“(2) Use differentiated instruction and evidence-based practices to plan and meet the

diverse needs of all students.”

Education Setting: Secondary

Inclusive education aims to cater to students from varying abilities, backgrounds, and
characteristics (Woodcock et al., 2023). Inclusive education can be achieved through
implementation of differentiated instruction and evidence-based practices in planning lessons
and curriculum in secondary school settings. Teacher education, approach and attitude can a
play a vital role in effective implementation of strategies and outcome. Teachers may find it
challenging to implement differentiated instructions and plan lessons effectively to meet the
diverse needs of all students (Porta et al., 2022). Smets and Struyven (2020) identifies three
key areas which needs to be addressed to implement an inclusive strategy for teachers.
Teachers require sound knowledge of instructional strategies, skills to evaluate and respond
to the diverse needs of students and must possess a positive attitude towards implementing
differentiated instruction strategies (Smets & Struyven, 2020).

The current structure and practices of Australian secondary education is insufficient in

fostering inclusive learning. The Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC; United
Nations 1989) and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD; United
Nations 2008), states that “all children have a right to a quality education, and children with
disability—specifically—have the right to an inclusive education” (Graham, 2019). Australia
is a ratifier of both the conventions. As such, we see government policies promoting
inclusiveness for all students. The New South Wales government’s policy on ‘Inclusive
Education for students with disability’ states that “all students with disabilities can access and
fully participate in learning alongside their peers” (NSW Government, 2021). As such,
policies are promoting inclusive education in all schools within the state. However, there are
two major divergences from inclusive education in Australia: first, segregation of students
through support classes are contradictory to inclusiveness, and second, integration of students
with support needs into existing mainstream classrooms without adequate changes to
pedagogy fails to address their fundamental academic support requirements. Differentiated
Instruction (DI) and evidence-based practices (EBP) in mainstream education can potentially
address both of these issues in mainstream education.

Segregated teaching approach through support classes is incongruent with the philosophy of
inclusive education. The Social model of disability (as opposed to the medical model),
creates a distinction between impairment, an individual characteristic, and disability, the
restrictions in participation in different spaces imposed by societal barriers on people with
impairments (Graham, 2019). Support classes in Australia separate kids into mainstream and
support classes, effectively preventing students with impairments from participating in the
typical socio-educational experience. A systematic review of studies between 2015-2020
found consistent evidence that students with support needs fare much better in inclusive
mainstream education both in terms of academic outperformance as well as enhancement of
social skills (Kefallinou et al., 2020). Completely separating students with impairments from
their peers will cause them to forego the development of these skills that allow them to
succeed in later studies and social settings. Schools should aim to provide all students with
the specific type of support they need through differentiated instruction and evidence-based
practices.

Moreover, namesake integration of students with support needs into mainstream classes fails
to ensure the quality of their education in an inclusive manner as the burden of adjustment to
continue pursuing education falls on students with support needs. For example, even in more
apparently inclusive classrooms across Australia, we see more instances of integration, rather
than inclusion, i.e., only minimal changes are being made to existing pedagogy to help
students who need support. In some cases, such Integrated classes would include one teacher
teaching mainstream students and another teacher working with students with support needs.
This creates only a false sense of inclusion. On the opposite end of the spectrum, “in many
states in Australia, students with disability in Years 11 and 12 are routinely denied
adjustments” to level the playing field for all students stemming from the desire to maintain
equality at the cost of equity (Graham, 2019). On the contrary, students with learning
impairments in mainstream education may need additional instruction or other support from
their teachers, although this can differ from the support they are provided with (de Boer &
Kuijper, 2020). As such, teachers need to be able to identify the varying needs of students
and provide differentiated instruction (DI). Research has found positive impact of evidence-
based DI on students’ academic self-efficacy and achievement in mathematics (N. Onyishi &
M. Sefotho, 2021) reading comprehension (Magableh & Abdullah, 2021). DI also reduces
achievement-related heterogeneity in classes, i.e., helps low-achieving students with
impairments progress at the rate of their high achieving peers (Karst et al., 2022). DI practice
also positively impacts these students’ social inclusion and overall school well-being, (Pozas
et al., 2021).

