1

Pretest
Encircle only the letter of your answer.

1. It is an evidence-based model of disability.

a. Moral/ Religious Model
b. Biomedical/ Individual Model
c. Functional/ Rehabilitation Model
d. Social Model
2. A model that moves beyond explanation, offering a theoretical framework for disability policy that
emphasizes the human dignity of PWDs.
a. Social Model
b. Functional/ Rehabilitation Model
c. Right-Based Model
d. Biomedical/ Individual Model
3. It sees disability as either a blessing or a curse.
a. Moral/ Religious Model
b. Biomedical/ Individual Model
c. Functional/ Rehabilitation Model
d. Social Model
4. It considers disability as a glitch the PWD is born into, which needs assessment and fixing.
a. Social model
b. Functional/ Rehabilitation Model
c. Biomedical/ Individual Model
d. Moral/ Religious Model
5. According to this model, these deficits need to undergo rehabilitative intervention such as
therapies, counseling, and the like in the aim of reintegrating the disabled into society.
a. Moral/ Religious Model
b. Social Model
c. Right-Based Model and Twin Track Approach
d. Functional Model
6. They are seen as disabled not because they are deficient but because society “insist” they are
deficient and disadvantaged.
a. People who are handicapped.
b. People who have disability.
c. People who have mental deficits.
d. All of the above.
7. It is an educational practice that places students with disabilities in the general education
classroom along with typically developing children under the supervision and guidance of a
general education teacher.
a. Special Education
b. Normal Education
c. Inclusive Education
d. Special Needs Education
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8. It is defined as the state or quality of being different or varied or a point of difference.
a. Special Needs Education
b. Mainstreaming
c. Diversity
d. Inclusive Education
9. This law exempts PWDs on VAT on the following sale of goods and services and inclusion of
funeral services.
a. RA 10366
b. RA 10070 (2010)
c. RA 11228 (2019)
d. RA 10754 (2016)
10. An act to enhance the mobility of disabled persons by requiring certain buildings, institutions,
establishments and public utilities to install facilities and other devices.
a. RA 10070 (2010) – Implementation of Programs and Services for PWDs in every province,
city and municipality- PDAO Law
b. Administrative Order 35 (2002)- National Disability Prevention and Rehabilitation (NPDR
Week)
c. BP 344 (1983)- Accessibility Law
d. RA 10524 (2013) – (Expanding the Positions Reserved for PWDs)
11. It refers to the design of the instructional materials and activities to make the content information
accessible to all children.
a. Accommodations
b. Inclusive practices
c. Differentiated instructions
d. Universal Design for Learning
12. A common barrier to inclusion where there is lack of building facility, transportation, or road
accessibility.
a. Lack of funding
b. Poor language communication
c. Curriculum
d. Physical barriers
13. It is considered road maps or blueprints that were developed by the United Nations to ensure a
better and sustainable future for everyone.
a. Vision and Mission
b. Objectives
c. Agenda
d. Sustainable Development Goals
14. In educational reforms, they invested in the welfare and success of a school and its students.
a. Stakeholders
b. Administrators
c. Supervisors
d. Community

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15. When can you say that the teacher differentiates instructions?
a. When he/she teaches with great passion and commitment.
b. When he/she uses a variety of teaching and learning strategies.
c. When he/she continues to teach effectively in the class.
d. When he/she delivers the lesson well in front of the class.
16. It refers to a problem a person with disability or impairment encounters when interacting with
people, events and the physical aspects of the environment.
a. Disabled
b. At risk
c. Developmental Disability
d. Handicap
17. It is designed to keep potential or minor problems from becoming a disability.
a. At risk
b. Handicap
c. Preventive intervention
d. Developmental disability
18. It means a disorder in one or more of the basic psychological processes involved in
understanding or in using language, spoken or written, which may manifest itself in an imperfect
ability to listen, think, speak, read, write, spell or to do mathematical calculations.
a. Specific learning disability
b. Emotional disability
c. Language and communication disorder
d. Intellectual disability
19. It is a forecast of how the child with a disability can move on the next level of education, form
elementary to secondary school on to college or vocational program and finally to the workplace.
a. Present environment
b. Future environment
c. Past environment
d. Perfect environment
20. Kind of risk where the child is born prematurely, underweight at birth, whose mother contracted
with diabetes or rubella during the first trimester of pregnancy.
a. Established risk
b. Environmental risk
c. Biological risk
d. Hazardous risk

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MODULE 1 : Understanding Diversity
“In diversity there is beauty and there is strength.”
– Maya Angelou.

You will gain a clearer understanding of what diversity is in this chapter. The various
aspects that make one individual different from the other, using Loden's Wheel of Diversity, will
allow you to explore how each aspect contributes to the personality, values, behaviors, and actions
of each individual. You can also gain an understanding of why accepting disability as a part of
diversity is important. You'll learn how diversity, a positive factor, leads to development and
productivity. It is important that diversity is understood and embraced by us. This means
acknowledging the differences between each other, respecting and tolerating each other. This
implies knowledge of rules, regulations, and structures that preserve the dignity and uniqueness of
one. This will mean a world that is more prosperous and humane.

LEARNING OUTCOMES
▪ Discuss the meaning and significance of diversity;
▪ Give meaning of diversity
▪ Support diversity as a positive component of relationships, education and organizations.

Let’s Do It!

If a group of individuals is asked to list their characteristics and compare them, there would
be zero likelihood of getting a successful number of exactly the same characteristics. Even twins
are going to have different personalities and features. There are several variables that make one
individual different from the other person.

There are marked variations that are apparent. These are physical attributes, such as skin
color, hair color, eye shape, nose, height, weight, gender, age, occupation, socio-economic status,
and many others. These features are very evident and visible. You can quickly note the variations
between the people you encounter when you walk through a mall. There are other variations that
are not readily apparent or invisible in one's views, mindsets, morals, sexual orientation, intellect,

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personality, and others. These features are not seen, but are conveyed by actions, choices made,
and words spoken.

To be able to observe that he/she is distinct from you or other individuals, you will need to
get to know a person closer. Diversity's visible and invisible features are not inherently linked
because there are occasions when a visible attribute such as skin color is easily correlated with a
disposition or trait. People from Africa who have a dark skin tone, for instance, are considered to be
bad and unschooled. This is not inherently true, but in these presumptions, prejudices play a role
(Mor Barak 2005).

It is everyone's individuality that is the origin of diversity. The English noun that captures the
nature of distinction is the variety of words. Diversity is from the word divertere in Latin, which
means turning away, splitting, opposing (Latin Dictionary n.d.). The Collins dictionary defines
diversity "the state or quality of being distinct or varied; a range or assortment; a point of difference;
the inclusion in a group of people of different races, sexes, religions, etc.; the relationship between
two entities when and only when they are not identical; the characteristic of being numerically
distinct.

