Inclusion In Mainstream Schools Research Articles

School-Based Interventions for Increasing Autistic Pupils’ Social Inclusion in Mainstream Schools: A Systematic Review

AbstractSchool-based interventions for socially including autistic pupils in mainstream schools were systematically reviewed. Included interventions targeted at least one level of the school environment: the autistic children, the peers, the staff, and/or the physical environment, and assessed autistic pupils’ quantity and/or quality of social participation as outcome measures. Findings from 56 studies showed increased accessibility of school activities to autistic pupils, but the reciprocity and friendship between the autistic pupils and the peers were not necessarily improved. Moreover, limited interventions were available for modifying the physical environment. A more holistic strategy that moves the focus from individual children’s social skills to the larger context surrounding children, should be considered for a better inclusion of autistic children in school routine.

Exploring disproportional use of exclusionary punitive practices by disability group: Evidence of higher disproportionality in low‐SES Chilean students with ADHD

AbstractAlthough inclusive education policies conflict with punitive discipline measures, inclusion in mainstream schools may coexist with or allow such exclusionary punitive discipline. In Latin America, however, there is scarce research on how punitive measures are distributed, and if and how they affect students with disabilities enrolled in regular school settings. The purpose of this study was to characterize the occurrence of punitive exclusionary practices among students with disabilities enrolled in mainstream schools. We analysed reports from a national sample of Chilean students (N = 447,697) and parents on the frequency of punitive exclusionary discipline practices to identify the contribution of individual, classroom and school factors to student exclusion from general education settings. Individual characteristics included different disability groups. Multilevel logistic regression results consistently showed that students with ADHD were more likely to receive disciplinary exclusions, both in primary and in high school, with an odds‐ratio increase from 30% to nearly 150%, with higher rates for low‐SES students with ADHD. These findings suggest that in Chile, student‐level factors of gender, class and disability are strongly associated with exclusionary punitive discipline in schools. We discuss the intersectional dynamics of gender, class, race and disability in disciplinary processes of exclusion.

Teachers’ Professional Attitudes towards Inclusive Education

In the study, an overview of the current situation in the field of inclusive education in Slovakia is presented. Since teachers’ attitudes towards inclusive education are among the key determinants of the success or failure of SEN students’ inclusion in mainstream schools, the main objective of the study was to investigate them in the context of implementing the new Strategy for Inclusive Education in Slovakia. In this quantitative study, Mahat [1] "The Multidimensional Attitudes Toward Inclusive Education Scale (MATIES)" was used and three components of teachers’ attitudes – cognitive, affective, and behavioral – were examined by means of univariate, bivariate, and multivariate methods of statistical analysis. As the aging of the teaching population is an issue in Slovakia, age-related peculiarities were focused on in the study. The findings revealed statistically significant differences in the affective and behavioral components between the two examined age-groups of teachers. Since no extensive study has been focused on teachers’ attitudes towards replacing school integration by school inclusion in Slovakia, the proposed study aims to fill the gap and provide unique data useful in the process of changing traditional schools into inclusive ones. The obtained results also point to the importance of considering teachers’ attitudes towards any changes to be introduced. Doi: 10.28991/ESJ-2022-SIED-02 Full Text: PDF

Multi–sensory impairment: convenient label or recipe for confusion? A scoping review of research conducted in England (2001‐20)

AbstractIn England, the term ‘multi‐sensory impairment’ (MSI) has come to overlap with other labels, which is problematic for both research and practice. We undertook a scoping review of empirical studies conducted in England over the past 20 years on MSI and overlapping labels. We designed and used a review protocol and combined multiple searching methods, including repeated database searches, manual searching of journals and expert recommendations. We identified 29 studies that met the criteria for inclusion in the review, and we analysed these according to three themes: (1) terminology used, (2) topic explored, and (3) methodology adopted. We found that terminology was varied and poorly defined, with a lot of overlap between key terms that were used sometimes interchangeably. Moreover, studies varied in the level of transparency provided when methodology was reported. Finally, there was a dearth of research into inclusion in mainstream schools and research gathering learners’ voices. Implications for future research include the need for: (1) identification of factors that have led to overlapping terminology, (2) greater transparency in how the methodologies used in the field are reported, and (3) more evidence, especially from research on strategies in settings that promote inclusion, and research that includes learners’ voices.

