[Author’s Name]
[Institution’s Name]
Essay on The Inclusion of Disabled Students and how it Affects the Academic Achievement
Inclusion is being implemented in schools across the nation. Schools are restructuring their general and special education programs because performance in our nation's schools has been poor. Inclusion advocates believe that the inclusion philosophy will improve education for both the general and special education student (Staub, 1995). However, there is much disagreement on the effects of inclusion on various categories of students and much confusion about what inclusion really means.
The question under review is what inclusion is and what effect does inclusion has on students (Mannarino, 1980). Some educational experts believe that inclusion improves education for special and general education students while many fear that inclusion is an administrative policy designed to save money on alternate programs and special services designated for special education services.
Inclusion is a philosophy, not a legal term. Inclusion involves the education of all students, not just special education students. Inclusion assumes that all students should be educated in a general classroom in their neighborhood school and with peers their age. "Inclusion places the burden of proof on the school to justify removal rather than on the child to justify why he or she should be allowed to return to regular education environments.” Inclusion education for all students should utilize the best teaching techniques, and any necessary support services and supplementary aids available to make the process of learning a success (Hunt, Staub, Alwell, Goetz, 1994). Services are brought to the students instead of students being removed from the general classroom to receive the services.
Students are removed from the general education classroom only after the school proves that a different setting would benefit the education of that student or the student's peers. Inclusion is a policy that permits the proportions of disabled to non-disabled students in the general classroom to reflect society...............
