Inclusive Education PDF

1.6.2.4 Participation 1.6.2.5 Empowerment 1.7. Barriers to Inclusive Education: Attitudinal, Physical and Instructional 1.7.1 Barriers to Inclusive education 1.7.1.1 Attitudinal 1.7.1.2 Physical 1.7.1.3 Instructional 1.8 ‘‘Check Yo...

1.6.2.4 Participation 1.6.2.5 Empowerment 1.7. Barriers to Inclusive Education: Attitudinal, Physical and Instructional 1.7.1 Barriers to Inclusive education 1.7.1.1 Attitudinal 1.7.1.2 Physical 1.7.1.3 Instructional 1.8 ‘‘Check Your Progress’’ 1 - 5 1.9 Let us Sum Up 1.10 References 1.1 lntroduction Disability is seen as a prominent developmental issue in any country, as the disabled group in a society is often become marginalized due to exclusion from the mainstream society leading to poverty. Inclusive Education approach doesn't only provide the provision of basic human rights to education but also the dignity of human being which is often being linked with the socio-economic status in the community. It is seen as a device for both access and equity in education which are also the fundamental aspirations of Education for All programme (UNESCO, 1990) and Millennium Development Goal Action Frameworks (Millennium Summit of the United Nations, 2000). Through inclusive education the learners may get a chance for not only getting into the system but also a support to complete it successfully. Inclusive education results in improved social development and academic outcomes for all learners as it provides opportunity to get exposed to the real world which leads to the development of social skills and better social interactions. It also provides platform to the non-disabled peers to adopt positive attitudes, tolerance. An important prerequisite for inclusive education is to have respect for differences, respect for different learning styles, variations in methods, open and flexible curricula and welcoming each and every learner into the common platform. Thus, the perspectives of seeing the disabled learner has been changed to differently-abled or special need learner. 10  Success of any learner is dependent on both the school and community, but, both of them may possess barriers in implementing the inclusive education policy. These barriers are both external and internal in nature. In order to facilltste inclusive c.tucstlon, there has to have a modification in the environmental conditions which includes the physical changes for barrier free environment in each of the school buildings with adequate faciltties. Apart from that very importantly, there is a need to change the negative attitudes of the common people and to develop their sense of responsibility towards the child with special needs (CWSN). There is a need to provide proper training to the teachers dealing with the diverse needs of the learners, applying appropriate individualized pedagogy and assessment system. Barriers to access and success can be viewed in physical as well as structural sense. But more than that, it is the curriculum, the pedagogy, the examination and the schooling approach, which may also create barriers. Unless these unseen barriers are taken care of, access to all children with diverse needs would remain a far cry. The inclusive education movement, combined with technological development has come at this crucial juncture in our country. Choosing a holistic lnclusive approach to access and success in education is more likely to succeed in reaching education for all. 1.2 Objectives To understand the concepts of marginalizatlon and lncluslon: To understand the changing practices in education of children with disabilities in respect to segregation, integration and inclusion; To understand the Diversity in classroom in the context of learning Styles, linguistic and socio-cultural multiplicity; To understand the basic principles of inclusive education; To acquire knowledge about primary Barriers to Inclusive Education. 1.3 Marginalization vs. Inclusion : Meaning and Definition 1.3.1 Marginalization : Meaning and Definition 'Marginalization' is social disadvantage and relegation to the fringe of society. 11 The term has been used first in France and then widely in Europe. Academically, it is now used across the disciplines of social sciences including philosophy, education, sociology, psychology, political science and economics. Marginalization as the social exclusion is a process in which individuals or entire communities of people are systematically blocked from or denied full access to various rights, opportunities and resources that are naturally and normally available to members of a different group, and which are fundamental to social integration within that particular group (e.g., housing, employment, healthcare, civic engagement, democratic participation, and due process). The outcome of social exclusion is that affected individuals or communities are prevented from participating fully in the economic, social, and political life of the society in which they live. Definition: Marginalization is a process whereby something or someone is pushed to the edge of a social group and accorded lesser importance. This is predominantly a social phenomenon by which a minority or sub-group is excluded, and their needs or desires ignored. Tuus, marginalization leads to social exclusion. Social exclusion is a multidimensional process of progressive social rupture, detaching groups.and individuals from social relations and institutions and preventing them from full participation in the normal; normatively prescribed activities of the society in which they live. It reflects the inability of our society to keep all groups and individuals within the reach of a society or to realise their full potential. 1.3.2 Inclusion: Meaning and Definition The right of every child to education is proclaimed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948) as well as in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (1990), and reaffirmed in the World Declaration on Education for All (1990). Each Child is different with different learning needs, learning speeds and programming for education. Among these learners, some have more specialized needs than others, but the commitment to ensure their education too has been enshrined in Salamanca Conference (1994). 'Inclusive Education' is an approach that aims to realize the goals stated in these conventions, as an approach that involves homes, schools communities, employers and governments in ensuring that each and every child, regardless of his/ her individual needs or social circumstances, has equal opportunity to get a mainstream 12 education together with the children of other community. As the name implies, inclusive education seeks to ensure that no child is excluded, marginalised or segregated, that school is such a community to which everyone belongs, and that each child is learning what she is expected to learn. Definition: "Inclusion is seen as a process of addressing and responding to the diversity of needs of all learners through increasing participation in learning, cultures and communities, and reducing exclusion within and from education" (Booth, quoted in UNESCO 2001). "Inclusive Education involves changes and modifications in content, approaches, structures and strategies, with a common vision which covers all children of the appropriate age range and a conviction that it is the responsibility of the regular system to educate all children" (UNESCO, 1994). "Inclusion, when the position of children with disabilities is considered as physically being in the same place and doing the same things as other students, social acceptance, and a right to individually relevant learning"(Norwich, 1999). 1.3.3 Marginalization vs. Inclusion Marginalization theoretically emerges at the individual or group level on four correlated dimensions–(i) insufficient access to social rights, (ii) material deprivation, (iii) limited social participation and (iv) lack of normative integration. It is then regarded as the combined result of personal risk factors (age, gender, race etc.), macro-societal changes (demographic, economic and labour market developments, technological innovation, evolution of social norms etc.), government legislation and social policy, and the actual behaviour of businesses, administrative organisations and fellow citizens. On the other hand, inclusion is a system in which all children from a given community learn together in the same local school setting including the children with learning difficulties, special needs or disabilities with certain changes in the education systems. Traditional systems of education tend to increase the gap between advantaged included students with disadvantaged excluded children. Middle and upper class children, who start out with more (in terms of opportunity, materials), are also given more in the traditional system, thus widening the gap in education and societv between the haves and have not's. As for example, the marginalised children, 13