Running head: THE INCLUSIVE CLASSROOM 1

The Inclusive Classroom: The Continued Debate

Vanessa Lebrasseur

EEA 535: Dimensions of Educational Leadership

City University of Seattle in Canada

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The Inclusive Classroom: The Continued Debate

When walking through the hallways of schools, reading articles online, following

conversations on social media from teachers all over the world, questions are often asked about

inclusive classrooms: How can teachers make it work? How will teachers efficiently meet the

learning needs of the students without appropriate support or funding? Inclusive classrooms

continue to be a growing debate in education. Concerns from administrators, teachers, and

parents continue to rise. In the current education system, the desire is for all students to achieve

success; however, this goal can be challenging to accomplish. Teachers everywhere should wish

the best for the students and should want to provide them with the best education. Class sizes

and job expectations continue to grow, but preparation time and funding continue to decrease.

How can educators ensure that every student in the school will be provided with the best

education in a safe and caring environment?

Inclusion

The intentions behind having inclusive classrooms were to assure that every child felt

like a valued member of the classroom and school community. “Inclusion is built on the

principle that all students should be valued for their exceptional abilities and included as

important members of the school community” (Algozzine & Ysseldyke, 2006; Causton-

Theoharis & Theoharis, 2008). On one hand, classroom environments should be filled with

equal opportunities for students to achieve an education. On the other hand, it is challenging to

expect such a responsibility to be achieved successfully without proper supports, time, and

resources in place. Teachers should be instructing students and meeting them at their

instructional level, however, with most classes being enrolled with over 26 students, each

individual with varying abilities, this is a challenge in education. Some teachers struggle to
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create lesson plans that could reach the varying levels of ability, learning disabilities, and needs.

Additional time is needed to create specific programs such as Adaptive Program Plans,

Individual Program Plans, Behavior Intervention Plans, and Safety Plans for classrooms with

diverse needs. These documents take many hours to create and with the lack of preparation time

throughout a week, this can become an overwhelming process.

Research consistently identifies the importance of having proper supports arranged in the

classroom for inclusion to be successful. “Although most teachers supported the idea of

inclusion, their primary concern was the lack of support and resources required to have a positive

attitude about teaching in inclusive classrooms” (Litvac, Ritchie, & Shore, 2011, p. 475). In

2009, the Alberta Government raised their expectations for inclusion to ensure various

opportunities for inclusive learning. Their vision stated: “All students will have equitable

opportunity to be included in the typical learning environment or program of choice” (Alberta

Education, 2009, p. 5). Inclusion has societal benefits; however, concerns are whether, or not,

full inclusion will come at the expense of the learners’ individual needs.

From the Eyes of Our Students

Discussions around inclusion often involve students with disabilities and rarely refers to

the typical students. Tkachyk (2013) indicated that inclusion could benefit all students “It is my

firm belief that children without special needs have the most to gain from inclusion since an

inclusive environment models tolerance and acceptance” (p.16). Research appears to lack the

inclusion of the students’ thoughts. In 1985, the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and

the Canadian Human Rights Acts implemented “section 15 of the Charter which provides ‘equal

protection and equal benefit of the law without discrimination for women, visible minorities,

persons with disabilities and gay/lesbian and transgendered groups’” (Government of Canada,
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1985). Prior to this Act, students with disabilities were segregated from classrooms, and it was

thought this would bring the best solution for all. The current educational practice is for students

with disabilities to not be segregated from classrooms, and they should learn along with their

classmates. Children should no longer be pulled out of classes and should learn along with their

classmates. According to Federal News Service (2014): “The highly skilled children aren’t hurt

by being in classrooms with children who have disabilities” (para.9). Research describes the

various benefits of having inclusion classrooms. “We found that children with disabilities get a

big boost in their language scores over the course of a year when they can interact with other

children who have good language skills” (Federal News Service, 2014, para.4). Most people will

try their best when they surround themselves with people who want to succeed. Research

indicates that inclusion creates a positive climate and encourages the full potential out of every

individual. “Peers help because they spend more time one-on-one with their fellow classmates

than teachers can. Children with disabilities have the opportunity to observe, imitate and model

the language use of their peers who do not have disabilities” (Federal News Service, 2014,

para.10). Research also demonstrates that most average students could not recognize the

differences between students with or without disabilities. When questioned, children stated that

they played, learned and worked with students with or without disabilities, they did not recognize

any differences (Litvac, Ritchie, & Shore, 2011). Inclusion classrooms created collaborative

environments, taught children about differences and similarities, taught compassion, and

empathy; it prepared children with life skills and how to work with different types of people.

Challenging Behaviors

Litvac, Ritchie, & Shore (2011) indicated some high-achieving students shared concerns

regarding disruptive and students with challenging behaviours:

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“You don’t get to learn as fast, you don’t get to learn at your level, they interrupt our

learning process, if there’s a problem, then the teachers have to interrupt our lessons, and they

have to go outside the classroom and talk with them and calm them down” (p. 483).

Children should not feel this way towards any child in the classroom. Specific

programming should be in place to achieve success for all students in the classroom. Tkachyk

indicated that “Although, it was sometimes difficult to integrate students with severe behaviours,

it was the general consensus that the social benefits far outweighed the occasional disruptions”

(p. 16). The students with behavioural difficulties may cause disruptions in the classrooms,

however, learning age-appropriate behaviours and interactions are best observed in the regular

classroom. The questions remain the same: How can teachers make it work? How will teachers

efficiently meet the learning needs of the students without appropriate support or funding?

