Pros and Cons

 

 

With anything there is always pros and cons... Here I examine the pros and cons of inclusive classrooms for everyone involved.  

 

Pros:

Children with Special Needs:

• Learn motor, communication and other skills in natural settings.
• Involved in a more stimulating environment
• Opportunities to make new friends and share new experiences.
• Membership/Sense of purpose or belonging in the classroom and school.
• Learning in a creative environment

Children without Special Needs:

• Students often become more accepting. 
• More comfortable with children who have learning disabilities.
• Acquire leadership skills.
• Improved self-esteem.
• Diversity of friendships.
• Encourages cooperation and tolerance.

Teachers of Inclusion:

• Awareness and appreciation of individual differences in all children.
• Access to specialists and resources to help all children.
• Learn new teaching techniques that can help all children.
• More understanding of child development.
• Work with more diverse group of children.
• Teachers may have to learn to use different approaches in order to get the information across to everybody so they can comprehend it.

Parents:

• More encouraged to actively participate in community.
• Awareness of disabilities.
• Knowledge of typical development.
• Ability to receive additional help, instruction and information. 

 


Cons:

• Teacher time is taken away from the other students in the inclusive classroom.
• Some teachers lack the training, resources and other necessary supports to teach students with disabilities which can take away from everyone's learning.
• Teachers have to take more time and care when lesson planning in order to adapt the lesson to the student or students with special needs/disabilities.
• Classroom management can be harder because of the addition of more students or students who are not used to the new differences.
• Special needs students may not feel comfortable because they are different than the other students.
• Some parents feel that inclusion is not a good idea, and their opinions and feelings can cause tension and issues. 

 

• (List adapted from here and here )

Interview

In order to get some outside views on inclusive classrooms I interviewed a teacher who has experience with this type of classroom.

Miss. R, a first year teacher who was placed in an inclusion classroom.  She has a bachelors degree in early childhood education from The University of Texas at Austin, and has no prior experience or special training dealing with special education/disabled children.  She has one aid in her classroom to help with the disabled children.

Me: How has your first year of teaching been?

Miss R: It's been good, very hard at times, but also rewarding. Sometimes I can't believe I have my own classroom and that I am in charge of all of these first graders, it's pretty crazy.

Me: Were you surprised that you were placed in an inclusion classroom with very little teaching experience?

Miss R: Yes! I was seriously kind of shocked. I didn't have experience with special education during my student teaching, and last year when I was a teacher assistant there weren't any special ed. kids in that room either so it has definitely been a learning experience, to say the least.

Me: Does your classroom aid have any special education training?

Miss R: She has some, and she is really good with the kids, but honestly I was expecting someone more trained in the field of special education.  It is sort of....well I guess strange, that they  entrust the education of disabled children with such inexperienced  teachers. I feel like I can handle anything after this year. 

Me: I bet! What are your views on inclusive classrooms? If you had a disabled child would you want them in a special ed. room or a general ed. room?

Miss R: From my experience, the inclusive setting is pretty good. The kids get along and are quite accepting for the most part. Of course there are good and bad days, but they seem to all be learning from each other and making good progress.  HMM... If I had a disabled child... I think I would want them to be in an inclusive classroom. I think they would deserve that.

Ten Lessons That Children Learn from Inclusive Classrooms

I have stated previously that I am on the fence about inclusion.  I am both for and against it on a case to case basis.  That being said, in the situation where a child is a good fit for an inclusive classroom and the parents were unsure, or if a non-disabled child's parents were against a disabled child joining the classroom, I would share this wonderful list by: Mara Sapon-Shevin, from Widening the circle: The power of inclusive classrooms.

1. Understanding differences: Children understand and value differences when they are surrounded by them.

2. Perspective taking: Children learn that not everyone experiences the world the same way they do.

3. Real safety: Being different does not automatically mean separation and exclusion.  Being in real safety means that children know that they are accepted and supported for who they are regardless of their differences.

4. Exclusion hurts everyone: Being in the same classroom with children who are different allows children to reach out and ask "Do you want to play?" as opposed to "We don't want you to play with us."

5. Compassion: Being educated with children who have various abilities and disabilities allows children to "feel with" one another and treat each other with open heart, understanding, and compassion.

6. Giving and getting help graciously: Being in inclusive classrooms helps children feel useful and valued for their contributions, and teaches them that every person is involved with various levels of helping and being helped.

7. Responsibility to one another: Inclusive classrooms teach children to think about "we" rather than "I".  Children who are educated in inclusive classrooms learn that they are a community-- that a blow to one is a blow to all.

8. Honesty about hard topics: Children who are educated in inclusive classrooms and grow up surrounded with individual differences learn a vast repertoire of skills and attitudes about uncomfortable and painful topics.

