Chapter 1

Introducing inclusion in
education
Phil Foreman

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 Aims
• Inclusion as an educational and social
philosophy
• Introduce readers to diversity as a concept
• Concept of disability
• An overview of principles that form the basis
of inclusive practices
• Terminology and concepts related to inclusion
• Impact of language about disability

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 Aims (cont.)
• Inclusion as part of a range of educational
responses to disability
• Outcomes of inclusion for students with a
disability
• An overview of teaching students with
additional needs in regular classes
• Some myths and misconceptions about
disability.

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 Inclusion as an educational and social
philosophy
• Attitudes towards disability have evolved over
the last few decades
• Children and young people with a disability
now live with their parents or elsewhere
instead of in institutions

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 Inclusion as an educational and social
philosophy (cont.)
• People with disabilities have a right to
participate in a variety of educational contexts
• Students with disabilities are now educated
within regular classrooms
• Why do teachers need an understanding of
student diversity?

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 Inclusion as an educational and social
philosophy (cont.)
• Classrooms have increasingly diverse student
populations
• Good teaching addresses individual needs of all
students
• Focus on effective teaching not disabilities
• Includes: Indigenous students; those with EAL/D;
student from varied religious and cultural
backgrounds.

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 Explain concept of disability
• Many definitions of disability
• A disability is functional consequence of an
impairment
• There are different types and ranges of
disability
• Students with a disability in mainstream
classroom is one example of increased
diversity
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 Explain concept of disability (cont.)
• Students may have an intellectual disability, a
physical disability, a sensory disability, a
learning difficulty or have behaviour problems
• Intellectual disability: significant difficulties in
reasoning, thinking and problem-solving
• Physical disability: difficulties with mobility or
movement

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 Explain concept of disability (cont.)
• Sensory disability: impairment in vision or
hearing
• Learning difficulties: difficulty in learning basic
skills of literacy and numeracy
• Behaviour problems: difficulty conforming or
complying in situation-specific settings

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 Explain concept of disability (cont.)
• Developmental disability: significant problems
in development during childhood
• Gifted and talented students may
underachieve or have dual exceptionalities
and may need specialised support

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 Explain concept of disability (cont.)
• Focus on supporting student needs to achieve
productive outcomes
• Use terms such as student with additional
educational needs or student with a disability.

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 Principles that form basis of inclusive
practices
• Social justice, equity, human rights, all children
can learn, normalisation, least restrictive
environment and age-appropriateness

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 Principles that form basis of inclusive
practices (cont.)
• Changing attitudes and social justice
movements contributed to enhancing lives of
those previously restricted due to gender,
religion, race, ethnicity, sexuality and disability
issues
• What is People First principle?

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 Principles that form basis of inclusive
practices (cont.)
• No decisions based solely on disability
• People who are disadvantaged should have
equal access to educational provisions
• Widespread belief that all children can learn
• Least restrictive learning environment

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 Principles that form basis of inclusive
practices (cont.)
• A range of educational placements
• Normalisation: people should be able to live
as normal a lifestyle as possible
• Children and young people with disability have
access to same social opportunities as their
non-disabled peers.

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 Terminology and concepts related to
inclusion
• What is integration, mainstreaming and
inclusion?
• Integration: participation in regular school
tasks or placement in less restrictive setting
• Mainstreaming: placement in a regular class;
however, educational support may not cater
for students’ individual needs

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 Terminology and concepts related to
inclusion (cont.)
• Inclusion: educational process and philosophy
that underpins it
• All schools should cater for all students
• Support underlies effective inclusive practices
• Underpins initiatives aimed to support
students at risk of under-achieving such as
Indigenous students

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 Terminology and concepts related to
inclusion (cont.)
• Inclusive contexts value and celebrate social,
cultural, intellectual and behavioural diversity
• Understanding based on individual needs of
student within regular classroom
• Has a connections with ideas about social
justice.

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 Language about disability
• Social justice underlies the correct use of
terminology
• Always remember People First principle
• Don’t refer to a disability unless necessary or
relevant
• Focus on individual needs or additional needs
of student and not on disability

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 Language about disability (cont.)
• Avoid expressions such as deaf, a victim of
blindness, autistic children and normal
children
• Use expressions such as people with a
disability, she uses a wheelchair or he has
spina bifida

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Language about disability (cont.)

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Language about disability (cont.)

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 Language about disability (cont.)
• What are differences between impairment,
disability and handicap?
• Impairment refers to an irregularity in way
organs or systems function
• Disability is functional consequence of
impairment
• Handicap is social or environmental
consequence of disability.

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 An historical view of education for
children with disabilities
• Home schooling, residential schooling, special
schools, hospitalisation or institutional
provisions
• Specialised services in segregated settings,
schools, classes or groups

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 An historical view of education for
children with disabilities (cont.)
• After-school life at home or in a sheltered
workshop
• Move towards early intervention, integration,
inclusion and post-school programs.

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 A range of educational responses to
disability
• A range of educational opportunities including
inclusion
• Students can be integrated, mainstreamed or
fully included
• Aim to find least restrictive environment for
child

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 A range of educational responses to
disability (cont.)
• What is best for student’s individual education,
social, physical and emotional needs?
• Most school systems provide a range of classes
and schools to cater for special educational
needs
• Use of placements will vary according to
individual needs of student

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 A range of educational responses to
disability (cont.)
• Residential special schools, separate special
day schools, separate special schools, units or
classes located in a regular campus, single
special class in regular school with part-time
regular placement, to least restrictive, which is
regular class

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 A range of educational responses to
disability (cont.)
• Following placement, appropriate practice
needs to be addressed
• Early intervention, partial participation, cross-
school/class programs, curriculum
adaptations, partial or supported
participation, individualising instruction,
modifying classroom environments, post-
school programs, lifelong learning

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 A range of educational responses to
disability (cont.)

