Inclusion Vs. Segregation
Inclusion in schools is a controversial issue in education today because it relates to educational values, social values, and self-worth. There are people on both sides of the issue. Some people view inclusion as a policy motivated by an impracticable expectation that money will be saved. And argue that trying to force all students into the inclusion is just as unfair as trying to force all students into a special education class.
And then there are those who believe that all students belong in the normal education classroom, and that teachers are those who can meet the needs of all the students, in spite of what those needs may be. Between the two ideas are educators and parents who are puzzled by the notion itself. They wonder whether inclusion is legally required and speculate what is best for children. And you must find what schools need to do to accommodate these students.
But you need to ask yourself some questions before making a final decision on this. One what is mainstreaming? According to Hechinger in Schools Accused of Pushing Mainstreaming to Cut Costs, mainstreaming has been used to refer to the selective placement of special education students in one or more "regular" education classes. Proponents of mainstreaming generally assume that a student must "earn" his or her opportunity to be placed in regular classes by demonstrating an ability to "keep up" with the work assigned by the regular classroom teacher. This concept is closely linked to traditional forms of special education service delivery.
According to Pinnell in Restructuring Beginning Reading with the Reading Recovery Approach, Inclusion is a term which expresses 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 moving the child to the services) and requires only that the child will benefit from being in the class (rather than having...
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