Understanding the concept of inclusive education

What do you think inclusion and inclusive practice are and how do they differ from integration? When asking the PGCE students what they thought inclusive practice and inclusion were, they immediately commented that this term is freely used in schools. For many of them, following practical experience in classrooms, inclusion meant trying to enable all children to be included within a mainstream classroom. Many difficulties and problems were identified that they had tried to deal with, and this initiated a debate about whether the schools were really including the pupils or integrating them and whether ‘inclusion’ was seen as being effective for all learners.

Discussion

Talk with colleagues about their views of what educational inclusion is. Identify their main positive comments and their concerns. Look at those learners for whom the positive comments are mainly applicable and those for whom the concerns are raised. Why do you think this is? Can you think of anything that could overcome some of the concerns?

I expect you have found that colleagues have very different ideas of what educational inclusion is and that you have recognized it is a very complex subject with the term being open to much confusion. Do you think, for example, that a child with a learning difficulty or with a sensory difficulty is included if he/she is attending a school full-time and is able to work with the whole class, but fails to make friends or learn to his/her potential? This type of question indeed starts discussions about what needs to be considered to enable a school community to become inclusive in its practice. I personally, for example, do not think a school can state they are an inclusive school, because to be able to say this they would have to be able to adapt, probably on a nearly daily basis, to the changing needs of all the children and adults within that community. This would be an immense task and so I believe it is far more realistic and proactive to say that a school is constantly developing inclusive practice through its school development planning, staff training and resources.

There are numerous definitions of inclusive education to be found in the documentation and literature, but the majority of those written within the last four years see ‘inclusion as an active, not a passive process’ (Corbett, 2001: 55). At a conceptual level, Corbett and Slee (2000: 134) write:

Inclusive education is an unabashed announcement, a public and political declaration and celebration of difference. It requires continual proactive responsiveness to foster an inclusive educational culture.

O’Brien (2000: 5) wrote: ‘Inclusive learning is grounded in who you are as a person, your sense of worth and the contribution that you can make to the community now and in the future.’

On a practical level what does this mean for schools, educators and pupils? Hanko (2003: 125) says:

The inclusion debate is no longer concerned merely with the extent to which mainstream schools are able to accommodate all children regardless of need, but increasingly focuses on institutional improvement in understanding the range of their needs.

Thus, inclusive education

signals a significant mind shift. Instead of expecting children to come up to standardor otherwise be segregated, the emphasis is on schools and settings to adapt and be flexible enough to accommodate each and every child. (Tassoni, 2003: 11)

Unlike integration, therefore, inclusion is not a fixed state, but a process. Inclusion means that ALL the children in a school, whatever their additional educational need, should be able to join in fully with their peers in the curriculum and life of the school.

Whatever an individual’s point of view, however, there are a number of definitions that educators need to know and understand, especially when an inspection is imminent. The Centre for Studies on Inclusive Education (CSIE) state that:

While integration may be construed as something done to disabled people by able bodied people according to their standards and conditions, inclusion better conveys a right to belong to the mainstream and a joint undertaking to end discrimination and work towards equal opportunities for all children. (CSIE, 1989)

Such statements certainly support the social model of thinking rather than the medical model. This model promotes valuing learners and identifying barriers to their learning and developing solutions, rather than focusing on their deficits and giving them labels. It values diversity, and encourages professionals, parents and learners to work together.

The Index for Inclusion (Booth et al., 2000) helps schools identify the barriers to learning and participation within their own establishments. It also offers three very clear and vital messages about inclusion:

■ Inclusion is NOT another word for integration.

■ Inclusion in education is just one aspect of inclusion in society.

■ Inclusion is the process of increasing the participation of pupils in, and reducing their exclusion from the cultures, curricula and communities of local schools.

As well as the National Curriculum Inclusion Statement (QCA/99/458) the statutory document Inclusive Schooling (DfES, 2001b: 3) emphasizes similar factors about inclusion and inclusive practice. It says:

Inclusion is about engendering a sense of community and belonging and encouraging mainstream and special schools and others to come together to support each other and pupils with special educational needs. Inclusive schools and local education authorities have:

a. an inclusive ethos;

b. a broad and balanced curriculum for all pupils;

c. systems for early identification of barriers to learning and participation; and

d. high expectations and suitable targets for all children.

Also, importantly, OFSTED’s definition of what an inclusive school is can be found in this document:

OFSTED defines an educationally inclusive school as one in which the teaching and learning, achievements, attitudes and wellbeing of every young person matter. (ibid.)

It continues: ‘In order for a school to be satisfactory or better it must be, “inclusive in its policies, outlook and practices”’ (ibid.).

Discussion

In the Inclusive Schooling (2001b: 3, 21, 22) guidance there are three case studies. Read these and take note of factors you identify as supporting inclusive education. Would any of these help develop further inclusive practice in your workplace setting?