Module 2 lesson 2

Producing Inclusive Practices

A. What is Diversity?

Diversity is any dimension that a person or a group can be differentiated from one another. It is all about
empowering people by respecting and appreciating individual differences in terms of age, ethnicity,
religion, disability, sexual orientation, education, and national origin. Diversity allows the exploration of
this differences in a safe, positive, and nurturing environment. It means understanding each other’s
individual uniqueness by extending degree of tolerance and patience to ensure that a person really
value their differences. This allows everyone to embrace and celebrate the richness of the scope of
diversity within each individual and have a positive and wholesome regard on diversity in the classroom,
within the school system, and the community as a whole (Global Diversity Practice, 2020).

B. Loden’s Diversity Wheel

The diagram below is Loden’s Diversity Wheel

Loden’s Diversity Wheel represents the various dimensions of diversity. As a teacher candidate, it is
critical that you understand the factors that make up and influence a person’s individuality. This will
make you truly welcoming and truly inclusive. If we would be narrow-minded in looking what constitute
diversity, we will miss the opportunity of effectively establishing connections and serving all members of
the community most especially your students in your respective classrooms.

It was Marilyn Loden and Judy Rosener in 1990 who developed a framework for thinking about the
different dimensions of diversity within individuals and institutions. Depicted as concentric circles, this
“Diversity Wheel” can be used in many different ways to encourage thinking about values, beliefs, and
dimensions of identity for people and organizations (YMCA of the USA, 2020)).

Based on the diagram, ethnicity and age are core to our individuality while religion and belief, gender,
are core but we cannot change them. They are labelled as inner embedded sphere in which we as
humans do not have any control since they are part of our diversity. Those life experiences that we have
in the outer sphere make us different from each other. We have control on these experiences which
may change or may not change overtime. In nutshell, diversity has two types of dimensions- the inner
dimension which we can control because it is innate in us and the outer dimension that if given the right
circumstances may be controlled. Diversity may include may include anything and everything which sets
us apart. It does not focus only on the visible aspects of us but the invisible which reside our beliefs and
values. This wheel was created to bridge the similarities and differences between cross societal and
cultural boundaries (Lou and Dean, 2010).
A. Diversity and Inclusion

Diversity and inclusion stand side-by-side. Inclusion is an effort in which an individual or group is
welcomed, equally treated, and culturally and socially accepted. These differences could be innate or
built in a person while other attributes are acquired. Inclusion is a sense of belonginess. An inclusive
classroom welcomes everybody regardless of disability, age, social status, cultural and ethnic
background, and so on and so forth. In an inclusive classroom, each person is accepted and respected
for who he/she is. Inclusion is a paradigm shift, new mindset in education that has visible results to the
behavior of the students and the entire members of the school system through modification and
accommodation of the different needs of these diverse students. The process of inclusion help students
to achieve more and maximize their full potential. This process is also rewarding to the teachers and to
the school staff as a whole ( Raina, 2012).

D. Gender in the Classroom

Gender bias is a behavior which shows that you are favoring one gender over the other. It cannot be
denied that most often, gender bias is favoring men over women, boys over girl, and so on and so forth.
Gender bias in education is takes a gradual and cumulative effect in which few only take notice of. Over
the years, so much time, energy, and effort were given to boys and misconceptions that girls need to
attend to the household chores and look after the home and siblings. Sociologist would agree that
although there are biological differences between male and female, gender roles are heavily influenced
by processes of socialization operating in family, school, media, and community as a whole (Raina,
2012). Teachers are even unaware of their biased teaching behavior because they simply teach how
they are taught and exposed to subtle gender-biased teaching instructional materials which are
overlooked. In the paper of Raina, it is recommended that we teachers must advocate gender-biased in
the classroom. The best we to start is by using gender-neutral words in the classroom as we deliver our
instruction and overall teaching behavior.

Below is the list of gender-biased words with their gender-neutral words counterpart.

