Welcome to your future classroom

Karleen Muhlegg Amanda Tsitouras

Mathula Srithar

Introduction

Our standpoint: FOR the inclusion of physically and mentally handicapped students in a classroom. What is an inclusive classroom and fair education? What does it mean to be a handicapped student?

1.   Ethical and Legal aspect (both Canadian and American) 2.  The benefits of inclusive classroom for the handicapped student

3.  The advantages that these classrooms offer non-handicapped students

First Argument The inclusion of handicapped students has become a question of what is lawful and simultaneously ethical.

Legal Rights

“upholds the right to every child including those with a disability, to receive educational services without discrimination” (Frankel, 2004)

Legal Rights

United States Charters ●  Education of the Handicapped Act Amendment of 1986

●  Individuals with Disabilities Education Act in 1990.

These officially make the rights and freedoms of all citizens no matter what their physical or mental condition in our nation known.

Ethics of Inclusion

Common themes : patience, care, proactive measures and both emotional and physical resilience ●  Special needs education on the

rise! ●  A humbling experience

Equality vs Equity

Equality vs Equity

Equality has to do with EQUAL and just treatment whereas equity has to do with providing people with what they need to thrive. Implement equity in your classroom! Essentially, all students should receive the same education but in customs forms tailoring to their personal and academic needs (Ghosh & Galczynski, 2014).

Second Argument

●  Inclusion of physically disabled students helps to form friendships with children with and without disabilities, which leads to higher self-esteem and social skills. (Curtin & Clarke, 2005)

Importance of Friendships in Mainstreamed Schools

●  Children get a sense of social acceptance and self-esteem. (Curtin & Clarke, 2005)

●  Provides diversity in an environment that reflects the real world (Graves & Tracy, 1998; Pitt)

●  Gain better social skills ●  Variety of classmates

●  Down Syndrome children observe and imitate these skills of mainstreamed

students (Reynolds, Zupanick, & Dombeck, 2013)

●  Curiosity of young children without disabilities leads to communication and interaction between children with disabilities (Lightfoot, Wright, & Sloper, 1999)

Lack of Support Systems in Mainstream Schools

●  Physically disabled children feel isolated due to the separation of mainstream and special needs schools.

●  Lack of resources to form friendships with a diversity of peers. (Jordan, 2008)

●  Teachers must support individual needs and differentiate the curriculum. (Jordan, in press)

●  Practicing and implying inclusion will help handicapped and mainstream students.

●  Adapting the classroom leads to positive relationships with peers and teachers improve teaching skills. (Jordan, 2008)

Experiences in Mainstream Schools

Mainstream Schools ●  Participants were happy most of the time due to a sense of achievement,

particularly related to success at school or in sports and through spending time with friends.

Lucy said: “I prefer going to this mainstream school because I don’t want to be bunged in a special need school because it would feel like I’m not normal, when I am normal.”(Curtin & Clarke, 2005)

Experiences in Segregated Schools

Segregated Schools ●  A positive experience, but they thought that the school environment did not reflect

the real world. ●  They felt a sense of community at the school where their peers accepted them.

Xanthe said: “I felt that a special need school would get me through life but it wouldn’t give me quality or anything. Going to a special need school was like saying, ‘Oh you’re in a wheelchair. You know for this, your punishment is that you won’t get the best you can get. You won’t get as best as anybody else.’” (Curtin & Clarke, 2005)

Goal of Inclusion “If the goal of inclusion is to be realized, then schools will have to develop ways by which each young person with a physical and/or mental disability can be listened to, so that their individual needs may be identified and then accommodated.” (Curtin & Clarke, 2005)

●  Access of social inclusion and a education should be entitled to everyone ●  Without the proper and effective aspects of education, children will never

feel comfortable to participate in their local community and make friends. (Jordan, 2008)

Third Argument

●  There are benefits of inclusion on nondisabled children

Common Concerns

1.  Will my child’s learning suffer because of this inclusion?

2. Will my child receive less attention and time from the teacher? (Staub and Peck, 1994)

1.  Will my child’s learning suffer because of this inclusion?

●  Limited amount of research has been done to address this concern ●  Studies have used quasi-experimental designs to collect data

●  Results show no slowdown on academic progress of non-disabled children

(Staub and Peck, 1994)

2.  Will my child receive less attention and time from the teacher?

●  Study :

o  The researchers randomly chose six nondisabled students in classrooms that included a student with severe disabilities

o  They compared the inclusive classroom and noninclusive classroom

o  They observed the interruptions happening in the classroom

●  Results:

o  No allocated time given to one particular student

o  Interruptions that occurred were nothing substantial

(Hollowood et al., n.d.)

Another Study...

●  166 High School students ●  Surveyed to see if they felt they had

missed out on valuable educational experiences

●  They did not believe they had missed

out on anything

(Helmstetter et al., 1993)

Benefits of Inclusion on Nondisabled children

1. Warm and caring friendships 2. Improvements in self-concept 3. Reduced fear of human differences

(Straub and Peck, 1994)

1.  Friendships

Bogdan and Taylor (1989): ●  Observed experiences of nondisabled people

forming friendships ●  Results in them deriving a pleasure from

these relationships ●  A mother describes her son’s relationship

with a child who has disabilities “ Aaron's friendship with Cole is a caring, teaching relationship. I get the feeling that Aaron wants to let Cole experience the things he has experienced.... He gets a lot of joy from being able to do that” (Staub et al. 1994).