A synthesis of the quantitative literature on autistic pupils' experience of barriers to inclusion in mainstream schools

Autistic pupils' full engagement with education can be limited by characteristics of their autism and features of the learning environment. We sought to identify which barriers to inclusion are most commonly and most frequently experienced and where gaps exist in the quantitative literature. In this systematic review, we followed the PRISMA guidelines to identify relevant literature and used the Research Domain Criteria (National Institute of Mental Health, 2017) framework to synthesise the findings. We then evaluated the strength and quality of the current literature in terms of the perspectives reflected in the data, characteristics of the participants and the methods used. Forty‐eight studies were found that contained quantitative data directly collected from autistic pupils relating to their mainstream school experience. Experiences of friendship, anxiety and sensory sensitivity have been explored in the literature, with findings suggesting that difficulties in these areas are common for autistic pupils. We found gaps in the research in the domains of cognitive systems, negative affect, positive affect, arousal and sensorimotor processes. Further quantitative research is needed that directly reflects the pupils' experience and more thoroughly covers the relevant focal domains in which barriers to inclusion for autistic pupils may be expected to occur.

Designing and Rating Options for Special School Expertise to Support Mainstream Educational Inclusion

AbstractThe Victorian Government, Australia, committed to deliver recommendations from a review of the Program for Students with Disabilities. We report on the implementation of Recommendation 7: to explore options for how special schools could become ‘centres of expertise’ to support inclusion in mainstream schools. Informed by evidence reviews of inclusive education practices and interviews of special and mainstream staff and parents, stakeholders were engaged in a forum to develop a range of options. A larger sample of stakeholders then completed a survey to evaluate them. Forum attendees were parents, education staff, and allied health professionals from special and mainstream schools. They worked in small groups to develop options, which were later grouped into 5 categories. These options were entered into an online survey for distribution to a wider group of stakeholders. Survey respondents were 142 stakeholders from special (71%) and mainstream primary and secondary schools (parents, education staff, and allied health professionals). They rated each option, such that 8 with high ratings for feasibility and acceptability were recommended to support inclusive mainstream education through utilisation of special school expertise. The final list of options focused on collaboration, development, and coordination of networks of special and mainstream schools, and building capacity and leadership to support mainstream schools to meet diverse student need.

Educational policies and professional identities: the case of Chilean special educational needs (SEN) teachers under new regulations for SEN student inclusion in mainstream schools

ABSTRACT This article explores the professional identities of SEN teachers as related to new Chilean policies for educational inclusion. It focuses on the way in which professional identities are transformed by the new educational setting for special education. Drawing on ethnographical observation in four schools in Santiago, Chile we describe and analyse the main tensions present in SEN teachers’ everyday experiences building from a dialogue between their stories and their rule constrained practices. By doing so, we show how teachers’ professional identities are the product of a deep negotiation with themselves in which their understanding of inclusion, special educational needs and the new policy are at the heart of their inquiry.

The Problem Of School And Social Integration Of Children With Special Educational Requirements In Romania

