Inclusive Education, Boys Under-Achievement - Essay Example

Inclusive Education, Boys under-achievement ‘Inclusion’, a term that has been important to people and societies valuing diversity and overcoming barriers, has acquired greater significance in this century than in the previous. One of the most widely debated and discussed topics in the educational sector today is connected with special educational needs, policy formulations, inclusive education, the different competing models of dealing with the same issue in different labels, etc. With reference to the term ‘inclusion’, it has long been regarded as the most important responsibility within education and society to ensure that children with special needs are included rather than excluded. Special educational needs (SEN) is the term currently extensively used in education and care setting to refer to the special needs of children who need an extra support in their life. It has been realised as one of the morally wrong and socially discriminating issue to isolate children due to their physical or learning needs compared to the majority of other children and the most approving endeavour by a practitioner in the area is to embrace the move towards inclusion and to promote this practice. “The term ‘special educational needs’ was used as an all-encompassing term to describe any child who needed some extra support. Children have special educational needs if they have a learning difficulty that calls for special educational provision to be made for them.” (Tassoni and White, 4) Children with a significantly greater difficulty in learning than the majority of children of the same age or those with a disability which hiders them from using the educational facilities are included in this special category. There have been several attempts to correct the term with which the special needs of these students are referred and the concept of inclusive education is the result of the long plea to change the education system in order to allow all children to enjoy fair and equal access to education. While focusing on the children with special needs, the campaign for inclusive education extends to a wider range of children who have been traditionally discriminated against. “The concept of inclusive education signals a significant mind shift. Instead of expecting children to ‘come up to standard’ or otherwise be segregated, the emphasis is on schools and settings to adapt and be flexible enough to accommodate each and every child.” (Tassoni and White, 10) This paper deals with underpinning conceptual frameworks of inclusive education distinguishing between competing models of inclusion. As the term ‘inclusive education’ has become so widely used and abused, it has almost lost its great meaning. It has long been a topic of debate and the label and the language used to refer to the concept have become serious concern today. “Its application to everything from school effectiveness to civil rights to political manifestos renders it vacuous and susceptible to those critiques which accuse it of masking inadequacies. For the cynics, inclusive education means abandoning labelling and special resourcing for individual needs in order to cut costs in the name of equality.” (Corbett, 10) Inclusion is not a new concept as the ideals behind inclusive education have deeper roots in liberal and progressive thought. Whereas the earlier school system focused on the segregation of students with special need, the current system is inclusive in nature. Following the works of the child welfare pioneer Elizabeth Burgwin, there was significant shift in focus where educationalists insisted on an inclusive strategy rather than segregation. Most probably, this inclusive thought of the early years prospered and provided the philosophical and organisational foundation for the school system of the contemporary period. “An inclusive philosophy has ultimately risen again and prospered. It has been able to succeed because it chimes with the philosophy of a liberal political system and a pluralistic culture - one that celebrates diversity and promotes fraternity and equality of opportunity.” (Topping and Maloney, 18) The famous definitions of inclusive education deals with not disability alone, rather with a school culture which welcomes and celebrates differences and recognises individual needs. Another significant concern of this definition is that inclusive education has to incorporate much more that than a ‘dump and hope’ model so as to enjoy success. Thus, one finds that the various definitions replicate the theoretical and practical sides of inclusive education which is not all about special needs education. “‘Inclusion’ or ‘inclusive education’ is not another name for ‘special needs education’…Within the ‘index’, the concept ’special educational needs’ is replaced by the term ‘barriers to learning and participation’. Consequently, inclusion is seen to involve the identification and minimizing of barriers to learning and participation and the maximizing of resources to support learning and participation.” (Booth et al., 13) Therefore, inclusive education involves the school culture, policy and practices concerning the special needs of children. As the proposal of including students with disabilities in general education classrooms has long been a significant concern of educationalists, there have been several salient efforts to determine successful models of inclusion. There have been several endeavours and quests for successful models of inclusion as well as for the sustainability of inclusive school reform. Thus, several models including Integration, Inclusion, and Identifying Groups and honking about exclusion were considered effective in different educational contexts corresponding to the special needs of the children. “The inclusion of students with disabilities in general education is one such complex and demanding reform. Inclusion is often misunderstood and sometimes resisted by teachers, and it is not always fully understood or supported by school administrators. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (1997) stipulates that students with disabilities be educated in the least restrictive environment but also requires that districts provide a continuum of placement options.” (Sindelar, et al., 317) Therefore, the success of inclusive education depends greatly on the conceptual framework as well as practical execution, along with the selection of effective models of inclusion, sustainable efforts by schools and practitioners, and policies of the governments. In short, inclusive education is a noble concept, theoretically and practically, which deals with the needs of the students who are categorised as underachievers or students with special needs. There are various terms to refer to the concept and a clear differentiation among them is important to be effective in addressing inclusive education. “The term ‘inclusion’ replaced ‘integration’ and is often contrasted with ‘exclusion’, thus having a welcome wider significance, frequently embracing social disadvantage as well as SEN. While ‘integration’ was largely a ‘disability’ or SEN issue, inclusion is usually promoted from a wider principled and idealistic, or even ideological, perspective...” (Evans and Lunt, 2) Therefore, the theoretical framework of inclusive education has a stronger and wider reach than the other concepts. However, more than the issues and debates concerning the term, it is the theoretical base or conceptual frameworks as well as the effective execution of the inclusive education which needs to be emphasised. In conclusion, the underpinning conceptual frameworks, the competing models, and the debating issues of inclusive education lead one to the practical application of the most effective model suiting to the specific environment and the needs of children with special needs. Works Cited Booth, T. et al., Index for inclusion: Developing learning and participation in schools. Bristol: Centre for Studies on Inclusive Education. 2000. P 13. Corbett, Jenny. Supporting Inclusive Education: A Connective Pedagogy. London: RoutledgeFalmer. 2001. P 10. Evans, J. and Lunt, I. “Inclusive Education: Are there limits?” European Journal of Special Needs Education. Vol. 17. Iss. 1. 2002. P. 1-14. Sindelar, Paul T. et al. “The Sustainability of Inclusive School Reform.” Exceptional Children. Vol. 72. Iss. 3. 2006. P 317. Tassoni, Penny and Annette White. Supporting Special Needs: Understanding Inclusion in the Early Years. Heinemann. 2003. P 4. Topping, Keith Sheelagh Maloney. The Routledgefalmer Reader in Inclusive Education. London: Routledge. 2005. P 18. Read More