Inclusive Education as an Approach in Education - Essay Example

Title: Inclusive Education Student’s name: Instructor’s name: Course Code and Name: Institution: Date assignment is Due: Definition Inclusive education is an approach in education that seeks to address the learning needs of all children, youths and adults (Peter, Ruth & Peter 2009). The approach has its main focus on the people who are vulnerable to marginalization and exclusion from the normal education system. This system approach has an implication that all learners including the ones with disabilities are able to learn together through access to common pre- school provision, community education systems and normal schools settings with available network support services (Sue & Phil, 2008). Arising from this definition inclusive education is only possible when there is a flexible education system that harbors the needs of diverse kind of learners with the focus of meeting all these needs. Inclusive education assimilation assumes all the diverse needs among learners as being a challenge other than being a problem. Inclusive education is thus an approach in which schools accommodate all children irrespective of their physical, social, intellectual, linguistic and emotional conditions (Peter &Jenny 2000). This includes children from poor and rich backgrounds, children from remote environments, children from cultural minorities and children from disadvantaged groups. The system is centered on the best interests of the students and it in turn results into social cohesion and complete school experience (Sue & Phil, 2008). Aim of inclusive learning The main aim of inclusive education is to ensure that all learners receive an improved social development and economic outcomes. This leads to the development of the appropriate social skills as the learners are exposed to a wide variety of learners all bearing different abilities, interests and capabilities (Peter, Ruth & Peter 2009). The inclusive education approach also allows the normal students to grow in acceptance of the diversity as a result of interacting with the students with disabilities on a day to day basis. This leads to acquisition and development of respect among the students. They also learn to celebrate the diversity that exists between students (Peter &Jenny 2000). The inclusion program also has an aim of allowing each student to feel respected, confident and safe so that they can develop in their own potential despite their ability level. Constructivism Theory This is term referring to a group of theories that has its focus on the fact that students should construct or build their own knowledge and understanding other than just acquiring it ready made. The constructivist theory of learning follows several principles which include the fact that learning is a continuous process in which the students input sensory material and construct meaning out of it (Peter, Ruth & Peter 2009). In this category there are cognitive constructivism theories which address how individual learners understand things in terms of learning styles and developmental stages. The other category is social constructivism that emphasizes how meanings and understanding grow out of social encounters. In this category of theories the student is the active maker of meanings in learning system while the teacher’s role is to enter into dialogues with their learners trying to understand meanings of the material they learned(Sue & Phil, 2008). The teacher also helps the students to refine their understanding of the material until it conforms to the expected standards. These theories include; The social development theory by Vygotsky The social development theory is an inclusive learning theory that argues that social interaction precedes development. It further states that consciousness and cognition is the end product of socialization and social behavior. The theory further insinuates that social interaction plays a fundamental role in the process of cognitive development (Peter, Ruth & Peter 2009). The theory contradicts Piaget’s theory as it says that social learning precedes development. In the child’s cultural development, every function appears twice. The function first appears at the social level which is the external level and secondly on the internal level which is intra psychological. The more knowledgably other (MKO) is also central in the theory. This refers to the person who has a better ability than the learner in respect to a particular task or concept is also central in the theory. This could refer to a teacher, a couch or an older adult. The other concept is the Zone of proximity development that states that when children are tested on their own they rarely do well than when they work in collaboration with adults. The theory attributes this to be a result of the children refining their thinking due to the engagement with the adult (Peter, Ruth & Peter 2009). Vygotsky also observed that the better performance was not based on the adults teaching the children how to perform the tasks. The theory focuses on what to do with help not as permanent state but as a stage towards being able to do something alone. The ZPD of the students must therefore be understood so as to know what comes next for the students (Peter &Jenny 2000). This theory is applicable in learning as it contrasts the traditional role where the teacher promotes the learning concepts. The students in this theory play an active role in learning .learning in this theory is a reciprocal process for both the teacher and the student. Situated learning theory support This is also an inclusive learning theory