Inclusive Teaching: A Professional Development Program - Research Paper Example

Running Head: INCLUSIVE TEACHING Inclusive Teaching: A Professional Development Program [Name of the Writer] [Name of the Institution] Inclusive Teaching: A Professional Development Program Introduction Inclusive Teaching is the way of teaching in which there is no exclusion of students with disabilities, purpose of this is to give them opportunities to learn. Inclusive teaching is one of the most important professional development program it is very much beneficial it gives academic benefits to the students with disabilities. According to the Journal of Early Intervention, in a study of parents and teachers of inclusion classroom students, children with developmental disabilities placed in inclusion classrooms make great improvements in language, cognitive and motor development that are above their peers in special education classrooms. One way that learner benefit is by learning skills of autonomy. Through inclusive teaching individual needs students be taught to depend on themselves first and then request for help at what time they really need it (Whitworth, 1999). In the inclusive set there won’t be as a great deal of a chance for teachers or aids to help all of the students. In a study carried out by Johns Hopkins University (Success For All) it was resolute that in an inclusion setting “assessments explained improved understanding performance for all students, the most impressive improvements occurred amongst the lowest achievers.” (Stout, 2001). By insertion the special needs learners in with the broad education students, all learners are supplied with improved resources in the classroom. Research Question In this study we are working on the following research question: What is the importance of Inclusive Teaching? What are the strategies should be adopt to make it more beneficial? Literature Review Away from providing children with educational benefits, inclusion also gives children with an improved perceptive and admiration for multiplicity. Being in a setting with a lot of diverse types of students with different needs and skills provides students with a method to find out about differences and how they can assist others. In the “Success For All”study, outcomes showed that the kids implicated had “a abridged fear of person differences escorted by increased console and alertness” (Stout, 2001). If children are alienated in the school because of their developmental variations then they will by no means truly learn that it is satisfactory to be a exclusive individual. According to the Early Childhood Research Quarterly “typically developing children from inclusive classrooms [give] significantly higher acceptance ratings to hypothetical peers with disabilities than children from setting that do not include children with disabilities” (Hestenes, Carroll, 2000). The idea that it is acceptable to be different should become common knowledge to all students. With that knowledge, students can make the future a better place for everyone. One tangible problem that could be avoided in the future if children are given exposure to children with disabilities are that people will not be turned down for jobs by non-accepting employers who do not understand the capabilities of some workers having disabilities. Another major benefit that inclusive teaching gives to the student is a heightened self-concept. Larry Daniel and Debra King, writers for the Journal of Educational Outreach believe that “it is generally agreed that children who have learning problems and/or those who are behaviorally impaired often develop a poor self-concept” (Volume 91, Issue 2, 2007).One way that students can gain a better self-concept is by learning that all students have strengths and weaknesses in the classroom and that needing help is acceptable. Special needs students will see general education students asking the teachers and the aids for help and they will realize that everyone needs help at some point (Daniel, King, 2007). If a child who is viewed as “smart” asks a teacher how toread a certain passage, a learning child with disabilities will feel more comfortable with also asking for help with reading. Sometimes when a teacher starts children off with activities where they can not fail, it can build a better self-concept (Daniel, King, 2007). For example, a teacher could start off a lesson with a creative activity such as drawing what one feels a story is about. Children cannot fail at this activity because it is all based upon their personal feelings. When a kid feels good about an action at which they do well, it constructs the base for the faith that they can make it at everything if they try. One method to construct a child’s self-concept that is simple and obliging to the teacher is by assigning little tasks about the room. Some such responsibilities could be watering plants, transitory out paper, or operation small tasks. Assigning particular tasks creates them feel imperative and improves self-esteem. (Daniel, King, 2007) The way that an instructor talks to a kid may either reinforce or weaken a child’s confidence. When a educator uses many unenthusiastic words and talk loudly to a child in obverse of classmates that kid may consider as if everybody will then make amusing of him. This in turn creates the student think badly and lowers self-confidence. Wording phrases in a constructive way can help to get the communication across to the learner efficiently and mannerly (Daniel, King, 2007). The child’s enhanced self respect can lead to many new friendships. Also, a polished self-concept