Whereas the traditional model of separate education for special-needs students requires that school systems rely on fulltime special educators and depends, necessarily, on their availability, that is not the case with inclusion programs. The inclusion of special-needs students within the regular curriculum allows special-needs services to be delivered by paraprofessionals instead of relying exclusively on dedicated special needs educators. Typically, special needs education paraprofessionals can deliver services to several special-needs students simultaneously instead of limiting the number of special-needs students to the same number of special needs educators available on a one-on-one basis (Suter & Giangreco, 2009)
Conclusion
It does not appear that any of the objections to the inclusion of special-needs students in the regular educational environment and curriculum stand up to objective analysis. Both special-needs students and regular-education students exhibit better learning, as measured by their respective test scores as a result of inclusion programs. Instead of exposing special-needs students to bullying or
Both special-needs students and non-special-needs students report higher self-esteem, self-regard, and increased enjoyment of school when they are part of special-needs inclusion programs. In addition to these valuable benefits for all students, the inclusion concept also stretches more opportunities from the resources available, because it increases the work available for paraprofessionals while reducing the workload on the comparatively few dedicated fulltime special education professionals available to school systems.
References
Dupuis, B., Barclay, J.W., Holmes, S.D., Platt, M., Shaha, S.H., and Lewis, V.K.
(2007). "Does Inclusion Help Students: Perspectives from Regular Education and Students with Disabilities." National Association of Special Education Teachers.
Accessed online: http://www.naset.org/782.0.html
Edwards, G., Wattenberg, M., and Lineberry, R. (2009). Government in America: People,
Politics, and Policy. Longman: New York.
Mallory, B.L. And New, R.S. "Social Constructivist Theory and Principles of Inclusion:
Challenges for Early Childhood Special Education." Journal of Spec Education,
Vol. 28 (1994): 322-337.
Suter, J.C. And Giangreco, M.F. "Numbers That Count: Exploring Special Education
and Paraprofessional Service Delivery in Inclusion-Oriented Schools." Journal of Special Education, Vol. 43 (2009): 81-93.
This creates a problem in education, as there is already a disproportionate demand for Special Education teachers, while there are not enough to meet the demand of the increasing numbers of students needing their services. Specifically, Whitaker also mentions the following factors in contributing to the isolation problem and the lack of teacher retention: 1) a lack of preparation for the realities of the profession; 2) a reluctance in teachers
(Fondacaro, 2001) Reported is a convenience sample of 12 students, 10 boys and 2 girls in the age range from 8-13 which was taken from nine public school and three private elementary schools in south New Jersey. The twelve students in this study were diagnosed as having Asperger's syndrome. Data was collected through semi-structured field interviews with special education and regular education teachers. Data was coded by the researcher
Each of these are defined by these authors as follows: General curriculum alignment: "A team might decide that the student can benefit from placement in general education and participate in some or all of the curriculum. Although the child may receive extra help and remediation, he or she would essentially be evaluated with the same instruments and processes as other children in the class." (Price, Mayfield, McFadden and Marsh, 2001) Adapted
special education has changed dramatically. Gone are the days of the special classroom down the hall where special education students were hidden away and kept from the general student population. Gone are the days when special education students were given comic books to read and passed because they were there. Civil rights mandates of the 1960's turned the world of special education inside out and today, four decades later,
It is also worth noting that the evolving nature of special education can be attributed to the cultural changes, family values, and civilizations taking place. Research attitudes towards people with special educational needs exhibit considerable variation as one move from one culture to the other. Findings show that people of different culture may perceive the similar conditions differently. For instance, Yoruba perceived that albinism as a punishment from God (Wilson,
"By the 1980s, the field had moved to a functional skills model. As the evidence for this approach mounted, the field refocused on age appropriate skills and knowledge performed in authentic settings and the functional life skills curriculum became best practice. The functional, age-appropriate curricular focus resulted in these students demonstrating skills and knowledge not thought possible earlier" (Quenemoen, 2008). In the 1990s, added significant new practices were acknowledged as
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