Anthony Lucre

SID:17124573
Inclusive education principles and practice Assignment 1
Page 1

Under current legislation a student with an intellectual disability has the same right to education as a
person with no disability. This is spelled out in three key pieces of legislation. Under the New South
Wales anti-discrimination act of 1977 (current version February 2014) Part 4A, Division 3 section 49L
(New South Wales Government, 2014) and the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 section 22
(Australian Government, 2014) it is unlawful to discriminate against a person on the grounds of the
persons disability in regards to education. This is explained in two ways. Firstly it is unlawful for a
school to refuse enrolment to a student on the basis of a disability and secondly it is unlawful for a
school discriminate against the student by denying the student access or limiting access to any
benefit provided by the school. The Disability Standards for Education 2005 (Australian Government,
2005) expands on this by stating that a student with a disability must be treated on the same basis
as a student without a disability (Part 2.2). Further to this the act makes it clear that it is the
obligation of the education provider to make reasonable adjustments to ensure that the student
with a disability is not discriminated against. In this case the definition of reasonable adjustment is
not specifically provided. The determination that a particular adjustment is reasonable or not must
be made by weighing up the benefits to the student with a disability and their ability to participate
with the impact to others and must be made in consultation with the student and their associates.
Adjustments must be made within a reasonable timeframe. Where an adjustment will not be
provided the education provider has the obligation to provide reasons to the student within a
reasonable timeframe.

Under the above legalisation the obligation falls on the education provider (the school or the
department of education) to provide adjustments that will allow a student with a disability to
participate on the same basis as a student without a disability. In addition the education provider
has the responsibility to prevent harassment and victimisation toward the student with a disability.
This may include setting school rules and discipline procedures and making clear to staff and
students that discrimination in this way is not appropriate and is against the law (Australian
Government Department of Education, employment and workplace relations, 2008).

In the modern era it is likely that a student with a disability will be placed in a regular or mainstream
class. Since 1997 the number of students with a disability who are enrolled in a mainstream class has
increased approximately six fold from just over five thousand in 1997 to just under thirty thousand in
2007 (Linda J Grahama & Naomi Sweller, 2011). During the same period the numbers of students in
Schools for special purposes and support classes has remained roughly the same however the
population type within Schools for special purposes and support classes has changed. The trend in
recent times is for students with physical disabilities, sensory impairment and mild intellectual
disability to be educated inclusively within mainstream classrooms. During this period it is also
noteworthy that the proportion of students with moderate intellectual disability increased by thirty
four percent in Schools for special purposes and support classes. These figures point to an increasing
trend towards inclusion in mainstream classrooms and a movement away from segregation for those
students with physical, sensory or mild intellectual disability (Linda J Grahama & Naomi Sweller,
2011). In some ways it can be argued that in moving towards an inclusive model for education of
students with disabilities we are returning to the ideal of western education from the nineteenth
century in that schooling is universal, compulsory and free from financial cost. However this view
can be disputed when the type of schooling is examined. The school models from this era show that
 Anthony Lucre
SID:17124573
Inclusive education principles and practice Assignment 1
Page 2

education was teacher centric in that the teacher was the sole provider of information, the only
authority in the classroom and the focus in determining how knowledge is presented. Similarly
schooling was knowledge based in that the focus for students was memorising information provided
by the teacher in the form that the teacher understood it. In contrast to this the modern inclusive
education model is student centred and skills based. This means that the roll of the teacher is not to
be the focus of education but rather that the teacher is to facilitate the learning of all students by
providing the knowledge to students in multiple formats to suite a particular students learning style
and at a pace that the student can accept. This understanding is particularly important when
educating students with disabilities (Tim Loreman, 2011).

For this discussion I am considering the specific case of a student in a mainstream class with
intellectual disabilities. With this in mind the above understandings and attitude toward inclusive
education form the basis for the classroom management style and particularly the accommodations
and adjustments that will need to be put in place.

The specific accommodations and adjustments to assist a student with an intellectual disability will
depend on an ongoing assessment of the learning for the particular student and will be made in
collaboration with other stakeholders.

Assessment of a student with intellectual disability can be broken down into several categories. The
assessment can be formal in the form of tests carries out by the school councillor or a medical
practitioner or informal through sessions with said professional. In the classroom the expectation is
that the assessment of the students learning will be formative in that it takes place continuously
with the aim of improving student outcomes and summative in that it occurs after learning has taken
place in order to assess the success of failure of education strategy used (Tim Loreman,
Psychological and teacher based assessment, 2011).

In terms of formal assessment it is understood that this will generally be undertaken by a school
councillor or psychologist. The classic test in the past has been an IQ or SAS test such as the
Wechsler Adult intelligence scale-IV or the Stanford-Binet intelligence scale. Both of these tests
provide a generally indication of a student’s intelligence in comparison with that of other students
the same age and break down that score into general areas of verbal comprehension, perceptual
reasoning, working memory and processing speed. The result however is not particularly useful in
regards to planning a teaching program as it only provides a score valid for a particular time. It does
not provide information about a student’s strengths or weaknesses regarding particular areas of
their education or their understanding of particular learning areas. In this way a more useful set of
tests are the standard individually administered tests. These have the advantage that they take place
one on one with the student in question and the medical professional and are focused specifically on
the child. These tests can provide some key information to the classroom teacher such as the
particular areas that the student with intellectual disabilities will struggle with. It may also provide
information such as how easily the student is distracted, the social confidence of the student, the
student’s attitude to authority and how the student responds to encouragement.