In the Guide to Ensuring Inclusion and Equality in Education (2017) of the United Nations
Educational, Science and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), diversity is characterized as "people's
differences which may relate to their race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, language, culture,
religion, mental and physical ability, class, and immigration status" (UNESCO 2017).

Diversity is a challenge that we must face and overcome. Currently, individuals identify and
regard each individual's differences as important. We all live in a global village that, both in the
workforce and education, brings about shifting demographics. When our cultures grow more
diverse, we must make an effort to recognize the multiple facets of diversity, which is not just about
embracing, recognizing, and tolerating the individuality or differences of one's own.

It is valuable that we discover and explore areas that could bind us and encourage us to do
collaborative work when faced with the need to live in one global village. Accepting and respecting
each individual's individuality would encourage people to respect various perspectives and
attributes that will open up more avenues to solve problems and innovate. To grow and succeed,
teamwork and communication are skills that are required. Therefore, it is necessary that we
understand our differences and master how to use them to harness tolerance, collaboration, and
solidarity that will contribute to productivity.

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 Let’s Connect the Dots
Make your own definition of diversity. Write a word/ phrase in every petal that you may
connect in the word “diversity”.

CULTURE RELIGION

AGE

ETHNICITY LANGUAGE

GENDER

Diversity Let’s Talk about It

ABILITY (AND DISABILITY) AS A DIMENSION OF DIVERSITY

The capability and disability dimension is another critical aspect of diversity. Diversity
encompasses the infinite realms of the specific attributes, perspectives, and skills of a person.
Diversity requires appreciation for differences and empathy that allows for a celebration of
individuality.

According to the Collins English Dictionary, ability refers to the presence of the attributes
required to do something; the ability or knowledge or authority necessary. On the other hand, the
World Health Organization (WHO n.d.) describes disability as the umbrella term for impairments,
limitations of movement, and constraints of involvement, referring to the negative aspects of the

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relationship between a person (with a health condition) and the contextual influences of that
individual (environmental and personal factors).

This description emphasizes that disability is not only a health problem, but also a problem
that affects the status of a person in life and the world in which he or she is. The self-identity of a
person and his or her perceptions of the world around him or her are influenced by both ability and
disability.

"The American Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) "defines a person with a disability as a person
with a physical or mental disability that significantly restricts one or more main activities in life.This
involves persons, even though they do not actually have a disability, that have a record of having
an impairment. It also affects people who do not have an impairment yet are perceived to have a
disability.

"Disabilities may affect one's senses or one's mobility; they may be static or progressive,
congenital or acquired, formal (affecting the shape of the body) or functional, visible or invisible"
(Couser 2005). The impairment of a person makes him or her a special person who is often
shunned from places and activities. As part of the continuum of diversity, they have to be
remembered. They have to be considered human beings that should be understood, embraced,
and tolerated rather than discriminated against. Their rights have to be given to them. It is
important to see disabilities as a natural part of life and a natural part of diversity. As persons with
different skills, people with disabilities have to be perceived and embraced. In order for the world to
embrace them and build avenues for them to live in, they have to recognize themselves as having
disabilities.

THE DILEMMA OF DIVERSITY

Diversity plays a unique role in this period of fast-paced growth. There are still problems
facing a lot of individuals who have been known as "different." In spite of charters, rules, and
policies that uphold diversity, discrimination concerns around race, gender, age, and intellect still
abound.

Women and individuals of color are also discriminated against in certain workplaces and not
granted positions in management or administration. It is stereotyped that people of a certain race
are of a certain character. Muslims have been taken aside for immigration and interviewed a
number of times. In certain parts of the globe, non-married and same-sex couples are also not
accepted.

Children with special needs are shunned in some schools because they are not yet ready
for school or are not appropriate for school. Children from indigenous communities have to go
through a system of education that does not take their cultural history, desires, and beliefs into
account. While there is still so much work that needs to be put in to embrace, support, and
accommodate diversity, progress has been made in many ways. There are programs and
procedures put in place in more workplaces to actively encourage diversity. Creativity and
productivity are brought about by diverse ways of thinking and doing things. When various people
collaborate to come up with solutions to issues or problems, creative thinking and teamwork are
encouraged.

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 The best way to teach what it means to be inclusive and respectful of each other's
differences is diversity in schools. The acceptance that diversity is an important part of the society
in government is similar to the passage of legislation and policies that look after the wellbeing of
citizens of diverse cultures and backgrounds. Therefore, diversity is an integral part of life and of
living.

Let’s See What’s on Your Mind

1. Why is diversity important in the present times?
In these present times schools are becoming more diverse in a multitude of ways.
Diversity is an issue we have to face and conquer. Presently, people recognize and consider
the differences of each person as important. Through increased diversity among teachers and
students will allow the students greater access to different ideas and experiences. Students
educated in a diverse environment can develop superior comprehensive abilities and skills, and
thus be more motivated and able to participate in the complex social life of the future. It is
therefore, important that we understand our differences and master how these could be used to
harness tolerance, cooperation, and unity that will lead to productivity.

2. Why are ability and disability considered another dimension of diversity?

Ability and disability are considered another dimension of diversity because diversity
covers the limitless domains of an individual’s unique characteristics, experiences and
capabilities. Diversity encompasses respect and tolerance of differences that enables a
celebration of uniqueness. Everyone has strength and weaknesses. Ability is the
resources to perform well at something, while disability is the limits or challenges a
person faces. Having variety of talents and limits in a workplace is called ability and
disability diversity.

3. How does diversity encourage innovation and problem solving?

Diversity challenge everyone to think outside the box and enhances creativity. It encourage
the search for novel information and perspective, leading to better decision making and
problem solving. Diversity can improve the bottom encourage innovation and problem
solving through diverse ways of thinking and doing things bring in creativity and productivity.
Innovative thinking and collaboration are encourage when different people work to come up
with solutions to problems or challenges. In schools, diversity is the best way to teach what
it means to be tolerant and respectful of each others differences. Diversity also encourage
innovation and problem solving as it is an integral component of life and of living.

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 Let’s Dig Up More
A. Read each paragraph and explain what you would do and why.
1. A parent asks to see you. He demands that you take out the crucifix inside your classroom
because the religion they belong to does not believe in the crucifix. He insists that his child
is being taught the wrong values. How will you respond to the parent?

I truly understand the parent and I respect that and to their religion. As a teacher of
course, all I can do is that I need to do explain the goal of teaching to help my
students. I must listen to the parent complain but I will not remove it out of his child’s
sight. Why? To promote diversity, we should learn how to respect each other
particularly the religion. I will make it clear to the child’s parent that I’m teaching the
class to be more open and aware different religion. The children in the classroom are
being taught to learn about their religion and other subjects and not asking them to
change their religion, just teaching for them to learn about it.