The integration of a person with special needs requires that it be placed from an isolated environment, separately, in a normal way, in order to progress and evolve, to eliminate segregation and discrimination, the environment in which relations between persons are based on Recognition of their integrity, values and common rights. Nirje states that "integration means being allowed to be able to be yourself among others.". Gherguţ states that "integration is the process of inclusion in mainstream schools or regular classes, formal and non-formal educational activities, children considered as having special educational requirements". Research methods used: analysis and generalization of literature data, study of working documentation and observation. Results: Following the study of the literature, it was found that today the theme of school and social integration of persons with special educational requirements is an indicator of the degree of maturity, involvement and Responsibility of the members of a society towards their peers. People as social beings are addicted to other people, which actually signifies help, the possibility of cooperating and communicating, while also producing the sense of human belonging and solidarity, as well as the sense of security of man. Integration implies that the student who has learning difficulties or special educational needs to be allowed to take up and progress, with appropriate support in the usual age class, for good personal development if his capacities Allow it. Any integration must be paramount, to benefit the pupils concerned and not just in terms of social intensification. Conclusions: The study of the literature and the analysis of the work documentation, focused on knowing the concepts of social integration and inclusion in Romania. Through physical education hours, effective integration into society of children with special educational requirements could be successfully achieved, as physical activity in the school has an important place, which implies the participation All members of a collection of physical education and sport activities by giving them self-confidence, physical and psychological health are also an important and pleasant social environment.

Title: what about my voice? Autistic young girls’ experiences of mainstream school

ABSTRACTRecognition of inclusion in mainstream schools for all people with disabilities is enshrined in the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). General Comment 4 on Article 24 (Right to inclusive education) of the CRPD provides a concept of inclusion and its core features which we discuss here. Article 7 of the same enjoins state parties to give young people’s opinions and views ‘due weight’ on matters that affect them. Despite calls to gather their views on education to better inform policy and practice, autistic young people have been largely missing from the research, girls most notably. Research on the efficacy of mainstream inclusion and the educational experiences of autistic young people has focused mainly on the perspectives of adult stakeholders such as parents, teachers and classroom assistants. Inspired by Article 7 of the CRPD, we present the educational experiences of two teenage girls with Asperger’s Syndrome in a mainstream setting in the UK with respect to the school environment, teachers, the curriculum and peers. The findings from semi-structured interviews and a number of participatory methods reveal that girls reported feelings of exclusion, isolation and anxiety. We discuss these findings in the light of the concept of inclusion provided in the General Comment and conclude with the girls’ recommendations on how to include people with ASD in mainstream settings.

How Typically Developing Students Perceive Social Inclusion of Children With Different Abilities: A Scoping Review

Abstract Date Presented 3/31/2017 This scoping review synthesizes the available evidence on typically developing students’ perspectives about social inclusion in mainstream schools and recommends classroom inclusion strategies based on these perspectives. Primary Author and Speaker: Brydne Edwards Contributing Authors: Debra Cameron, Gillian King, Amy McPherson

INCLUSION, CURRICULUM AND THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILD

In 1989, The Centre for Studies in Inclusive Education (CSIE) published its inclusion charter which was subsequently revised in 2002. This charter sought an end to all segregated education on the grounds of disability or learning difficulty. The vision was that all children would be educated in mainstream classrooms with benefits for disabled and nondisabled pupils alike. Segregation emerged as a human rights issue firmly set within an equality of access agenda. Special schools were perceived as a violation of every child's right to the society of their peers within their local mainstream school. This paper considers the case of an individual with severe learning difficulties and his journey through the system of special educational needs in Northern Ireland (NI). In 1994, aged 5, he was the first child in his Education and Library Board area to obtain a supported placement in a mainstream school. Within the Northern Ireland system of education, while there has been increased inclusion in mainstream schools, special schools for children with severe (SLD) and profound and multiple learning difficulties (PMLD) have seen substantial investment in new buildings and resources. This paper considers a range of complex issues with regard to the inclusion agenda and children with severe learning difficulties. It considers issues in inclusion as the Department of Education embarks on the development of shared education campuses in Northern Ireland.

