Differentiated Instruction and Inclusive Schooling

Universal Design For Learning ◽

Full Range ◽

Team Approach ◽

Wide Range ◽

Inclusive Schooling ◽

Differentiated instruction encompasses a wide range of responsive pedagogies, including individualized types and levels of curricula, teaching methods, materials, and assessment strategies. It has at its roots the impetus for effective inclusive schooling, providing supports directly within general education classrooms for students with the full range of exceptionalities (both significant disabilities and giftedness) and other diverse educational characteristics such as cultural and linguistic background and socioeconomic status. To effectively include students with higher levels of need, comparable levels of supports follow the student from the special education setting to the general education classroom. This enriched level of support in the general education classroom benefits not only students with disabilities, but the class as a whole. The legal and ethical bases for inclusive schooling are connected with various civil rights movements (including race, disability, culture and language, gender); it can be viewed as a response to segregated schooling (and denial of schooling altogether). Schools frequently remove students when traditional educational programs fail, adding on separate programs rather than rectifying the existing system. Such special programs have been routinely promulgated without substantial evidence of their effectiveness over supportive general education classrooms (either for segregated students or for their unlabeled general education peers). Important aspects of differentiated instruction and inclusive schooling include multilevel instruction; authentic and culturally responsive curricula, methods, and assessment; universal design for learning; assistive and instructional technologies; positive behavioral supports; and a collaborative team approach to instructional decision-making and delivery. Differentiated instruction and effective inclusive schooling are vital for equitable access to educational opportunities, bringing more responsive curricula, methods, and perspectives to increasingly diverse classrooms and schools.

Increasing Peer Interactions for Students with Behavioral Disorders via Paraprofessional Training

Behavioral Disorders ◽

10.1177/019874290503100105 ◽

2005 ◽

Vol 31 (1) ◽

pp. 95-106 ◽

Cited By ~ 14

Author(s):

Kimber W. Malmgren ◽

Julie N. Causton-Theoharis ◽

Beverly J. Trezek

Keyword(s):

General Education ◽

Behavioral Disorders ◽

Peer Interactions ◽

Multiple Baseline ◽

Training Intervention ◽

Single Subject ◽

Paraprofessional Training ◽

As more and more students with behavioral disorders (BD) are included in general education classrooms, the use of paraprofessionals in one-on-one support roles has expanded. Unfortunately, the use of paraprofessionals to provide one-on-one assistance can result in social isolation for students with disabilities. This multiple-baseline single-subject study examined the effectiveness of a paraprofessional training program designed to teach paraprofessionals to facilitate interactions between elementary-age students with BD and their peers in the general education classroom. Baseline and postintervention observational data reflecting: (1) the proximity of the paraprofessionals in relation to the students with BD; (2) the amount and type of facilitative behaviors displayed by the paraprofessionals; and (3) the rate of peer interactions experienced by the participating students with BD were collected for three paraprofessional/student pairs over a 7-week period. Rates of student interaction increased following the intervention. Rates of paraprofessional facilitative behavior also increased, though less markedly. Additionally, after the training intervention, all participating paraprofessionals faded their assistance more frequently and spent less time in the immediate vicinity of the students they served. Recommendations for use of paraprofessionals in the classroom and for paraprofessional training are discussed.

Pre-service Teachers' Beliefs: Impact of Training in Universal Design for Learning

Exceptionality Education International ◽

10.5206/eei.v28i3.7774 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 28 (3) ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Christopher S. Lanterman ◽

Karen Applequist

Keyword(s):