2. You plan a relay game for your class. While you are explaining the mechanics of the game,
one student raises her hand and says she can’t do a particular task in the game because
she has a prosthetic leg. How will you respond to this situation?

There are many ways to respond to this situation. One option would be to say that the
student can still participate in the game and can do any task that they feel comfortable
with. Another option would be to say that the student can be a part of the game by
helping to set up or by cheering on the other players. Also, I will consider her situation
because she has a prosthetic leg. I can make some adjustments such as ask her to
be the scorer for the game, observe and score which person or group that don’t play
well and who do well. I will help the student, I’ll just tell her just do what she can so
that she won’t feel being left behind in the class.
 B. Make an acrostic from the word diversity.

Different that’s what we strive to be

Ignoring the ignorance that happens around the school

Vocally and Visually expressing yourself

Embracing your true colors.

Realizing that you are not the only person in the world going through
something

Sticking up for you believe in and what you have been taught

Identifying the people you should hang around rather than one you hang
around now
That’s what diversity taught us to be the person you always wanted to be

Your true you.

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MODULE 2: Addressing Diversity through the
Years: Special and Inclusive Education
“Sometimes, real superheroes live in the hearts of small children fighting big battle” -anonymous

Lesson 1: Models of Disability

This lesson shall allow you to look at Special Needs and Inclusive Education from
historical and philosophical contexts. The first step to becoming an effective special Needs
and/or Inclusive teacher lies not in one's skill to teach strategically, but in one's willingness
and commitment to respect individual differences.

LEARNING OUTCOMES
▪ Identify the models of disability
▪ Enumerate and explain each model of disability
▪ Recognize the function and purpose of each model

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 Let’s Do It!
What do you know about these people? Name them.

’s Connect the Dots

1. What are the things that make these people popular? Give one description of their trait or
ability.
a. Apolinario Mabini was called the “brains of revolution”.
b. Stephen Hawking is one of the most “brilliant theoretical physicists” in the history.
c. Imang or Fatima is known as a kind and loving person.

2. What do you think is common among the three people?

The three persons in the pictures has a disability or disable person when we say
disable person it refers to someone who has a physical or mental impairment, we
commonly call or referred theses people as a “person with disability” or a person
with special needs but despite of their condition, they have great and significant
contributions to the world.

3. What do you think is the problem of these three people?

These three people have difficulty in walking because of their condition and also
their actions are limited only, meaning person with this kind of condition or
disability have something they cannot do.

4. How do you think did they handle their life’s situation?

They went through many difficult situations before they achieved their success to
their perspective fields. They went through many trials before they achieved so
many things. It has not been easy for a person with disability to fulfill their dreams
because unlike other people, they have a disability and they have only limited
actions.

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 Let’s Talk about It

MODELS OF DISABILITY
The concept of disability has been existent for ages. The Bible chronicles the presence
of persons who are blind and crippled who needed to be healed. Cultural narratives like
"The Hunchback of Notre Dame" and "Kampanerang Kuba" depict disability as a source of
fear and ridicule. Even Philippine history has records of disability through the Apolinario
Mabini, who was unable to walk because of a physically impairing condition called
poliomyelitis.

Disability cuts through states, societies, and timelines, clearly. But maybe it is part of
human nature to react negatively to something considered strange or out of the ordinary.
There is often resistance, especially when people face situations that they are unfamiliar
with. It does not exempt people with disabilities from this type of treatment (PWDs). How
PWDs were handled once is not something of which any country will be proud. Historically,
in a similar fashion, individuals developed views and reactions to disability. For almost
every country, it was consistent: society first noticed those with physical disabilities
because they stood out instantly, then they noticed those with less visible developmental
disorders because they behaved differently. Segregation, exclusion, alienation, and other
types of violence and brutality followed as soon as the "deviants" were "identified," These
were widespread practices that were highly accepted by society before the Age of
Enlightenment in the 1700s. These activities, now recognized as discriminatory and
violating human rights, have been evident in all facets of the community: living spaces,
health care, education and jobs.

There was a time, for instance, when the status of PWDs was in doubt. PWDs is seen
in earlier periods as social threats capable of contaminating an otherwise pure human race
(Kisanji 1999). Therefore, just as it was important to protect societies from them, PWDs
had to be shielded from society as well. Many people saw them as threats, while others
viewed them as artifacts of fearful compassion, humor, or mockery. At best, they were set
on a pedestal and regarded as Holy Innocents or immortal children who could not do
anything wrong (Wolfensberger 1972). They were killed or regarded as subhumans,
stripped of any rights, at worst (Kisanji 1999, Wolfensberger 1972).

In relation to cultural, historical, and socio-structural backgrounds, sociology tells us

that human behavior must always be studied. In reality, by looking at what was happening
to their culture at a certain point in time, the best way to explain why people think or
behave the way they do is. Events tend to form one's system of principles and beliefs. As
such, to understand man's views on disability, it is important that we explore historical
highlights.

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Smart study in 2004 (as cited in Retief and Letsosa, 2018) enphasies that the models of
disability are important as they serve purposes:

(1) They provide definitions of disability,

(2) They offer “explanations of casual and responsibility attributions”,
(3) They are based on “perceived needs”,
(4) They inform policy,
(5) They are not “value neutral,”
(6) They define the academic disciplines that focus on disability,
(7) They “shape the self-identity of PWDs”
(8) They can provide insights on how prejudices and discriminations occur.
This last statement, in particular, has proven to be very powerful in helping us see how,
to a certain extent, society is unconsciously led to respond to disability.

Functional/
Moral/ Religious Model 5th to 8th Century Rehabilitation Model Early 1900s-1970s

[Medieval Times/ Age [Medieval Times/ Age

of Discovery] of Discovery]

1500s- 1600s 1970s onward

Biomedical Model
[Post-Modern Times]

Social Model
Rights-Based Model
[Copernican/ Scientific Twin-Track
Model] Approach

The Evolution of models of disability

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A. The Moral/Religious Model

The Medieval age is said to have started from AD 476, the year the Western Roman Empire
fell, and ended toward the early 1800s, eventually ushering in the Renaissance age and Age of
Discovery. This period saw the Church as one of the most influential figures in Europe. The idea of
God as an all-powerful being was so strong in man's consciousness that it affected the way society
treated PWDs at the time. Parents who bore children with disabilities were seen from within a
spectrum where on one end, God was punishing them for a sin that needed to be atoned, and at
the other extreme, He was blessing the family by giving them a precious gift that only they could
care for. The middle ground was to see disability as a test of faith and an opportunity to redeem
oneself through endurance, resilience, and piety (Niemann 2005 as cited in Retief and Letsosa
2018).

