scholarly journals Inclusion for All? An Exploration of Teacher’s Reflections on Inclusion in Two Elementary Schools

2019 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 74-88
Author(s):  
Michelle Bemiller
Keyword(s):  
Elementary Schools ◽  
Public Schools ◽  
General Education ◽  
Special Needs ◽  
Students With Disabilities ◽  
Social Needs ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Teacher Recommendations ◽  
Training Resources ◽  
The Right

Teachers face numerous challenges. Pressure exists to meet Common Core Standards and increase state test scores while operating on shoestring budgets. In addition, public schools have seen an increase in students with disabilities—individuals with unique academic and social needs. Due to the Education for all Handicapped Children Act of 1975, inclusion in general education classrooms is the right of children with disabilities. Disability advocates applaud this act for ensuring equality for all. Yet, equality is not akin to equity. In classrooms where teachers lack proper training, children with special needs may not experience equity, ultimately weakening the intent of inclusive practices. The current study stems from a commissioned needs assessment that explored how teachers at two elementary schools in Northeast Ohio define inclusion, current training related to students with disabilities, and teacher recommendations for training/resources to teach students with special needs effectively. The article ends with policy and future research recommendations.

INCLUSION, SOCIALISATION AND INTEGRATION OF THE CHILD WITH SPECIAL NEEDS IN A KINDERGARTEN GROUP

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 382-384
Author(s):  
Rumyana Pantaleeva ◽  
Keyword(s):  
General Education ◽  
Special Needs ◽  
Social World ◽  
Educational Needs ◽  
Special Educational Needs ◽  
The Social ◽  
The World ◽  
The Right

The process of socialisation and integration represents unity, and at the same time – a continuous controversy between two aspects: socialisation and individuality. Due to this, the process is a single upside stream – the entry of a child into the world of adults, in the social world. Every child is a unique personality with its individual qualities, interests, abilities and educational needs. Every child with special educational needs has the right to be taught on an individual schedule with content, matching its own necessities and capacity. The general education kindergarten, in which the authors work and teach pupils with special educational needs has established a tolerant community and guarantees schooling, tutoring and mentorship for everybody.

scholarly journals The Potential To Learn: Pre-Service Teachers Proposed Use Of Instructional Strategies For Students With A Learning Disability

2010 ◽  
Vol 3 (10) ◽  
pp. 27 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stuart Woodcock ◽  
Wilma Vialle
Keyword(s):  
Learning Disabilities ◽  
General Education ◽  
Special Needs ◽  
Learning Disability ◽  
Instructional Strategies ◽  
General Education Teachers ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Students With Special Needs ◽  
Mainstream Classrooms ◽  
Service Training

Over recent years, moves toward the inclusion of students with special needs in mainstream classrooms has brought about increasing attention to the way general education teachers perceive these students. Commensurate with this has been a growing interest in what may constitute educational success for children with special needs in mainstream classrooms, plus the ability of general education teachers to provide effective and appropriate instruction for them. It is known that teachers form beliefs about the process of teaching during their pre-service training and also that once a belief has been held for a long time, it becomes extremely difficult to change (Bandura, 1977, and Liljedahl, 2005). With learning disabilities being one of the most common disabilities in the classroom (Clark, 1997, and Clark & Artiles, 2000), it was considered that the need to further explore pre-service teachers’ perceived use of instructional strategies in relation to students who have what is termed learning disabilities, is indeed critical. This study looked at the instructional strategies Australian pre-service teachers reported they would use for students with a learning disability compared to students without a learning disability. The findings show that pre-service teachers favour more direct teacher-centred instructional strategies for students with a learning disability and more learner-centred instructional strategies for students without a learning disability. The greatest discrepancy in strategy use between the two groups of students was the higher cognitive level instructional strategies within a learner-centred environment. Pre-service teachers would use these strategies more frequently with students who do not have a learning disability. Implications for future practice and recommendations for future research are presented.

scholarly journals Teachers’ Perceptions of Inclusion in a Pilot Inclusive Education Program: Implications for Instructional Leadership

2018 ◽  
Vol 2018 ◽  
pp. 1-13 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zachary Y. Mngo ◽  
Agnes Y. Mngo
Keyword(s):  
Special Education ◽  
Instructional Leadership ◽  
General Education ◽  
Students With Disabilities ◽  
Inclusive Education ◽  
Education Program ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Teachers Perceptions ◽  
Highly Educated ◽  
Integrated Classrooms

The opinions of general education secondary school teachers in seven select schools involved in a pilot inclusive education program in the Northwest Region of Cameroon were sought. The findings reveal that most teachers in Cameroon still prefer separate special education institutions to inclusive ones. These conclusions contradict earlier research which showed that resistance to integrated classrooms was emanating from beliefs and customs. Teachers with some training on teaching students with disabilities and more experienced and highly educated teachers were more supportive of inclusive education indicating that resistance to the practice is linked to inadequate or complete lack of teachers’ preparedness. Younger, less experienced teachers with no training in special education indicated less enthusiasm regarding the benefits of inclusion, their ability to manage integrated classrooms, and teach students with disabilities. The implication of these findings for future research, institutional support systems, institutional policies, and overall instructional leadership is discussed in this article.