General Education ◽

Epistemological Beliefs ◽

Universal Design ◽

Positive Impact ◽

Universal Design For Learning ◽

Teachers Beliefs ◽

Design For Learning ◽

Beliefs About Learning

Seventy-seven pre-service teachers enrolled in an introductory special education course completed a questionnaire on their beliefs about learning, teaching, and disability, before and after completing one of two randomly assigned training modules on Universal Design for Learning (UDL). Module A presented UDL as a strategy for meeting the specific needs of students with disabilities in a general education setting. Module B presented UDL as a framework to support all learners in the general education classroom through the creation of communities of learners. The Beliefs About Learning, Teaching, and Disability Questionnaire (BLTDQ) was administered with five subscales rated on a 6-point Likert-type scale that measure pre-service teachers’ beliefs about learning and teaching, as representative of their epistemological beliefs, beliefs about disability (from pathognomonic to interventionist) and the role of the teacher in the general education classroom. Analyses of these results suggest that a significant change toward interventionist beliefs about learning, teaching, and disability occurred for participants who completed either module on UDL. Additionally, a small to moderate, positive relationship was identified between pre-service teachers’ beliefs about disability and their epistemological beliefs, with the strength of this relationship increasing following their training in UDL. These findings suggest that training in UDL can have a powerful and positive impact on pre-service teachers’ interventionist epistemological beliefs and beliefs about disability. Shifts toward interventionist beliefs are more likely to result in teaching practices that are more supportive of students with disabilities in general education classrooms. Implications for teacher preparation and study limitations are also discussed.

Inclusive Reform as a Response to High-Stakes Pressure? Leading toward Inclusion in the Age of Accountability

Teachers College Record ◽

10.1177/016146811611801403 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 118 (14) ◽

pp. 1-30

Author(s):

George Theoharis ◽

Julie Causton ◽

Chelsea P. Tracy-Bronson

Keyword(s):

School Reform ◽

General Education ◽

Standardized Tests ◽

Distributed Leadership ◽

High Stakes Testing ◽

High Stakes ◽

Inclusive School ◽

Age Of Accountability ◽

Students identified with disabilities are increasingly being educated with the assistance of support services within heterogeneous (i.e., general education) classrooms. Yet, in this era of high-stakes accountability, students are labeled, sorted, and differentially treated according to their academic achievement as reflected on standardized tests. We engaged in a project to better understand how educators grapple with these externally imposed pressures as they work to change the organizational structure of their schools to be able to implement greater inclusion of their students served by special education. We spent four years in two elementary schools engaged in inclusive school reform (shifting from exclusionary model to an inclusive one) specifically as a response to the pressures of test-based accountability mandates. Our work was guided by the following questions. In this era of high-stakes testing accountability: • What does school-wide inclusive reform for students with disabilities involve? • What kinds of changes can result from inclusive reform? • What role does leadership play in inclusive reform? The article focuses on what inclusive reform involved, the resulting changes, and the role distributed leadership played in moving toward more inclusive service in the age of high-stakes accountability.

English Language Learner Classmates and the Classroom Social Skills of Students with Disabilities

Teachers College Record ◽

10.1177/016146811511700704 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 117 (7) ◽

pp. 1-40

Author(s):

Michael A. Gottfried ◽

Morgan S. Polikoff

Keyword(s):

Social Skills ◽

General Education ◽

Fixed Effects ◽

English Language ◽

Secondary Data ◽

Language Learner ◽

Self Control ◽

Ell Students ◽

General Education Classroom

Background/Context Though the development of social skills in kindergarten is critical, a research gap exists in how the context of the general education classroom may influence the social skills outcomes of students with disabilities: None have considered the role of peer effects in this domain. This gap is critical to address, as multiple high-needs groups are increasingly present in the same general education classroom settings. Purpose/Objective This study asks two key research questions: (1) In kindergarten, to what extent do the classroom social skills outcomes of children with disabilities differ based on the number of ELL classmates? (2) In kindergarten, to what extent do the classroom social skills outcomes of ELL students differ based on the number of classmates with disabilities? Population/Participants The data are sourced from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Kindergarten Class (ECLS-K), which is a nationally representative sample of students, teachers, and schools. Information was first collected from kindergartners (as well as parents, teachers, and school administrators) from U.S. kindergarten programs. This study utilizes data collected at the fall and spring of kindergarten. Research Design This study combines secondary data analyses and quasi-experimental methods. There are three social skills outcomes: (1) approaches to learning, (2) interpersonal skills, and (3) self control. The study begins with a baseline, linear regression model. To address issues pertaining to omitted variable bias, the study employs multilevel fixed effects modeling. Findings The coefficients indicate that students with disabilities tend to have improved social skills with an increase in the number of ELL classmates. The effects remain significant even after accounting for multiple omitted variable biases. Notably, the reverse relationship does not hold: The number of classmates with disabilities has no significant influence on the outcomes of ELL students. Conclusions/Recommendations This research offers more in-depth insight into how the classroom context and the effects of classmates may have a unique relationship for specific high-needs groups such as students with disabilities—a strand of research in this area that is often overlooked. School practices can thus be guided by determining not simply if one group of students performs better or worse on average, but rather by asking, better or worse for whom in particular?