Such perspectives are rooted in a moral or religious model of disability, which sees disability
as either a blessing or a curse. It is characterized by notions of charity and caretaking. However,
Jackson (2018) adds that protection is also a primary concern as there is an instinct to protect both
persons with disabilities for their vulnerability and the economic and social order which might be
disrupted by "deviant members" of society. It is considered the oldest model of disability and is
evident in many religious traditions. For instance, biblical scripture would refer to persons with
chronic illnesses like leprosy as unclean, while those considered demonically possessed may
actually have had mental illnesses (McClure 2007 as cited in Retief and Letsosa 2018) or seizure
disorders. In one strand of the moral/ religious model, disability is equated with the sin, evilness, or
spiritual ineptness of either the PWD or of a PWD's family member. Such a belief can then cause
not just the PWD's isolation but also the exclusion of the entire family unit from communal events
(Rimmerman 2013 as cited in Retief and Letsosa 2018). On the other hand, for those who view
disability as a blessing, disability either becomes one's ticket to heaven or an opportunity toward
character development.

In addition, some cultures who ascribe to a moral/religious model of disability may also lean
toward a type of mystical narrative. Their belief is that disabilities may impair some senses yet
heighten others, thereby "granting him or her 'special abilities to perceive, reflect, transcend, be
spiritual"' (Olkin 1999 as cited in Retief and Letsosa 2018).

For the most part, the core response to this model was the establishing of segregated
institutions where PWDs could be kept. In the United States, United Kingdom and Australia,
asylums for the "mentally ill retardates, degenerates, and defectives" were built (Jackson 2018).
Segregated residential schools and workhouses with dormitories located miles away from town
centers were also erected.

Although the moral/religious model is not as dominant now as it used to be during the
Medieval times, the perspective is still reflected in some places where religion plays a huge
influence on daily life.

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 B. The Biomedical/ Individual Model

Historians and scientists alike consider the Copernican Revolution, that is, the discovery of
Nicolaus Copernicus that the center of the universe was the sun and not the Earth, is one of the
most controversial yet significant discoveries of all time. It was revolutionary and bold because it
'dared to contradict the Bible as well as then-considered fundamental truths. But it was a
breakthrough that triggered major changes in the fields of science, philosophy, theology, and
education. Most evident was its contribution to scientific and technological advancements. What
was not as apparent was how it paved the way for people to also shift mind-sets from a religious
perspective to more evidence-based model of disability called the biomedical (medical) model. Here,
PWDs are seen as persons who are ill and meant to be treated or "made more normal." Olkin (1999
as cited in Retief & Letsos a 2018: 2—3) wrote: "Disability is seen as a medical problem that
resides in the individual. It is a defect in or failure of a bodily system and as such, is inherently
abnormal and pathological. The goals of intervention are cure, amelioration of the physical
condition "to the greatest extent possible, and rehabilitation (i.e., the adjustment of the person with
the disability to the condition and to the environment). Persons with disabilities are expected to avail
themselves of the variety of services offered to them and to spend time in the role of patient or
learner being helped by trained professionals" (p. 26). Whereas a moral/religious perspective sees
disability as something permanent, the biomedical (medical) model considers disability as a "glitch"
the PWD is born into, which needs assessment and fixing. While Oliver (1990) refers to the model
as the individual model, Nankervis, 2006 as Cited in Jackson, 2018, p.3 describes it to be a
normative model based on a person's levels of deficiency "compared to a normative state"
(Jackson 2018). Such a perspective pushes forth the idea that PWDs have problems. It also
reinforces the notion that those "without disabilities" (i.e., the able-bodied or typically developing)
are superior than those with disabilities, and that they have a primary responsibility over the
welfare of the disabled. Most thus devoted to making sure that the PWD catches up with his or her
peers- a practice that is very much ingrained in society to this day.

It was during the 15th century when more schools for PWDs started to emerge in Europe.
These first special schools were built by private philanthropic institutions. Although they initially
catered only to those with sensory impairments such as deafness and blindness, other schools
soon started accepting other disability types into their student roster. Interestingly, the curriculum
for such educational institutions was different from that of public schools (Kisanji 1999). In special
schools, the main focus was on building the vocational skills of students—a clear sign that the
biomedical model sees PWDs as different from the majority. The idea of institutionalizing or
bringing PWDs to asylums or hospitals for custodial care when they have become too difficult to
manage also reached its peak with the reinforcement of the biomedical model (Jackson, 2018;
Pritchard, 1960 and Bender, 1970 as cited in Kisanji, 1999).

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C. The Functional/Rehabilitation Model

The scientific breakthroughs experienced from the time of Copernicus up until the early
1900s brought about changes in all aspects of life, including warfare and the concept of power.
When World War I happened, communities witnessed perfectly healthy people leave to serve
the country only to come back disabled physically, neurologically, or mentally. It was then that
people started to realize that not all disabilities are inborn. Physical and occupational
Therapies soon became prevalent modes of rehabilitation for much of the service-related
 injuries the soldiers sustained (Shaik & Shemjaz 2014) (National Rehabilitation Information
Center, 2018).
The functional/rehabilitation model is quite similar to the biomedical model in that it sees
the PWD as having deficits. These deficits then justify the need to undergo rehabilitative
intervention such as therapies, counseling, and the like in the aim of reintegrating the disabled
into society. The main difference between the two models is in the concept of habilitation and
rehabilitation.
The biomedical model often suggests habilitation, which refers to help given to those
whose disabilities are congenital or manifested very early in life in order to maximize function.
On the other 'hand, the functional/rehabilitation model refers to the assistance given by
professionals to those who have an acquired disability in the hope of gaining back one’s
functionality.
The biomedical and rehabilitative models, together with the dawn of clinic-based
assessments in the 1950s and its proliferation during the 1960s onward, show how much
society has placed value on convention, performance, and achievement. Anyone whose
performance does not fall within the norm of a population is automatically deemed different
and deficient. In living spaces, such persons were shunned by society. In educational settings,
such students were advised to transfer schools for a more specialized type of education
(Clough in Clough & Corbett 2000). In workplaces, they were. segregated or refused
opportunities. Either way, both models constantly put the PWD at a disadvantage. They
become easy targets for pity or recipients of charitable work. Moreover, both promote an
expert client type of relationship between the "non-disabled" and the "disabled," where the
PWD is automatically perceived as inferior. At the very least, this relational exchange benefits
the client as the expert can help improve his or her state. However, at the extreme, this
collaboration “undermines the client's dignity by removing the ability to participate in the
simplest, everyday decisions affecting his or her life" (Jean 2012).

