Search Results (10)

Inclusive education has developed worldwide popularity in education for learners with various disabilities but is particularly controversial for students with intellectual disabilities because of their unique needs. The foremost of these are the development of the social, vocational and life skills needed to facilitate their transition to adulthood. This article presents a discussion that focuses on theory, practice and research relevant to inclusive education for students with intellectual disabilities. It points out that the movement for full inclusion started by focusing on students with intellectual disabilities and has encountered roadblocks to further progress because of its difficulties in addressing their special needs. This is explored by considering the theory underpinning the international drivers of the full inclusion movement, the reality of the implementation of inclusion policies worldwide, and research on the effects of inclusion of students with intellectual disabilities in mainstream schools. Full article

Improving education provision for children with special educational needs and disabilities in Barbados is the focus of this article. It takes into account the wider historical and educational context and uses a whole education approach to conduct the analysis and propose transformation of the education system, involving three key components. First, abandoning the system of selective secondary education based on the results of a high-stakes examination, the 11 plus, and replacing it with a more equitable system of geographical zoning. Second, revamping curricula at primary and secondary schools to emphasise the development of literacy, numeracy, interpersonal and vocational skills rather than focusing mainly on preparing students for academic examinations, especially the 11 plus examination. Third, implementing comprehensive policy and procedures for the identification and effective education of children with special educational needs and disabilities in order to maximise outcomes for all students. Full article

This article presents qualitative research results on the education of students who are on the autistic spectrum (ASD) in Poland, viewed from their own perspectives and analyzed within the conditions of the Polish education system. This research is theoretically based on sociology of education, pedagogy and disability studies assumptions. The main goal of this study was to explore the educational experiences and needs of pupils, and to recognize the most significant barriers and facilitators of educational change as formulated by teenagers who identify as self-advocates and are involved in non-governmental organizations’ activism. The primary research method was desk-based research and qualitative content analysis. The analysis of the research material allowed the reconstruction of the educational experiences of adolescents with ASD related to social relations, the sensory environment, school learning and teachers’ attitudes towards students as the most important barriers to achieving equal access to education. Full article

People with disabilities have often been discriminated against in higher education; however, many institutions of higher education find ways of providing access to higher education for those with most forms of disabilities. Progress has been made in providing such access but undoubtedly there is still a need for more disability awareness, anti-stigma, and anti-discrimination training. At the same time higher education requirements, by default, involve higher cognitive capabilities. Some disabilities, those involving severe limitations of cognitive functioning, face insurmountable difficulties in meeting these higher intellectual demands, even with the most reasonable accommodations. Teacher education, for example, requires special attention to the cognitive tasks for which students are being prepared. We, therefore, discuss the role of teacher education in higher education and its special relationship to the matter of disability and inclusion. We also consider perspectives on the inclusion of individuals with disabilities in various other aspects of higher education. Full article

“Reimagination” is required to create a new vision of education that better serves individuals with disabilities. Imagination is a way of conceiving possibilities and probabilities. The future of special education is imagined within the limits of possibility and probability of “appropriate” education for children with special educational needs and disabilities. Education is reimagined for full inclusion without special education and an alternative reimagination of inclusive special education. Particular attention is given to the administrative structure of public education and to the training of teachers for the imagined approaches to special education. The importance of imagining special and inclusive education being based on science and rationality and the limitations of proposed approaches to including students with disabilities in education are explained. Full article

Underperformance in mathematics has been an issue that plagues the education system in Jamaica. Studies in first world countries have shown that enrichment programs, including Mathematics Enhancement Programmes (MEPs,) have been positively impacting attainment in mathematics. This quasi-experimental research design study investigated the impact of an MEP on Jamaican students’ attainment in mathematics. A sample of seven grade one classes from two primary schools in representative areas in Jamaica were selected for the intervention group. The treatment involved teaching the Jamaican grade one mathematics standards using the MEP resources for nine months. A statistically significant improvement and large effect size of the intervention was found, indicating that the MEP had a substantial impact on students’ achievement and attitudes towards mathematics. This study has implications for designing enrichment programs geared at addressing mathematics underperformance in Jamaica and in similar countries. Full article

The main goal of both special education and inclusive education for young people with learning or behavioral difficulties is their maximum inclusion in the community as adults. The question of which of these two approaches is more likely to achieve this goal is addressed by considering the findings of three outcome studies of young people with moderate to severe levels of learning or behavioral difficulties who experienced either option, or some combination of the two. The overall findings indicate that students who left school from a special education setting had better outcomes than those who completed their education in mainstream schools. This is considered to be due to the vocational curriculum and work experience they gained in their final years of special education, which those in mainstream schools did not receive. This suggests that a policy of full inclusion, with the closure of special classes and special schools, will result in less inclusion in their communities post-school for young people with moderate to severe levels of learning or behavioral difficulties. Full article

The purpose of this article is to review recent literature on twice-exceptional students and consider implications for their education in the context of the trend towards increased inclusive education for students with disabilities. The review focused on teachers’ experiences and perceptions and the school experiences of twice-exceptional students. Fifteen articles were reviewed, published between 2000 and 2020, selected according to a systematic protocol from two widely used online databases. Findings indicated that the implications that need to be considered were the importance of teacher preparation, the need for a continuum of special education interventions, the need for collaboration with parents and specialists, and teachers needing to focus on developing strengths as much as remediating difficulties. It was concluded that twice-exceptional students can be taught effectively in inclusive education settings as long as they are able to access appropriate strategies and programs from the fields of special education and gifted education. Full article

The reasons are examined for the disparity between the inclusive vision espoused by Article 24 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the reality of the limited extent of inclusion in education systems worldwide. First, the leadership of key senior academics in the field of special education is considered to have been misguided in promoting a vision of full inclusion despite the lack of research evidence for the benefits of inclusive education over traditional special education provision. Second, attitudes toward and the treatment of people with disabilities have a long and complex history, and in this, many proponents of inclusion have been critical of 20th century special education. In particular, they claim that the sorting, labelling and categorizing required by special education have negative implications. Third, educators have been encouraged to imagine a system of education that is limitless, in the sense that all children with disabilities can be included in general education. This is because it is envisaged that general education classrooms will become so flexible that there will be no limits to the accommodation of students with disabilities, regardless of the nature or severity of their special educational needs. Fourth is the issue that deciding a student’s placement for education requires a judgment call and that, since human judgment is fallible, errors of judgment will always be made. Fifth, commitments to inclusion require that educators consider the practical, reality-based implications, whereas this has not been the case for many supporters of full inclusion. In conclusion, inclusion in the sense of students being physically present in general education classrooms is not considered as important as inclusion in the reality of being engaged in a program of instruction that is meaningful and challenging. Therefore, we consider that, rather than becoming extinct, special education needs to continue to be developed, disseminated and rigorously implemented in schools. Key special education strategies and approaches must co-exist with those from inclusive education, in order to provide effective education for all young people with special educational needs and disabilities. Full article