 9. Courage: Inclusive classrooms provide children with examples and opportunities for many kinds of bravery.

10. Faith and hope: Inclusive classrooms teach children that acceptance, love, and support are possible and that persons can make a difference even if they mat not see the results of their efforts immediately 

Research

There is research that contributes to both sides of the inclusion classroom argument (that being, is it a good idea or a bad idea) and I will briefly overview both sides and give my opinion.

There are many people, scholars, teachers, parents, etc... who are in favor of inclusion.  Much research has been done to suggest that all young children who are educated in early childhood inclusive settings benefit from this type of education.  Some studies have shown that children with disabilities show gains in language, cognitive, motor and social emotional development, greater than the progress that children with disabilities would typically make in special education classrooms (Bayat 25).  Inclusive classrooms have also been found to be positive for children without disabilities, typically helping them excel in social skills.  I think that this is terrific, and I agree that some children can really benefit from an inclusive setting, but I have seen first hand how it does not work for all children whether its a disabled child being ignored, neglected or not helped as much as they should be because the other children are excelling or a gifted child's needs for "more" being shoved aside because his or her peers are going at a slower pace.  These are issues that need to be worked on because it is so important for children to be getting the specialized attention that they need to do their absolute best.

On the other side of the argument there are scholars, teachers, and parents who argue that it is discriminatory to force students into inclusion, and that students who need specialized services and instruction may lose access to these services that are not available in the nonspecialized classrooms. Again, with this argument, there are things I agree with and do not agree with. I believe that depending on the severity of the disability that the child has they can either blossom or wilt in an inclusive setting.  There will always be two sides of every argument and with this one in particular the choice of putting a child in an inclusion classroom has to be carefully weighed by the parents and professionals.

If a child's disability is too severe I do not believe that an inclusion classroom would be appropriate for him or her, without the possibility of a one-on-one aid.  If a child has self-control and does not have extreme issues with learning on their own, an inclusive classroom could be a great environment for them.

I cannot simply choose a side to the argument unless I refer to a specific student.  For example, during my observations there were students who I could immediately tell should have more one-on-one interaction with a teacher or aid in order to learn to their full capability (i.e. constant daily tantrums, hitting, non-verbal, obsessive behaviors that were bothering other students, being left on their own due to the teachers being busy with other students etc...), and there were students whom if I hadn't known that they were disabled I would not have been able to tell just by observing them interact and learn with the other children.

In Funding Accountability: States, Courts, and Public Responsibility, an article by Sue Books, that we read in SCU 207, Books states that it is up to the public to be accountable for what happens in schools.  I agree with this in that I believe that the parents should be taking full responsibility for their disabled children.  They should know their children's needs best of anyone and should be the sole decider when it comes to whether or not their child is placed in an inclusion classroom. 

All About Inclusion

The education, care, and treatment of children with special needs is mandated by law in the United States.  Children with special needs aka exceptional children, are children who require a different education than what is provided normally, due to a variety of factors such as a diagnosed condition, disability, or even giftedness.

More and more today we see and hear about inclusive classrooms.  This term refers to a classroom that holds a population of children with and without special needs.  During my service hours for SCU 207, here at DePaul Univeristy, I had the honor of working at Courtenay Language Arts Center in a pre-k inclusion classroom.  This classroom was comprised of "normal" children, children with special needs ranging from those with down syndrome to severe non-verbal autism, and also was home to a little girl who was exceptionally gifted who had been admitted to a prestigious kindergarten program for gifted children for next year.

Inclusion has been around since the 1970's but has only really been a common occurrence in the United States since the 1990's.   The National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC), and The Division for Early Childhood of the Council for Exceptional Children (DEC) released a joint statement addressing inclusive education.  In summary it states,
"the values, policies, and practices that support the right of every infant and young child and his or her family, regardless of ability to participate in a broad range of activities and contexts as full members of families and communities, and society.  The desired results of inclusive experiences for children with and without disabilities and their families include a sense of belonging and membership, positive social relationships and friendships and development and learning to reach their full potential.  The defining features of inclusion that can be used to identify high-quality early childhood programs are access, participation, and supports. "(DEC/NAEYC 2009) *
This sounds very nice in theory, but is this statement really coming to life in inclusive classrooms?  In my opinion and experience, yes, some parts of it are but in reality I have observed many children's needs (with and without disabilities) being neglected due to sheer incapability of the staff to meet all of the very unique needs. 

The staff in this classroom consisted of a special education teacher, and two teacher's aids (not including me).   The head special education teacher was retiring after this year so I felt that she really knew what she was doing.  The children came for half of the day to participate in this play-based learning program. 

Overall I felt that this was a great learning experience for me. However if it were up to me, the way that inclusion classrooms are run, and the children that are suitable for an inclusive classroom would be very different.

*(For full position statement go to NAEYC)