An Interpretation of Full Inclusion

Topic of Interest Full Inclusion An Interpretation of Full Inclusion Gary Bunch Faculty of Education York University Toronto, Canada Full inclusion is a recent player on the educational field. Due in part to its recency, the meaning of full inclusion, the roots from which it has sprung, and its potential contribution to children , parents, and teachers are misunderstood by many. A Generic View Full inclusion, in the educational sense, argues that all students must have the opportunity to be enrolled in the regular classroom of the neighbourhood school with age-appropriate peers, or to attend the same school as their brothers or sisters. Inclusion in the regular classroom requires that both regular students and those with some type of challenge to their learning receive "appropriate educational programs that are challenging yet geared to their capabilities and needs as well as any support and assistance they and/or their teachers may need to be successful in the mainstream " (Stainback and Stainback, 1988). Conversely, full inclusion does not suggest that any student with special needs should be enrolled in a regular classroom unless that classroom is welcoming, unless an individualized program designed to address the learning needs and styles of the child is put in place, and unless the specialist support personnel, services, and materials necessary to support inclusion are available as and when needed. If attempts were made to place children in classrooms where these requirements were not met, those who advocate inclusion would consider that both the theory and practice of the concept were being abused. Inclusion of all children in the regular classrooms of local schools does not spring from a desire on the part of a school system or political body to save money or to discontinue the preparation of teachers with specialized knowledge of challenging conditions. All the supports available within the separate special education service delivery model are recognized as valuable and needed. The question is "Where should these supports be available to the individual student for maximum benefit?". Those who advocate full inclusion believe the answer to be in the regular classroom of the neighbourhood school, alongside ageappropriate peers and within the normal diversity of the community. The fundamental characteristics of full inclusion may be summarized as: • Education in the regular classroom of the immediate community for all children in the community. • Valuing of individual differences whatever their extent. • Recognition of the appropriateness of a diverse community within the school system. • Seeing all children as children and not as labels. • Recognition of the capacity of regular teachers to be responsible for the education of all children. • Recognition of need for appropriate support systems to facilitate the learning of all children in a classroom . • Equal partnership of parents, and of children when possible, with educators in the educational decision -making process. Diversity Within the Mainstream The concept and the practice of full inclusion rise from the philosophy that "all children belong and can learn in the mainstream of school and community life. Diversity is valued;it is believed that diversity strengthens the class and offers all its members greater opportunities for learning" (Stainback, Stainback, and Jackson, 1992). This is a philosophy that, in its purest and simplest sense, encompasses all children . All children learning in a shared educational environment with other children according to individual need is considered a worthwhile goal. Basic to the advocacy of full inclusion is the belief that there are not two separate groups of learners, divided by one group being "regular" and the other group being "disabled". All students are seen to be part of the normal , daily, diverse citizenship of our cities, towns, and villages. There is only one set of effective teaching practices , not one set for regular learners and another for special learners. Disability as a Social Construct There are many more similarities among children than there are differences . What differences exist, be they of a physical, social,intellectual, or psychological nature, are to be expected , accepted, and valued as contributing to the stimulating texture of the fabric of life for the entire community (Lipsky and Gardner, 1989). Inherent in the theory is that disability is a social construct. It is a creation of those who have regarded...