Learning Support in Specialist Teaching Area - Essay Example

Learning Support: Specialist Teaching Area Name: Institution: Date: Inclusion of students with disabilities in mainstream secondary schools Inclusion is the philosophy that requires schools, without any hesitation or excuse, provide for the needs of every child in the community regardless of his or her ability or background. Inclusive practices describe strategies applied by teachers in implementing inclusion to learners. Over the last twenty five years, the principle of inclusion has advanced the discussion concerning education of students with special needs further (Dempsey, 2011). Inclusion advocates for the removal of the boundary between regular and special education, and to offer suitable education to all students regardless of their disability and in the local school. It calls for the system of education restructuring so that the schools have the responsibility of offering resources, facilities and suitable curriculum targeting all students despite presence of students with disability. Students with special needs are accommodated into the normal school system where students’ needs are met. This is a principle of social justice that advocates access of students regardless of their disability to the local school in the community. In some countries the rights of children with special needs are clearly spelt out in the national constitution. Other countries have adopted the principle after ratifying the 2008 UN Convention about disabilities (Berlach & Chambers, 2011). The philosophy of inclusion has gained prominence across the world in recent years. Education has a key role in the support of all young people and children including those with special needs to attain a long term economic and social outcome and ensure maximization of their potential. Just like many countries, Australia, sees inclusion an issue of disability, most of all regions maintain some kind of separate special education. There is a global effort to enhance active and equal participation of all persons with disability following the ratification of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in the year 2008 (Smith & Tyler, 2011). Persons with disability have to be guaranteed access to inclusive education at all levels because it is their right according to the Convention. Australia came up with Disability Standards for Education 2005 that states and details the legal obligations that are tied to inclusive education. Education practitioners and providers are obligated to be conversant with the Standards and implement them to enable students who have any form of impairment (disability) to have equal access to education like other normal students. However, inclusive education is a term that contentious devoid of a sharp conceptual focus hence leading to misconception as well as confused practice. There are many special needs that students with disability have (Dempsey, 2011). Some of the disabilities comprise of intellectual disability, physical impairment, hearing impairment, autism spectrum disorder, speech-language impairment, and vision impairment. It is an enormous task for teachers when students have multiple special needs and have to be included in the normal learning environment. In many countries inclusive education has grown to be one of the dominant issues in education. In the past four decades the realm of special needs education has shifted from a segregation paradigm through integration to a level where inclusion is critical to contemporary discourse (Slee, 2010). The concept of inclusion is problematic both practically and conceptually. Inclusive education is complex and demanding. In spite of the internationalization of the concept of inclusive education its implementation has remained uneven across the world. Inclusive education bridges the gap between the students with disability and the other students hence making them feel accepted and loved. Teachers require different strategies, classroom modification, and special equipment to attend to students with special needs in the mainstream secondary school. Besides, more time is required to allow students with special needs to catch up with the rest particularly where there is intellectual or memory impairment (Ainscow et al, 2011) For recreation, students with special needs may require specialized equipment to make them enjoy games and sports just like the other students. More resources are needed to train teachers to learn how to use this equipment. Depending on the degree and type of vision impairment, together with other factors, students learning and development can be affected in various ways. It is important for the support teacher to be consulted with regard to the actual requirements of individual students. Students who affected by vision impairment will need alternative methods for writing and reading. Every student has specific requirements (Jobling & Moni, 2004). Some of the methods used for communication when these students are included in the mainstream secondary classes comprise of magnifying equipment, braille, large print, audiotapes and use of technology. Students with vision impairment require learning on the use of specialized adapted equipment as well as educational aids. These form part of their curriculum. Students can record their work orally and later it is translated into print. Some print text has to be made into audiotape for listening to by the students. The capacity of the student having vision impairment to move in an environment without assistance can be enhanced through mobility training and orientation (Slee, 2010). Vision efficiency training permits the students who are visually impaired to maximize the use of their residual vision. Visually impaired students may require classroom modifications to allow them access and take part in the learning activities. There are many challenges and more commitment of resources in terms of finance and human labour when students with vision impairments are included in the main stream secondary school (Long, Nicholson & Maguire, 2003). Moreover, students who are visually impaired have individual needs that apply every one of them and hence more resources are needed to accommodate them. Teachers in secondary schools will need special training in order to be sensitive to the needs of students with vision impairment. Evidence gathered over a long period of time indicate that the level of