A review of research into stakeholder perspectives on inclusion of students with autism in mainstream schools

ABSTRACTIncreasing numbers of students with autism are being educated in mainstream schools. However, outcomes for students with autism are poor when compared to typical students and students with other developmental disabilities. In order to better understand facilitators and barriers to success at school for students with autism, research into the attitudes of key stakeholders, educators, parents, people with autism, to inclusion in mainstream schools for students with autism, was reviewed. Key themes emerging included attitudes to inclusion, the characteristics of autism and social communication in particular and interaction with the school environment, and consequent student problem behaviour. Level of knowledge and understanding of school staff emerged as the primary issue with all stakeholders identifying the need for more training. Other support needs identified included the need for structural support, resources and funding. Parents, in particular, identified the need for a collaborative approach to the education process. The findings highlight the need to translate theory into practice to increase capacity in schools to provide effective educational programmes for students with autism.

O autista e sua inclusão nas escolas particulares da cidade de Teresina – PI

Inclusion is the society movement which aims to produce equality and assist people to Build their own identity. The inclusion of students with autism spectrum disorder is a major challenge for school, considering the adequacy requirements: curriculum, environmental and methodological. This study aims to identify the reality of private schools in Teresina – PI and the inclusion of autistic children in such an environment. It is the result of the Project “Therapeutic monitoring and its influence on the social development interaction of the autistic school context”, carried out by undergraduate program PIBIC of Santo Agostinho College, in Teresina – PI, during the year 2014. As a tool for information gathering an interview was conducted, semi- organized, it is used as sample twenty (20) therapeutic companions (AT). It was proved the importance autistic children inclusion in mainstream schools, because this one will enable the development of various skills in the boy or girl, and provide to classmates and environmental professionals, learning with their differences. Furthermore, the importance of collaboration and commitment of parents, helping in the child’s social inclusion process and keeping solidary attitudes to the difficulties presented by the child, facilitating the school work and community. We found the need to conduct further research on the same subject, complementing it just to collaborate with growth of Psychology, Pedagogy, and other fields of study which are interested in a piece of special education.

Parents’ Perspectives on Inclusive Schools for Children with Autism Spectrum Conditions

Children with autism spectrum conditions (ASC) increasingly participate in inclusive education. The present study reviewed studies of children with ASC for parents’ perceptions of aspects they believed contributed to inclusive mainstream school settings. Understanding the parental perspective on the facilitators for inclusion of their child with ASC in mainstream schools is likely to improve inclusive practice. Twenty-eight empirical articles revealed that parents perceived teachers as playing a vital role in the inclusion of their children with ASC. The school was considered important in creating an environment that enabled inclusion, particularly through positive peer relations, prevention of bullying and help from support staff. At the societal level, funding and legislative policies were considered important. By understanding these aspects, policy-makers, teachers, school administrators and therapists may better be able to address parents’ inclusion concerns and thereby develop strategies to improve inclusion in mainstream schools.

Investigating the social engagement of children with autism in mainstream schools for the purpose of identifying learning targets

The social needs of children with autism are complex, and their inclusion in mainstream schools necessitates a consideration of the nature of a child's participation in peer culture and how it is received by others. The case study reported here sought to investigate the social engagement of a child with autism and his peers using naturalistic methods to provide contextualised and detailed information. A comparative approach was used to study different social contexts: the wider class group, the peer group which included the child with autism, and the individual participation of the child with autism compared with this smaller group. Findings indicate that the child with autism demonstrated a number of competencies in relation to his own social group and that social difficulties were not necessarily seen as a weakness within the peer culture. The importance of careful analysis of social processes and the use of reflective assessment to autism education is highlighted.

Exploring organisational perspectives on implementing educational inclusion in mainstream schools

Achieving equality remains a major challenge in schools globally. In Hong Kong, the current education policy has a core value that all students have the right to learn. Policy-makers and school personnel are struggling to find ways of catering for diverse learning needs in schools. Early in 2006, a self-initiated inclusive educational project has linked one mainstream school and a special school. Their project can be seen as a pioneer in the field of education, for it provides concrete recommendations to other education practitioners on initiating whole-school participation and joint-school partnerships, integrating such collaborations into the culture of the school, and encouraging teachers committed to student voice and engagement. This article records the qualitative case study comprising the teachers' self reports to demonstrate how teachers re-shaped their perceptions, beliefs and behaviours as they developed and implemented a school-based inclusion project. It is expected that the findings of this study will assist educators to further understand present challenges in the school system regarding managing diversity and attaining inclusive education goals. In particular, local schools are now facing the challenge to implement inclusive education.

