Inclusive Education In Uk
from them. Inclusive schools allow children with different abilities to learn how society really operates.
Inclusive education is also beneficial to special needs children because statistics show that other approaches have failed in the past. Before introduction of inclusive education, children with special needs were taken to separate institutions (special schools). Follow ups conducted in this area show that such an approach has not been very effective. Children who came from separated schools rarely had high self esteem; they lacked motivation and the confidence necessary to make it in life. It was also found that special schools were ineffective in equipping special needs children with the right kind of knowledge to enter high schools, universities and colleges. Since most of them could not make it this far in education, they also lacked the ability to penetrate into the job market. Special needs children who had been taken to segregated institutions also had very low forms of independence in their adult lives. Consequently, most of them relied on their relatives in order to survive in later life. Because of all these inadequacies in past systems, there is a need to take up better approaches which can be deemed more proactive i.e. inclusive education.
Inclusion is a fundamental right for all children with special needs. It is a big misunderstanding to think that giving children with special needs the opportunity to interact with and learn with other children is a special favour. As a matter of fact, the issue was long overdue. Society owes children with disabilities this fundamental right and inclusive education is one of the major platforms for providing meeting this obligation.
Additionally, children with special needs get the chance to feel like they are part of society. Alienating children with special needs only enhances the feelings of low self confidence among them. Such children will realise that they are indeed rejected by the rest of society and will never feel like they belong. However, those children placed in inclusive schools get a chance to meet some role models and this goes a long way in enhancing their learning abilities. Role models are a crucial part of any child’s developmental phase. Finding role models is rather difficult for children in segregated schools since all the children found there have similar inefficiencies.
Inclusive education is not just important to a child with special needs; it is also quite helpful to children without them. First of all, it teaches these children leadership skills as most of them may need to show their counterparts a number of things. (Fletcher-Campbell, 1994) Through the process of interacting with special needs children, children without special needs acquire virtues such as patience. This is because the inclusive classroom may require that. For instance, a teacher may have to pay extra attention to a child with special needs while in class and this may necessitate some level of tolerance from the others. Children without special needs also learn how to be more helpful and shun away selfishness. An inclusive classroom requires those without special needs to help a child who may have difficulties in walking or writing something while in class.
Other qualities that children without special needs acquire from inclusive classrooms include an appreciation for all the differences that exist between members of society. (Jowett and Moses, 1988) Children who get accustomed to seeing different children may adjust to this and may eventually acquire more tolerance. This virtue is quite essential later in life because it may prevent issues such as hate crimes. When one analyses the issue of hate crimes, they realise that most of these crimes are usually perpetuated by individuals who had never been around others who were different from them. Therefore inclusive education could train most children without special needs to develop tolerance for others; a skill that will be instrumental in the future.
Inclusive education also enhances communication skills for all children in the class. The environment is such that it requires children without special needs to come up with methods of communicating with special needs children. It should be noted that some members from the latter group may not have the ability to communicate using conventional techniques. This prompts some of their counterparts to think of creative ways to get their messages across. For instance, a child who may not have the ability to hear or speak may require the use of symbols or application of sign language. These communication strategies will go a long way in helping children without special needs to cope with their external environments in adult life. (Schwartz, 1998)
Inclusive education is also beneficial to the teacher handling an inclusive classroom. First of all, she is required to always be ready for visits from inclusive education