MODULE I

INTRODUCTION TO
SPECIAL AND INCLUSIVE
EDUCATION

Lesson 1 Basic Concepts on Special and

Inclusive Education

Lesson 2 Historical, Philosophical,

Theoretical and Legal
Foundations of Special and
Inclusive Education

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MODULE I

INTRODUCTION TO SPECIAL AND INCLUSIVE EDUCATION

 INTRODUCTION

This module is designed to equip future educators like you with basic
knowledge and skills required in order to implement inclusive education that
caters to learner diversity. To further support your understanding on inclusive
education and learner diversity, this provides various views and models of
disability so that you would get to learn more about giftedness and disability.
It also covers teaching and learning strategies that emphasize the use of
differentiation, as well as various accommodation and modification
strategies. The teacher education students are also guided on how to prepare
an Individualized Education Plan (IEP) that is based on case analysis presented
in each section that facilitates application of the topics discussed.

OBJECTIVES

After studying the module, you should be able to:

1. demonstrate understanding of basic concepts related to special and

inclusive education
2. analyze basic concepts related to special and inclusive education
3. draw the implications of the historical, philosophical, theoretical ad legal
foundations of special and inclusive education

 DIRECTIONS/ MODULE ORGANIZER

There are two (2) lessons in the module. Read each lesson carefully
then answer the  learning activities (LA) to find out how much you have
benefited from it. Work on these exercises carefully and submit your output
to your instructor.
In case you encounter difficulty, discuss this with your instructor during
your online meeting. Good luck and have fun learning!

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Lesson 1

BASIC CONCEPTS ON SPECIAL

 AND INCLUSIVE EDUCATION
With the existing reforms in the Philippine inclusive curriculum through
DepEd (DO No. 21, s. 2019) and in teacher quality through the national
adoption and implementation of the Philippine Professional Standards for
Teachers (PPST) of DO No. 42, s. 2017, teachers are now expected to act as
major implementers of inclusive education. As teachers, performance will
also be based in the ability to cater to the needs of diverse types of learners.
This lesson shall acquaint you of important terminologies for you to best
understand the very foundations of special and inclusive education.

Is inclusive education same as special education? In what ways are they

similar or different?

Inclusive Education
Here are definitions of the inclusive education:
Inclusion is about welcoming diversity by providing varied responses
to the diverse needs of learners in the formal and informal
educational settings. It provides opportunities for equal
participation of persons with disabilities (physical, social, and/or
emotional) whenever possible into general education, but leaves
open the possibility of personal choice and options for special
assistance and facilities to those who need it (UNESO, 2005)
Inclusive education is about putting the right to education into
action by including all learners, respecting their diverse needs,
abilities and characteristics and eliminating all forms of
discrimination in the learning environment. (UNESCO, 2009)
It is the process of strengthening the capacity of the education
system to reach out to all learners. (UNESCO, 2017)
Hence, inclusion is the process that helps overcome barriers
limiting the presence, participation, and achievement of learners.
(UNESCO, 2017, p. 13)
Further, inclusive education is the key standard and core principle
of the K to 12 curriculum. As an inclusive curriculum, it is learner-
centered, developmentally appropriate, culture sensitive,
relevant, gender-responsive, and contextualized. (DepEd Order 21,
s. 2019, also known as Policy Guidelines on the K to 12 Basic
Education Program)

With the above concepts, teachers shall be considered as the primary

implementers of inclusive education as they address the diverse needs of the
learners.

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Different interpretations of inclusive education exist in the Philippines,

where the term “inclusion” is used interchangeably with mainstreaming and
integration. Table 1 presents these three concepts.

Table 1.Inclusion, Mainstreaming and Integration

Basis A. Inclusion B. Mainstreaming C. Integration

Placement The placement of The placement of the The placement of
of Learner the learner in the learner in the regular the learner in the
regular class is based class is based on regular class is in
on age and admission one or more
regardless of their requirements subjects or
abilities or activities
disabilities.
Interaction Learner is not pulled Provision of interaction Provisions of
with regular out and absence of with regular children, interaction with
children shadow teaching. with the regular class regular children,
as the child’s station with the SPED class
as the child’s
station
Instruction Individualized May include shadow May include
instruction within teaching in the regular tutorial and other
the class but no class, provision of learning-assistance
pulling out pulling out and one-on- programs
one

**Shadow teacher is an
educational assistant
who works directly with a
single, special needs
child during his/her early
school years.

In 2014, a focus group discussion among educational leaders from different

regions in the country was conducted building a consensus on the Philippine
Inclusive Education. The Philippine Inclusive Education was then defined as:

Philippine Inclusive Education

A process where all types of learners with diverse needs ae given

equal opportunities for a meaningful life in non-discriminatory
environments. These environments foster belongingness through
culturally or spiritually sensitive, learner-centered curriculum,
learning processes, delivery modes, and settings (Bustos, et al.,
2014)

In this definition, the types of learners referred to are those who are gifted
and talented, indigenous people, Muslim people, and those with disabilities.
Further, it is envisioned that students with disabilities are placed in a setting
along with their age mates that have access to general education program for

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social inclusion, or in the Alternative Learning System (ALS) for access to

educational inclusion.
In practice, students in the Philippines are either placed in an inclusive
regular education setting or in a special education setting. The table below
presents the concepts on both settings.

