Abstract
Today's inclusive education settings consist of a diverse student population that needs a different pedagogical approach. Both general education and special education teachers may face difficulties to engage students in meaningful tasks and to promote learning. Teachers may struggle to effectively reach all students with different abilities in an inclusive education setting. Teachers implement several strategies to keep students engage in inclusive education settings. Teachers do multiple tasks, such as teaching students, developing engaging lessons, assessing and tracking students' learning, collaborating with teachers and rehabilitation professionals, implementing evidence-based strategies, and delivering instructions in various formats. Inclusive education needs administrators, related service providers, general education teachers, and special education teachers to optimize students' learning. This chapter aims to highlight pedagogical practices in teaching students with disabilities in inclusive education settings.
TopIntroduction
Recent research shows that millions of school-age students are perceived as “different” compared with their non-disabled peers at K-12 school systems worldwide. A recent report from the National Center for Education (NCES, 2016) indicates that seven million students received special education services under the Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA, 2004) during the academic year of 2015-16, which comprise 13% of the total school enrollment in public schools (Nowicki, 2019). Such students might exhibit behavior deficits, cognitive deficits, specific learning disability, sensory impairment, intellectual impairment, giftedness, and learning difficulties. A recent trend in inclusive education is to provide access to the general education curriculum for Students with Disabilities (SWDs) to the maximum extent possible (Olson et al., 2016).
In the United States (U.S.), the number of students under IDEA inside general education classes in regular schools increased from 47 percent in 2000 to 64 percent in 2018 (NCES, 2020). The goal of inclusion is to provide the best possible education for students with and without disabilities. With the passage of the Education for All Handicapped Children Act (EAHCA) of 1975, now known as the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA, 1990), a free appropriate public education for all SWDs has been available in the U.S. The EAHCA led the foundation for current special education practices. The Pennsylvania Association for Retarded Citizens v. Commonwealth (1971) and the Mills v Board of Education (1972) ruling gave way to Least Restrictive Environment (LRE) and Zero Reject (Ladenson, 2005).
The Federal law mandates in the U.S. have secured opportunities for SWDs to learn alongside their non-disabled peers in the least restrictive environment (LRE). More than 90 percent of SWDs receive their education in mainstream schools in the U.S, and more than half are included in general education classrooms for at least 80 percent of the day (Snyder et al., 2016). The IDEA (1990) ensures that each student's educational placement and services are determined on an individual basis, provided in the LRE, as per each child's unique needs. The development of educational policies has resulted in the inclusion of SWDs in the general education classroom to the maximum possible degree.
In any inclusive education settings, quality education and learning for all students is the main aim. The collaboration and teamwork between general education teachers, special education teachers, and related services providers are important to improve education quality. The inclusive education program must allow collaborative work with students, schools, families, and the community to improve all SWDs. Teachers and rehabilitation professionals focus on providing curriculum, instruction, and assessments, that are integrated, rigorous, aligned with the state standards, and based on the Universal Design of Learning (UDL) framework. This book chapter highlights the pedagogical practices of teaching SWDs in inclusive education.
Key Terms in this Chapter
Differentiated Instruction: Differentiated Instruction is a teaching approach in which teachers adapt the content, process, or product according to students' interests, readiness, and learning style.
Special Education Teachers: Special education teachers provide specialized instructions to SWDs based on their goals and objectives and individualized educational plan.
Teacher Challenges: Teacher challenges are the barriers and hardships teachers face in successfully teaching students in their classrooms.
Inclusion Classrooms: Inclusion classroom is an educational placement that offers various service delivery formats to educate SWDs in the general education environment.
Co-Teaching: Co-teaching is the practice where two or more teachers provide instruction to a group of students in the same classrooms.
General Education Teachers: General education teachers are responsible for teaching all students in general education classrooms and teaching the general curriculum.
Teacher Collaboration: Teacher collaboration is a task where general education teachers and special education teachers work together, share information, and plan with a common vision and shared purpose of improving students' learning in the inclusion classroom.
Administrators: Administrators include school principals, assistant principals, instructional coaches, and leaders, who are responsible for providing indirect services to students by the implementation of rules, procedures, and school policies.