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Inclusive Education Essay

Assignment 1

What Is inclusive education

In Australia there has been a demand on including students with

disabilities in regular education classroom settings (Foreman, 2011).
Inclusive Education, aims to eradicate any differences between students
and involves all students, despite their ability or level of disability, to be
placed in age-appropriate education classes within mainstream schools
while receiving high quality instruction, interventions, and supports that
enable them to achieve in their core curriculum (Bui, Quirk, Almazan, &
Valenti, 2010). In recent times, students with disabilities are to be
considered full participants in their classrooms, associating with their
peers and receiving education in the least restrictive environment
(Alquraini & Gut, 2012). This ‘inclusion’ platform was prioritised and
mandated by UNESCO, UNICEF and the World Bank, declaring that flexible,
tailor-made programming and pedagogy would allow all students to
successfully access education, regardless of ethnicity, religion, gender,
socio-economic standing or ability (UNESCO, 1994). This essay aims to
address the knowledge of legislation in relation to students with additional
needs in Australian educational settings, bring light to changing views
about inclusion and identify the adjustments and accommodations
required for a positive inclusive classroom habitus.

Legislations and Views associated with Inclusive Education in

Australia

The Australian Government supports the rights of children with disability

to gain access to educational opportunities as other school students
(Education, 2018). Legislations on inclusive education in Australia have
been predisposed by both international and domestic initiatives. One
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international event that provoked inclusive education, was the signing of

the Salamanca Statement in 1994, Spain (UNESCO, 1994). The conference
encompassed 92 governments and 25 international organisations forming
the World Conference on Special Needs Education (UNESCO, 1994). The
framework outlined priorities to students with disabilities being able to
attend local schools, endorsing a commitment to ‘Education for all’. These
priorities were sanctioned by UNESCO, UNICEF and the World Bank and
endorsed by the United Nations’ Convention on the Rights of People with
Disabilities in 2008, stating that, “ persons with disability should be
guaranteed the right to inclusive education at all levels, regardless of age,
without discrimination and on the basis of equal opportunity” (ARACY,
2013, pp.4).

Australian education systems, since the signing of the Salamanca

Statement, have been incorporating a more inclusive approach to
schooling, where mainstream primary and secondary schools offer a range
of programmes supporting children with disabilities.In depth, the
Australian Government works with states and territories to support
students with disability and learning difficulties in several ways; The
Disability Standards for Education 2005, developed under the Disability
Discrimination Act 1992, clarifies the obligations of education and training
providers, and ensures that students with disability can access and
participate in education on the same basis as other students (Education,
2018). Furthermore, to assist students, parents, and schools to understand
the standards, five fact sheets are provided on the Education website
(Education, 2018):

Fact sheet 1: Disability Discrimination Act 1992, summarises the Disability

Discrimination Act 1992 and how it applies in schools.
Fact sheet 2: Disability Standards for Education 2005,
includes the rights and requirements under the Disability Standards for
Education. Fact sheet 3: Parental engagement,
provides information on key elements of effective partnerships to support
engagement between schools and parents. Fact sheet 4: Effective
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consultation, provides information on how parents can better prepare

themselves for consulting with schools.

Fact sheet 5: Complaints processes, provides information and contacts for

people who wish to make a complaint due to disability discrimination in
Australian schools.

Further, the Melbourne Declaration on Educational Goals for Young

Australians (MCEETYA, 2008) evidently illustrates the beliefs and values
on inclusive education. It repeatedly states that “educational goals are for
all young Australians” (MCEETYA, 2008). In addition to that, inclusion is
also evident in the Australian Professional Standards for Principals and
Teachers (AITSL, 2014) referring to an “Inclusive Australia” and makes
mention that “All students…have the right to education” via implementing
“strategies in order that all students can achieve to the best of their
ability” (AITSL, 2014). The declaration illuminates on the needs of various
strategies in making adjustments and modifications suitable for all
children of all abilities, improving on the opportunities of learning while
creating inclusive environments. As Skidmore (2002) suggests, inclusive
education demands that curriculum should accommodate for the diversity
of learners in classrooms without having to discriminate.

Role of the Education Providers

Education Providers are mandated to comply with the Disability Standards

for Education, Section 32 of the Disability Discrimination Act 1992. They
are required to make the necessary adjustments to accommodate for a
student with a disability, taking into consideration the learning needs of
that student, while juggling through the needs of other students in the
classroom, applying curricula, attending to staff and school as an entity.
Each child regardless to their ability or disability is significantly different in
their strengths and limitations. Nonetheless, an adjustment made for
engaging a student with communication difficulties via a visual timetable,
could indirectly assist the other students in the classroom in
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understanding the class content. Thus, making adjustment for one student
could also indirectly benefit another student.

