What is Inclusion

Inclusive Education

The Department of Education and Early Childhood Development defines

inclusive education as a philosophy that promotes:
● the right of all students to attend school with their peers, and to receive
appropriate and quality programming;
● a continuum of supports and services in the most appropriate setting
(large group, small group, individualized) respecting the dignity of the
child;
● a welcoming school culture where all members of the school
community feel they belong, realize their potential, and contribute to
the life of the school;
● an atmosphere which respects and values the participation of all
members of the school community;
● a school community which celebrates diversity; and

● a safe and caring school environment

These tenets apply to all members of the school community regardless of

economic status, gender, racial or religious background, sexual orientation,
academic ability or other facet of diversity. The move towards inclusive
education involves a refocusing of the way individuals perceive the learning
environment. Individuals see the classroom as a diverse setting with a variety
of students bringing their own unique learning styles, abilities, experiences
and backgrounds. An inclusive classroom not only respects these differences
but embraces it.
While the concept of inclusive education is typically associated with
including special needs children in the classroom environment, this is not an
accurate reflection of the Department of Education and Early Childhood
Development’s vision. In reality, the goal of inclusive education is that
students are included in ALL aspects of the learning environment regardless
of any facet of diversity. Such inclusive education involves much more than
just student placement. It embraces all students and involves everything that
happens within the school community: culture, policies, and practices.
For students with exceptionalities, inclusive education does not mean
that every student is required or expected to be in the regular classroom
100% of the time. Some students, whether for medical, academic, social or
emotional reasons, need individualized or small group instruction periodically,
in order for their needs to be met.

Creating an Inclusive School Culture

An inclusive culture starts from the premise that everyone in the school
– students, educators, administrators, support staff and parents – should feel
that they belong and contribute to the life of the school. Within an inclusive
school culture, diverse experiences, perspectives and gifts are seen to enrich
the school community.
Achieving an inclusive school culture goes beyond making a decision
to run a workshop on bullying, put in a ramp or offer diversity training to staff.
It is more than just developing a value statement that talks about being
inclusive. An inclusive school culture requires a shift in the attitudes of
all the stakeholders as well as the development of policies and practices
that reinforce inclusive behavior.
Creating an inclusive school culture is an opportunity to teach
students, early in their development as citizens, about the importance
and value of being inclusive. They will learn behavior that will ultimately
help nurture truly inclusive communities. It also provides an opportunity for
parents to learn with their children about the importance of belonging,
acceptance and community.
In an inclusive school culture diversity is embraced; learning supports
are available and properly utilized and flexible learning experiences focus on
the individual student. There is an innovative and creative environment and a
collaborative approach is taken. At the heart of an inclusive school is a
committed leadership and a shared direction.
(As cited in An Inclusive School Culture – a resource tool created by the
Ontario Community Inclusion Project of Community Living Ontario)

Inclusive Education Initiative

In March 2009, the Inclusive Education Initiative began with the goal of
making schools in Newfoundland and Labrador places where all members of
the school community feel safe, accepted and included. A phase-in approach
was adopted with new schools joining the initiative each year until June 2017,
when representatives from all public schools will have received training in
inclusive practices, differentiated instruction and collaborative teaching. See
links below for schools that entered the initiative in each phase.
Itinerants for Inclusive Education are responsible for supporting
schools as they implement an inclusive education framework. They provide
continuous and direct support to all schools involved in the initiative through
school visits, collaboration with teachers and school teams, and provision of
in-service and professional development sessions. While priority for training
will be given to new schools, Itinerants for Inclusive Education remain
available to assist schools trained in earlier phases.

What Makes Inclusive Education Work?

There are many components required in order to make schools inclusive,

however, the EECD focuses its professional learning on the 12 components
below:
● an understanding of, and commitment to, inclusion

● a welcoming and safe school environment

● a strong administration team
 ● a focus on teaching all children
● involvement from families and outside agencies
● professional development for teachers and other school personnel
● common planning time for teachers
● effective instructional and assessment strategies to meet student
needs.
● appropriate accommodations and support systems in place

● opportunities for relationship and team building

● a commitment to continuous improvement and growth

Definition of Early Childhood Inclusion

Early childhood inclusion embodies the values, policies, and practices that
support the right of every infant and young child and his or her family,
regardless of ability, to participate in a broad range of activities and contexts
as full members of families, communities, and society. The desired results of
inclusive experiences for children with and without disabilities and their
families include a sense of belonging and membership, positive social
relationships and friendships, and development and learning to reach their full
potential. The defining features of inclusion that can be used to identify high
quality early childhood programs and services are access, participation, and
supports.

