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Cody Coleman
Professor Malcolm Campbell
English 1103
2/8/2015
Topic Proposal: How/Why is Inclusion Important?
Introduction/Overview
I
plan
to
explain
why
it
is
important
that
we
push
for
schools
to
move
toward
inclusion
programs
and
how
to
put
real
life
plans
into
action
for
my
inquiry
project.
Inclusion,
in
the
context
of
school,
means
to
include
students
with
special
needs
with
the
students
who
are
in
general
education
classrooms
as
much
as
possible.
Many schools in the United States have been
attempting to introduce inclusion programs to bridge the gap that exists between young people
with disabilities and the world around them as said from the National Inclusion Project. It is
important that we have programs like this and believe that every student can succeed and learn.
Some people will argue that this should be a common knowledge, that everybody should
be treated the same and given equal opportunities however, we all know that this is not the case.
In this project I plan to elaborate on how important inclusion is. There are two sides to this just
like every other argument. On one side, there are general education teachers who are against
inclusion because they are not fully trained or prepared to handle people with special needs.
Some also argue that they can be disruptive to the classroom for the other students. On the other
side, the special educators say that it is important to work together with the kids who have
special needs because everyone is important. They also explain that just because people have
special needs, does not mean that they cannot learn.
Coleman 2
I researched my topic using the internet, the librarys database, peers and professors to
learn more about it. Websites I used include the www.NationalInclusionProject.org and
www.specialolympics.org. Some things I found on the librarys database are,
Inclusion of
children with special needs in school-age child care programs by
Alice Henderson Hall
Affiliation,
Inclusion. By Marilyn Friend; Lynne Cook. I spoke with many of my peers, both
inside and out of the class about my topic to brainstorm other possible ideas about it and their
topics. I also talked to my professors who are in my field since this is the main topic that we talk
about in my class. It was very helpful to get their views on it considering they have worked in the
handle people with special needs. Some also argue that they can be disruptive to the classroom
for the other students. On the other side, the special educators say that it is important to work
together with the kids who have special needs because everyone is important. They also explain
that just because people have special needs, does not mean that they cannot learn. I mainly used
ted talks and my textbook for my SPED 2100 course for this information which is Teaching
Students with Special Needs by Obrien.
Coleman 3
What can universities do differently to prepare teachers to be ready to have students with
special needs?
How can general education teachers help their students understand the importance of
inclusion?
Next Steps
In my next stages of research for my Inquiry Project, I will look for actual books in the
library that I can read to find people that both agree and disagree with my topic. I also plan to
interview professors in and out of the field of Special Education so that I can find out what
general education teachers think about the idea of inclusion as well. Lastly I will ask the librarian
Coleman 4
from the College of Education to see if she has any incite to books or articles I can find to add
final thoughts to conclude my project.