Assessment 1: 17239598

Inclusive Essay

Assessment 1:
Inclusive Education
Essay
Assessment 1: 17239598
Inclusive Essay

Inclusive education is an antagonistic term that lacks strategic imperial focus, which
may contribute to the continuous confused practices when it comes to the inclusion of
students with disabilities in local schools. According to Miles and Singal (2009)
‘Inclusive Education’ aims to provide the inclusion of all students to attended and
welcomed by their local schools, where age appropriate and in the formation of
regular classrooms. Maher (2003) further elaborates on this by stating within these
school settings, all students have the right to be supported, make contributions and
participate in all aspects of the schooling community. This view subsequently allowed
international legislation and policy to evolve and challenge the current inclusion
practices to integrate more of a focus on equity and allow access to high-quality
education for all (UNESCO, 2009). However, it is still widely recognised that
children with a disabilities, continue to experience some form of exclusion within the
secondary school system (UNICEF, 2013). This paper aims to examine the changing
views about inclusive education and how legislation such as the Disability Standards
for Education, 2005 and the Disability Discrimination Act, 1992, have impacted
discrimination free education for students with a disability. It also explores
appropriate practices in which teachers can develop professional skills required to
assist students with disabilities in the classroom, and in particular students who are
diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).

A significant factor in the notion to change the attitudes towards students with
disabilities was the principle of ‘normalisation’ in the 1970’s. According Bank-
McIntosh, Vaugh, Schumm, Haager and Lee (1993) the theory of ‘normalisation’ was
the right to treat those with disabilities to have the same opportunity to learn and live
in environments close to “normal” as possible. McLeskey, Henry and Hodges (1998)
expanded on this theory by highlighting the importance for all individuals to be
valued equally and also have the same opportunity to participate meaningfully within
their communities. Since the beginning of the 1970s, the benefits of adapting this
model has been of significant importance to Australian education and the inclusion of
students with a disability (Konza, 2008). Konzo (2008) states inclusion seeks to
remove the discrepancy between special and regular education and seeks to deliver
suitable education for all students, no mater their level of disability in their local
school.
Assessment 1: 17239598
Inclusive Essay

Currently, there are many efforts to improve educational standards for students with a
disability. The European Agency for Development in Special Needs Education
(EADSN) recognised that inclusive education is a basic human right and the
foundation for an equal and just society. The Australian Government considers that all
people with disabilities should have equal rights to participate fully within the
community and have fair access to education (Disability Standards for Education,
2005). Within Australia, the efforts to improve the education standards for students
with disabilities are highly evident through the Disability Discrimination Act, 1992
and the Disability Standards for Education, 2005. The standards are set out to specify
how education and training are to be easily accessible to students with disabilities.
Under the ‘The Standards’, there are requirements that state reasonable adjustments
must be made to ensure students with disabilities have modified learning programs or
differentiated learning environments, to assist with the inclusion in education. This is
imposed to ensure that all education providers are required to make sure that any
student, regardless of disabilities, are able to have the same access and rights to
participation in education. The Commonwealth Disability Discrimination Act, 2005,
seeks to eliminate discrimination against individuals with disabilities. According to
section 22 of the Disability Discrimination Act, it is against the law to discriminate a
person due to their disability. This means all educational institutions, whether it being
state or non-governments schools, must comply with the act or any other relevant
legislation passed through their state or territory.

There are many perceived benefits for the inclusion of students with disabilities to
attend mainstream schooling. Smith and Tyler (2011) state that the inclusion of
students with disabilities being educated in ‘regular’ classes significantly improves
students well-being, as it allows students to become apart and contribute to their local
community. School friends will also most likely live in the same community and are
more inclined to participate in extra-curricular activities with people they commute
with at their local school (Smith and Tyler, 2011). Anderson and Boyle (2015) further
emphasises the benefits of including students with disabilities in mainstream schools
because their peers can become great models of behaviour, assist the ability to
problem solve and model other cognitive skills associated with collaborative learning
opportunities. The normality of these interactions is highly unlikely if students with
disabilities attend school distances away from home and are purposefully specialised.
Assessment 1: 17239598
Inclusive Essay

The adaptation of inclusive education is highly evident within Australian Education.