Reimagining Disability and Inclusive Education Through Universal Design for Learning

Disability Studies Quarterly ◽

10.18061/dsq.v37i2.5417 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 37 (2) ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

Jan Doolittle Wilson

Keyword(s):

Inclusive Education ◽

Universal Design ◽

Universal Design For Learning ◽

White Male ◽

Instructional Materials ◽

Learning Goals ◽

Regular Classroom ◽

Wide Range ◽

Design For Learning

In 1975, Congress enacted a law eventually known as the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), which ensures that children with disabilities receive a free, appropriate, public education. Since then, scholarly and popular debates about the effectiveness of inclusive education have proliferated and typically focus on the ability or inability of students with disabilities to succeed in so-called regular classrooms. These debates reflect widespread assumptions that the regular classroom is rightly the province of nondisabled students and a neutral, value-free space that students with disabilities invade and disrupt via their very presence and their costly needs for adaptation. But as many scholars in the field of Disability Studies in Education (DSE) have argued, these discussions often fail to recognize that the space of the regular classroom, far from neutral, is constructed for a nondisabled, neurotypical, white, male, middle-class "norm" that neither reflects nor accommodates the wide range of diverse learners within it, regardless of whether these learners have been diagnosed with a disability. A DSE perspective sees the educational environment, not students with disabilities, as the "problem" and calls for a Universal Design for Learning approach to education, or the design of instructional materials and activities that allows the learning goals to be achievable by individuals with wide differences in their abilities and backgrounds. Agreeing with this DSE perspective, this article uses an autoethnographic approach to reexamine inclusive education and to consider how university classrooms, pedagogy, and curricular materials can be improved in order to accommodate all students, not just those with disabilities. Ultimately, the article argues that Universal Design for Learning has the potential to radically transform the meaning of inclusive education and the very concept of disability.

THAI SECONDARY TEACHER ATTITUDES TOWARDS THE INCLUSION OF STUDENTS WITH LEARNING DISABILITIES

Humanities & Social Sciences Reviews ◽

10.18510/hssr.2019.7154 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 7 (1) ◽

pp. 478-483

Author(s):

Pattaraporn Jamsai

Keyword(s):

Learning Disabilities ◽

General Education ◽

Teacher Attitudes ◽

Secondary Teachers ◽

Teaching Experience ◽

Secondary Teacher ◽

Students With Learning Disabilities ◽

Teachers Attitudes ◽

Purpose of Study: The purpose of this study was to examine Thai secondary teacher attitudes towards inclusion of students with learning disabilities in general education classrooms. Methodology: The researcher collected quantitative data using a questionnaire with 28 Likert-type scale questions, adapted from the Opinions Relative to Integration of Students with Disabilities (ORI) as well as information related to training in special education, experience, and workload. The participants were comprised of a representative group of 370 secondary teachers from all regions of Thailand. Most participants indicated that they were female general education teachers and had a Bachelor’s degree. Main Finding: Through multiple linear regression, the findings showed that Thai secondary teachers generally held a positive attitude towards the inclusion of students with learning disabilities into general education classrooms. All three independent variables (hours of training, years of teaching experience, and hours of workload) were significant predictors of teachers’ attitudes towards inclusive classrooms, though the hours of workload was the strongest predictor. Applications: The study was conducted to better understand the variables that are meaningful to teachers’ attitudes toward inclusion.

