Five Key Ideas

Five Key Ideas

• Placement: Instruction not setting important
• Inclusion more effective than integration or mainstreaming
• Inclusion does not harm other students
• Inclusion benefits relationships and attitudes
• The goal of education is to create a successful school experience and prepare students for life

Placement: Instruction not setting important

• case-by-case approaches are the best way to make decisions about student instruction and placement
• Intensive and reasonably individualized instruction, close cooperation between general and special education teachers, and careful, frequent monitoring of student progress are very important
• Special education means specialized instruction and supplementary aids and services provided to students with disabilities who need specialized instruction

Inclusion more effective than integration or mainstreaming

• students who were integrated parttime were not truly a part of the class and were often involved in activities very different from the other students in the class
• Inclusion also means that general education classes are structured to meet the needs of all the students in the class
• there are important differences in the quality and curricular content of written educational programs for children with disabilities who are fulltime members of general education classrooms and there are significant differences in the levels of student engagement in school activities, the type of activities in which they are engaged, the type and level of participation in integrated school environments, and the degree to which they initiate and engage in social interactions with peers and adults

Inclusion does not harm other students

• Quantity and level of time spent on instruction for students without disabilities was not adversely affected by the presence in class of students with severe disabilities
• No studies examining outcomes for students without disabilities has found any negative impact for students who are not identified as having disabilities

Inclusion benefits relationships and attitudes

• improves relationships and attitudes among students both with and without disabilities and teachers
• positive attitudes toward students with disabilities after having them in class
• student friendships and relationships enhanced by inclusion
• Students with disabilities experienced increased independence, more socialization opportunities, growth in academic skills, and improved behavior

Goal of education

• create successful school experience
• prepare students for life
• features inclusive practices such as: diversity as new norm, collaborative teaching arrangements, flexible school structures, performance based and alternative assessments