The number of students with disabilities attending mainstream schools is significantly
increasing. According to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (2006) 97% of
school aged children with some form of a disability attend school, with 87% of those
students attending mainstream school and 9% attending special needs school.
However, life can still be challenging for children with disabilities, according to the
Australian Bureau of Statistics (2009), out of 179, 000 students with disabilities, 64%
reported that they experienced difficulty at school. Among these students, the most
common problems associated with schooling included learning difficulties,
communication difficulties and fitting in socially. Interestingly, These areas of
concern are commonly found within those students who are diagnosed with Autism
Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is an umbrella term
used to describe a range of lifelong neurodevelopmental conditions (Autism Spectrum
Australia, 2017). It is difficult to generalise the characteristics of (ASD) as the
severity could dramatically change across each condition (Autism Spectrum
Australia, 2017). In 2015, there were 164, 000 Australians diagnosed with ASD,
which is a 41% increase from 2012 (ABS 2016). Research conducted by the
Australian Bureau of Statistics (2016) found that 86% of children with Autism
reported that they had difficulty at school, which majority of these students had most
difficulties with communication, learning and fitting in socially. As more children are
being diagnosed with ASD or learning and behavioural difficulties, it is significantly
important that teachers develop specific skills, strategies and adjustments within their
teaching practices to support their students with a range of differing abilities.

The prevalence of children being diagnosed with ASD is significantly increaing, more
students are being educated in ‘regular’ classrooms. This means that teachers are
faced with complex challenges when it comes to understanding the appropriate
teaching strategies, skills, adjustments and accommodations required for teaching
students ASD. This may be challenging to many teachers within the education system
because the severity of every child with ASD is unique and can change as it identified
across a spectrum. However there are general practices that teacher’s can do to follow
the support of children diagnosed with ASD. Determining the abilities and challenges
that a child with ASD may have, can greatly improve a child’s success. This is a skill
Assessment 1: 17239598
Inclusive Essay

in which teachers may use to understand their students and how they learn, which is
deprived from the APST. For example, according to Smith and Tyler (2011) children
with ASD commonly have visual strengths within their learning, as a result teachers
may implement visual demonstrations or within tasks to assist students with ASD or
other students with disabilities such as hearing impairments. This is also a strategy
where teachers could include visual schedules of the lesson/day as well as visual
instructions.

Further, it is important for teachers to be aware of adjustments that can be made to

accommodate students with ASD or any other students with disabilities. According to
Kauffman, McGee and Brigham (2004) adjustments can be implemented to help
increase motivation and decrease stressful and anxious situations, these include
allowing short breaks during teaching sessions, receiving extra time during
examinations, modifications to equipment and the environment and also small group
supervision areas. In addition, there are also other adjustments that can be made to
support teaching and learning activities such as the use of technology, large print
texts, simplified texts and oral sign interpreters or readers and scribes (NESA, 2017).
The level of adjustments can be tailored specifically to an individuals needs. For
example, children who suffer from fine and gross motor skill issues would typically
require a scriber to express information. However, a scriber would not be appropriate
in all situations like expressing opinions within the lesson. Instead teachers can use
symbols from a communication board so that students with ASD or other disabilities
can be included in the lesson and quickly express their thoughts.

Further, differentiated teaching is a common practice used by proficient teachers. This

is a strategy used to accommodate all students with differing abilities such as gifted
and talented students, special needs students and students with English as a second
language. Differentiated teaching is essential to a teaching practice to provide
different learning pathways, so students can achieve the same learning opportunities
as their peers (Gould and Vaughn, 2000). By differentiating student work, the teacher
has the ability to adjust pedagogy practices to match student-learning styles (Gould
and Vaughn, 2000). For example, for tasks that need to be verbally presented to the
class, the teacher could apply choice in which students could present their
information. This may be easier for students diagnosed with ASD or students with
Assessment 1: 17239598
Inclusive Essay

