Inclusion Of Exceptional Learners In The General Education Classroom

Abstract

Inclusion is just one of the options in education for meeting the needs of special needs students. Any option that is chosen must follow the guidelines in IDEA providing for FAPE and LRE. Inclusion has many challenges such as; academically, socially, and physically meeting the needs of a wide range of learning abilities and styles in one classroom. At the same time, inclusion benefits all stakeholders; students, parents, teachers, and society by addressing the many challenges of this population The Challenges of Inclusion of Exceptional Learners in the General Education Classroom Many schools are moving towards inclusion but this term gets defined in many different ways. Is it merely the inclusion of students with various
If the goal of education is to prepare students for the day when they are full members of society then the more diversity we can have in the classroom the better. Inclusion is important for both the exceptional learners and the “normal” students. For students with disabilities to be as independent as possible they need to be exposed to the world that exists outside of a special education classroom. For mainstream students to be as understanding and as informed as possible they need to be exposed to students that are different from them in as many ways as
With a good attitude, good supports from special education faculty and administration, flexibility and a little creativity any teacher can get through the academic challenges presented by including special needs students in the general education classroom. Something that is much harder though is facilitating the social inclusion of those students into the classroom. It may be that the mainstream students don’t know how to react to the special needs students at the beginning or that the special needs students are unsure of themselves. In either scenario the important thing is that all students feel like they belong. “Being included in a group and feeling included can be two, quite different situations…If the student feels that they do not really belong to the class, then inclusion has not really happened.” (Hannell, 2007) This again comes down to attitudes. A teacher can be using wonderful inclusive strategies but doing them in a way where the student feels excluded still. Some ways to avoid this are to create a class identity and refer to the class as a group unit, avoid using certain tone of voice or phrasing with special needs students, make sure that all students have equal opportunities and responsibilities, and teach students to value diversity and individuality. (Hannell, 2007) To facilitate understanding among mainstream students teachers should be honest about another student’s disabilities