Online Learning as a Form of Accommodation

2011 ◽  
pp. 2906-2910
Author(s):  
Terence Cavanaugh
Keyword(s):  
General Education ◽  
Special Needs ◽  
Students With Disabilities ◽  
Adult Population ◽  
Department Of Education ◽  
Special Needs Students ◽  
Students With Special Needs ◽  
General Education Teacher ◽  
The Past ◽  
Education Act

An estimated three billion people, representing approximately half of the planet’s population, are in some way affected by disabilities, which includes an estimated 150 million from the United States of America (Half the Planet, 2001). According to the Twenty-Third Annual Report to Congress on the Implementation of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (U.S. Department of Education, 2002a), concerning students with special needs between the ages of three and 21, the U.S. and its outlying areas are currently serving educationally more than 6,272,000 students classified as having a disability. The inclusion model, in which a special needs student participates in the “regular” classroom, has become the current classroom education standard. Today’s special needs students have increasing impacts on the general education teacher as, during the past 10 years, the percentage of students with disabilities served in schools and classes with their non-disabled peers has gradually grown to over 90% in 1998 (U.S. Department of Education, 2000b). Because of the large and increasing number of special needs students, assistive educational technology is growing in importance. The population of postsecondary students with disabilities has increased over the past two decades, and currently there are approximately one million persons in postsecondary institutions who are classified as having some form of disability (U.S. Department of Education, 2000b). In 1994, approximately 45% of the adult population who reported having a disability had either attended some college or had completed a bachelor’s degree or higher, as compared to only 29% in 1986 (National Center for Educational Statistics, 1999a).

Teaching High School Students With Disabilities to Advocate for Academic Accommodations

2019 ◽  
Vol 54 (3) ◽  
pp. 146-156
Author(s):  
Nancy J. Lopez ◽  
Nicole M. Uphold ◽  
Karen H. Douglas ◽  
Shaqwana Freeman-Green
Keyword(s):  
High School ◽  
High School Students ◽  
General Education ◽  
Students With Disabilities ◽  
Functional Relation ◽  
Transition Process ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Academic Accommodations ◽  
School Students ◽  
Self Advocacy

One factor that may contribute to the success of students with disabilities in postsecondary educational settings may be their ability to advocate for academic accommodations. By incorporating self-determination practices into the curriculum and transition process during high school, students with disabilities may acquire the self-advocacy skills for postsecondary settings. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of a modified Self-Advocacy and Conflict Resolution (mSACR) training program on the ability of five high school students with high-incidence disabilities to request academic accommodations in a high school general education course. A multiple-probe-across-participants design was employed to evaluate the effects of the intervention on 14 targeted behaviors. Results indicated a functional relation between the mSACR and the ability of students to request accommodations. Findings from this study are discussed along with limitations, suggestions for future research, and implications for educational practice.

scholarly journals Principalship Socialization in Charter Schools

2019 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-24
Author(s):  
Marytza A. Gawlik
Keyword(s):  
Student Achievement ◽  
Elementary Schools ◽  
Public Schools ◽  
Charter Schools ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Analytic Framework ◽  
Stepping Stone ◽  
School Year ◽  
Traditional Public Schools ◽  
Building Level

This study explores the ways in which charter schools manage principalship socialization of individuals as they move into principalship roles. The topic is important in the context of increasing concerns about the need for quality educational principalship and the pressure charter schools face to demonstrate higher levels of student achievement than traditional public schools. Data were collected from three charter elementary schools in Florida during the 2012–2013 school year. The results reveal variation among the schools with respect to preparation for principalship transitions and subsequent socialization. This study provides a conceptual/analytic framework that can serve as a foundation for future research, which should (1) highlight the practices associated with using socialization as a stepping stone to building-level principalship and (2) compare network-based and stand-alone charter schools with respect to principalship development.