1. Ladies and gentlemen- folks or everybody

2. Mankind- humankind

3. Man/men- people

4. Congressmen- members of congress

5. Councilman- councilperson

6. Chairman- chairperson

7. Freshmen- fist year students

8. Man-made- machine-made, synthetic, or artificial

9. Father/mother- parent

10. Son/daughter- child

11. Sister/brother-sibling

12. Nice/nephew- nibling

13. Husband/wife/girlfriend/boyfriend- spouse/partner/significant other

14. Steward-stewardess- flight attendant

15. Saleslady/saleswoman- salesperson/sales representative

Example of Gender Sensitive Language

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Module 1 lesson 3 abstraction

Historical, Sociocultural, Philosophical and Theoretical Foundations

SOCIOCULTURAL THEORY

Lev Vygotsky-A proponent of a sociocultural theory. A sociocultural theory focuses on which children’s
cognitive development is influenced by the cultures in which they are reared and the people who teach
them. In his early workings he advocated what is known as “full inclusion model (Lipsky and Gardner,
1996). Vygotsky express firm conviction that special needs education should not be diminished version
of regular education, but a speedily designed setting where the entire staff of the school are able to
exclusively serve the individual needs of the students with disabilities, special needs need special trained
teacher’s, a differentiated curriculum, special technological auxiliary means and simply more time to
learn. All these should be available in the methods of teaching that should be change not the school
setting. Students must always be maintained as much as possible within the inclusive social and cultural
environment of the school.

Fundamental principles of sociocultural perspectives on learning

Three themes are often identified with Vygotsky’s ideas of sociocultural learning: (1) human
development and learning originate in social, historical, and cultural interactions, (2) use of
psychological tools, particularly language, mediate development of higher mental functions, and (3)
learning occurs within the Zone of Proximal Development. While we discuss these ideas separately, they
are closely interrelated, non-hierarchical, and connected.

Human development and learning originate in social, historical, and cultural interactions.Vygotsky
contended that thinking has social origins, social interactions play a critical role especially in the
development of higher order thinking skills, and cognitive development cannot be fully understood
without considering the social and historical context within which it is embedded. He explained, “Every
function in the child’s cultural development appears twice: first, on the social level, and later, on the
individual level; first between people (interpsychological) and then inside the child (intrapsychological)”
(Vygotsky, 1978, p. 57). It is through working with others on a variety of tasks that a learner adopts
socially shared experiences and associated effects and acquires useful strategies and knowledge (Scott &
Palincsar, 2013).

Rogoff (1990) refers to this process as guided participation, where a learner actively acquires new
culturally valuable skills and capabilities through a meaningful, collaborative activity with an assisting,
more experienced other. It is critical to notice that these culturally mediated functions are viewed as
being embedded in sociocultural activities rather than being self-contained. Development is a
“transformation of participation in a sociocultural activity” not a transmission of discrete cultural
knowledge or skills (Matusov, 2015, p. 315).

Use of psychological tools, particularly language, mediate development of higher mental functions.

Another important aspect of Vygotsky’s views on learning is the significance of language in the learning
process. Vygotsky reasoned that social structures determine people’s working conditions and
interactions with others, which in turn shape their cognition, beliefs, attitudes, and perception of reality
and that social and individual work is mediated by tools and signs, or semiotics, such as language,
systems of counting, conventional signs, and works of art. He suggested that the use of tools, or semiotic
mediation, facilitates co-construction of knowledge and mediates both social and individual functioning.
These semiotic means play an important role in development and learning through appropriation, a
process of an individual’s adopting these socially available psychological tools to assist future
independent problem solving (John-Steiner & Mahn, 1996).

Vygotsky viewed language as the ultimate collection of symbols and tools that emerge within a culture.
It is potentially the greatest tool at our disposal, a form of a symbolic mediation that plays two critical
roles in development: to communicate with others and to construct meaning.

