An analysis on the benefits and challenges of Inclusive Education for Special Needs Students - Essay Example

Download file to see previous pages... For the interests of education, the best service, and the most funding resides in institutions that generally cater to the general population. With the exception of specialised private academies that may require out-of-pocket expenses for the family, it is highly unlikely that the disabled could be equivalently served by some segregated system in terms of bringing out their full potential. Partly, inclusion has won due to evidence from educational research showing deficiencies from special schools that tend to fall short of reasonable expectations.
For some, the advantages of mainstreaming may seem to be largely a social matter. These programs are simply an effort to make the disabled kids ‘feel better’ about themselves; a nod to our ideals of equality in the face of manifest differences that impossibly impede a normal education. But even in cases of severe mental impairment due to developmental abnormalities; administrators must take a hard look from a material perspective.
If a school were to be set up in response to a small selection of learning disabilities, is it at all likely that these institutions would receive – on a reliable basis – adequate funding on par with the public school system? Would it be possible to attract the most qualified teachers for such schools? Separate but Equal rarely is. The public school system has a mandate to perform its utmost for the entire student population; not merely those considered more ‘normal’....
iduals who may face the real, or imagined specter of discriminating prejudices stemming from mis-information concerning their respective conditions, and or limitations. Ultimately, inclusion has won out mainly because it is most just than the alternatives. Arguments in favor for inclusion are moral arguments, arising from a respect for human rights and decency. (Fulcher, 1993) And, as Skidmore puts it: "From this point of view, institutionalized patterns of selection between schools, and of differentiation within them, impoverish and distort the individual development of every student, for they diminish our understanding of human difference. Participation in a diverse learning community is a prerequisite for the growth of each individuals subjectivity in all its richness; the combined development of all is the condition for the full development of each." (Skidmore, 2003, p. 127) A full learning experience that exposes the child to the length and breadth of society, as sampled by their classmates, is in itself an accommodation worthy of pursuit. And this is true not only for the sake of those with the actual disabilities. Special education in England for over two decades has been subject to rapid change, of which programs allowing for inclusive education have played a pivotal role. But barriers still exist that can impede the development of this morally-mandated educational and social movement. Many of the present barriers to effective inclusion tend to be within both local Governmental sectors, as well as certain, reluctant schools. Ultimately, studies show that the best results will be achieved if unwarranted fears concerning inclusion can be addressed, allowing for a voluntary adoption of Inclusive teaching methods, rather than through Government coercion. ...Download file to see next pagesRead More