develops manner of empowerment in kids. This new emotion can remain up self-confidence and permit the kids to be less frightened to try innovative things. Methodology Underlying the purpose and research question of the study conducted, the research design that is selected for the study is an exploratory research design. As explained by Zechmeister, Zechmeister, & Shaughnessy, (1997), survey research represents a general approach to be used when the exploratory research design is implemented. Survey research is the method of gathering data from respondents thought to be representative of some population using an instrument composed of close structure or open-ended items/ questions. It is one of the most dominant forms of data collection in the social sciences providing for efficient collection of data over broad populations, open to self-administration. Sample It is an empirical design study in which the population of interest for this study will include randomly selected teachers from different European Schools. Random selection means the sample will be chosen by picking different teachers who will teach the students of different levels and having training of inclusive teaching. It is projected that the sample will consist of 50 male and female teachers. For the purpose of study a form of non-probability sampling will be used. As explained by Torchim (2001), in purposive sampling, the researcher samples with a purpose in mind from one or more specific and predefined groups, believed to be representative of the larger population of interest. Trochim (2001) noted that one of the benefits of purposive sampling is that it can be very useful for situations in which the researcher wants to reach a targeted group that otherwise might not be readily available. Instrument The Mixed method will be adopted in this research in order to get better conclusion. The instrument used in this study will be the questionnaire and the interviews in order to gather information regarding perception of teachers about the importance of inclusive teaching program and the strategies that should be adopt to make it better. A five point Likert scale for measure will be used in the questionnaire. Likert scales are widely used in questionnaires, and it is most used in survey research. If there are Likert questionnaire items in the questionnaires, then the respondents state their level of agreement with the statement. In this study the Likert scale having ranking 1 = strongly agree to 5 = strongly disagree. For the interview there will be number of questions regarding the improvement in this development program of inclusive teaching and the questions will be asked to the teachers without any particular sequence, there will be no time limit for the interview. Additionally, concerns with validity (i.e. the degree to which an instrument measures what it was intended to measure) and reliability (i.e. the degree to which an instrument provides measurements that are consistent and accurate) must always be at the forefront of the questionnaire selection or the interview questions’ construction process. Data Collection The survey method is used as the means by which data is collected within the study. Prior to initiating the data collection phase of the study, permission to conduct the survey, will be obtained from the appropriate officials. Data collection will commence once approval granted. Questionnaires and the cover letter explaining the purpose of the survey and anonymity associated with participation in the survey will be distributed to participants and will be collected from them upon completion of the questionnaire. Along with it the schedule for the interview will also be decided. Data Analysis In order to process and organize the data, a database will be created by using a computer data base software program, (i.e., SPSS). The questionnaire selected will have scale response format, which allow for a number to be assigned for which response given for each item. For each respondent, the numerical response provided for each item as well as descriptive data will be obtained during survey, then it will be entered into the database during the data-coding phase of the study. Within the study following the recommendations of Torchim (2001) statistical analysis are conducted through a progression or series of analysis using the SPSS programme. During the initial phase descriptive statistics will be used to describe and summarize the data obtain within the study. The interviews’ answers will be interpreted in order to know what are the perceptions of teacher regarding this program and what are the proposals they have for the improvement in it. References Whitworth, J. W. "A Model for Inclusive Teacher Preparation." Electronic Journal for Inclusive Education 1 (1999). Retrieved April 18. 2007, from http://www.ed.wright.edu:16080/~prenick/JournalArchives/Winter-1999/whitworth.html. Stout, Katie. "Special Education Inclusion." Educational Issues Series: Wisconsin Education Association (2007). 18 Apr. 2007 . Hestenes, L. L. & Carroll, D. E. (2000) The play interactions of young children with and without disabilities: individual and environmental influences, Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 15,229–246. Zechmeister, E. B., Zechmeister, J. S., & Shaughnessy, J. J. (1997). A practical introduction to research methods in psychology (3rd ed.) New York: McGraw-Hill, 18-20. Trochim, W. (2001). The research methods knowledge base, 1st edition. OH: Atomic Dog Publishing, 23-25. Daniels, Larry G., and Debra A. King. (2007). Journal of Educational Outreach 91: 67-81. 18 Apr. Read More