Learning occurs within the zone of proximal development. Probably the most widely applied
sociocultural concept in the design of learning experiences is the concept of the Zone of Proximal
Development (ZPD). Vygotsky (1978) defined ZPD as “the distance between the actual developmental
level as determined by independent problem solving and the level of potential development as
determined through problem solving under adult guidance or in collaboration with more capable peers”
(p. 86). He believed that learning should be matched with an individual’s developmental level and that in
order to understand the connection between development and learning, it is necessary to distinguish
the actual and the potential levels of development. Learning and development are best understood
when the focus is on processes rather than their products. He considered the ZPD to be a better and
more dynamic indicator of cognitive development since it reflects what the learner is in the process of
learning as compared to merely measuring what the learner can accomplish independently, reflecting
what has been already learned (Vygotsky, 1978).

Ideas such as ZPD and scaffolding bring to light a fundamentally different view of an instructor who
serves more as a facilitator of learning rather than a fount of knowledge. Likewise, the learner takes on
more responsibilities such as determining their learning goals, becoming a resource of knowledge for
peers, and actively collaborating in the learning process (Grabinger, Aplin, & Ponnappa-Brenner, 2007).

The historical foundations timeline of special education

1965-Congress adds Title IV to the elementary & Secondary Education Act of 1965, which created a
Bureau of Education for the Handicapped (today, this bureauis called the office of Special Education
Programs or OSEP). At this time, educating students with disabilities is NOT mandated by federal or state
law.

1972- Supreme Court Decisions apply the equal protection argument to students with disabilities [PARC
v. Pennsylvania (1972) and mills v. D.C Board of Education (1972). Some students with disabilities start
going to school as a result of these court decisions.

1973- Section 504 of the rehabilitation Act of 1973 is enacted, which protects qualified individuals from
discrimination based on disability. Since this law was enacted without excitement, most educators did
not know it applied to public schools.

1975- The education for all handicapped Children Act is authorized and is now known as the Individuals
with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). This mandated that all school districts to educate students with
disabilities. This included: providing federal funding. FAPE, LRE, Procedural safeguards, Non-
discriminatory evaluations. And IEPs.

1977- The final regulations for EAHCA are determined, which include rules for school districts to follow
when providing an education to students with disabilities.

1986- The EACHA adds the Handicapped Children’s Protection Act, giving parents and students rights
under EACHA (now IDEA) and section 504.

1990- The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) uses Section 504 regulations - “504 Plans” are now
made for individual students and have become much more common in schools now.

1990- The EAHCA is now called the individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). One of the biggest
changes to this Act is the transitional services for students with disabilities. This included changes such
as:
· The word “handicap” was changed to “disability”

· Person first language

· Added Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) and Autism categories

· Transition services

· Assertive technology & related services

1997- IDEA amends that students with disabilities are to be included in on state and district-wide
assessments. Regular Education teachers are now also required to be part of the IEP team. These
changes included and/ or affected:

· FAPE

· Nondiscriminatory evaluation

· IEP

· LRE

· Discipline

· Related Services

· Parents Rights

2001- No Child Left behind: This states that all students (including those with disabilities) to be proficient
in math and reading by the year 2014

2004- IDEA changes again many ways. The biggest change creates more accountability at the state and
local levels. Another change is that the school districts must provide instruction and intervention for
students to help keep them out of special education, if possible.

PHILOSOPHY OF INCLUSIVE EDUCATION

For almost quarter century, services to people with disabilities were seemingly endless state of flux. In
this process, the central themes that emerged and changed the future direction of services were
deinstitutionalization, normalization, equal rights, access, least restrictive environment and community-
based services.

PHILOSOPICAL FOUNDATION

· should have the rights as normal children do.

· must NOT be isolated nor be looked down.

· must be treated as persons of dignity.

· needs should be provided.

Models of Services

The various initiatives for disabled always reflected two primary approaches to rehabilitation i.e.,
individual pathology and social pathology. In the former approach, the individual is seen as problem
while in latter the environment is seen as problem. Within these two approaches, four models of
disability emerged, which are - the charity model, the bio-centric model, the functional model and the
human rights model (NCERT, 2006).

a. The Charity Model.