other disabilities to use a voice output communication aid (VOCA) or multi-media

videos to pre record their work and present to the class. Furthermore, strategies
associated with reading may include the teacher providing texts that include audio
texts to help those students who struggle with reading. This is extremely beneficial as
a study by Chandler (2000) indicates that students who struggle with reading are
significantly less likely to complete student work compared to peers who do not have
problems associated with reading. In addition, assessments may also be differentiated
in order for students to have the same opportunities to achieve appropriate outcomes
(Abedi, Faltis, 2015). The implementation of the Life Skills program incorporated
into the NSW curriculum is a great source of differentiated learning to help prepare
students with special needs with a range of different skill-based outcomes and prepare
students to cope with everyday life.

In conclusion, it is clearly evident that the changing views about inclusion policies
within Australian education and the implementation of legislation such as the
Disability Discrimination Act, 1992 and the Disability Standards for Education, 2005
has resulted in the increase of students with disabilities attending ‘regular’ class
settings. Therefore, it is essential that teachers, schools and executives regularly
collaborate to provide adequate training and support so that staff are able to make
necessary adjustments and accommodations to promote the inclusion of all students.
These changes have been extremely beneficial in supporting the inclusion of students
with disabilities in all aspects of their schooling career including academically and
social well-being.
Assessment 1: 17239598
Inclusive Essay

References

Abedi, J. & Faltis, C. (2015). Teacher Assessment and the Assessment of Students
With Diverse Learning Needs. Review of Research in Education, 39(1), 7 – 14.

Abs.gov.au. (2018). 4430.0 - Disability, Ageing and Carers, Australia: Summary of

Findings, 2015. [online] Available at:
http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Lookup/4430.0Main%20Features752015

Anderson, J. & Boyle, C. (2015). Inclusive education in Australia: rhetoric, reality

and the road ahead. Support for Learning, 30(1), 4 – 22.

Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. (2018). Australia's health 2006, Table of
contents - Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. [online] Available at:
https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/australias-health/australias-health-
2006/contents/table-of-contents [Accessed 8 Apr. 2018].

Autism Spectrum Australia. (2017). What is Autism? Autism Spectrum Australia

Retrieved March 28, 2017, from https://www.autismspectrum.org.au/content/what-
autism

Chandler, L. K. (2000). A training and consultation model to reduce resistance and

increase educator knowledge and skill in addressing challenging behaviours. Special
Education Perspectives, 9(1), pp3- 13.

Educationstandards.nsw.edu.au. (2018). Adjustments | NSW Education Standards.

[online] Available at: http://educationstandards.nsw.edu.au/wps/portal/nesa/k-
10/diversity-in-learning/special-education/adjustments

Gould, A., & Vaughn, S. (2000). Planning for the inclusive classroom: meeting the
needs of diverse classrooms. Catholic Education, 3 (3), pp 363-374.
Assessment 1: 17239598
Inclusive Essay

Kauffman, J. M., McGee, K., & Brigham, M. (2004). Enabling or disabling?

Observations on Changes in special education. Phi Delta Kappan, April, pp 613-620.

McIntosh, R., Vaughn, S., Schumm, J. S., Haager, D., & Lee, O. (1993). Observations
of students with learning disabilities in general education classrooms. Exceptional
Children, 60(3), pp 249-261.

McLeskey, J., Henry, D., & Hodges, D. (1998). Inclusion: Where is it happening?
Teaching Exceptional Children, 31, pp 4-10.

Miles, S. and Singal, N. (2009). The Education for All and inclusive education
debate: conflict, contradiction or opportunity? International Journal of Inclusive
Education, 14(1), 1-15

Smith, D.D. & Tyler, N.C. (2011). Effective inclusive education: Equipping education
professionals with necessary skills and knowledge. Prospects, 41(3), 323 – 339.

United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund. (2018). Inclusive

education. [online] Available at: https://www.unicef.org/education/bege_61717.html

United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (2018). Policy

Guidelines on Inclusion in Education. Paris, pp.6-32.