability. They found that students in inclusive schools have friends who have a disability, whereas students from schools with special education structures do not. The study found that inclusive education compared with special education results in more positive social relationships, and that these differences do not lie in the students themselves, but in the educational arrangements characterising their education and that of their peers who have a disability. 3

The positive effects of the experience of inclusiveness and inclusion on students who do not have a disability, include:

1. A reduced fear of human differences accompanied by increased comfort and awareness
2. A growth in social cognition (tolerance, for example)
3. An improvement in self-concept
4. Enhanced development of personal principles (for example an increased responsiveness towards the needs of others)
5. The experience of warm and caring friendships

The perceived negatives of inclusion have also been discredited. For example, the inclusion of a child who has severe disabilities in a mainstream class has no effect on the level of allocated or engaged time a teacher has with other students, and there is no significant increase in time lost to interruptions. 4

Finally, studies have shown that students who have a disability do better academically, and as well or better socially when they are educated in inclusive settings rather than in special schools. 5

These studies are not isolated examples but are part of a vast body of evidence that demonstrates the benefits of inclusive education for students with and without a disability.

Inclusive Education

Inclusion means:

• Educating all children who have a disability in regular classrooms regardless of the nature of their disability
• Providing all students enhanced opportunities to learn from each other's contributions.
• Providing necessary services within mainstream schools and preferably within mainstream classrooms
• Supporting mainstream teachers and administrators (e.g., by providing time, training, teamwork, resources, and strategies)
• Having students who have a disability follow the same schedules as students who do not have a disability
• Involving students who have a disability in age-appropriate academic classes and extracurricular activities, including art, music, physical education, excursions, assemblies, and graduation exercises
• Students who have a disability using the school’s canteen, library, playground, and other facilities along with students who do not have a disability
• Encouraging friendships between students who do and do not have a disability
• Students who have a disability receiving their education and job training in mainstream community environments when appropriate
• Teaching all children to understand and accept human differences
• Placing children who have a disability in the same schools they would attend if they did not have a disability
• Taking parents' concerns seriously
• Providing an appropriate individualised educational program

Inclusion does not mean:

• ‘Dumping’ students who have a disability into mainstream programs without preparation or support
• Providing special education services in separate or isolated places
• Ignoring children's individual needs
• Jeopardizing students' safety or well being
• Placing unreasonable demands on teachers and administrators
• Ignoring parents' concerns
• Isolating students who have a disability in mainstream schools.
• Placing students who have a disability in schools or classes that are not age-appropriate.
• Requiring that students be "ready" and "earn" their way into mainstream classrooms based on cognitive or social skills6

Inclusion should cover all aspects of a student’s school life and as much as possible encompass related areas outside of school. One of the greatest barriers to the expansion of inclusion in the community as a whole is a lack of knowledge and understanding. The development and support of inclusive education will inevitably promote inclusive communities as students, their families and their teachers bring new attitudes into all aspects of their lives.

It is also important to note what inclusion is not. Many people have acquired ideas of inclusive education based on poor practice and have developed negative attitudes towards inclusion because of this. Significant problems can occur when schools or education systems use the word inclusion without understanding it or providing appropriate levels of funding and support.

Conclusion

Advocacy for Inclusion firmly believes that inclusive education is possible for all students and that there should be appropriate support provided to ensure that all students are provided with the education of their choice.

Advocacy for Inclusion will

• Assist individuals to access inclusive educational settings
• Actively promote inclusive education for all students in the ACT, particularly through public forums and information sessions on education options for students who have a disability
• Work with the ACT Department of Education and the ACT Government to ensure departmental policies and actions also promote inclusive education, including active participation in the ACT Special Education Reference Group
• Work with schools and communities to encourage inclusive practices

1. Darrell Wills and Robert Jackson, ‘Inclusion: Much More Than “Being There”’, interaction, 10:2, 1996, pp 20-22
2. ACT Department of Education and Training, Strategic Plan 2006-2009, May 2006, 4
3. G Bunch & A Valeo, “Student attitudes toward peers with disabilities in inclusive and special education schools”, Disability & Society, 19:1, January 2004, 72-76
4. Gary L Peltier, “The effect of inclusion on non-disabled children: A review of the research”, Contemporary Education, 68:4, Summer 1997, 236-237
5. Thea Peetsma, Margaretha Vergeer, Jaap Roeleveld & Sjoerd Karsten, “Inclusion in Education: comparing pupils’ development in special and regular education” Educational Review, 53:2, 2001,126-135
6. Developed from Center on Human Policy, Syracuse University, “Inclusion in Education: A Choice for Your Child”, Center on Human Policy Website, http://thechp.syr.edu/incdoc2b.htm Accessed 23/10/06

Sources
ACT Department of Education and Training, School Policy - Services To Students With Disabilities Policy and Mandatory Procedures, March 1998
ACT Department of Education and Training, Strategic Plan 2006-2009, May 2006
Advocacy for Inclusion, “Submission on Future Directions in ACT Government Schools: Inclusive Education”, 2005
Bunch, G & A Valeo, “Student attitudes toward peers with disabilities in inclusive and special education schools”, Disability & Society, 19:1, January 2004, 61-76
Center on Human Policy, Syracuse University, “Inclusion in Education: A Choice for Your Child”, Center on Human Policy Website, thechp.syr.edu/incdoc2b.htm Accessed 23/10/06
Peetsma, Thea, Margaretha Vergeer, Jaap Roeleveld & Sjoerd Karsten, “Inclusion in Education: comparing pupils’ development in special and regular education”, Educational Review, 53:2, 2001,126-135
Peltier, Gary L, “The effect of inclusion on non-disabled children: A review of the research”, Contemporary Education, 68:4, Summer 1997, 234-238
Wills, Darrell and Robert Jackson, ‘Inclusion: Much More Than “Being There”’, interaction, 10:2, 1996, pp 19-24

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