Effective Practices for Teaching Writing to Students with Disabilities in the United States

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
April Camping ◽  
Steve Graham
Keyword(s):  
Special Education ◽  
General Education ◽  
Special Needs ◽  
Students With Disabilities ◽  
The United States ◽  
Individual Student ◽  
Students With Special Needs ◽  
Writing Practices ◽  
General Education Classroom ◽  
Critical Skills

Writing is especially challenging for students with disabilities, as 19 out of every 20 of these students experience difficulty learning to write. In order to maximize writing growth, effective instructional practices need to be applied in the general education classroom where many students with special needs are educated. This should minimize special education referrals and maximize the progress of these students as writers. Evidence-based writing practices for the general education classroom include ensuring that students write frequently for varying purposes; creating a pleasant and motivating writing environment; supporting students as they compose; teaching critical skills, processes, and knowledge; and using 21st-century writing tools. It is also important to be sure that practices specifically effective for enhancing the writing growth of students with special needs are applied in both general and special education settings (where some students with disabilities may receive part or all of their writing instruction). This includes methods for preventing writing disabilities, tailoring instruction to meet individual student needs, addressing roadblocks that can impede writing growth, and using specialized writing technology that allows these students to circumvent one or more of their writing challenges.

Do Teachers Spend Less Time Teaching in Classrooms With Students With Special Needs? Trends From International Data

2019 ◽  
Vol 48 (5) ◽  
pp. 273-286 ◽  
Author(s):  
North Cooc
Keyword(s):  
General Education ◽  
Special Needs ◽  
Students With Disabilities ◽  
Behavioral Problems ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
School Factors ◽  
Students With Special Needs ◽  
International Data ◽  
Teaching Time ◽  
General Education Classrooms

Debates about the inclusion of students with disabilities in general education classrooms often overlook its impact on teachers. In this study, I analyze the concern that teachers may spend less time teaching in classrooms with children with special needs using survey data on 121,173 teachers from 38 participating countries and partners of the Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS) 2013. I further examine teacher, classroom, and school factors that may explain disparities in time spent teaching in classrooms with and without students with special needs. The findings indicate teachers, on average, spend marginally less class time on teaching in classrooms that include more students with special needs. The disparity in teaching time is mostly removed when accounting for students with behavioral problems in classrooms.

Barriers With Implementing a Universal Design for Learning Framework

Inclusion ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 274-286 ◽  
Author(s):  
LaRon A. Scott
Keyword(s):  
General Education ◽  
Students With Disabilities ◽  
Administrative Support ◽  
Universal Design ◽  
Universal Design For Learning ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Education Teacher ◽  
General Education Teacher ◽  
Design For Learning ◽  
Service Training

Abstract Inclusion of students with disabilities in general education settings is often contingent on teachers' liberties to use inclusive instructional strategies. The current qualitative investigation used focus group, observation, and interviews of 9 special education teachers to understand their attitudes and beliefs concerning challenges with implementing the universal design for learning (UDL) framework to meet the needs of students with and without disabilities. A constant comparative analysis method was used to categorize the data into the following themes that emerged as barriers for implementing the UDL framework: (a) general education teacher support for inclusion, (b) need for administrative support, (c) need for improving general education teacher knowledge of UDL, (d) additional preservice field-based training on UDL, and (e) additional in-service training on UDL. Although the teachers in the study continued to indicate a passion for implementing the UDL framework, the need to address the barriers faced by teachers, and future research and implications significant to moving UDL forward as an inclusive teaching framework are underlined for discussion in the study.

Being in the Right Place at the Right Time: Educational Placement of Students With Intellectual Disability by State and Year

Inclusion ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 210-221
Author(s):  
Eric J. Anderson ◽  
Matthew E. Brock
Keyword(s):  
Intellectual Disability ◽  
General Education ◽  
Students With Disabilities ◽  
Least Restrictive Environment ◽  
Educational Placement ◽  
Placement Decisions ◽  
Federal Mandate ◽  
Restrictive Environment ◽  
The Right ◽  
General Education Classrooms

Abstract Despite the longstanding federal mandate to place students with disabilities in general education classrooms to the maximum extent appropriate, most students with intellectual disability continue to spend most of their time in separate classrooms and schools. In this study, we describe longitudinal educational placement patterns in six states that represent the wide span of educational placement (i.e., Vermont, Kentucky, Kansas, Massachusetts, Illinois, and Montana). Surprisingly, some states are trending toward more restrictive placements, and the gap between the most and least inclusive states is continuing to widen over time. We offer constructive suggestions for appropriately applying the principle of least restrictive environment so that placement decisions are driven by student needs and not where students live.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document