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17

D. The Social Model

What we need to understand about models and frameworks is that they have a strong yet
subtle way of influencing a person's beliefs, behaviors, and values systems. For example, a Filipino
born and raised in the United States who comes to the Philippines would most likely act more
American than Filipino, not because he resists his roots but because of his exposure to Americans,
not Filipinos. He may not have been raised this way intentionally but constant interaction with
others of a particular culture can strongly influence a person's way of life.

Clough (Clough & Corbett 2000) points out that the social (sociological) model became
society's reaction to how the biomedical perspective viewed disability. In fact, Mike Oliver, a lecturer
in the 1980s who coined the term "social model" and is considered one of its main proponents,
wrote a position paper directly reacting against how the medical field has been reinforcing a
disabling view of PWDs. According to the sociological response, disability occurs as a result of
society's lack of understanding of individual differences. PWDS are seen as disabled not because
they -are deficient but because society "insists" they are deficient and disadvantaged. Norms, after
all, are determined by society. Professor David Pfeiffer challenges the concept of norms:

"It depends upon the concept of normal. That is, being a person with a disability which limits
my mobility means that I do not move about in a (so-called) normal way. But what is the normal
way to cover a mile...? Some people would walk. Some people would ride a bicycle or a bus or in a
taxi or their own car. Others would use a skateboard or in line roller blades. Some people use
wheelchairs. There is, I argue, no normal way to travel a mile." (Kaplan 2000: 355).

The underlying principle of the social model of disability is that disability is a social construct,
where standards and limitations that society places on specific groups of people are what disable a
person. With this perspective, everything from government laws to education to employment
opportunities to access to communal facilities take on a different meaning. For instance,

• Mara, a person with paraplegia (a condition that causes impaired functioning of the legs) who
uses a motorized wheelchair, should be able to go around on her own. The mayor in her
town put up an elevator by the foot bridge to help people get to the top easily without having
to climb up the stairs. Although there are facilities in the foot bridge to get her from one side
of the highway to the other, she wonders how she could get to the foot bridge from her
house. Public transportation, unfortunately, is not accessible from her home. And even if it
were, none of the transports would be able to take a wheelchair.
• Jana, on the other hand, also has paraplegia but lives in a neighboring town as Mara's, where
the local government provides shuttles for those with physical disabilities. She has a
wheelchair herself, though it
is not motorized' Despite this, Jana is able to go around by herself because her town
provides continuous access from one point to the next. This example shows that what is
truly disabling is not the physical condition the way the medical model would adhere to, but
the lack of opportunities and restrictions given to a person, as the social model would push
for.

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The World Health Organization (1980) differentiates between disability and impairment.
Impairment is seen as "any loss or abnormality of psychological or anatomical structure or function"
while disability refers to "any restriction or lack (resulting from an impairment) of ability to perform
an activity in the manner or within the range considered normal for a human being". Most people
seem to confuse the two terms, most of the time equating them to each other. The social model,
however, reiterates that impairment should be seen as a normal aspect of life and when it happens,
it should not cause a stir. Instead, society must plan in anticipation of possible impairment
occurrences so as not to disable anyone. Xaplan (2000) agrees that if disability were to be seen as
something natural and expected, it could change the way we design our systems and our
environments. Wendell (1996 as cited in Kaplan 2000: 356) relates:

"The cultural habit of regarding the condition of the person, not the built environment or the
social organization pf activities, as the source of the problem, runs deep. For example, it took
me several years of struggling with the heavy door to my building, sometimes having to wait
until a person stronger came along, to realize that the door was an accessibility problem, not
only for me, but for others as well. And I did not notice, until one of my students pointed it out,
that the lack of signs that could be read from a distance at my university forced people with
 mobility impairments to expend a lot of energy unnecessarily, searching for rooms and offices.
Although I have encountered this difficulty myself on days when walking was exhausting to me,
I interpreted it, automatically, as a problem arising from my illness (as I did with the door), rather
than as a problem arising from the built environment having been created for too narrow a
range of people and situations.

The rights-based model of disability is a framework that bears similarities with the social model.
Although most practitioners see the two as one and the same, Degener (2017 in Retief & Letsosa
2018) argues their nuances. While the social model reiterates social factors and dynamics that
form our perceptions of disability, the rights-based model "moves beyond explanation, offering a
theoretical framework for disability policy that emphasizes the human dignity of PWDs" (Degener
2017:43). It immediately recognizes the PWDs' vulnerability and tries to address this by upholding
and safeguarding their identities and rights as human beings. Moreover, while "the social model is
mostly critical of public health policies that advocate the prevention of impairment, the human rights
model recognizes the fact that properly formulated prevention policy may be regarded as an
instance of human rights protection for PWDs" (Degener 2017:52).

Educ 6. - Foundations of Special and Inclusive Education

E. Rights-Based Model and Twin Track Approach

A rights-based approach to education ensures that all energies are devoted to the
realization of each learner's right to education. It is built on the principle that education is a basic
human right and therefore all must have access to it. There are four key actors directly involved in
such a model: (1) the government as duty-bearers,
(2) the child as the rights-holder,

(3) the parents not only as duty-bearers but also as representatives of the child, and (4) the
teachers, both as rights-holders and duty-bearers (Van den BruleBalescut & Sandkull 2005). At
best, lobbyists and practitioners now promote a twin track approach, which combines the social
model and the rights-based model. A marrying of the two perspectives allows for holistic changes
to occur, with the option of promoting individual needs whenever necessary. For instance, in
education, this would mean allowing a PWD to join the mainstream yet be given opportunities for
disability-specific programs in case additional support is needed (Chassy & Josa 2018).

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20
Let’s See What’s on Your Mind

1. Give a brief understanding of each model of disability.

a. The Moral/ Religious Model
The oldest model of disability. The Medieval age is said to have started from AD 476,
and ended toward early 1880’s. Parents who bore children with disabilities were seen
from within a spectrum where on one end, God was punishing them for a sin that
needed to be atoned, and at the other extreme, He was blessing the family by giving
them a precious gift that only they could care for. Also, in this model the idea of God is
an all powerful being was so strong in man's consciousness that it affected the way
society treated PWDs at the time.

b. The Biomedical/ Individual Model

Under this model, the Disability have seen as a medical problem that live in individual.
It is a defect in our failure of a bodily system and as such, is inherently abnormal and
pathological. The goals of intervention are cure, amelioration of the physical condition
to the greatest extent possible and rehabilitation. Moral/Religious Model states that
disability is something permanent. Whereas, Biomedical/Individual Model states that
disability is a “glitch” the PWD is born into, that needs fixing and assessment.

c. The Functional/ Rehabilitation Model

It sees that PWD is having deficits. These deficits then justify the need undergo
rehabilitative intervention such as therapies, counseling, and the like in the aim of
reintegrating the disabled into society. Habilitation helps those whose disabilities are
congenital and manifested very early in life to maximize function. The
Functional/Rehabilitation Model they give assistance to those who have an acquired
disability in the hope of gaining back one’s functionality.

d. The Social Model

The underlying principle of the social model of disability is that disability is a social cons
trust where standards and limitations that society places on specific groups of people
are what disable a person. Disability occurs as an outcome of society’s lack of
understanding of individual differences. PWDS are seen as disabled not because they
are deficient but because society insists they are deficient and disadvantaged.

e. Right-based Model and Twin Track Approach

Right-Based Model moves beyond explanation, offering a theoretical framework for
disability policy that emphasizes the human dignity of PWDs, which means that if the
social model based on how the society perceived disability, Right-Based Model
formulates prevention policy to protect the PWDs.