Instructional Leadership for Middle School Students with Disabilities in the General Education Classroom: The Role of the Principal

10.33915/etd.641 ◽

2012 ◽

Author(s):

Jeremy M. Lynch

Keyword(s):

Middle School ◽

Middle School Students ◽

Instructional Leadership ◽

General Education ◽

School Students ◽

Role Of The Principal

State Practices on Inclusion

Remedial and Special Education ◽

10.1177/074193259501600504 ◽

1995 ◽

Vol 16 (5) ◽

pp. 279-287 ◽

Cited By ~ 25

Author(s):

ANTONIS KATSIYANNIS ◽

GREG CONDERMAN ◽

DAVID J. FRANKS

Keyword(s):

Special Education ◽

General Education ◽

Empirical Research ◽

State Policy ◽

Technical Assistance ◽

Classroom Setting ◽

Research Findings ◽

Intense Debate

Inclusion, which promotes educating all students with disabilities in the general education classroom setting, has triggered an intense debate in the field of special education. the purposes of this study were to highlight issues regarding inclusion, present findings on state practices on inclusion, and explore implications for practice and further research. findings from state surveys indicated great variety in state policy, acceleration in inclusion activity, a commitment to providing inservice and technical assistance, emerging teacher certification guidelines specific to inclusion, and minimal empirical research regarding the benefits of inclusion.

Helping or Hovering? Effects of Instructional Assistant Proximity on Students with Disabilities

Council review ◽

10.1177/001440299706400101 ◽

1997 ◽

Vol 64 (1) ◽

pp. 7-18 ◽

Cited By ~ 170

Author(s):

Michael F. Giangreco ◽

Susan W. Edelman ◽

Tracy Evans Luiselli ◽

Stephanie Z. C. Macfarland

Keyword(s):

General Education ◽

Policy Development ◽

Classroom Practices ◽

Peer Interactions ◽

Personal Control ◽

General Educators ◽

Instructional Assistants ◽

Instructional Assistant ◽

This study presents data on the effects of the proximity of instructional assistants on students with multiple disabilities who are placed in general education classrooms. Based on extensive observations and interviews, analyses of the data highlighted eight major findings of educational significance, all related to proximity of instructional assistants. Categories of findings and discussion include (a) interference with ownership and responsibility by general educators, (b) separation from classmates, (c) dependence on adults, (d) impact on peer interactions, (e) limitations on receiving competent instruction, (f) loss of personal control, (g) loss of gender identity, and (h) interference with instruction of other students. The article concludes with implications for practice related to policy development, training, classroom practices, and research.

Promoting Inclusive Schooling Practices through Practitioner Directed Inquiry

Journal of the Association for Persons with Severe Handicaps ◽

10.2511/rpsd.23.3.223 ◽

1998 ◽

Vol 23 (3) ◽

pp. 223-237 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

Christine L. Salisbury ◽

Linda L. Wilson ◽

Mary M. Palombaro

Keyword(s):

General Education ◽

Lessons Learned ◽

Future Research ◽

Federally Funded ◽

Project Staff ◽

Schooling Practices ◽

Building Level ◽

Inclusive Schooling ◽

This report describes findings from a federally funded research project on practitioner directed inquiry (PDI). First, the project is described and details are provided about the use of PDI by 45 different practitioners in five primary/elementary schools in two states. These practitioners designed, implemented, and evaluated solutions to classroom and building-level issues affecting the inclusion of students with mild to profound disabilities in general education classrooms. The link between data collection and decision making is explored, as are findings related to student and practitioner outcomes. Evidence to support findings is derived from observations, interviews, survey data, and practitioner inquiry reports. Second, lessons learned by project staff about promoting the adoption and use of practitioner directed inquiry are described. The role of project staff in supporting the inquiry process is explored. Quotes from participants are used throughout the study to illustrate key findings. Implications for future research and use of the approach are shared.