Mainstreaming and Inclusion

By: David StavrosKatie Walker

Terms, Terms and More Terms

These terms are often viewed as interchangeable.

•Mainstreaming• Inclusion

• IntegrationWho can tell me the difference, ifany, that exists between the three

of them?

Mainstreaming

• Mainstreaming has generally been used to refer to the selective placement of special education students in one or more "regular" education classes ... [Mainstreaming generally assumes] that a student must "earn" his or her opportunity to be mainstreamed through the ability to "keep up with the work assigned by the teacher to the other students in the class.

– Rogers, 1993

• Similar to the discussion we had with Melanie Dobson in our Thursday night class.

Integration• Integration routes from the 1960’s racial

desegregation legislation. Under this legislation schools were to integrate students of all abilities, races, etc. into a general education classroom.

• The belief was “integration, should incorporate the notion that classrooms reflect naturally occurring percentages of those with disabilities (approximately 10 percent) in relation to those without disabilities.”

Inclusion

• Inclusion “refers to the commitment to educate each child, to the maximum extent appropriate, in the school and classroom he or she would otherwise attend. It involves bringing the support services to the child, rather than the child to the support services. It requires only that the child will benefit from being in the class, rather than having to keep up with the other students.”

• Inclusion suggests a more value oriented definition in contrast to the more legal definitions of mainstream and integration.

Inclusive ModelsPartial InclusionStudents with moderate to severe disabilities are included in a regular education classroom, but are pulled for required services such as

speech or occupational therapy to a more segregated setting.

Full InclusionStudents with moderate

to severe disabilities are

included in the regular education classroom and supports

and aids are given to the regular education teacher to

assist the special education student

in the classroom environment.

The ArgumentsFOR inclusion

• teachers who have only low-ability students have lower expectations;

• segregated programs tend to have "watered-down" programs;

• students in segregated programs tend not to have individualized programs;

• students in segregated programs tend to stay in segregated programs;

• most regular education teachers are willing and able to teach students with disabilities; and

• the law supports inclusive practices.

AGAINST Inclusion• special education teachers

have higher expectations for their students;

• special education curricula are appropriate for their intended students;

• individualization is more likely to occur in smaller classes with specialized teachers than in the regular classroom;

• regular teachers do not want special needs students in their classrooms; and

• students with disabilities have never been well-served in regular education, and there is nothing to indicate that teachers are any more able to deal with them now than they were previously.

Effects On the School• Creating inclusive classrooms is seen a

positive by many school districts due to the financial hardships that are affecting many communities.

• Inclusive classrooms safe school districts money by allowing services to be available within a school for a child as opposed to having a child be sent to a separate program or school.

• What other effects do you think inclusion has on a school or district?

Effects on the StudentsNon-Disabled StudentsResearchers, Staub & Peck, have concluded that “the inclusion of special students created a caring and accepting community of learners as well

as improved student learning for non-disabled peers.”

1) reduced fear of human differences accompanied by increased awareness

2) growth in social cognition3) improvements in self-

concept4) development of personal

principles5) warm and caring

friendships

Disabled StudentsIn a White, Swift and Harman study, 86% of parents felt

their children made more

academic progress in inclusive

classroom, and 62% said their child had

improved behaviorally.

1.) exposed to talented teachers

2.) refine new social relationships with the same-age peer group

3.) experience more quality programs in a regular education classroom

Two Different Perspectives on Inclusion:

• Elementary School • High School

Inclusion at the Elementary School Level

Katie’s Classroom

Inclusion at the Elementary LevelKatie’s Classroom

• 5th Grade Inclusion Classroom in Brockton• 5th grade is departmentalized, but inclusion

classroom is sub-separate and kids stay with same classroom teachers all day. – 3 teachers

• Lead Teacher, MTA, Paraprofessional– 18 students (19 students for math)

• 8 students on IEPs, 1 student on a 504 for mathematics

– 2 of the special education students get pulled form class to receive services.

– Speech therapist comes into the classroom every Monday for a whole class lesson.

• 10 role model students– Students who are role models are selected each year

by teachers. – They must be on grade level, and a non-behavior issue

Inclusion at the Elementary LevelKatie’s Classroom• The daily schedule has all students (disabled

and non-disabled) following the same daily routine. – 9:00 – 9:30: Morning Work– 9:30 – 11:15: ELA– 11:15 – 12:45: Bathroom break, specialist, lunch,

recess– 12:45 – 1:00: D.E.A.R.– 1:00 – 2:30: Math– 2:30 – 3:00: Social Studies/Science– 3:00 – 3:15: Clean-up, Pack-up, Dismissal

• Students in both large group and small groups cover the same content in ELA and Math. – Modified work is given to students in small groups. – Shortened homework assignments are assigned to

small groups.

Inclusion at the Elementary LevelKatie’s Classroom• My students

– 3 lowest students, all males– All read at a 2nd grade or below reading level– One with a severe communication disability

• Also experiences high levels of frustration which results in behavior issues.