• All teachers should provide for individual

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 A range of educational responses to
disability (cont.)
• How has funding and support changed?
• How are schools responsible for identifying
needed resources?

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 Outcomes of inclusion for students
with a disability
• Emphasis on identification of support needs
• Positive social outcomes for students with
disabilities
• Greater opportunities for social interaction
• Improvement of communication skills and
friendship building

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 Outcomes of inclusion for students
with a disability (cont.)
• Negative outcomes: social isolation and
negative influence of teacher’s aides on social
interaction
• Positive or negative outcomes for skills
acquisition
• Interactive/small groups help social
development and skill acquisition

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 Outcomes of inclusion for students
with a disability (cont.)
• Academic performance or behaviour of
typically developing students is not
compromised by students with a disability in
class
• Teaching methods used for students with
disabilities may benefit typically developing
students too

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 Outcomes of inclusion for students
with a disability (cont.)
• Many teachers see parents as invaluable
supports, others do not prefer parents to
volunteer in classroom
• Both parents and teachers facilitate support

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 Outcomes of inclusion for students
with a disability (cont.)
• Parents of students with disabilities want
inclusion, positive attitudes, acceptance of
their child and effective educational
opportunities
• Some parents may worry about lack of
support

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 Outcomes of inclusion for students
with a disability (cont.)
• Parents of typically developing students worry
about impact of inclusion on their child
• With experience and support, teachers
become more confident and positive towards
inclusion, increase their professional skills and
their personal satisfaction increases

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 Outcomes of inclusion for students
with a disability (cont.)
• Role of teachers includes developing a positive
attitude, training to increase skills needed for
facilitating inclusion
• Most inclusive classrooms cater for all
students and not just for the students with a
disability

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 Outcomes of inclusion for students
with a disability (cont.)
• Principals tend to be more supportive of
inclusion than teachers
• Other factors may include support, logistic
matters, number of students with disabilities in
each class, need for multiple evaluation
approaches, parental struggles and feeling of
new teachers that they are unprepared to teach
students with disabilities
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 Outcomes of inclusion for students
with a disability (cont.)
• Ensure a life-span process
• Prepare students for transition from school
learning to adult learning
• Explore post-school options
• What support programs extend education for
older students beyond school?

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 Outcomes of inclusion for students
with a disability (cont.)
• What adult learning options are available?
• Are there community training programs
available?

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 Teaching students with additional
needs in regular classes
• How can educators work together to:
– plan for instruction?
– adapt curriculum?
– encourage partial participation?
– modify classroom environments?
– engage students from diverse backgrounds?

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 Teaching students with additional
needs in regular classes (cont.)
• Planning involves individualising goals and
strategies according to student’s needs
• Adapting curriculum means making learning
more meaningful, relevant and accessible for
student with disabilities

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 Teaching students with additional
needs in regular classes (cont.)
• Partial or supported participation provides
ways for students to be involved in tasks as
much as is feasible
• Curriculum may need to be modified or a
more functional curriculum may be needed

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 Teaching students with additional
needs in regular classes (cont.)
• Planning results in varied instruction, content,
learning processes, outcomes and assessment
according to a students’ individual needs for
some participation in class activities.

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 Teaching students with additional
needs in regular classes (cont.)
• Social, physical and academic environment
may need amendment to accommodate
student’s needs
• This includes gifted and talented students who
might benefit from an enriched curriculum.

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 How does inclusive teaching:
• Value and include all students?
• Modify physical setting?
• Focus on support needs?

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How does inclusive teaching: (cont.)
• Enable all students to progress at their own
rate, experience success and work towards
outcomes relevant to current and future
contexts?
• Include managing resources to ensure each
student achieves support they need?
• Ensure learning is relevant to student
needs?
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 Myths and misconceptions about
disability
• Inclusive education can help overcome
misconceptions about disabilities
• Learning about disability and getting to know
people with disabilities can provide
opportunities for dispelling misunderstandings
about differences

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 Myths and misconceptions about
disability (cont.)
• One myth is that teachers need to know all
about a child’s disability in order to teach
them
• Effective teaching methods that benefit all
students are attributes mostly required
• No need for special patience or unusual skills

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 Myths and misconceptions about
disability (cont.)
• Detailed knowledge of a student’s individual
needs will help teacher plan effective teaching
methods
• All teachers of regular classes will continue to
be expected to provide appropriate
educational programs for a diverse range of
students.

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 Future of Inclusion
• Inclusion is a concept that extends well beyond
students with a disability
• All schools should strive for optimal education for
all students
• All teachers of regular classes will continue to be
expected to provide appropriate educational
programs for a diverse range of students
• Inclusion will increasingly figure in professional
standards for teachers in Australia and elsewhere.

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 Summary
• Concept of inclusion as an educational and
social philosophy
• Concept of diversity
• Overview of principles
• Terminology and concepts
• Appropriate use of language
• An historical view of inclusion

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 Summary (cont.)
• A range of educational responses to disability
• Outcomes of inclusion
• Teaching students with additional needs in
regular classes
• Myths and misconceptions about disability
• Future of Inclusion.

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 Discussion questions
1. What are essential differences between
inclusion, integration and mainstreaming?
2. It is sometimes said that it is environment
that ‘handicaps’ an individual. Considering
physical, social and academic components,
how could a school provide a handicapping
environment?

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 Discussion questions (cont.)
3. How has principle of normalisation impacted
on lives of people with a disability?
4. How have you viewed people with a disability
that you came in contact with in past? In
retrospect, could you have got to know and
understand them better?

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