The charity model brought out various welfare measures like providing care, shelter and basic needs.
This resulted in establishment of more number of residential units that provided custodial care. These
institutions functioned like detention centres and there was no public accountability or comprehensive
provisions of services that would enhance the quality of life for individuals with disabilities. Eventually,
this model resulted in marginalization and disconnect with the larger society.

b. The Bio-centric Model.

Evolving from the previous model, bio-centric model regards disability as a medical or genetic condition
and prompted to seek medical treatments as only means 25 of management. The role of family, society
and government was flippant according to this model. However, medical diagnoses and biological
treatments have to be necessarily part of the rehabilitation of the disabled along with the family and
social support to participate in the activities of social life.

c. The Functional Model.

In the functional model, entitlement to rights is differentiated according to judgments of individual

incapacity and the extent to which a person is perceived as being independent to exercise his/her rights.
For example, a child’s right to education is dependent on whether or not the child can access the school
and participate in the classroom, rather than the obligation being on the school system becoming
accessible to children with disabilities. Thus, it may not pose obligation to schools for facilitating barrier
free education.

d. The Human Rights Model .

The human rights model positions disability as an important dimension of human culture and it affirms
that all human beings are born with certain inalienable rights. According to this model, the principle of
respect for difference and acceptance of disability as part of human diversity and humanity is important,
as disability is a universal feature of the human condition. It purports to identify those barriers for
participation in society and removes them. Advocating for non-discrimination, it also calls for reasonable
differentiation only to create specialized support services for effective participation in the society.

BASIC PHILOSOPHY OF SPECIAL EDUCATION

“Every child with special needs has a right to an educational program that is suitable to his needs.”

“Special education shares with regular education basic responsibilities of the educational system to fulfill
the right of the child to develop to his full potential.”

Developing a comprehensive system of inclusive special education

A new theory has been proposed that synthesizes theory and research from both special education and
inclusive education in order to present a model for providing effective education for all children with
SEND (special educational needs and disabilities) Th e theory of inclusive special education comprises a
synthesis of the philosophy and values of inclusive education along with the strategies and interventions
used in special education.

The theory of inclusive special educationprovides guidelines for policies, procedures and evidence-based
teaching strategies that will support the delivery of effective education for all children with SEND. The
goal of this new approach is to ensure that all children with SEND are effectively educated in special or
mainstream facilities, wherever most is appropriate, from early childhood through secondary school
education.

Thus, the model combines key aspects of special education and inclusive education to form inclusive
special education.

Inclusive special education is about providing the best possible instruction for all children with SEND, in
the most appropriate setting, throughout all stages of a child’s education, with the aim of achieving the
highest possible level of inclusion in the community post-school. Its focus is on effectively including as
many children as possible in mainstream schools, along with the availability of a continuum of
placement options from mainstream classes to special schools, and involving close collaboration
between mainstream and special schools.

Continuum of placement options from mainstream classes to special schools Inclusive special education
recognizes that, although the majority of children with SEND can be effectively educated in mainstream
classes, there are a minority of children with higher levels of SEND who benefit more from being
educated in resource rooms, special classes or special schools for some or all of the time at school
(Kauffman & Badar, 2014a; NCSE, 2010; Warnock, 2005). Therefore, it is necessary that a continuum of
placement options, from mainstream classes to special schools, is available. Such continua of options,
often referred to as cascades of services have been the reality of special education provision in most
countries for many years and typically include options from mainstream classrooms with support from
specialist teachers or teaching assistants, through resource rooms or special classes within mainstream
schools, to separate special schools. A typical continuum includes the options below:

· mainstream class with differentiation of work by the class teacher;

· mainstream class with guidance for the teacher provided by a specialist teacher;

· mainstream class with support for the pupil from a teaching assistant;
· mainstream class with some time spent in a resource room;

· special class within a mainstream school;

· special class that is part of a special school but is attached to a mainstream school;

· special school which is on same campus as a mainstream school;

· special school on a separate campus;

· residential special school on its own campus.