Schools should make inclusive structural changes at school-wide and at classrooms levels.
For example, they should gradually transfer all students with support needs from support
classes to mainstream classes. The mainstream class should have all students in the same
classroom, under the same teacher. Additionally, pedagogy and course content should be
reviewed and transformed to include more evidence-based practices (EBP). Educators
familiarized with specific EBPs utilize them effectively to enhance student performance, but
limited exposure additional practices reduce potential utilization in response to different
student needs (Casale-Giannola et al., 2023). The course structures should exhibit continuous
improvement through the adoption of newer EBPs.

Additionally, Australian states and schools should encourage DI implementation in

classrooms backed up by proper resources and training for teachers to enact them. For
example, adoption of differentiated instruction in classrooms may be curtailed by the self-
efficacy of teachers, despite the far-reaching impact of DI stated above, and the government's
endeavors at popularizing its use as a mode of inclusion. Resources and support provided by
schools can negate the stress caused by lack of time and additional workload from DI and
boost DI adoption (Pozas et al., 2023). Teachers should regularly engage with DI leading to
increased self-efficacy and confidence resulting in inclusive practices (Porta et al., 2022).

Teachers should implement Peer-assisted learning strategies (PALS) in diverse classrooms to

meet the diverse needs of students by forming flexible groups of advanced and struggling
students where learning is enhanced through the support of peers (Tichá et al., 2018).
Peer-assisted learning strategies (PALS) could be a simple yet effective strategy which can be
implemented in various diverse classrooms and subjects in secondary schools (Tichá et al.,
2018). Teachers must take into consideration each student’s needs and strengths while
forming groups which enhances inclusion in the classroom (Tichá et al., 2018, p.111).
Students can be formed into groups and may take turns choosing to read or listen. In such
arrangements, the struggling students get the opportunity to observe their peer and learn from
them (Tichá et al., 2018). This strategy presents a model for the struggling students to follow.
Research shows that PALS can have a positive impact to improve overcoming impediments
in reading that many high school students demonstrate (Fuchs et al., 1999). It may impact
students’ beliefs about their capabilities, and they reported to working harder to improve
when PALS was implemented in classrooms with students who had difficulty reading (Fuchs
et al., 1999). Students also reported that the teachers who implemented PALS visibly worked
harder (Fuchs et al., 1999) which can also impact students’ morale and their perception of
being included among peers regardless of current ability. This reinforces that differentiated
instructions have more chances to be successful if the teacher has a positive attitude towards
it (Smets & Struyven, 2020).

Teachers should employ tiered learning strategies and alternative assessments to design
assignments in a diverse classroom with varied student abilities which emphasizes on the
readiness of each student to absorb and learn at their pace (Maeng & Bell, 2015). However, it
is important that activities are designed in a way where the differentiation is invisible to the
students which promotes inclusion of all students in the classroom (Dzaldov & Mandelker,
2023).

This strategy revolves around student ability and readiness as teachers create student profiles
and designs tiered learning and alternative assessments which improve student engagement
and achievement (Maeng & Bell, 2015). For example, the teacher may give each student a
unique problem to solve. The problems may seem randomly selected to the students;
however, the teacher specifically chooses which problem is assigned to which student. This
incorporates differentiated instruction according to student readiness (Maeng & Bell, 2015).
Furthermore, as the distribution seemed random, the differentiation remains invisible to the
students. This may help mitigate the stigma and social pressure surrounding students with
support needs (Dzaldov & Mandelker, 2023). This strategy may prove to be effective in
removing stigma surrounding labels such as ‘struggling’ and ‘advanced’ students which
promotes inclusion of all students in a classroom setting. (Dzaldov & Mandelker, 2023). This
may also help students to focus on themselves, their abilities instead of focusing on what
their peers thought about them or what they are doing which in turn may improve their
perceptions of inclusion (Dzaldov & Mandelker, 2023).