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21
 2. How important are these models of disability? How can they affect students and the
different stakeholders of special needs and inclusive education?

The different models of disability are important for us to understand more about
disability and issues about it. Models of disability affect beliefs, values, attitudes and
behaviors toward people living with disability, Through these models we’ll learn views
and perceptions about disability and how the society perceives them. It affects students
and the different stakeholders of special needs and inclusive education for it makes the
people become aware of this social issue and at the same time make them gain
courage to stand for the persons with disabilities and special needs.

3. What is the role of the school in applying these models of disability to children with special
needs?

Models of disability have an impact on how people think about and treat persons with
disabilities, as well as how students with disabilities are educated. They give insight
into the former’s attitudes, perceptions, and prejudices, as well as how they affect
the latter. Models demonstrate how our society offers or restricts access to jobs,
products, services, economic power, and political power for persons with disabilities
on the result of this. The social model of disability is more forward-thinking approach
of disability. It’s a powerful instrument for advocating for positive change and equality
for disabled people.

Let’s Dig Up More

Write T if the statement is true and F if false. Write your answer on the space provided.

T 1. Person with disability deserved to be given attention in the society.

T 2. Models of disability provide insight on how prejudices and discriminations occur.

T 3. Sociology reminds us that human behavior must always be studied in relation to cultural,
historical, and socio-cultural contexts.
T 4. In earlier times, PWDs were seen as social threats capable of contaminating an otherwise
pure human species.
T 5. According to moral/ religious perspective, disability is something temporary.
T 6. All models of disability constantly put the PWD at an advantage.
F 7. The social model of disability is a combination of right-based model and biomedical model.
T 8. Habilitation refers to the help given to those whose disabilities are congenital or manifested
very early in life in order to maximize function.
T 9. Disability is seen as “any loss or abnormality of psychological or anatomical structure or
function”.
F 10. The underlying principle of the functional model of disability is that disability is a social
construct, where standards and limitations that society places on specific groups of people are
what disable a person.

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22
 MODULE 2: Addressing Diversity through the
Years: Special and Inclusive Education
“All kids need is a little help, a little hope and somebody who believes in
them.” - Magic Johnson

Lesson 2: Special Needs Education

and Inclusion

The process of educating students in a way that addresses their individual differences and
special needs is special education. Ideally, the individually designed and systematically controlled
arrangement of teaching methods, adapted equipment and resources, and accessible settings is
included in this process.

Special education offers personalized training for students with defined disabilities tailored
to accommodate their specific learning needs, allowing them the ability to develop to their fullest
potential. Due to the Persons with Disabilities Education Act, special education is offered free of
charge by the public education system (IDEA). The students could go deeper into what special
education is all about in this lesson and why inclusion is relevant in today's generation.

LEARNING OUTCOMES
▪ Define special needs education
▪ Identify the relevance of special needs education and inclusion
▪ Explain the importance of special needs education and inclusion
▪ Identify the laws pertaining special needs education
▪ Familiarize the 17 global goals set by United Nations
 Let’s Do It!

WHAT IS SPECIAL NEEDS EDUCATION?

Merriam-Webster Online (n.d.) defines education as "the action or process of teaching

someone especially in a school, college or university". People typically go through this teaching
learning process following a particular sequence. First, they are educated at home by their parents;
then they go through preschool, which prepares them for a more formal, systematic, and rigorous
type of learning. In elementary, secondary, and tertiary school, people attempt to understand the
world- through various subjects and different types of knowledge through typically singular teaching
strategies. Most graduates become part of the workforce while others choose to go beyond tertiary
education and pursue higher academic degrees. Although there are countless of schools and
universities in every country, the education process pretty much stays the same for everyone
because the goal remains the same as well.

According to Prensky (2014), "the real goal of education is becoming— becoming a 'good
person' and becoming a more capable person than when you started." William Butler Yeats, in the
meantime, have said that "education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire" (Littky &
Grabelle 2004). Either way, the importance of lifelong learning cannot be emphasized enough.
Education plays a fundamental role in a human's personal and social development, given that man
is both an individual and a social being; one simply cannot think of the human person outside the
context of a community. It is presumably because of education that the world now faces problems
such as poverty, oppression, and war. Yet, it is also through education that all these problems are
expected to be addressed (Delors 1996). Through the pillars of education that the International
Commission on Education for the 21st Century, 1996 as cited in Delors, 1996. Espouses, we are
taught that education has to address four aspects of learning: Learning in order to know, learning
in order to do, learning so we can live harmoniously with others, and learning in order to be.
Additionally, for the goals of education to be realized, education itself has to be available and
accessible to all.

In its totality, the vision of education for humanity is noble and appropriate. However, for any given
population, statistical data shows that people possess different aptitude and skill levels depending
on standards or expectations that society ultimately dictates and holds as true. This is what
Clough refers to as a "pathology of difference" (Clough & Corbett 2000). A normal distribution
showing student performance would illustrate that there will always be those performing closely
with each other—what statisticians and educators call the average population—but there will also
always be those who fall at the tail ends of the curve. Those at the extremes would either possess
exceptionally high capabilities or extremely low skill levels. Sometimes, this is because of a
medical, developmental, or neurological disability that a learner has. Other times, it is because
they just happen to be among highly exceptional people. Either way, the fact remains: teaching
strategies that normally work with the average population will not work the same with those at the
extremes. The students would not be able to learn as fasts as much, and as well as most. With
scenarios like these, one eventually would have to wonder—how does education address this
reality? This then becomes the very definition of Special Education.
 Historically, Special Education has been regarded as "an attempt to increase the fairness of
universal public education for exceptional learners" because there are "those with special
difficulties or extraordinary abilities in learning" (Kauffman & Hallahan 2005). Acknowledging
learner differences, the essence of special education lies in its goal to educate a certain population
of students, particularly those at the tail ends of a normal statistical distribution of performance
(Thomas & Loxley 2001). In other words, special education tries to ensure that those perceived to
have difficulties learning will be taught, albeit in a different way.

