creating inclusive classrooms the ability/disability continuum and the health dimension chapter...

Creating InclusiveClassrooms

The Ability/Disability Continuum and the Health Dimension

Chapter Twelve

(c) 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Cushner/McClelland/Safford, Human Diversity in Education, 5/e

Rationale for Inclusive Classrooms

Over the past 175 years, public education in the United States has continually broadened the definition of who shall be educated

Today, that definition includes students with a variety of disabilities and those with chronic health problems

There is both a philosophical and a legal basis for inclusion in public schools


The Philosophical Basis for Inclusion

The belief that communities of learners are, by definition, inclusive

The belief that each member of a learning community is a unique individual, different from every other member

The belief that heterogeneity is both unavoidable and desirable

con’t.


A belief in the concept of normalization, or the idea that the lives of exceptional individuals should be characterized, as much as possible, by the same kinds of experiences as those without disabilities

A belief that normalization can occur when adaptations and supportive services are available and offered as unobtrusively as possible


The Philosophical Basis for Inclusion

The Legal Basis for Inclusion

Elements of Civil Rights Legislation Section 504 of the Vocational Rehabilitation Act (1973)

prohibits discrimination based on disability in agencies and settings receiving federal funds

P.L. 92-194 (1975), amended in 1990 as the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), mandates education in the least restrictive environment

ADA—Americans with Disabilities Act (1990)—extends these prohibitions to the private sector

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Public Law 94-142—reauthorized as the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (1990)

Recognizes a continuum of potential placements for individuals with disabilities

Mandates that to the maximum extent possible, placement be in the least restrictive environment

con’t.(c) 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Cushner/McClelland/Safford, Human Diversity in Education, 5/e

Like societal inclusion, inclusive education implies fully shared participation of diverse individuals in common experiences

The concept is interpreted differently by different people

Full inclusion = a student will attend the same schools he/she would if he/she had no disability

participate with all of the same groups of learners as he/she would if he/she had no disability

he/she will, however, have supportive services as needed(c) 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Cushner/McClelland/Safford, Human Diversity in Education, 5/e

Definitions of Exceptionality

Ability/disability and health are distinct dimensions of human exceptionality

Some individuals may have a physical or developmental disability (e.g., hearing loss or intellectual giftedness or impairment) and have no health problems

Other individuals may have health difficulties (e.g., asthma) but no particular physical or developmental disability


The Ability/Disability Continuum

Federal guidelines under IDEA define 13 disability categories in the following dimensions: Sensory differences (vision and hearing) Other physical differences (motor, vitality) Communication differences (speech) Cognitive, intellectual, and information processing

differences Emotional and behavioral differences

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Explicit definitions of each category are important because the allocation of financial resources is involved

Schools must ensure that eligible students receive the services to which they are entitled

Differentiating exceptionality from normality in the course of a child’s development may be somewhat arbitrary

Nevertheless, most exceptional children have the same needs, interests, and concerns as their more “typical” peers


The Ability/Disability Continuum

Historical Perspectives on Special Education

Special education emerged in the context of social reform

It was inspired by a belief in natural rights and individual worth, and the conviction that, through education, every person can contribute to society


Pioneers in Special Education

Horace Mann (1840s)—believed that the goal of education as preparation for citizenry applied to all children

Samuel Gridley Howe—founded the Perkins Institute for the deaf in the 19th century

Jean-Marc Gaspard Itard—French physician who taught Victor, the “wild boy of Aveyron”

Valentin Hauy—founded the world’s first school for the blind in Paris (1784)


Some Historical Highlights

In 1860, nearly two-thirds of those individuals in American almshouses were children with sensory or other physical impairments or mental retardation

By the 1870s, a major “child-saving effort” was undertaken by the National Conference of Charities and Corrections

con’t.


Major concerns of 19th-century reformersproper care

some form of instruction

maximum independence and integration into society

While 19th-century facilities were often called asylums, they were intended as training schools

using utilitarian pedagogy to enable students to support themselves



Specialized instruction began its gradual move into the common schools at the beginning of the 20th century

At the same time, schools were struggling to accommodate massive numbers of immigrant children, a fact that had important implications for special education:

“Steamer classes,” designed to expose immigrant children to English, led to programs for children with speech impairments



Classes for “unrulies” were the forerunners of classes for children with behavior disorders

“Fresh air” schools for children with tuberculosis or who were physically weak, led to classes for children with other health impairments

con’t.



“Ungraded classes” for those who just “didn’t fit,” led to classes for students with mild retardationSpecial pedagogy was secondary to the perceived need to separate students who were different as a way of making schooling more manageable

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Although many early special education classes sought to integrate their students into the “regular” school activities, over time, special education became a “system within a system”

In the 1920s, early efforts were directed toward children who were academically gifted

By the 1930s, schools were adopting IQ testing—a seemingly more “scientific” approach—that led to different, life skills curricula for students with disabilities



Special pedagogy, however, took a second place in the education of exceptional children

With the increasing implementation of exclusionary policies, children with special needs were more likely to find themselves somewhere other than the public school, primarily in residential facilities

Those who remained in public schools were not offered any particular adaptations or pedagogical supports



In 1975, however, P.L. 94-142, the Education of All Handicapped Children Act, required schools to identify all children with disabilities and to provide them with an appropriate public education, documented in an IEP (Individual Education Program)

con’t.



