Inclusive Approach
The selected topic is ‘should students with learning difficulties be allowed to participate in the mainstream classrooms?’ This essay discusses two possible solutions for the issue and explicitly presents my personal statement and philosophy in regards to it.
This topic is a controversial issue because it considers many conflicting advantages and disadvantages. The ethical principles involved in the topic include caring, respect and inclusivity which can be drawn from the Early Childhood Australia Code of Ethics (Early Childhood Australia's National Council meeting, 2006). Including or excluding students with learning difficulties in the mainstream classroom also reflects teachers’ identity regarding the concept of fairness. There are three ethical principles listed by the Tasmania Registration Board (Teachers Registration Board of Tasmania, 2006) which will fit in the selected issue: respect, empathy and justice.
Some teachers believe that if we put a student with a learning disability in the mainstream education setting, it is not fair for other students in the classroom because they are not valued equally. Teachers in the classroom hold the opinions that every student in the classroom should receive the best education (Knowles, 2006). As the student with a learning disability could occupy too much of teachers’ teaching time, then other students in the classroom could be deprived of learning time. Hence, they think it is better to pull the student out of the class group to work individually with teacher assistants. Additionally, when teachers direct too much attention on students with disabilities, it may cause the rest of the class to act out in order to seek for the attention (Moss, 2007). In such a situation, behaviour management would be a very challenging thing for teachers to deal with in the classroom. My personal interactions with some primary school teachers shows that most teachers do not feel comfortable having students with a learning
This topic is a controversial issue because it considers many conflicting advantages and disadvantages. The ethical principles involved in the topic include caring, respect and inclusivity which can be drawn from the Early Childhood Australia Code of Ethics (Early Childhood Australia's National Council meeting, 2006). Including or excluding students with learning difficulties in the mainstream classroom also reflects teachers’ identity regarding the concept of fairness. There are three ethical principles listed by the Tasmania Registration Board (Teachers Registration Board of Tasmania, 2006) which will fit in the selected issue: respect, empathy and justice.
Some teachers believe that if we put a student with a learning disability in the mainstream education setting, it is not fair for other students in the classroom because they are not valued equally. Teachers in the classroom hold the opinions that every student in the classroom should receive the best education (Knowles, 2006). As the student with a learning disability could occupy too much of teachers’ teaching time, then other students in the classroom could be deprived of learning time. Hence, they think it is better to pull the student out of the class group to work individually with teacher assistants. Additionally, when teachers direct too much attention on students with disabilities, it may cause the rest of the class to act out in order to seek for the attention (Moss, 2007). In such a situation, behaviour management would be a very challenging thing for teachers to deal with in the classroom. My personal interactions with some primary school teachers shows that most teachers do not feel comfortable having students with a learning