In regards to assessment carried out by the teacher this is expected to be formative in that it is
integrated into the teaching program or summative in that it takes place at the end of a series of
 Anthony Lucre
SID:17124573
Inclusive education principles and practice Assignment 1
Page 3

teaching. The focus should be on improving the learning outcomes. This is true for both the student
with intellectual disability and all students who do not have an intellectual disability. Classroom
assessment is a continuous process in which a teacher assesses the learning outcomes and adjusts
the learning strategies appropriately. In this way inclusion shows that within the classroom the
process for assessments is the same for students with disability and those without.

The particular accommodations and adjustments made for a student with an intellectual disability
will take into account both the formal and classroom assessments as outlined above but must also
be made in collaboration with other stakeholders. At the minimum this must include the classroom
teacher, the school councillor (or psychologist) the student in question and their associates (parents
or guardians). It may also include others such as a learning support teacher where appropriate or a
deputy principle or principle of the school. When conducting meetings regarding a student with a
disability (in this case an intellectual disability) it is important the group is focused on the student
and their learning outcomes and that the student is an active party to decisions made. The student
must be at the centre of the group’s deliberations. In these cases an individual learning plan will be
created to support the education of the student in question.

So far we have looked at the general process of inclusion that can be applied to many students with
a disability or indeed to students with no disability. For the next section I will discuss some specific
accommodations and adjustments applicable to a student with an intellectual disability in the
context of a science classroom. These accommodations and adjustments will have been made in
collaboration and will be targeted at the needs of a specific student. Not all of the discussed
accommodations and adjustments will be needed for every student with an intellectual disability.

The use of specific accommodations and adjustments will depend on the severity of difficulty
experienced by the student. In the mildest cases a student with an intellectual disability will be
working toward the same stage and learning outcomes as the rest of the class. In this case
accommodations (that is adjustments to the learning environment) will be used to facilitate the
student’s learning. This may be as simple as providing extra time for the student to work through
instructions before beginning a practical activity or assigning another student to work in
collaboration with the student in question. Another approach which should be used in combination
with this is for the teacher to instruct the rest of the class and then to provide individual clarification
or instruction to the student with an intellectual disability. Where the student has difficulty reading
the teacher can provide materials in a larger font or using a simplified vocabulary to allow the
student to participate. If this also extends to writing or fine motor skills the teacher can provide
scaffolds such as already written result statements with missing words for the student to fill in as
they carry out the investigation. If the teacher is using multiple activities to teach the same concept
then the student with the intellectual disability may only be required to carry out a smaller number
of activities to allow for more time to complete the task

In terms of formal assessment the teacher may allow the student with an intellectual disability to
carry out an alternate task. This may include producing a powerpoint presentation rather than a
written essay. In the case of exams the student may be given extra time as determined by the
department of education and be provided with a reader/writer.
 Anthony Lucre
SID:17124573
Inclusive education principles and practice Assignment 1
Page 4

In the case where the student with an intellectual disability is experiencing greater difficulty the
teacher may utilise a learning support teacher to work individually with the student on a regular
basis. The learning support teacher may only be present at some lessons or in the case of a greater
need may be present all of the time. This will be decided based on the need of the student

In cases where a student with an intellectual disability is having greater difficulty completing the
regular syllabus outcomes the teacher may decide to utilise the life skills outcomes as an alternative.
These are syllabus outcomes designed to be taught in conjunction with the regular syllabus but
which have a lower requirement for assessment. In this case the student with an intellectual
disability will be present in the room and may carry out the same practical investigations but the
concepts and application of knowledge will be less demanding. Life skills generally should be used
only as a last resort where a student is unable to complete the regular syllabus. By using universal
design principles and allowing for multiple levels of difficulty within the same learning environment
it is possible to include both life skills and regular students (New South Wales Board of Studies,
2011).

From the above argument it is clear that the principles of inclusion can be applied to not only a
student with an intellectual disability but to students with or without a disability in general. It does
this by focusing on the needs of the individual student and not on the disability or condition. By
following this process students with disabilities can access education on the same basis as students
without a disability.
 Anthony Lucre
SID:17124573
Inclusive education principles and practice Assignment 1
Page 5

Bibliography
Australian Government. (2005, March). Disability Standards for Education 2005. Retrieved from
Australian Government ComLaw: http://www.comlaw.gov.au/Details/F2005L00767

Australian Government. (2014, January). Disability Discrimination Act 1992. Retrieved from
Australian Government ComLaw: http://www.comlaw.gov.au/Details/C2014C00013

Australian Government Department of Education, employment and workplace relations. (2008).

Discibility Discrimination Act Education Standards. Retrieved from
http://www.ddaedustandards.info/index.php

Linda J Grahama & Naomi Sweller. (2011). The Inclusion Lottery: who's in and who's out? Tracking
inclusion and exclusion in New South Wales government schools. International Journal of
Inclusive Education, 941-953.

New South Wales Board of Studies. (2011). Special Education Needs. Retrieved from Board of studies
NSW: http://www.boardofstudies.nsw.edu.au/special_ed/

New South Wales Government. (2014, febuary 24). Anti Discrimination Act 1977 no 48. Retrieved
from NSW Legislation:
http://www.legislation.nsw.gov.au/maintop/view/inforce/act+48+1977+cd+0+N

Tim Loreman, J. D. (2011). Attitudes and inclision. In J. D. Tim Loreman, Inclusive Education,
Supporting diversity in the classroom (pp. 37-41). Crows Nest: Allen& Unwin.

Tim Loreman, J. D. (2011). Psychological and teacher based assessment. In J. D. Tim Loreman,
Inclusive Education, Supporting diversity in the classroom (pp. 48-64). Crows Nest: Allen&
Unwin.