Inclusive Education 1H, 2018

Jacqueline Bryson, 17883304

Tutorial: Wednesday 4:00pm

Assignment 1

The field of education is constantly adapting and evolving to cater to a globalised and fast

paced world, and to the specific needs of each student and how to enrich their learning and

capabilities. One of the ways that education in the twenty-first century is implementing

change effectively is through the notion of inclusive education and classrooms. Inclusive

education involves the complete inclusion of all students, with or without disability, being

fully engaged, valued and actively participating in the school and classroom environment

with their peers and the teacher (Loreman, 2011). However, inclusive education has not

always been defined in this way and has changed over time throughout the world with the

implementation of United Nations Convention on the Right of Persons with Disabilities in

2006, and in Australia with specific legislation such as the Disability Discrimination Act of

1992 and the Disability Standards for Education, 2005. These pieces of legislation have

influenced the way teaching policies and practices are put in place in Australian educational

settings and how teachers and the community assist students with disabilities to create

inclusive learning environments. Teachers can achieve inclusive classrooms for students with

disabilities, specifically students with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) through their

attitudes, adjustments, accommodations and differentiation, and collaboration with the

learning and support team, parents and caregivers.

Although this essay defines what inclusive education means in the introductory paragraph

above, this definition was not always the way educational settings viewed inclusive

education. During the twentieth century, students with disabilities were excluded from

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mainstream classrooms, schools and settings and there was an emphasis on what skills

students with disabilities were lacking, with a focus on labelling and “what was wrong”

rather than concentrating on the strengths of the student (Dunn, 1968., Hammond, 2010). Due

to the universal push by Australia and other nations to promote equality and inclusion for

people with disabilities, the United Nations Convention on the Right of Persons with

Disabilities was established in 2006 to ensure that people with disabilities are not excluded or

discriminated against based on their disability and that they are entitled to equal rights,

dignity and freedom (United Nations, 2006). Article 24 of the Convention also states that

countries must ensure that people with disabilities are included in all levels of the education

system; “persons with disabilities can access an inclusive, quality and free primary and

secondary education on an equal basis with others in the communities in which they live,”

“persons with disabilities receive the support required, within the general education system,

to facilitate their effective education,” and “effective individualised support measures are

provided in environments that maximise academic and social development, consistent with

the goal of full inclusion” (United Nations, 2006, p. 14-15). These statements from the

convention make it paramount for education around the world to be inclusive and it is a right

for learners with disabilities to be provided with support, learning catered to their needs to

enhance their skills and talents and that they have the right to an inclusive education (United

Nations, 2006).

The United Nations Convention on the Right of Persons with Disabilities is an example of a

universal change in the way that nations viewed the importance of inclusive education and

this is also evident in how Australia was influenced by this Convention to implement certain

legislation with the intention to rid disability discrimination such as the Commonwealth

Disability Discrimination Act of 1992 and the Disability Standards for Education, 2005. The

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Disability Discrimination Act, 1992 defined disability discrimination as “when a person with

a disability is treated less favourably than a person without the disability in the same or

similar circumstances” (Australian Government Department of Education and Training,

1992, p. 1). The Act defines disability as being physical, intellectual, psychiatric, sensory,

neurological, as well as learning disabilities, and provides cover and protection for people

with disabilities that they currently have, have had in the past and may have in the future

(Australian Government Department of Education and Training, 1992). Section 7 in the Act

also states that it is against the law to discriminate against a person because of a disability or

the disability of a work colleague, friend, partner, carer or family member of a person with

disability (Australian Government Department of Education and Training, 1992). The

Disability Discrimination Act, 1992 also verifies specifics about education and schools. The

Act states that the Australian Government endorses the right of children with disabilities to

receive the same education and opportunities as all students and all state and territory

education providers including government and non-government schools must abide by the

Act as well as the Disability Standards for Education 2005 (Australian Government

Department of Education and Training, 1992).

The Disability Standards for Education 2005 is formulated from the Disability

Discrimination Act, 1992 and is also in line with the principles and aims of The United

Nations Convention on the Right of Persons with Disabilities (Australian Government

Department of Education and Training, 2005). Under the standards, it is required that all

education providers adhere to ensuring that all students with or without disability, are able to

have access to opportunities, admission, services, courses and programs in any and all

educational settings on the “same basis” (Australian Government Department of Education

and Training, 2005, p. 9). The standards refer to “same basis” as ensuring that students with

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disabilities can access and participate in education on the same basis as students without

disability with the inclusion of necessary adjustments (Australian Government Department of

Education and Training, 2005). The standards also stipulate that schools need to make sure

that they are collaborating and communicating with parents/caregivers of the student with a

disability before they can make an adjustment and the student must be aware of the

adjustment being made for them (Australian Government Department of Education and

Training, 2005). The adjustment must also be in consideration of the students’ learning

needs, strengths, goals and cultural and social and religious diversity (Australian Government

Department of Education and Training, 2005).