The Participation Experience of Children with Disabilities in Portuguese Mainstream Schools

Introduction: This explorative study aimed to chart the participation experiences of children with disabilities enrolled in mainstream schools. Method: The participants were 14 students with disabilities, with good communication skills, aged between 8 and 11 years and attending school in Portugal. The data were collected through open-ended interviews and analysed employing a psychological phenomenological method. Findings: The findings suggest that participation at school took three forms: equal participation, special task participation and onlooker participation. Those three forms contrasted with situations of non-participation, in which the children felt completely excluded. Each form of participation and non-participation presented different performance characteristics and was influenced by the social environment. Conclusion: The findings of this study provide insights that enhance the understanding of children's inclusion in mainstream schools, as well as the individual's experience of participation.

Addressing the professional development needs of teachers working in the area of special education/inclusion in mainstream schools in Ireland

This paper gives an account of one aspect of a recent research project that explored dimensions of inclusion in mainstream schools in Ireland. In particular, the working lives of teachers who have specific responsibility for students with disabilities and/or special educational needs (SEN) in mainstream schools were explored. In Ireland, such teachers are known as learning support or resource or SEN (LS/R/SEN) teachers. The nearest UK equivalent role is that of SEN co‐ordinator, but the responsibilities of the Irish LS/R/SEN teacher role are not as formalised and tend to vary in different school contexts. A key aspect of the research project was to explore the professional development requirements of these teachers. The contention emerges that the professional development requested by teachers was supportive of traditional practices and that these practices more properly belonged to a medical model‐influenced, deficit approach to special education rather than to an inclusive approach to education. As a consequence, it is argued that, instead of responding to gradually evolving change, an alternative, more revolutionary approach to professional development could be adopted to challenge ‘conventional wisdom’ and promote a truly inclusive education system in Ireland.

Children's attitudes toward their peers with Down Syndrome in schools in rural Ireland: an exploratory study

Increasingly, children with Down Syndrome are attending mainstream schools, but evidence suggests that these children are more prone to peer rejection and other problems when compared with their non‐disabled counterparts. However, relatively little is known about children's attitudes toward their peers with moderate to serious learning disabilities, including Down Syndrome. This study assessed the attitudes of non‐disabled primary school children (n = 118) in mainstream education toward their peers with Down Syndrome. A secondary aim was to assess whether exposure to audiovisual material promoting inclusion had any immediate effects on overall attitudes. A cross‐sectional, questionnaire‐based survey was administered in four rural‐based schools. The results showed that female participants over 10 were the most sociable. Overall attitudes toward inclusion were consistently and statistically significantly more negative than those toward sociability. Other factors, such as contact with peers with Down Syndrome, were not related to attitudes. Neither was there any change in overall attitudes following exposure to the promotional material. Further work is needed to identify factors underpinning the attitudes of non‐disabled children to their peers with Down Syndrome and how best to promote inclusion in mainstream schools.

SEN inclusion and pupil achievement in English schools

This paper presents and discusses the key findings from a study funded by the Department for Education and Skills (DfES) that explored the relationship between achievement and inclusion in mainstream schools in England. Overall the results indicate that, although there is a small statistical relationship between inclusion and academic achievement, this is unlikely to impact on a school's overall performance. This is partly because of the large degree of variation among schools, suggesting that there are other factors within a school's make up rather than its degree of inclusivity which impact on the average achievements of its pupils. This was confirmed by the findings from a number of case study visits. The overall conclusion from the study is that mainstream schools need not be concerned about the potentially negative impact on the overall academic achievements of their pupils through including pupils with special educational needs (SEN) in their schools.