Module 1 lesson 4 abstraction

Legal Basis of Inclusive Education

Components of a Comprehensive Inclusive Program

1. Child Find. This is locating where these children are through the family mapping survey, advocacy
campaigns and networking with local health workers. The children with special needs who are not in
school shall be listed using Enclosure No. 1. These children shall be visited by Special Education (SPED)
teachers and parents should be convinced to enroll their children in SPED Centers or schools nearest
their home.

2. Assessment. This is the continuous process of identifying the strengths and weaknesses of the child
through the use of formal and informal tools for proper program grade placement. Existing SPED
Centers in the Division shall assist regular schools in the assessment process.

3. Program Options. Regular schools with or without trained SPED teachers shall be provided
educational services to children with special needs. These schools shall access educational services from
SPED Centers or SPED trained teachers.The first program option that shall be organized for these
children is a self-contained class for children with similar disabilities which can be mono-grade or multi-
grade handled by a trained SPED teacher.The second option is inclusion or placement of the child with
disabilities in general education or regular class where he/she learns with his/her peers under a regular
teacher and/or SPED trained teacher who addresses the child’s needs.

The third option is a resource room program where the child with disabilities shall be pulled out from
the general education or regular class and shall report to a SPED teacher who provides small group/one-
on-one instruction and/or appropriate interventions for these children.

4. Curriculum Modifications. This shall be implemented in the forms of adaptations and

accommodations to foster optimum learning based on individual’s needs and potentials. Modification in
classroom instructions and activities is a process that involves new ways of thinking and developing
teaching-learning practices.It also involves changes in any of the steps in the teaching-learning process.
Curriculum modifications shall include service delivery options like cooperative or team teaching,
consulting teacher program and others. The provision of support services from professionals and
specialists, parents, volunteers, and peers or buddies to the children with special needs is an important
feature in the inclusion program.

5. Parental Involvement. This plays a vital role in preparing the children in academic, moral and spiritual
development. Parents shall involve themselves in observing children’s performance, volunteering to
work in the classroom as teacher aide and providing support to other parents.

Excerpt from DO 72, s. 2009

Legal Bases of Inclusive Education

The principle of inclusion as a basis for development initiatives including education has been highlighted
in international legal and standard-setting instruments, and Philippine laws. These laws and instruments
are premised on the fundamental importance of recognizing the right to quality basic education of all
learners, especially the disadvantaged and marginalized, who may be in unique situations and have
different learning needs due to their personal, social, cultural, and economic context. These serve as
pillars of this Inclusive Education Policy Framework.

A. International Legal and Standard-setting Instruments

a. The 1989 Convention on the Rights of the Child upholds the rights of children and changed the way
children are viewed and treated—from passive objects of care and charity to human beings with a
distinct set of rights.

b. The 1994 Salamanca Statement provides that all children should learn together, wherever possible,
regardless of any difficulties or differences they may have.

c. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) aims to promote,
protect, and ensure the full and equal enjoyment of all human rights and fundamental freedoms by all
persons with disabilities, and to promote respect for their inherent dignity. More specifically, Article 24
of the UNCRPD states that "the right of persons with disabilities to education must be recognized with a
view to realizing this right without discrimination and on the basis of equal opportunity" and General
Comment 4 outlines what inclusive education is and what countries must do to make it happen (UN
Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), 2016).

d. The 2007 United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples stipulates that Indigenous
Peoples (IPs) have the right to establish and control their educational systems and institutions and that
indigenous individuals, particularly children, have the right to all levels and forms of education without
discrimination.