2.  Improvements in Self-concept

●  Charles Peck and colleagues: o  Nondisabled children

experience an increase in their self-esteem through their friendships with peers who have disabilities.

●  Some studies have shown student’s perceive an increase in their social status in class and at school (Staub et al., 1994).

●  Students feel a sense of belonging after helping disabled children.

A nondisabled high school student who takes the role of being a peer tutor for her peer with severe disabilities says, “Yeah, it's kind of rewarding if she makes progress—you feel good about yourself because you've helped her to do it. I like that” (Straub et al., 1994).

3.  Reduced Fear of Human Differences

●  Peck and colleagues : o  Conducted surveys and interviews on high

school students o  Found that through interactions with peers

with disabilities, these students had learnt to reduce their fear of people who looked or acted differently (1992).

●  Students have said that they came to value the contributions that all individuals make (Biklen et al.

1989, York et al. 1992 as cited in Straub and Peck, 1994). ●  The most important aspect in an inclusive

classroom is having all students RESPECT and ACCEPT each other’s differences.

●  All in all, positive results derived from surveys with parents ●  More than 300 parents of elementary school children surveyed

o  89% of these parents would place their children in an inclusive classroom again (Staub and Peck, 1994).

●  Having disabled children and nondisabled children in classrooms is very advantageous to both groups !!

Conclusion

Emphasizing on the capacities of handicapped children is necessary by supporting them with resources that are tailored to fit their particular needs. Inclusive classrooms equally benefit those with or without disabilities It is every child’s right to be involved in schooling and their disabilities should never be seen as a reason for undermining their strengths and potential.

“Every individual is equal before and under the law and has the right to the equal protection of the law, without discrimination and in particular, without discrimination based on… mental and physical disability” Charter of The Rights of the Child, Inclusion Laws, and Early Childhood Laws (ECI Module 1 Typical Development RSS) http://blogs.ubc.ca/earlychildhoodintervention1/2010/11/22/charter-of-the-rights-of-the-child-inclusion-laws-and-early-childhood-laws/

Thank you

References Amado, A. N. (1993). Friendships and Community Connections Between People With and Without Developmental Disabilities. Baltimore: Paul H. Brookes. Bogdan, R., and S. J. Taylor. (1989). “Relationships with Severely Disabled People: The Social Construction of Humanness.” Social Problems 36, 2: 135–148. Charter of The Rights of the Child, Inclusion Laws, and Early Childhood Laws (ECI Module 1 Typical

Development RSS) http://blogs.ubc.ca/earlychildhoodintervention1/2010/11/22/charter-of-the-rights-of- the-child-inclusion-laws-and-early-childhood-laws/

Curtin, M., Clarke, G. (2005) Listening to Young People with Physical Disabilities’ Experiences of Education. International Journal of Disability, Development and Education. 52(3), 195-214. Frankel, Elaine B. (2004). Supporting Inclusive Care and Education for Young Children with Special Needs and Their Families. Association for Childhood Education International, 80,

310-316. Retrieved from: http://mcgill.on.worldcat.org/atoztitles/link?sid=ProQ:&issn=00094056& volume=80&issue=6&title=Childhood+Education&spage=310&date=2004-08-

15&atitle= Supporting+Inclusive+Care+and+Education+for+Young+Children+with+Special+ Needs+ and+Their +Families%3B+an+International

+Perspective&au=Frankel%2C+Elaine+B.&id=doi

Ghosh, R., & Galczynski, M. (2014). Redefining Multicultural Education: Inclusion and the Right to Be Different. 3rd edition. Toronto: Canadian Scholars’ Press, Inc.

References ( Cont’d)

Graves, P., & Tracy, J. (1998). Education for children with disabilities: The rationale for inclusion. Journal of Paediatrics and Child Health, 34, 220–225. Hollowood, T. M., C. L. Salisbury, B. Rainforth, and M. M. Palombaro. (In press). “Use of Instructional Time in Classrooms Serving Students with and Without Severe Disabilities.” Exceptional Children. Jordan, R. (in press) ‘Medicalisation of autism spectrum disorders: implications for services?’ Journal of Hospital Medicine.

Jordan, R. (2008) Autistic spectrum disorders: a challenge and a model for inclusion in education. British Journal of Special Education. 35(1), 11-15. Lightfoot, J., Wright, S., & Sloper, P. (1999). Supporting pupils in mainstream school with an illness or disability: Young people’s views. Child: Care, Health and Development, 25(4), 267–283. Peck, C. A., P. Carlson, and E. Helmstetter. (1992). “Parent and Teacher Perceptions of Outcomes for Typically Developing Children Enrolled in Integrated

Early Childhood Programs: A Statewide Survey.” Journal of Early Intervention 16: 53–63. Reynolds, T., Zupanick, C. E., Dombeck, M. (2013) The Choice of Educational Settings: The Pros and Cons of Mainstreaming Children with Intellectual Disabilities. MentalHelp.net. Retrieved from http://www.mentalhelp.net/poc/view_doc.php?type=doc&id= 10364&cn=208. Straub, D., & Peck, C. (1994). What are the Outcomes for Nondisabled Students?Educational Leadership- The Inclusive School, 52(4), 36-40. Staub, D., C. Peck, I. Schwartz, and C. Gallucci. (1994). “Multiple Case Studies of Friendships at Inclusive Schools.” Unpublished manuscript.