• Has strength in mathematics.• Will be in a city resource room next year.

– One with an attention disorder and low academic performance.

• Struggles with all subjects equally• Inability to focus creates behavior problems when

he is constantly being redirected. – One with severely low academic performance

• Has a very negative attitude toward school• 1st grade reading level, 2nd grade math level

Inclusion at the High School Level

DJ’s Classroom

Inclusion at the High School Level

• In a partial inclusion model in the high school setting, students attend co-taught classes.

• In these classes, there are always two teachers in the room: a regular education subject-matter teacher and a special education teacher.

• The two teachers work together to ensure that subject matter is being delivered to special needs students in the ways that they need to best understand the material and complete assignments.

• Discussion questions:– Does anyone in here co-teach?

– What are some foreseeable problems based on the information above?

Difficulties with Co-Teaching (for the teacher)

• Two different teachers = Two different styles• Two different teachers = Two different schedules• Two different teachers = Two different sets of rules• Two different teachers = Two different sets of behavioral

expectations• Two different teachers = Two different opinions on what

should be taught• Two different teachers = Two different opinions of when it

should be taught • Two different teachers = Two different opinions of how it

should be taught• Two different teachers = Two different standards when

grading

Difficulties with Co-Teaching (for the teacher)• Who should talk more during class?• Who should do more work outside of class? How is the work

divided?• When can we meet to discuss the class if our prep periods are

not at the same time?• Is it only the regular educator’s responsibility to develop lesson

plans?• Is it only the special educator’s responsibly to ensure that all

accommodations are being met?• Who mediates when the co-teachers reach an impasse on a

certain topic because they disagree in fundamental philosophies? Is one person technically in charge?

• Who fills out progress reports? Who enters grades?• What happens if I assess a student’s work as a B and my co-

teacher assess it as a C?• What if my co-teacher provides incorrect information to the

class?• Etc…

Inclusion at the High School Level

• Whenever possible, the students receive any additional help or special instruction in the general classroom, and the student is treated like a full member of the class.

• However, most specialized services are provided outside a regular classroom, particularly if these services require special equipment or might be disruptive to the rest of the class (such as speech therapy), and students are pulled out of the regular classroom for these services.

• In this case, the student occasionally leaves the regular classroom to attend smaller, more intensive instructional sessions in a resource room, or to receive other related services, such as speech and language therapy, occupational or physical therapy, and social work.

Positives of Co-Teaching (for the student)

• Two different teachers = Two different styles• Two different teachers = Two different schedules• Two different teachers = Two different sets of rules• Two different teachers = Two different sets of behavioral

expectations• Two different teachers = Two different opinions on what should be

taught• Two different teachers = Two different opinions of when it should

be taught • Two different teachers = Two different opinions of how it should

be taught• Two different teachers = Two different standards when grading

• TWO DIFFERENT TEACHERS = GREAT SYSTEM (at least for the student) OF CHECKS AND BALANCES

Positives of Co-Teaching (for the student)

• All students (not just in special education) benefit from most accommodations

• Accommodations include:– Graphic organizer– Directions broken down into smaller steps– Larger assignments broken down into stages (each with their own due

date)– Visual AND auditory directions– Clarification of directions– Agenda and objective on board everyday

Inclusion at the High School LevelDJ’s Classroom

• 11th Grade Inclusion Classroom in Brockton• In 9th-12th grades, students do not stay with same

classroom teacher all day. Instead, they move from class to class, where each different teacher is responsible for a different subject.– 2 teachers

• Regular Education Teacher, Special Education Teacher– 28 students

• 12 special education students– 0 of the special education students get pulled form class to

receive services during class time, but may meet with specialists at other times during the day

– Disabilities range from mild autism to ADHD• 16 general education students

– Students on the general education side are not selected by the teacher

– They are scheduled for 11th grade English– One is on a 504, and two are flagged as having limited

English proficiency

Inclusion at the High School LevelDJ’s Classroom• My students

– For the most part, students on the special education side perform with equal success as those on the general education side

– In fact, when I offer extra credit assignments, the vast majority of students who complete these assignments are those on the special education side or with limited English proficiency

– Students are fully integrated in terms of seating - You cannot look at my class and say, “That is a special education student,” based on where they are sitting

– Vinny made a great point the other day: Most (if not all) of the behavioral issues in my class stem from the general education students and NOT the special education students

Resources Available

• Inclusion Resources http://www.inclusion.com/resliteracy.html - This website is a collection of resources all about inclusion

• Inclusion Articles and Resources http://www.teachervision.fen.com/special-education/resource/5346.html - These articles describe ways to modify your curriculum to reach every student

• Including Samuel http://www.includingsamuel.com/resources/educators.aspx - This site features downloadable texts, and links to other websites, to assist the inclusion teacher