Learning Diversity in the Chinese Classroom: Contexts and Practice for Students with Special Needs

5 - Including Children with Motor Disabilities and Health Impairments

5 Including Children with Motor Disabilities and Health Impairments Shihui CHEN Children with motor disabilities and health impairments have unique needs. Meeting these needs in the Chinese classroom requires: • A re-visioning of diversity and adopting a new perspective of cohesion; • Understanding the nature of physical disabilities and health impairments; • Describing the unique needs of these children in the Chinese classroom; • Investigating the challenges both teachers and children face in the Chinese classroom; and • Identifying the strategies, modification techniques, and assistive technologies used for accommodating the needs of these children in the classroom. Introduction Children with physical disabilities or health impairments are part of the broad group of children with special educational needs. Various physical disabilities and health conditions present challenges to children and their teachers in the classroom, and to the children’s parents. Some of these children may also have cognitive disabilities, constituting a small but nevertheless important group with multiple disabilities; but in this chapter the primary focus is on the child with either a physical (or motor disability) or health impairment, rather than the associated cognitive disabilities discussed in other chapters. As it is possible that in any one class there will be children with different types of physical disability or health impairment, many school teachers have to recognize 128 Shihui CHEN and meet the needs of such children. Children’s interactions with their social and physical environments are known to be important universally for the development of social, language and cognitive competencies in students from both the West (McInerney & Swisher, 1995) and Confucian-heritage cultures (CHC) (S. N. Phillipson, this volume; Watkins & Biggs, 1996). When such interactions are inhibited because of difficulties in mobility or health problems, the development of these competencies is at risk. This chapter focuses on CHC definitions and societal attitudes toward the education of these children, together with some of the classroom strategies, modifications and assistive technologies that can be used to support them in the inclusive classroom. The chapter also describes the contribution of cohesion theory toward understanding the role of student diversity in learning, and how motor disabilities can cause emotional, behavioral, and academic challenges to children in a diverse environment. Re-envisioning Diversity and Cohesion Theory The acceptance of students with disabilities into regular settings by peers and parents of students without disabilities is very important, and re-envisioning diversity and individual differences may help people without disability view inclusion from a positive angle. A population can be diverse in a wide range of aspects: cultural, ethnic, religious, and/or racial background (Billingsley, 2003; Macebo, 2000). Traditionally, diversity within a group has often been viewed as a negative trait, something to be undermined and rejected. However, the prevailing viewpoint has now shifted considerably (Chen, Jin, & Lau, 2006; Crawford & Bray, 1994), with cultural prejudices being replaced by greater acceptance of diversity, thus turning these differences into potentially positive learning sources and environments. Used in a constructive way, individual differences among students can increase variety in their knowledge base — though variations in knowledge of subject matter, learning style, maturity, experience, time management, motivation, attitudes, and cultural background can create new demands in fulfilling educational expectations effectively. Diaz, Moll and Mehan (1986) argued that students’ diverse social, linguistic, and academic backgrounds can be viewed as powerful resources for improving both their school performance and the process of schooling. Furthermore, when the movement for inclusion has finally been accepted in Asian societies, the concept of “diversity” will be far broader than the differences caused by culture, race, religion, language, and knowledge (Yoshinaga-itano, 2003). Therefore, practicing the pedagogy of inclusion to meet student diversity becomes an ethical responsibility for teachers. Including Children with Motor Disabilities and Health Impairments 129 As Goodlad (1990) pointed out, although greater diversity in the student body can produce conflicts in communication between students and teachers, it can also be an opportunity to appreciate the possibilities for learning from each other. Therefore, diversity in student populations (traditionally not found in schools in Hong Kong, China and other Asian countries) has led to the exploration of new classroom teaching and learning strategies. Teacher education programs have the responsibility and mandate to help future teachers break the bonds of their backgrounds and encourage them to view diversity as a positive feature that can contribute to the development of new knowledge, skills, and attitudes. Seen in this light, diversity becomes an agent of innovation for classroom teaching and learning. Traditional cohesion theory...