Orthodox Jewish adults with learning disabilities: Inclusive versus special education classroom experiences

Abstract

The Israeli educational system integrates children with learning disabilities into inclusive classes based on the philosophy that individuals with disabilities are integral to society. Although students with learning disabilities show positive social achievements in inclusive classrooms, their struggle to achieve the academic performance expected of their age group often portrays them as disabled in more than the academic sphere. This phenomenological analysis explores and compares the school experiences of 12 Modern and Ultra-Orthodox Jewish adults (18–30 years old) with learning disabilities who had attended inclusive or special education classrooms. Through the Understand Me and My Surroundings art-based tool created for this study and semistructured interviews, participants discussed their feelings towards their teachers and friends at school. The themes that emerged were (1) teachers generate positive feelings, (2) inclusive education teachers generate negative feelings, with subthemes of humiliation, segregation, and physical abuse, (3) special education students struggle socially, and (4) inclusive education students succeed socially. The social aspect of inclusive education motivated students with learning disabilities to come to school despite feeling humiliated and shamed, and their teachers can help them with their most challenging experiences, whether in the academic or social domain.