that was constructed by Lave and it states that learning is unintentional and is situated within authentic activity culture and context. The theory states that learning is embedded within activity culture and context (Lave & Wenger, 1990). Collaboration and interaction are thus sighted in the theory as important components of situated learning. Learners should be involved in a community of practice that embodies certain behaviors and beliefs to be acquired (Sue & Phil, 2008). As the learner or novice moves from the periphery of any community towards its center he becomes more active and engaged within the culture and later assumes the role of an expert in the field (Peter, Ruth & Peter 2009). Stage theory of cognitive development Piaget’s theory is influential in education theory. The theory focuses on the working of children’s minds and how they develop to understand their world. Piaget noted that there are some things that children cannot do until they are mature psychologically. The key ideas in the theory are adaptation that is done through assimilation and accommodation. Assimilation is the process by which a person takes in material to their mind from the environment (Peter &Jenny 2000). The process sometimes that the individual changes their mindsets so that he information that is collected fits in. Accommodation on the other hand refers to the changes that are made in a humans mind by the process of assimilation (Sue & Phil, 2008). The other key concept in the theory is classification which refers to the ability to group like objects together. Class inclusion is a higher level of classification where an individual understands sets and subsets and it calls for the learners to understand the basic principles (Peter, Ruth & Peter 2009).Conservation is also a key term in the theory and it refers to the realization of the facts that objects remain the same even when they are changed or made to look different. Decentralization in the theory refers to the ability to move away from one system of classification to another one as is appropriate. The stages in this theory are mainly sensori motor, pre operational, concrete operational and formal operational (Richard,1998). Social learning theory (Bandura) This is a behavioral theory that supports exclusiveness in learning. It states that people learn from one another through observation, modeling and imitation. It is termed by many a theory that bridges between the behaviorist and the cognitive theories. This is as a result of the fact that encompasses attention, memory and motivation concepts (Bandura, 1997). The social learning theory states that the necessary conditions for effective modeling are attention, retention reproduction and motivation (Wertsch & Sohmer 1995). Various factors bring variance in the amount of attention paid to a certain stimulant. These factors include affective valence, functional, value and distinctiveness. The characteristics of an individual like the sensory capacities and the arousal levels also affect the attention of an individual (Peter, Ruth & Peter 2009). Retention on the other hand refers to the ability to remember the subject that was paid attention to. The process includes symbolic coding, mental images, symbolic rehearsal and motor rehearsal (Peter &Jenny 2000). Reproduction process in the theory refers to the process of producing the image. This includes physical capabilities and self observation (Richard, 1998). Motivation refers to the reason to imitate including past motives and vicarious motives. This theory believes in reciprocal determinism that refers to the fact that the world’s and a person’s behavior cause one another. The theory considers personality as an interaction between one’s psychological processes, the environment and ones behavior (Sue & Phil, 2008). Why students receive different outcomes Students receive different outcomes form a learning process due to the fact that some groups experience exclusion (Wertsch & Sohmer, 1995). These groups could include minority groups like the disabled, people in the juvenile or adult correctional system; those who have been long-term unemployed, Students also receive different outcomes from a learning process due to the fact that learning abilities differ among different students (Peter, Ruth & Peter 2009). If one method of educating students is used by the teachers then the teacher will only be targeting the particular group that receives best from the learning method applied. However for the teacher to cover the whole class he has to apply diversification in the teaching methods (Richard, 1998). The teacher should thus understand the different learning capacities that are used by the students so as to use and apply differentiation instruction (Peter, Ruth & Peter, 2009). An example of a group that does not receive similar outcomes is students with language processing deficits (Michael, 1990). These problems include receptive language disabilities, listening and comprehension problems and dyslexia (Sue & Phil, 2008). In a normal class setting, the students in this category do not posses the same understanding capacity as the other students. They do require more time to listen, think and form their thoughts about a problem. They also need more time to think about a problem. They might also require the use of visual models and visual learning skills (Peter &Jenny 2000). Government policy The government policy commits to increase the options for students with disabilities to enroll in general education facilities. This serves to increase opportunities for students with disabilities. The legislation views this as a means of