Interest in gifted education has waxed and waned over the years; two problems remain:– The inclusiveness of schools’ definition of

giftedness, and – The identification of gifted students who are

ethnic and linguistic minorities


Subsequent amendments to P.L. 94-142 (IDEA and ADA) have added requirements for schools:

Extended provisions to children as young as three

Added a family-focused early intervention component for infants and toddlers

Stipulated a required transition plan by age 16

Distinguished autism and traumatic brain injury from other forms of disability


The Health Dimension

While some forms of illness require major adaptations or medical intervention, that number is relatively small

It is the case, however, that all of us may experience a health problem at some time or other that interferes with our daily functioning, and that includes schoolchildren

The need and eligibility of children with chronic illness for special education services depends on whether their conditions adversely affects educational functioning

con’t.


The number of severe cases of chronic illness has risen in the past two decades, due, in part, to:

Life-saving interventions at birth for premature infants

Medical advances in bringing some childhood diseases into remission in the first year

Increases in drug-affected pregnancies

HIV transmission to newborns(c) 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Cushner/McClelland/Safford, Human Diversity in Education, 5/e

The Health Dimension

Implications of Health Needs for Inclusion

Three principles to remember: We can all expect to experience serious

health problems at some time in our lives Serious health impairment in children is not a

new phenomenon A health problem is not a person’s only

identifying characteristic or needcon’t.


Another implication is fear:

Of infection (all school personnel are advised to adopt universal health precautions)

Of harming children with special needs, or of neglecting so-called “typical” children

Of the unknown; in general, the more knowledge one has of a child’s condition, the more able a teacher feels to accommodate that child


Characteristics of an Inclusive Classroom

Two fundamental ideas underlie the relation of inclusion and human diversity: A major purpose of schooling is to prepare

the young for life in a heterogeneous democracy

Today, the young must also be prepared for life in a global economy

These ideas hold for all children, whether they have disabilities or not con’t.


Collaborationemerges from general education, and goes further than the legal requirements of special education

The law requires multidisciplinary participation in assessing, planning, and monitoring for students with special needs;

collaboration suggests continuing interdisciplinary teamwork on the part of regular and special educators in implementing the student’s program


The law requires parents’ informed consent prior to a multifactored evaluation, participation in developing an IEP, and the right to procedural due process in the event of disagreement;

collaboration suggests that all involved ensure that the IEP reflects a family’s concerns and priorities,

that the student’s home and school experiences are mutually supportive, and that professionals respect the primacy of families on children’s development


The law requires that students with disabilities be educated as much as possible with peers who do not have disabilities;

collaboration implies optimizing the potential benefits to both by fostering positive classroom interactions and creating opportunities for students to respect and learn from each other and develop feelings of group identification


Pedagogies: Old and New

Traditional pedagogies still have a place in an inclusive classroom

Constructivist approaches are fundamental to current conceptions of developmentally appropriate practices

Constructivist approaches are especially important in special education to provide a balance with traditional medical and behavioral models


Roles: Old and New

Because most children with disabilities now live at home with their families rather than in an institution, new roles are required for all the adults in a child’s life

New relationships and cooperative efforts are required of both regular and special educators

All need to participate in multifactored evaluations


Place of Content Knowledge: Old and New

Early ideas about curriculum for children with disabilities focused on employability

Contemporary ideas focus on a “criteria of ultimate functioning,” which means that what is taught is age appropriate, future-oriented, functional, and community-referenced


The advent of the concept of specific learning disabilities, which accounts for more than half the special education enrollment, brought a greater focus on differential instructional strategy than on curricular content

To a large extent, based on an educational profile of each student, remediation or compensatory instruction can be devised within the context of a standard curriculum


Assessment: Old and New

General meaning of assessment of special needs children is the same as for “typical” children

There are, however, two specific meanings of assessment for children with disabilities:


Specific Meanings of Assessment

The determination, as a result of assessment, of eligibility for special education

The determination of how accountability for these services is demonstrated; the IEP is also an accountability document


Making Inclusive Teaching Work

The importance of collaboration between regular and special education teachers

Mutual respect and understanding among all adults involved

Continued interaction and ongoing monitoring of a child’s progress by both regular and special educators

con’t.


The importance of flexibility

Critical to the success of the inclusion of students whose learning characteristics and needs may require adaptation

Adaptation may be required in four categories:

Curriculum materials

Instructional strategies

Classroom organization

Behavior management(c) 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Cushner/McClelland/Safford, Human Diversity in Education, 5/e

Ethical Issues in Inclusive Education

Because federal legislation does not mandate inclusion (although it does forbid exclusion) there are some reservations on the part of both parents and professionals regarding any concept that can be interpreted to mean “one size fits all”

con’t.


There are also concerns about the impact that inclusion has, or will have, on “typical” students

Modification or adaptation of curriculum, instructional strategies, classroom organization, and behavior management remains problematic as teachers and parents seek to learn what is the best “mix” for individual children

If inclusion is implemented, there is considerable concern about whether or not sufficient resources are, or will be, provided


Something to Think About

Many educators, parents, and persons with disabilities themselves maintain that if the society of the 21st century is to be an inclusive one

in which human differences are recognized and celebrated, it must begin with inclusive schools and inclusive classrooms.

They point out, correctly, that it is not inclusion that needs to be justified but rather separation, for even part of the school day.


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