Not everyone reacts to learner diversity the same way. Unfortunately, the default framework
societies seem to operate on remains to be the medical model. As such, simply asking people to
take on a more sociological standpoint, appears much more difficult than it seems. It is unclear as
to how society is expected to shift paradigms. Moreover, it is questionable if we can even reach
that point given the discomfort and resistance others have shown against the social model. It has
long been regarded that the key to nation-building is quality education accessible to all types of
learners. This accessibility is the essence of inclusive education.

Educ 6. - Foundations of Special and Inclusive Education

24
Let’s Connect the Dots
Answer the following comprehensively.

1. What is special needs education?

Special needs education is alternative instruction, support and services provides students
who have academic, behavioral, health, physical or other unique needs beyond those met
by traditional educational techniques. Special needs education is the practice of
educating students in way that provides accommodations that address their individual
differences, disabilities and special needs.Ideally, this process involves the individually
planned and systematically monitored arrangement of teaching procedures, adapted
equipment materials and accessible settings.These interventions are designed to help
individuals with special needs to achieve a higher level of personal self sufficiency were
only given access to typical classroom education.

2. How will you know if a person needs special education?

A person may need special education if they have difficulty with the curriculum and
cannot keep up with the rest of their class. If the person cannot read or write at all, even
after year of going to school and receiving help from a reading specialist, person who
have difficulty understanding what others tell them, have trouble listening to instructions
and following directions, are unable to communicate effectively, or are behind in other
areas of development, then probably need special education.

3. In your own perspective, what are the possible outcomes of a person with disability when
given attention by the authority?

Over the last few decades, disability awareness has gained prominence, making it easier
for persons with disabilities and society to develop empathy for one another. A person’s
impairment might have a significant impact on his or her life, whether positive or negative.
Overcoming obstacles and gaining confidence, on the other hand, is critical and
praiseworthy. It is our most important responsibility as a society to ensure that persons
with disabilities have access to the life they deserve. We’re all different but we’re all quite
similar at the same way.

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25
 Let’s Talk about It
WHY INCLUSION?

Inclusive education is an educational practice that places students with disabilities in the
general education classroom along with typically developing children under the supervision and
guidance of a general education teacher (Del Corro-Tiangco 2014). It takes root in special needs
education and is anchored on the philosophy that every child has an inherent right to be educated
equally with his peers, no matter how different he or she may appear to society.

The global arena has been consistently vocal in its stand on children, persons with
disabilities, and education. In as early as 1948, there have already been worldwide declarations on
children and their right to be educated (Universal Declaration of Human Rights 1948; United
Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child 1989). In 1990, many countries banded together for
the world declaration of Education for All (EPA), which stated that all children must have access to
complete, free, and compulsory primary education.

Soon after, the UN Standard Rules on the Equalization of Opportunities for Persons with
Disabilities (1993) was created. It is in this standard set of rules that each child's right to education
was affirmed. It is also in this directive that the importance of providing education in integrated and
general school settings was first specified. This mandate was immediately followed by the landmark
policy on special education, The Salamanca Statement and Framework for Action on Special
Needs Education (1994), which reiterated that schools should accommodate all children, including
the disabled, the gifted, and the marginalized.

These ground-breaking directives eventually formed the foundation for other initiatives: the
World Education Forum Framework for Action and the Millennium Summit of the United Nations,
both of which happened in 2000; the EFA Flagship on the Right to Education for PWDs in 2001; the
UN Disability Convention in 2005; the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in
2006; and the Education 2030 Framework for Action following the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable
Development. All of these were created with the same goal in mind: Inclusion.

The Guidelines for Inclusion (2005) published by UNESCO enumerates four key elements:

(1) that inclusion is a process, that is, "a never-ending search to find better ways to respond to
diversity,"

(2) that inclusion involves a preventive dimension, specifically in identifying and removing potential
barriers to this process through "collecting, collating, and evaluating information" for improving
policy and practice,

(3) that inclusion is all about the "presence, participation, and achievement" or learning outcomes
of all types of students; and

Educ 6. - Foundations of Special and Inclusive Education

26
 (4) that inclusion puts "particular emphasis on learners who may be at risk of marginalization,
exclusion, or underachievement," and therefore, they must be consistently monitored and
represented in the inclusive process.

Inclusion in Education Involves:

A. Valuing all students and staff equally
B. Increasing the participation of students in; and reducing their exclusion from; the cultures,
curricula, and communities of local schools
c. Restructuring the cultures, policies, and practices in schools so that they respond to the
diversity of students in the locality
D. Reducing barriers to learning and participation for all students, not only those with
impairments or those who are categorized as 'having special educational needs'
E. Learning from attempts to overcome barriers to the access and participation of particular
students to make changes for the benefit o students more widely
F. Viewing the difference between students as resources to support learning, rather than
problems to be overcome

G. Acknowledging the right of students to an education in their locality

H. Improving schools for staff as well as for students
1. Emphasizing the role of schools in building community and developing values, as well as in
increasing achievement
J. Fostering mutually sustaining relationships between schools and communities
K. Recognizing that inclusion in education is one aspect of inclusion in society. Inclusive Education
practices by Booth and Ainscovv (2002:3).

THE 2030 AGENDA

The goal of inclusion is for every fabric of society to embrace diversity. It is for this reason
that all these treatises state the need for a paradigm shift to address the issues of inclusion in
education. Inclusive education is not merely call toward educational reform for those with
additional needs. It is simply a call to improve the quality of education for all learners, because
"every learner matters and matters equally" (UNESCO 2017:12, 2005). This is also reflected in
the current framework being followed for the implementation of inclusive practices, which is the
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The SDGs are considered road maps or blueprints that were developed by the United
Nations to ensure a better and sustainable future for everyone. It consists of 17 global goals set
by the United Nations for the year 2030, each addressing one specific area of development. Of
particular interest to the global education community, however, is SDG 4: "Ensure inclusive and
equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all" (United Nations
General Assembly). Therefore, the need to remove all barriers to inclusion by addressing all
forms of exclusion and marginalization is of utmost importance.

