What is inclusive education? How does this apply to your personal approach to classroom design and facilitation?
Inclusive education is a situation where all students can attend age-appropriate classes in schools near them and be assured of receiving quality educational instructions and support, despite any challenges/ disabilities that they may have individually (Ford, 2013). Schools that embrace inclusive education work to ensure that students with special needs find themselves in classrooms with the least restrictive environments thus enhancing their chances of studying with their peers without disabilities for as long as possible before they have to move to schools for special needs students. All students, regardless of their disability status, are assumed to be equally competent and able to receive education at the same level as their peers given the right environment. This is the principle that I employ in my classroom and I try to ensure that students with special needs in my class have the best environment to equally engage with their peers. Focus is usually put in creating a sense of belonging in all the students where they feel the classroom community is a safe place for them to interact with their peers, explore their talents and abilities and become the best versions of themselves.
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What key concept from this module do you feel best supports your personal approach towards inclusive education?
The sense of community and belonging stands out as the inclusive concept that best aligns with my approach to inclusive education. The concept is non-instructional and greatly involves cultivating a culture where the students establish a sense of trust and respect between themselves and others and go a long way in helping create lasting relationships between the students. Positive relationships create a sense of identity and belonging in the students and this is especially good for special needs students who often feel left out in normal environments of their peers (Ford, 2013). My current approach towards inclusive education involves encouraging more collaboration between regular and special needs students through the participation in out-of-classroom activities where both sides can appreciate and know how to leverage the strengths and weaknesses of all students.
How do you currently support inclusive education in your own practice? Provide specific examples.
I engage in a lot of out-of-classroom activities aimed at promoting acceptance and understanding of inclusive education and collaboration between regular students and those with disabilities. Before the school term begins, I usually organize a two-day induction program for students with disabilities and their parents using it as a chance to familiarize themselves with each other. The expectations for the term are laid out and any queries addressed. During the official opening of the school year, back-to-school night is organized where the SWDs and their parents are also encouraged to attend and mingle with other students and their parents enabling them to initiate the bonding process. During the school year, I also encourage all the students to actively take part in other extra-curricular activities such as sports, music, art, acting and many more depending on their interests. Action is taken to include special needs students in the activities as much as possible to enable the students in the school to learn how to actively accommodate students with disabilities both in and outside the classroom.
How does your current approach align with the key concept you identified as important to inclusive environments?
The constant participation in extracurricular activities by all students encourages teamwork and goes a long way in cultivating positive relationships between the students. This ultimately creates a culture where every student regardless of their disability status feels wanted and useful in the school community, with various roles to play both in and out of the classroom. The regular students also have a chance to understand their peers with special needs much better during these activities contributing to a more inclusive learning environment.
How can you enhance your own inclusive practices to better align with your selected key concept?
Several things can be done to better align the current inclusive practices with the concept of community and belonging. One of them is making the induction process for new students more thorough with the induction program for special-needs students being lengthened to one week to enable more time for the students to better familiarize themselves with what the school has to offer. This is also the time for teachers to interact with the students and come up with an instructional plan that caters to the individual needs of the students with disabilities. Also, one can come up with a questionnaire that is issued to parents to get their feedback on the effect that the inclusive practices are having on their children and how they can be made better. What are the predicted benefits of enhancing inclusive education for your own classroom practices? The main benefit expected from inclusive education in the classroom will be having increased numbers of special-needs students attending regular classes just like their peers instead of them appearing for only specific classes such as art and music among others. Nationally, schools practicing inclusive education have recorded an increase in the numbers of students with learning disabilities who attend regular classes for at least 80% of their school day, showing how beneficial inclusive education can be to students with disabilities (Ford, 2013). The atmosphere in the classroom will be more positive with the students having cultivated good relationships outside the classroom and these relationships will be carried into the classroom where students will be more tolerant of each other, respectful and free to express themselves.
References
Ford, J. (2013). Educating Students with Learning Disabilities in Inclusive Classrooms, Electronic Journal for Inclusive Education, 3 (1). Retrieved from https://corescholar.libraries.wright.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1154&context=ejie