Table 2. Inclusive and Special Education

Basis A. Inclusive Education B. Special Education
Participation of All learners regardless of the Learners with the same
Learners condition shall participate in a condition are accommodated
mainstream classroom in a special class (e.g.
alongside age peers disability, giftedness)
Curriculum Learners learn with the A special curriculum is
prescribed curriculum and structured on the learner’s
methodology with some condition but is based on
accommodations/adaptations regular curriculum
and modifications to meet the
needs of learners with
disabilities, giftedness and
talents
Instruction All learners simply require Learners are given specialized
good instruction but different and intensive instructions
teaching strategies may be anchored in their curriculum
employed to those with very
high or very low education
needs
Role of Teacher The general education teacher A special education teacher
oversees the learning and in oversees the learning and
some cases with the help of a collaborates with other
shadow teacher or SpEd professionals listed in the IEP
teacher
Number of 30 – 35 1 (for one-on-one)
learners 3 – 4 (for group)
5 – 10 (for resource group)

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Special Education (SpEd)

Programs that cater to the educational needs of learners with

disabilities, giftedness, and talents, apart from their-aged peers.
It involves planning, implementing, monitoring and evaluating a
specially designed and coordinated set of services through a
Individualized Education Plan/Program (IEP) tailored to identify and
address the specific strengths and limitations towards their
educational, social, behavioral and physical development.
Learners with special education needs (LSEN) are referred to as
students with special education needs (SEN) or children with special
education needs and disabilities (SEND)
However, it is preferable to use the term learners with disabilities,
since the rights of persons with disabilities (PWDs) are fundamental
human rights and are not special rights (Bustos, 2018)

The term “disability” is not a derogatory term, while the term “special” might
be. Disability is often confused with impairment but are different. Disability
usually refers to difficulty carrying out tasks or activities of daily life. The
person cannot take care of him or herself. For example, disability from a back
injury might mean the person can no longer get dressed or bathe without
help. Impairment describes problems at the tissue level. Impairment is any
loss of normal physical or mental abilities. Impairments are usually the result
of disease, illness, or injury. Impairments occur at the level of tissue, or
organs. Impairment from a back injury might cause a disc to rupture or
ligament to tear. Doctors and therapists use these terms to describe what
patients can and cannot do based on actual physical changes in the body.

To understand disability, get acquainted with this two major models of

disability in Table 3.

Table 3. Medical & Social Disability

Basis A. Medical Disability B. Social Disability
View Sees that the part of aDisability is seen to be caused
person’s body that is by barriers in the society (e.g.
impaired needs to be fixed
inaccessible environments, no
first for him to do a next
ramps on buildings, no sound
activity signals in streets, negative
attitudes, overprotective
families, negative media,
inflexible organizations)
Problem The person Barriers created by society
Effect to PWDs They become the victim or They have independence,
client that their control and choice
responsibilities are
disempowered
Solution & The person needs to The barriers need to be
Interventions change removed

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Assessment, monitoring Resources are made available

and evaluation are to regular services
imposed by therapy

Segregation and Training of parents and

alternative services are professionals are provided
given
Effect of Society remains Society evolves
intervention to unchanged
society

On the other hand, a third model, the biopsychosocial model is promoted by

the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2011. They pointed out that disability
should not be viewed as purely medical or purely social. The biopsychosocial
model is a conceptual framework of the International Classification of
Functioning, Disability and Health also known as ICF.

Inclusive education works on improving and making the system flexible, and
not trying to change the learners to fit in the educational system. Inclusive
education is transformative rather than just being alleviative (Toh, 2018). It
equates to the idea of equity.

Making Education Inclusive

Through these strategies, learners with disabilities or those academically

challenged are provided with materials that meet their learning needs.

1. Equity. Observe fairness in every situation. Some might require more

assistance hence, do differentiation, individualized or personalized
instruction to match the diverse needs of children, making them view
the situation regardless of physical or social differences.

2. Accommodations. It changes how learners with disabilities,

giftedness, and talents learn the same material and meet the same
expectations as their age peers (e.g. a person with visual impairment
using audio books, highlighted texts or large print materials)

3. Modification. It changes what a student is taught or expected to learn

(e.g. a person with intellectual disability use less complicated text
materials different content topic, than their age peers)

4. Removing barriers that could lead to isolation and low achievement

(e.g. environment and social barriers)

5. Model nondiscriminatory behavior. Be sensitive to words used to

address people with disabilities. Use “People First Policy”, where the
word “people” or “person” is stated first followed by their condition
or impairment (e.g. say “person with an intellectual disability” or
“person with mental health impairment” instead of saying “mentally

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ill”, “mental patient”, “abnormal”, “special” or “insane” which are

offensive)

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 LEARNING ACTIVITY 1

Based from your understanding of lesson 1, answer the following using

google forms in the link to be forwarded by your instructor in the google
classroom under classwork.

Refer to the illustration below and accomplish what is asked.

Analyze the illustration in relation to what you have learned about inclusive
education. Write a position paper about it using at least 300 words.

** A position paper is an essay that presents an arguable opinion about the issue
presented in the picture. The goal of a position paper is to convince the reader that your
opinion is valid and defensible. It is very important to ensure that you are addressing all
sides of the issue and presenting it in a manner that is easy for your reader to understand.
Your task is to take one side of the argument and persuade your reader that you have
well-founded knowledge of the topic being presented. It is important to support your
argument with evidence to ensure the validity of your claims.

Scoring Criteria

Relevance to the Task 60%

Completeness & Clarity of Content 25%
Organization 10%
Mechanics (grammar and spelling) 5%

Foundations of Special and Inclusive Education Module I