funding and resources needed to ensure quality education for students with special needs is inadequate compounded by negative consequences for families, students, teachers, subordinate staff and schools. Significant increases in funding by governments for students with disability have not been adequate to meet the growing number of students with identified disability. There is also an upsurge in students with complex disabilities. Conway (2002) argues that there is need to increase funding for students with disabilities in non-governmental schools. The government and teachers have to put in a lot in order to comfortably integrate students who have special needs in the mainstream schools. Moreover, research has indicated that whereas many teachers are theoretically advocating for inclusions, the same teachers resist inclusion of students with significant special needs especially those that have intellectual disabilities and behavioral or emotional disorders. The Schools Grants element offer supplementary funding for additional aid for the most disadvantaged students educationally to support activities like numeracy and literacy intervention programs (Smith & Tyler, 2011). The funds are also for providing additional learning experience; classroom equipment and resources for students with extra needs, and provide teachers for students with special needs and learning difficulties. Apart from the reality that the inclusion philosophy is consistent with the principle of social justice that is important to normalization, there are various benefits that accrue from inclusion. When students with impairments go to schools in the neighborhood rather than special schools, they grow to become part of the local community. Students with special needs are more integrated into the society because they interact daily with other people as opposed to when they are segregated in special schools away from the society. Inclusion offers opportunities for the growth of suitable attitudes regarding people with disabilities (Slee, 2010). Kauffman, McGee and Brigham (2004) are of the view that integrating students with disabilities with others enable them to see that students with various impairments have strengths and weaknesses just like themselves. Research proves that in order to transform attitudes towards people with special needs both experience with the people with special needs and information about them is needed. Inclusions make these requirements a reality. Some students with physical impairments can be gifted in other areas that may benefit the school. There are many special units in schools for students with disabilities and access to specialist teachers enable the mainstream schools to also benefit from their expertise. Ainscow et al (2011) support that the inclusion philosophy and strategies applied may broaden the mainstream teachers’ expertise. Teachers are required to plan their teaching carefully and adjust lessons in order to accommodate students with disabilities hence making other students benefit from this arrangement. Inclusion encourages diversity besides broadening the skills of teachers in mainstream secondary schools. Many teachers improvise creative ways of responding to students who have difficult behavior and try to comprehend what function the behaviors serves for the student. When inclusion is viewed as a disability issue rather than a school issue, inclusive education just becomes another name for special education and this can work against the practice of inclusion. A broadened view of inclusion permits it to be viewed as a human right issue with excluded and marginalized groups being denied what the others access in the mainstream setting. Students with disabilities have multiple needs hence requiring many adjustments to curriculum, classroom setting, and teaching aids (Carroll, Forlin & Jobling, 2003). Inclusion remains a big challenge to many schools despite it being a policy required by the federal government. Many students feel uncomfortable when dealing with students with disabilities since they have to confront the possibility of them being disabled. Some teachers have reported that they feel uncomfortable when interacting with students with disability (Smith & Tyler, 2011). It is not a surprise that these teachers have been against integration of students with special needs into their classrooms since it promotes feelings of emotional discord and vulnerability. Many teachers in mainstream school complain that they do not have the training, the time, experience, and personal resources required to deal confidently with students with disabilities. References Ainscow, M., Dyson, A., Goldrick, S., & West, M. (2011). Developing equitable education systems. Abbingdon, UK: Routledge. Berlach, R. G., & Chambers, D. J. (2011). Inclusivity imperatives and the Australian national curriculum. The Educational Forum, 75, 52-65. Carroll, A., Forlin, C., & Jobling, A. (2003). The impact of teacher training in special education on the attitudes of Australian pre-service general educators towards people with disabilities. Teacher Education Quarterly, 30(3), pp. 65-73. Conway, R. (2002). Behavior in and out of the classroom, In A. Ashman and J. Elkins, (Eds.), Educating Children with Diverse Abilities (pp. 172-236). Sydney: Prentice Hall. Dempsey, I. (2011). Trends in the proportion of students with a disability in Australian schools, 2000–2009. Journal of Intellectual & Developmental Disability, 36(2), 144–145. Jobling, A., & Moni, K. B. (2004). “I never imagined I’d have teach these children: providing authentic learning experiences for secondary pre-service teachers in teaching students with special needs. Asia Pacific Journal of Teacher Education, 32 (1), pp. 5-22. Kauffman, J. M., McGee, K., & Brigham, M. (2004). Enabling or disabling? Observations on Changes in special education. Phi Delta Kappan, April, pp. 613-620. Long, J., Nicholson, M., & Maguire, M. (2003). Managing challenging behaviours: Developing school-based strategies. Catholic School Studies, May, pp. 29-32. Slee, R. (2010). Political economy, inclusive education, and teacher education. In C. Forlin (Ed.), Teacher education for inclusion: Changing paradigms and innovative approaches (pp. 13–22).London: Routledge. Smith, D., & Tyler, N. (2011). Effective inclusive education: Equipping education professionals with necessary skills and knowledge. 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