Inclusion in the Classroom 1

Running Head: Inclusion in the Classroom

All Are Welcome: Inclusion in the Classroom

Emily A. Darling

Glen Allen High School

 Inclusion in the Classroom 2

Abstract

There is a great debate over including students with disabilities into general education

classrooms. While public school systems continue to search for the most plausible ways to make

include students in the best way possible, such as co-teaching, differentiated instruction, and peer

instruction, there are still controversies that arise whether inclusion is best for each individual

child, with or without a disability. All in all, there are arguments supporting both sides, but there

are heavily supported cases that inclusion is beneficial to both disabled children and child

functioning typically. Many support that academic achievement is more easily reached and

increased with the combination of both students, and desired results are obtained on both sides of

the case.

Introduction

The definition for disability describes an individual having limits to their physical,

mental, cognitive, or developmental capability (Merriam-Websters, n.d.), but it does not say a

limit in their ability to be educated. Every human being has a potential to learn, no matter their

level of functioning, and each individual also has the right to receive an education That all seems

perfectly clear, but the real question comes in with the how each individual can receive their

full extent of an education. Many argue back and forth on this how when discussing the

dilemma of including students with disabilities in public education. Throughout recent years

there has been an obvious shift to a more inclusive environment for students with special needs

rather than the traditional segregated schooling between special and general ed. Originally
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passing the Education for All Handicapped Children Act of 1975, which was amended into the

Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA) in 1990, the United States is looking for better ways to

integrate students with disabilities into public education in order to create an equal environment

for all students. OSEP data results suggest that the number of preschoolers with disabilities given

the regulations of IDEA continues to increase, serving 565,004 children ages three to five and

over forty five percent of those children spending over eighty percent of their time in a general

education classroom. (Henninger, & Gupta, 2014). In this review, both the advantages and

disadvantages of full inclusion of students with disabilities (S) are weighed to determine if a

mixture of general education students and special needs students in one classroom is beneficial

for the whole of the class.

Inclusion Defined

Inclusion is defined as the practice of students with disabilities learning alongside their

peers in general education classrooms (Gilhool, 1989). Originally beginning as mainstreaming,

the idea of including SWD operated on readiness for general education, taught in classes

structured like general education, but the students are segregated from one another (Almazan,

Bui, Quirk, & Valenti, 2010). Another system is integration which requires special educational

systems in a public school for students with disabilities to ensure that they can prove themselves

capable of a general education setting before being placed into one (Walker, 1999). Inclusion is

the third tier to SWD being educated like their general education peers and that is the physical

placement of children with and without disabilities into the same classroom, unlike both

mainstreaming and integration. Inclusion is also split into full and partial, schools practicing
 Inclusion in the Classroom 4

inclusion decide which is best for their students and how they specifically plan to implement it.

Partial inclusion in a school setting involves a separate system for students with disabilities while

also providing the opportunity for those students to participate in general education classes,

usually taking place in elective classes or simple activity. Full inclusion is the complete

dismantling of these separate systems and having SWD enrolled in general education classrooms

for every grade and subject. With full inclusions all teachers will have to transform their

classes into settings responsive to all children (Fuchs & Fuchs, 1987).

Advantages of Inclusion

While inclusion may seem to be a radical suggestion in the fear that the needs of all

students will not be met if those with very contrasting needs are in the same classroom, the

advantages of inclusion show that the positives of the practice make the needs of both students

less demanding. Studies have shown how children with disabilities are benefitted by full

inclusion by developing positive social-emotional skills, acquiring and more usage of knowledge

and skills with an earlier start of language and communication along with literary skills. SWD

also display more appropriate behavior to meet their own needs becoming more self-sufficient

and adaptive (Henninger, & Gupta, 2014). When children with special needs have all the

opportunities of a child in general education it is also seen that the SWD will strive towards new

goals and achievements, attaining new levels of abilities they were not reaching in a segregated

special educational system (Dudley-Marling & Burns, n.d.). Researchers have found that

children with disabilities who interact with peers of higher level social skills imitate these

behaviors and skills in the future (Henninger, & Gupta, 2014). It is also seen that once a
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placement in general ed there is an improvement of IEP quality dealing with age appropriateness,

functionality, and generalization among the students with disabilities. General education

classrooms focus more on student engagement and have an increased amount of instructional

time in the classroom (Buysse, Wesley, Bryant & Gardner, 1999). In a study of nine elementary

schools with SWD in both special and general education settings the general ed classrooms had

65% instructional time with self-contained special needs classrooms only had 42%. (Almazan,

Bui, Quirk, & Valenti, 2010).