e. The Education 2030 Framework for Action aims at mobilizing all countries and partners around the
Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) on inclusive and equitable quality education and lifelong learning
opportunities for all.
B. Philippine Legal Mandates for Inclusive Education

a. The 1987 Philippine Constitution (Article XIV, Sections 1 and 2) explicitly upholds the protection and
promotion of the right of all citizens to quality education at all levels, which requires the Philippine
government, among others, to:

i. Establish, maintain, and support a complete, adequate, and integrated system of education relevant to
the needs of the people and society (Section 2(1));

ii. Encourage non-formal, informal, and indigenous learning systems, as well as self-learning,
independent, and out-of-school study programs particularly those that respond to community needs
(Section 2(4)); and

iil. Provide adult citizens, the disabled, and out-of-school youth with training in civics, vocational
efficiency and other skills (Section

b. Republic Act No. 10533 otherwise known as The Enhanced Basic Education Act of 2013, and its
Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR), define the inclusiveness of enhanced basic education through
the implementation of programs designed to address the physical, intellectual, psycho-social and
cultural needs of learners, which shall include, but shall not be limited to, Programs for Learners with
Disabilities, Programs for Learners under Difficult Circumstances, Madrasah Program, Indigenous
Peoples Education Program, and Programs for the Gifted and Talented (Section 8).

c. Republic Act No. 9710 otherwise known as The Magna Carta of Women, and its Implementing Rules
and Regulations (IRR), compels the State to provide equal access and to eliminate discrimination in
education, scholarships, and training (Section 13). This includes admission, curriculum and educational
materials, delivery using gendersensitive language, and capacity-building on Gender and Development
(GAD), peace and human rights for teachers and those involved in the education sector.

d. Republic Act No. 10157 or The Kindergarten Education Act released in 2012 declares the policy of the
State to provide equal opportunities for all children to avail of accessible mandatory and compulsory
kindergarten education that effectively promotes physical, social, intellectual, emotional and skills
stimulation and values formation to sufficiently prepare them for formal elementary schooling.

e. Republic Act No. 9155 otherwise known as The Governance of Basic Education Act of 2001 enforces
the establishment of the Alternative Learning System (ALS) to provide out-of-school youth and adults
with basic education.

f. Republic Act No. 8371 otherwise known as The Indigenous Peoples Rights Act of 1997 mandates the
State to provide equal access to various cultural opportunities to ICCs (Indigenous Cultural
Communitiesl/IPs through the education system without prejudice to their right to establish and control
their educational systems and institutions by providing education in their own language, and in a
manner appropriate to their cultural methods of teaching and learning (Article Il, Section 2).
g. Republic Act No. 9344 or The Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act of 2006 requires educational
institutions to work together with families, community organizations and agencies in the prevention of
juvenile delinquency and in the rehabilitation and reintegration of child in conflict with the law.

h. Republic Act No, 9442 (approved in 2007) or An Act Amending Republic Act No. 7277 of 1992,
otherwise known as the Magna Carta For Disabled Persons mandates the provision of educational
assistance to persons with disabilities, for them to pursue primary, secondary, tertiary, post tertiary
education, as well as vocational or technical education, in both public and private schools.

i. Republic Act No. 10665 of 2015 also known as the Open High School System Act declares the policy of
the state to broaden access to relevant quality education through the employment of an alternative
secondary

education program to overcome personal, geographical, socio-economic, and physical constraints.

j. Republic Act No. 10361 approved in 2013 otherwise known as the Domestic Workers Act or Batas
Kasambahay guarantees that the Kasambahay is afforded the opportunity to finish basic education,
which shall consist of elementary and secondary education and mandates the DepEd to ensure their
continued access to ALS (Rule IV, Section 16).

k. Republic Act No. 7610 of 1992 also known as Special Protection Against Abuse, Exploitation and
Discrimination Act declares that it is a State policy to provide special protection to children from all
forms of abuse, neglect, cruelty, exploitation and discrimination, and other conditions prejudicial to
their development; provide sanctions for their commission and carry out a program for prevention and
deterrence of and crisis intervention in situations of child abuse, exploitation and discrimination.

Excerpt from DO 21, s. 2019