What is meant by Access, Participation, and Supports

Access

Providing access to a wide range of learning opportunities, activities,

settings, and environments is a defining feature of high - quality early
childhood inclusion. Inclusion can take many different forms and can occur in
various organizational and community contexts, such as homes, Head Start,
child care, faith-based programs, recreational programs, preschool, public and
private pre-kindergarten through early elementary education, and blended
early childhood education/early childhood special education programs. In
many cases, simple modifications can facilitate access for individual children.
Universal design is a concept that can be used to support access to
environments in many different types of settings through the removal of
physical and structural barriers. Universal Design for Learning (udl) reflects
practices that provide multiple and varied formats for instruction and learning.
UDL principles and practices help to ensure that every young child has
access to learning environments, to typical home or educational routines and
activities, and to the general education curriculum. Technology can enable
children with a range of functional abilities to participate in activities and
experiences in inclusive settings.

Participation

Even if environments and programs are designed to facilitate access,

some children will need additional individualized accommodations and
supports to participate fully in play and learning activities with peers and
adults. Adults promote belonging, participation, and engagement of children
with and without disabilities in inclusive settings in a variety of intentional
ways. Tiered models in early childhood hold promise for helping adults
organize assessments and interventions by level of intensity. Depending
pooling of resources and the use of incentives to increase access to high
quality inclusive opportunities. Quality frameworks (e.g., program quality
standards, early learning standards and guidelines, and professional
competencies and standards) should reflect and guide inclusive practices to
ensure that all early childhood practitioners and programs are prepared to
address the needs and priorities of infants and young children with disabilities
and their families on the individual needs and priorities of young children and
families, implementing inclusion involves a range of approaches—from
embedded, routines based teaching to more explicit interventions—to scaffold
learning and participation for all children. Social-emotional development and
behaviors that facilitate participation are critical goals of high - quality early
childhood inclusion, along with learning and development in all other domains.

Supports
 In addition to provisions addressing access and participation, an
infrastructure of systems-level supports must be in place to undergird the
efforts of individuals and organizations providing inclusive services to children
and families. For example, family members, practitioners, specialists, and
administrators should have access to ongoing professional development and
support to acquire the knowledge, skills, and dispositions required to
implement effective inclusive practices. Because collaboration among key
stakeholders (e.g., families, practitioners, specialists, and administrators) is a
cornerstone for implementing high quality early childhood inclusion, resources
and program policies are needed to promote multiple opportunities for
communication and collaboration among these groups. Specialized services
and therapies must be implemented in a coordinated fashion and integrated
with general early care and education services. Blended early childhood
education/early childhood special education programs offer one example of
how this might be achieved.4 Funding policies should promote the

Endnotes

1. Phrases such as “children with special needs” and “children with

exceptionalities” are sometimes used in place of “children with disabilities.”

2. The term “inclusion” can be used in a broader context relative to

opportunities and access for children from culturally and linguistically diverse
groups, a critically important topic in early childhood requiring further
discussion and inquiry. It is now widely acknowledged, for example, that
culture has a profound influence on early development and learning, and that
early care and education practices must reflect this influence. Although this
position statement is more narrowly focused on inclusion as it relates to
disability, it is understood that children with disabilities and their families vary
widely with respect to their racial/ethnic, cultural, economic, and linguistic
backgrounds.

3. In accordance with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA),

children ages 3-21 are entitled to a free, appropriate public education (FAPE)
in the least restrictive environment (LRE). LRE requires that, to the extent
possible, children with disabilities should have access to the general
education curriculum, along with learning activities and settings that are
available to their peers without disabilities. Corresponding federal legislation
applied to infants and toddlers (children birth to 3) and their families specifies
that early intervention services and supports must be provided in “natural
environments,” generally interpreted to mean a broad range of contexts and
activities that generally occur for typically developing infants and toddlers in
homes and communities. Although this document focuses on the broader
meaning and implications of early childhood inclusion for children birth to
eight, it is recognized that the basic ideas and values reflected in the term
“inclusion” are congruent with those reflected in the term “natural
environments.” Furthermore, it is acknowledged that fundamental concepts
related to both inclusion and natural environments extend well beyond the
early childhood period to include older elementary school students and
beyond.

4. Blended programs integrate key components (e.g., funding, eligibility

criteria, curricula) of two or more different types of early childhood programs
(e.g., the federally funded program for preschoolers with disabilities in
combination with Head Start, public pre-k, and/or child care) with the goal of
serving a broader group of children and families within a single program.

Supplemental Content:

1. Go to this page :
Early Childhood Inclusive Practices - Inclusive Schools Network
https://inclusiveschools.org/category/resources/early-childhood/

You will be directed to the site below

 Click Resources on top in the choices

This will appear.

Browse down, you will find the video Inclusion Basics Course. Click on it.

The picture below shows the appearance of the video you will watch.