Typically developing children also feel the lasting benefits of inclusion when they are

exposed at a young age. General education students learn a lot about their peers with disabilities

and how to interact with them and identify targeted ways to engage pers with differing abilities

(Henninger, & Gupta, 2014). Typically developing students increase their own self-esteem

through inclusion as well as their own autonomy as they feel they are experts on topics and take

initiative in the classroom.

Disadvantages of Inclusion

Arguments against full inclusion lie in the difficulty of taking care of every specific need

of a child with a disability while also maintaining the standard prestige and pace of a general

education classroom (Almazan, Bui, Quirk, & Valenti, 2010). It is easier to push inclusion for

students with less severe disabilities such as mild sensory impairments, learning disabilities,

behavior disorders and cognitive disabilities, but those with more severe cases raise more

concern on how well they would benefit from a general education classroom (Fuchs & Fuchs,

1987). Parents are a huge factor in incorporating their children with disabilities into general
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education classrooms and need to have trust in the system that their childs needs are being met

(Jordan, 2007). Concerns are raised with the lack of quality classrooms and trained teachers to

handle students with disabilities in order to meet the wide range of needs (Henninger, & Gupta,

2014).

Arguments against full inclusion come from those looking out for the needs of the

general education student as well. While the academic success of a SWD may increase with

their experience in a general education classroom there have been studies that have shown a

decrease in academic achievement for the general education students (Spence, 2010). However,

it could be a case by case basic as a study done in 2001 confirmed that achievement in general

education students increased as well as students with disabilities (Pawlowicz, 2001).

Conclusion

As the United States works towards a more inclusive public school setting, the argument

of inclusion is beginning to heat up. However, while inclusion may seem to fluctuate on a case

by case basis, the benefits of a mixture of students with and without disabilities in the same

classroom tend to outweigh the negatives in most situations.

Works Cited

Almazan, S., Bui, X., Quirk, C. & Valenti, M. (2010). Inclusive Education Research & Practice.

Retrieved from http://www.mcie.org/usermedia/application/6/inclusion_works_final.pdf

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Buysse, V., Wesley, P. W., Bryant, D., & Gardner, D. (1999). Quality of early childhood

programs in inclusive and noninclusive settings. Exceptional Children, 65, 301314.

Retrieved from

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/article/Exceptional-Children/54271786.html

Disability. n.d. In Merriam-Webster.com. Retrieved March 29, 2017, from

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/disability

Dudley-Marling, C., Burns, M. Two Perspectives on Inclusion in the United States. Global

Education Review 1(1), 14-28. Retrieved from

http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1055208.pdf

Fuchs, D., & Fuchs, L.S., (1987). Inclusion versus Full Inclusion. Profiles and Perspectives, 1,

80-81. Retrieved from

http://wps.prenhall.com/wps/media/objects/2357/2414567/Volume_medialib/Profiles/pp2

b.pdf

Gilhool, T. K. (1989). The right to an effective education: From Brown to P.L. 94-142 and

beyond. In D. Lipsky & A. Gartner (Eds.), Beyond separate education: Quality education

for all (pp. 243-253). Baltimore: Paul H. Brookes.

Henninger, W. R., & Gupta, S. S. (2014). How to Jumpstart Your Programwide Plan: How Do
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Children Benefit from Inclusion? Brookes Publishing. Retrieved from

http://archive.brookespublishing.com/documents/gupta-how-children-benefit-from-inclus

ion.pdf

Jordan, D. (2007). Inclusion in the Preschool Setting. Retrieved from

http://www.earlychildhoodnews.com/earlychildhood/article_print.aspx?ArticleId=11

Pawlowicz, B. K. (2001) The Effects of Inclusion on General Education Students. American

Psychological Association Publican Manuel 1(1), 1-41. Retrieved from

http://www2.uwstout.edu/content/lib/thesis/2001/2001pawlowiczb.pdf

Spence, R. S. (2010) The Effects of Inclusion on the Academic Achievement of Regular

Education Students. Electronic Theses & Dissertations 1(6), 1-111. Retrieved from

http://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1369&context=et

Walker, K. E. (1999) Inclusion and Its Effects on Students Electronic Journal for Inclusive

Education, 1(2), 1-13. Retrieved from

http://corescholar.libraries.wright.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1014&context=ejie