Appreciative Inquiry Process

Definition

Inclusion allows students to learn the same curriculum and have equal opportunities to

achieve an education. Classroom teachers should differentiate and present curriculum outcomes

to students who require Individual Program Plans, to students who are gifted, and all average

students. Clough and Nutbrown (2005) stated: “Young children can only be truly included if

their educators understand their needs, and how to meet such needs through practices which

aspire excellent” (p. 100). Unfortunately, teachers are encountering difficulties balancing all the

required expectations. Preparing lessons, programming and finding appropriate interventions

and support for all students in their classrooms takes time. Tkachyk (2013) indicated “There is

no question that most teachers do not consciously set out to exclude any students, however,

without the necessary classroom supports for inclusion this may be happening by default” (p.
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21). To ensure success for inclusive classrooms, school leaders will have to encourage

collaboration. “To prepare teachers for inclusive practices within schools means that school

leaders must share the vision of inclusive education and secure commitment from teachers and

service providers” (Carter et al., 2009; Causton-Theoharis & Theoharis, 2008). Collaboration

may require additional preparation time at the beginning but will benefit both students and

teachers in the end.

Discovery

School leaders should have a good understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of all

their teachers and students to successfully create their student allocation. Leaders should

carefully assign students to teachers who will best meet their needs. Proper supports and time

should be provided for teachers to feel successful and prepared for their students. Tkachyk

(2013) stated:

“Although the intent of inclusive classrooms may be to increase tolerance and acceptance

and send the message that no student should be treated differently because of a disability, the fact

remains that full inclusion will only work if there are enough supports in place for teachers and

students allowing students with learning difficulties to receive specialized programming

necessary for them to experience success and reach their greatest potential” (p. 23).

Administrators should incorporate time in the calendar year to provide teachers with

professional development and opportunities to collaborate with teaching partners, the inclusion

team, and administrators. School leaders must encourage the staff members and remind them

why inclusive classrooms are essential for the success of every individual child. Providing

teachers with time to collaborate may result in the teachers feeling more confident to meet the

diverse needs in their classrooms. “Educators must diversify their goals, assessment, and
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instruction to accommodate and meet the range of developmental and educational needs present

in today’s classrooms” (Beattie, Jordan, & Algozzine, 2007; Gadberry, 2009; King, 2003).

Vaughn, Schumm, and Arguelles (1997) explained practical and applicable suggestions for

effective collaborations in their five evidenced-based model of co-teaching in which

collaboration can occur: one teacher and one assist, station teaching, parallel teaching, alternative

teaching and team teaching. Collaborating and working together will help teachers structure

their classroom environment to reach the diverse needs in the classrooms. If leaders encouraged

a school culture of collaboration, it would set teachers and students up for success and ensure

that everyone is working towards a shared vision.

Dream

School administrators and teachers should hold the same expectations for inclusive

classrooms. Administrators must follow the Principal Leadership Quality (PLQ) Standard, and

by committing to the standard expectations, they should be supporting their teachers with

inclusion classrooms. The PLQ indicates: “Creating an inclusive learning environment in which

diversity is embraced, a sense of belonging is emphasized, and all students and staff are

welcomed, cared for, respected, and safe” (Alberta Education, 2018). The PLQ also states that

school leaders must “ensure that every student has access to quality teaching and optimum

learning experiences” (Alberta Education, 2018). Teachers must follow the Teachers Quality

Standard and be held accountable to the same standards. Providing the students with

differentiated instructions and allowing opportunities for all individual students to grow are

standards in both documents.

Design & Destiny/Delivery

To ensure that all teachers and students are successful with the diverse needs in
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classrooms, school leaders should clearly articulate their vision and mission. It is important to

provide preparation time for teachers to organize their classroom environments to ensure all

students are positioned to succeed. Properly allocating students, educational assistances, and

teachers will optimize student learning and success. It is also important to gather proper data

every year to ensure that teachers and administrators are prepared for the students in schools.

According to Clough and Nutbrown (2005) “All young children have the right to

responsive, respectful education, not just those children who are easy to work with, obliging,

endearing, clean, pretty, articulate, capable” (p. 102). Inclusion provides all learners with the

opportunity to be members of the school community, allows students to learn at their

instructional level, and prepares children how to work with people who have varying needs.

Inclusive education is essential, teachers and leaders will have to work together to ensure that

everyone, including themselves, feel successful in an inclusion environment.

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References

Alberta Education. (2010). Making a difference: Meeting diverse learning needs with

differentiated instruction. Edmonton: Alberta Education.

Alberta Education. (2018). Leadership Quality Standard. Edmonton: Alberta Education

Alberta Education. (2018). Teaching Quality Standard. Edmonton: Alberta Education

Algozzine, B., & Ysseldyke, J. (2006). The fundamentals of special education. Thousand Oaks,

CA: Corwin.

Beattie, J., Jordan, L., & Algozzine, B. (2006). Making inclusion work: Effective practices for

all teachers. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.

Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedom. (1982). Constitution Act. Canada: Government

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