Teaching a student with disability calls on many strategies and

implementations to ensure adequate learning outcomes, which means
allocating more time to process information, collaborate and learn new
skills, also patience and perseverance while teaching. Practicality of what
can be done for inclusion will depend on the needs of the student with a
disability within the classroom. Therefore, depending on that student’s
need it may include: re-orientating the classroom layout, collaborating
with other professionals and staff at school, working closely with parents,
explaining in vivid detail how to use a communication device or system
and modifying activities to best suit the student. While the adjustments
mentioned may seem somewhat challenging, many teachers reflect on
teaching a student with a disability as rewarding experience. Boyle et al.
(2011) supports this by suggesting that Inclusive Education assists both
students and teachers, in increasing their tolerance, understanding and
value of difference. Teachers feel challenged to implement different
pedagogies and strategies to complement different learning needs, while
students gain positive learning outcomes (Boyle et al., 2011). Wilkinson
and Pickett (2010) add to this by stating that “reducing (educational)
inequality leads to a very much better society”. Therefore, teachers and
pre-service teachers need to be equipped with the knowledge and skills
necessary to become inclusive and all stakeholders receive the training
required for an inclusive education system. To achieve best practise, it is
important that the teacher is informed of any student disabilities within
her classroom, and how the disability effects that student’s learning, to
make necessary adjustments.

Students with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)

An estimated one in 100 people have autism; that’s almost 230,000

Australians (Autismspectrum, 2018). Such high numbers imply that
mainstream schools within Australia have students enrolled with ASD. Fact
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sheet 2 on ASD in the reading resources folder (Vuws, 2018) defines ASD
as follows:

“People with ASD tend to have communication deficits, such as

responding inappropriately in conversations, misreading nonverbal
interactions, or having difficulty building friendships appropriate to
their age. In addition, people with ASD may be overly dependent on
routines, highly sensitive to changes in their environment, or
intensely focused on inappropriate items. Again, the symptoms of
people with ASD will fall on a continuum, with some individuals
showing mild symptoms and others having much more severe
symptoms. This spectrum will allow clinicians to account for the
variations in symptoms and behaviors from person to person”.

How can Education providers better support the needs of

students with ASD?

As mentioned in my essay, it is necessary for teachers to know their

students and adjust their pedagogy accordingly with their needs. Students
with ASD experience many educational struggles, it is therefore required
that all teachers be skilled and educated on how and what adjustments
and accommodations to make. Implying, changes made to the learning
environment to give all children access to the curriculum (Foreman, 2014).
Adjustments can include incorporating additional support material,
modifications to lesson plan, classroom layout, reinforcement and reward
systems to praise student achievements. With this in practise, it is
possible to overcome barriers to learning and help children with autism
tackle schoolwork with confidence.

For Example, students with ASD are commonly known to resist change in
their environment, therefore teachers could take that into consideration
while planning a lesson, making notes to remind the student when a
change is coming up in an activity. Some ASD students, have motor skill
difficulties and find handwriting to be a difficult task, providing tablets or
laptops to assist with school work instead of having to write things down
could minimise their disability in that area. The teacher could also assign
a student to take notes through the lesson and have the notes
photocopied and given to the student in need. Providing a quiet space
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within the classroom could also assist in task completion and assessment
work. Providing simplified versions of a lesson plan, using large fonts and
colourful objects to consolidates their learning. For example, during a
Math lesson, the teacher could use large numbers to present an equation,
and colour coordinate different parts of the equation for a simplified
visual. This not only assists the student in need but the rest of the
students also.

Teachers also need on-going support from the school, parent or carer of
the individual in need and the community to provide an inclusive
education fitting for the student and all students in general. Funding is
also crucial, “it directly impacts on the amount of resourcing, support and
specialist staff available to teachers to help individualise their approach...
the use of flexible and individually tailored educational approaches is
crucial” (Saggers, 2018). Professional development on autism is not
enough to suppose teachers are fully equipped to teach students with
autism, additional help is needed from specialist staff to put adjustments
in place that fit within the context of their classroom and school (Saggers,
2018). Relationships should also be made between teachers and parents
or carers of the student in need, to gain further information on the needs
of the student and provide the most beneficial pedagogy relevant to that
students needs.

Having stated the importance of inclusion in the education system,

unfortunately students with special needs are still filtered out. A national
testing regime, also known as the National Assessment Program for
Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN), which provides information into student
achievement in literacy and numeracy in Australia (Cumming and
Dickson, 2013), inappropriately, discourages students with educational
needs to participate. It is estimated that more than a third of students
identified as having additional educational needs do not participate in
NAPLAN (Farmer et al., 2013) and “students with an intellectual disability
can be automatically excluded from sitting the test”, (Cumming and
Dickson, 2013). It is fair to state that current testing practices in Australia
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are not inclusive and require further adjustments to give all students a
“fair go”. The national curriculum and testing regimes need to be
modified to incorporate all learners irrespective of their disabilities. But, in
saying that inclusive education, through the implementation of legislation
in Australia, has seen an incline in the number of students with disability
attending mainstream education. Whereby, teachers and schools make
the necessary adjustments to accommodate these students in ways best
fitting to their needs.
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