assisting students with and without disabilities to live in an integrated environment (Richard, 1998). This is contained in the Handicapped Children Act of 1975. It states that children with disabilities can be educated in their neighboring schools. The mainstreaming was a step in the right direction but most of the students with disabilities are only mainstreamed in music and art classes and not in math and science classes (Peter, Ruth & Peter 2009). The legislation also in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) includes all students regardless of their disabilities into general curriculum. This was aimed at ending the stigmatization of the children with disabilities (Sue & Phil, 2008). Teachers who understand inclusion The teachers who understand the inclusion concept are effective in fulfilling their teaching mandate. They understand the key elements of the environment they should create for the students. They create a friendly environment for all the students by promoting the confidence that makes their pupils to believe in themselves and to believe that they can achieve (Bandura, 1997). The teachers are able to employ the right language that will promote all the people’s sense of competence and confidence. They also ensure that the physical environment can accommodate all the students. The teachers also understand and employ the Maslow’s hierarchy of needs where the teacher ensures all the students have the basic psychological needs. This includes giving the children the confidence that they will not be teased or laughed at if they make a particular mistake (Sue & Phil, 2008). This is also done by making the students know that they are part of a supportive group where the pupils are ready to help each other. The teacher also does this by making all the students know that all their individual strengths and differences are valued (Bandura, 1997). As a teacher I will I will ensure that I employ the inclusion concepts by giving all the students an assurance that they can make it (Peter, Ruth & Peter 2009). I will employ knowledge from Maslow’s hierarchy of needs to ensure that the student’s psychological needs are satisfied. I will further ensure that the learning environment can accommodate all the students without discrimination and that the students are all comfortable (Richard, 1998). I will further ensure I understand the student’s diverse needs and thus employ the differentiation instruction (Peter, Ruth & Peter 2009). Bibliography Bandura, A 1986 Social Foundations of Thought and Action, Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs. Bandura, a 1997 Self-efficacy: The exercise of control, W.H. Freeman, New York. Crawford, K 1996 Vygotskian approaches to human development in the information era. Educational, Routledge, London. Driscoll, M 1994 Psychology of Learning for Instruction. Allyn & Bacon. Needham, MA Jean, J 1998 Blooms Taxonomy theory of Learning, Addison-Wesley, London. Lave, J & Wenger, E 1990, Situated Learning: Legitimate Peripheral Participation, Cambridge University Press Cambridge. Peter, C &Jenny, C 2000 Theories of Inclusive education: a student’s guide, Chapman, Virginia. Peter, H, Ruth, K &Peter, F 2009 Physychology for inclusive education: new directions in theory and practice, Taylor & Francis, Manchester. Richard, D.1998, Exclusive theories in learning. London: Addison-Wesley. Sue, G & Phil, G 2008 Inclusion and diversity: meeting the needs of all students.Taylor&Francis, USA. Wertsch, J & Sohmer, R 1995 Vygotsky on learning and development. Human Development. Taylor & Francis, Manchester. Wood, D 1998 How Children Think and Learn, Blackwell Publishing, Oxford. Sebastian, E., 2006, Stage theory of cognitive development. London: Butterworth-Heinemann, Michael, H 1990 Differentiation of instruction, Cengage Learning, Oxford. Critical reflection What I learnt In this exercise I learnt that inclusive learning helps improve the interaction levels of students. This does not only the students who would otherwise have been marginalized but it also aids in improving the social skills of the students who are normal. This comes about as a result of the students learning how to appreciate and accommodate and enjoy the diversity that exists between them. I also learnt that the students who suffer some form of disabilities need their confidence and self esteem to be boosted for them to be effective in the class setting. This form of assurance makes them aware that they will not be teased or stigmatized if they make mistakes in the usual classroom setting. I further learnt that the environment for inclusive learning ought to always be conducive and safe for the students undertaking the exercising. Research method The main research used in this exercise is use of secondary data. This involved reading the material that was written by scholars in this field. I also used observation where I attended some class sessions for institutions that employ inclusive learning. What I would do different If I repeated the exercise I would conduct interviews with the students who are affected by the employment of the inclusive learning. This would make the information I collect to be more reliable and to have a personal touch from the students in these groups. Weak part of assignment The weak part of this assignment is that most of the material was written before 2000 and thus it could fail to reflect the present position as far as the subject is concerned. Strong part of the assignment The strong part of the assignment is that the thesis concerning the theories was written by the proponents of the inclusive and exclusive theories. Read More