Implementing differentiated instructions through thorough planning based on evidence-based

strategies is key to achieving an inclusive education for students of varying abilities.
Teachers should adopt strategies like PALS and tiered learning to cater to the needs of a
diverse classroom.
 References

Casale-Giannola, D., Delisio, L., Sardo, L., & Kline, K. (2023). Research and Reality: A
Survey of Educators’ Perceptions about Evidence-Based Practices in Inclusive Settings for
Students with Intellectual Disabilities. Education Sciences, 13(6), 558.
https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci13060558.

De Boer, A., & Kuijper, S. (2020). Students’ voices about the extra educational support they
receive in regular education. European Journal of Special Needs Education, 1–17.
https://doi.org/10.1080/08856257.2020.1790884

Dzaldov, B. S., & Mandelker, J. (2023). Making a difference through differentiated

instruction: Inclusive strategies for differentiated instruction in the math classroom. Gazette -
Ontario Association for Mathematics, 61(4), 43-48.

Fuchs, L. S., Fuchs, D., & Kazdan, S. (1999). Effects of Peer-Assisted Learning Strategies on
High School Students with Serious Reading Problems. Remedial and Special Education,
20(5), 309–318. https://doi.org/10.1177/074193259902000507

Graham, L. J. (2019). Inclusive Education for the 21st Century: Theory, Policy and Practice.
Allen & Unwin.

Karst, K., Bonefeld, M., Dotzel, S., Fehringer, B. C. O. F., & Steinwascher, M. (2022). Data-
based differentiated instruction: The impact of standardized assessment and aligned teaching
material on students’ reading comprehension. Learning and Instruction, 79, 101597.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.learninstruc.2022.101597

Kefallinou, A., Symeonidou, S., & Meijer, C. J. W. (2020). Understanding the value of
inclusive education and its implementation: A review of the literature. PROSPECTS, 49(3-4),
135–152. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11125-020-09500-2
Maeng, J. L., & Bell, R. L. (2015). Differentiating Science Instruction: Secondary science
teachers’ practices. International Journal of Science Education, 37(13), 2065–2090.
https://doi.org/10.1080/09500693.2015.1064553

Magableh, I. S. I., & Abdullah, A. (2021). The impact of differentiated instruction on

students’ reading comprehension attainment in mixed-ability classrooms. Interchange, 52(2).
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10780-021-09427-3

N. Onyishi, C., & M. Sefotho, M. (2021). Differentiating instruction for learners’

mathematics self-efficacy in inclusive classrooms: Can learners with dyscalculia also
benefit? South African Journal of Education, 41(4), 1–15.
https://doi.org/10.15700/saje.v41n4a1938

Porta, T., Todd, N., & Gaunt, L. (2022). “I do not think I actually do it well”: a discourse
analysis of Australian senior secondary teachers’ self‐efficacy and attitudes towards
implementation of differentiated instruction. Journal of Research in Special Educational
Needs, 22(3), 297–305. https://doi.org/10.1111/1471-3802.12568

Pozas, M., Letzel, V., Lindner, K.-T., & Schwab, S. (2021). DI (Differentiated Instruction)
Does Matter! The Effects of DI on Secondary School Students’ Well-Being, Social Inclusion
and Academic Self-Concept. Frontiers in Education, 6.
https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2021.729027

Pozas, M., Letzel-Alt, V., & Schwab, S. (2023). The effects of differentiated instruction on
teachers’ stress and job satisfaction. Teaching and Teacher Education, 122, 103962.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2022.103962

Smets, W., & Struyven, K. (2020). A teachers’ professional development programme to

implement differentiated instruction in secondary education: How far do teachers reach?
Cogent Education, 7(1). https://doi.org/10.1080/2331186x.2020.1742273

Tichá, R., H. Abery, B., Johnstone, C., Poghosyan, A., & Frederica Hunt, P. (2018). Inclusive
Education Strategies: A Textbook. University of Minnesota, UNICEF Armenia & Armenian
State Pedagogical University.
Woodcock, S., Gibbs, K., Hitches, E., & Regan, C. (2023). Investigating Teachers’ Beliefs in
Inclusive Education and Their Levels of Teacher Self-Efficacy: Are Teachers Constrained in
Their Capacity to Implement Inclusive Teaching Practices? Education Sciences, 13(3), 280.
https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci13030280