According to the Every Student Every School document, out of the 740,000 students enrolled

in the New South Wales public school system, 90,000 or 12% of total students, have a

disability and/or additional needs relating to their learning or behaviour (New South Wales

Government, Education and Communities, 2012). Of those 90,000 students, over 8,000

students in 2011 were confirmed to have a disability using the Department’s criteria, with

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and the numbers of students not just with ASD, have been

predicted to considerably rise each year (New South Wales Government, Education and

Communities, 2012). With these statistics in mind, it is essential that teachers and schools

have the professional skills and strategies equipped with them to create inclusive

environments for all their students so that they can connect, succeed and thrive with their

learning and future outside school (New South Wales Government Education and

Communities, 2015). There is no “one size fits all” approach to creating an inclusive

environment for students with disabilities, so it is important that teachers first know their

students and how they learn, so that they can differentiate their teaching to meet the specific

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learning needs of their students (Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership,

2011).

As mentioned above, it is vital that teachers know their students and the most effective ways

in how they learn. This is important when teaching any students with or without a disability

and specifically learners with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Autism Spectrum Disorder

is defined into two domains. The first is social communication which can be a person’s

difficulty with social interactions and inferential communication, and the second being

restricted and repetitive patterns of behaviour interests and activities, which can include

special interests that a person may have that becomes obsessive or compulsive (Autism

Spectrum Australia, 2013). Some characteristics of ASD can include lack of eye contact, lack

of recognition of other’s emotions, difficulty reading social situations, immature or

inappropriate social skills, difficulty with abstract concepts, metaphors and sarcasm,

difficulty controlling one’s own emotions, preference to routine and rules, attention to detail,

difficulty shutting out noises and perseverance to certain topics or objects of interest (Autism

Spectrum Australia, 2013). By reading these characteristics, it can be difficult for students

with ASD to feel like they belong and are included in the school and classroom setting

(Boutot, 2007).

One of the ways that a teacher can create an inclusive environment for students with

disabilities and ASD, is to model positive attitudes, high expectations and respectful

behaviours to their students (Loreman, 2007). Research from current literature on the issue of

student misbehaviour shows that poor student-teacher relationships and negative teacher

attitudes contribute significantly to the outcome of students’ academic success, attendance,

belonging and engagement (Sullivan, Johnson, Conway, Owens, & Taddeo, 2012). It can be

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argued that this applies to students with disability and ASD, and their feelings of inclusion in

the classroom. If the learning of a student with ASD is not being catered to, and included by a

teacher due to low expectations and negative attitudes; they are more likely to feel isolated,

frustrated and anxious, correlating to misbehaviour and behavioural problems (Richmond,

2006). One of the ways a teacher can model positive attitudes and high expectations of their

students with disabilities and ASD is by greeting each student by name, checking their mood,

seating them with positive peer models, including them in class discussion, creating

collaborative learning and group work, arrange a “time out” area if the student is not feeling

well, and provide constant encouragement and praise to the students (Loreman, 2007., New

South Wales Government Education and Communities, 2014). These strategies and positive

attitudes conveyed by the teacher will be an effective tool in creative an inclusive

environment where students with disabilities and ASD can feel safe, included and thrive in

their learning where their strengths and skills are celebrated.

It is also essential for teachers to provide differentiation, accommodations and adjustments

for their students with disabilities, ASD and students who are gifted and talented to create an

inclusive classroom and education. For example, the types of adjustments a teacher can make

in the classroom for students with ASD is to use visuals, clear language, timers, motivators,

scaffolds for planning and writing, PowerPoint presentations, films, enlarged print and

division of activities into smaller steps and instructions (Loreman, 2011). These adjustments

benefit the learning of students with ASD but can also accommodate all students in the

classroom, whether they learn through visual-spatial means, students with poorer eye sight,

lower literacy ability, methodical-logical intelligences, students with hearing impairments,

and students with ADHD (Loreman, 2011). This idea relates to the concept of Universal

Design for Learning where teachers make adjustments and accommodations for students with

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disabilities but it also benefits all students in the class (McGuire, Scott, & Shaw, 2006). The

reason why it is beneficial for teachers to make universal adjustments and accommodations

that can benefit all the students in the class, is so that students with ASD and disabilities do

not feel targeted or segregated from other students, their learning is prioritised and their

strengths and skills are focused on (Hammond, 2010). It is important to note however, that

teachers and the school must always communicate and collaborate with students’

parents/caregivers and the learning and support team when making any adjustments for

students with disabilities to ensure that the adjustments and modifications are reasonable and

equitable, as well as the student having a voice and contribution to his/her own learning,

skills and strengths (Australian Government Department of Education and Training, 2005).

Students who are gifted and talented also need to be accommodated for in the classroom with

differentiated teaching methods and instruction so that they also receive an inclusive

education. Inclusive education for gifted and talented students involves the teacher

recognising students who require more challenging curriculum and developing differentiated

programs for their individual talents which could include cognitive, social and aesthetic skills

and learning (New South Wales Department of Education and Training, 2004). Students who

are gifted and talented may require extension activities and acceleration through curriculum

content as well as enrichment programs to develop knowledge and thinking skills (New

South Wales Department of Education and Training, 2004). A way of creating inclusive

differentiated learning in the classroom is by providing all students with choices and multiple

options in how they demonstrate or process their learning so that all students feel included in

activities and assessments.

Education is constantly changing with evolving legislation and strategies for teachers and

schools to provide inclusive education and classrooms for all students to connect, succeed

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and thrive in their learning and everyday lives. There are multiple strategies, activities, skills

and devices that schools and teachers can use to include students with disabilities, ASD and

students without disabilities. This shows the need for teachers to constantly reflect on their

practice, know their students well and provide learning that is going to strengthen the skills

and creativity of their students, whilst also maintaining an equitable, holistic and inclusive

environment.

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