Educ 6. - Foundations of Special and Inclusive Education

27
"Philippine Laws for PWDs" (Pangalangan & Litong, 2014)

➢ BP 344 (1983) - Accessibility Law

➢ RA 7277 (1992) Magna Carta for Disabled Persons
Equal rights and privileges of PWDs on employment, education, health,
telecommunications, auxiliary social services, accessibility, political, and civil rights
Penalties for violations of law
➢ Administrative Order 35 (2002) - National Disability Prevention and Rehabilitation
(NPDR Week) every 3rd week of July
➢ Guidelines in the Admission of Students with Disabilities in Higher Education and
Post secondary Institutions in the Philippines (2004)
➢ RA 9442 (2007) -Amendment of RA 7277 (Privileges to PWDs)
20% discount privileges to PWDs
Change name from "Magna Carta for Disabled Persons" to "Magna Carta for PWDs"
Added a clause on deliverance from public ridicule and vilification
➢ NCDA Administrative Order No. 001, s. 2008 — Guidelines on the Issuance of PWD ID
Cards relative to RA 9442
➢ RA 10070 (2010) — Amendment of RA 7277 (Implementation of Programs and
Services for PWDs in every province, city, and municipality — PDAO Law) ➢ RA
10366 (2013) - Accessible Polling Places for PWDs and Senior Citizens
➢ Proclamation No. 688, S. 2013 - Declaring the Period of 2013-2022 as the Philippine
Decade of "Make the Right Real" for PWDs
➢ RA 10524 (2013) - Amendment of RA 7277 (Expanding the Positions Reserved for
PWDs)
1% of all government agencies, offices, corps shall be reserved for PWDs
Private companies with over 100 employees are encouraged to reserve at least
1% for PWDs
➢ RA 10754 (2()16) - An Act Expanding the Benefits and Privileges of PWDs
Exemption of VAT on the following sale of goods and services
Inclusion of funeral services
➢ Civil Service Commission MC No. 20, s. 2017 — express lanes for PWDs in all
commercial and government establishments
➢ RA 11228 (2019) - Amendment of RA 7277

All PWDs shall be automatically covered by the National Health Insurance Program (NHIP) of
the PhilHealth and that the PhilHealth shall develop exclusive packages for PWDs that will
address their specific health and development needs.

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28
 Let’s See What’s on Your Mind

Answer the following comprehensively.

1. What is inclusion? Why should a school practice inclusion?

In inclusive education, children with and without special needs learn in the same physical
area and interact socially and academically. It’s not an either or situation, just sharing the
same physical place but doing completely different things is not inclusive. As a result, it’s
critical for the entire school community to understand and prioritize inclusion, school
administrators, instructors, parents, and students must all believe in its importance.
Everyone gains when this occurs.

At its foundation, school must practice inclusion because it is about valuing each person’s
unique strengths and limits. It’s more simply a concept of education, it’s a valuable life
skill.

1. Sensitivity increases. By learning alongside children with special needs, children who
grow normally become more sensitive. They learn how words may hurt, how to be patient
and how to to empathize.

2. Strengths/weaknesses are better understood. Inclusionary schools teach students that

everyone has skills and weaknesses. They learn to value these distinctions and how to
work together to achieve a common goal.

3. More tolerance is required. Inclusive education instil in children the importance of

human being, regardless of appearance of voice. Differences in physical and mental
abilities do not imply a lower value.

2. Why do some schools disregard children with special needs to enroll in their school? What
is your stand about this?

Some schools disregard children with disabilities because the accessibility of education
facilities for children with impairments has been challenge not just in our country but in
many countries. They do not have facilities to gather for them. In my opinion every child
deserve education therefore, education ought to be inclusive. There should be enough
educational facilities designed specifically for children with disabilities and must be put in
place at the basic level, and their accessibility must be assessed.

3. Is your past school practicing inclusion? Defend your answer?

My past school was practicing inclusion. By welcoming students who are different from us.
It is the recognition that everyone has value and that we are all better when we work
together. We practice inclusion, we create an environment where everyone feels valued,
respected, and supported. We also foster environment in which everyone can gain
experience, can learn and grow and as a result, we are all benefit.
 Let’s Dig Up More
Search the following laws pertaining to special education. Define each law according to what you
have understood.

1. What is BP 344 or Accessibility Law?

The BP 344 or Accessibility Law An Act to Enhance the Mobility of Disabled Persons by
Requiring Certain Buildings, Institutions, Establishments and Public Utilities to install
Facilities and Other Devices.

2. What is PD 603?

Presidential Decree No. 603, otherwise known as the Child and Youth Welfare Code and
issued in December 1974, legally defines special categories of youths, including youthful
offenders, and directs the Ministry of Social Services and Development (MSSD) to
provide comprehensive services to assist in youth development.

3. What is RA 3562?

In 1962, Republic Act 3562 32 was enacted to declare permanent government

commitment to the training of SPED. teachers for the blind, the institutionalization of the
residential school program and the establishment of the Philippine Printing House for the
Blind (PPHB).

4. What is RA 5250?

Republic Act No. 5250. An act establishing a ten-year training program for teachers of
special and exceptional children in the Philippines and authorizing the appropriation of
funds thereof. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
Philippines in Congress assembled:

5. What is RA 7610?

Republic Act 7610: Special Protection of Children Against Abuse, Exploitation and
Discrimination Act. An act providing for stronger deterrence and special protection against
child abuse, exploitation and discrimination, providing penalties for its violation and for
other purposes. Article I.

6. What is RA 6759?

RA 6759 – An Act Declaring August One Of Each Year As White Cane Safety Day In The
Philippines And For Other Purposes. the twenty-fourth Day of July, nineteen hundred and
eighty-nine. Be it enacted by the Senate and the House of Representatives of the
Philippines in Congress assembled: SECTION 1
 7. What is RA 9288?

Republic Act 9288, otherwise known as the Newborn Screening Act of 2004, illustrates a
procedure to detect a genetic and metabolic disorder in newborns that may lead to mental
retardation and even death if left untreated. In many countries, newborn screening has
been a mechanism that protects babies from health risks.

8. What is Education Act of 1982 or Batas Pambansa 232?

Education Act of 1982 or Batas Pambansa 232 an act providing the establishment and
maintenance of an integrated system of education. In accordance with Section 2, this
shall apply to and govern both formal and non-formal system in public and private schools
in all levels of entire educational system.

9. What can be found in the Article XV, Sec. 8 of the 1973 Philippine Constitution?

SEC. 8. No law shall be made respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the

free exercise thereof. The free exercise and enjoyment of religious profession and
worship, without discrimination or preference, shall forever be allowed.

10. What can be found in the Article XIV, Sec. 1 and 2 of the 1987 Philippine Constitution?
Section 1. The State shall protect and promote the right of all citizens to quality education at all levels, and
shall take appropriate steps to make such education accessible to all.

Section 2. The State shall:

Establish, maintain, and support a complete, adequate, and integrated system of education relevant to the
needs of the people and society;

Establish and maintain a system of free public education in the elementary and high school levels. Without
limiting the natural right of parents to rear their children, elementary education is compulsory for all children of
school age;

Establish and maintain a system of scholarship grants, student loan programs, subsidies, and other incentives
which shall be available to deserving students in both public and private schools, especially to the
underprivileged;

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; and

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

Educ 6. - Foundations of Special and Inclusive Education

30
Search in the Net

1. What are the 17 Sustainable Development Goals of United Nations? Draw and label them
on the table below.

2. In 17 SDGs, where does special needs education belong? Why do you think so?

It is in Goal 4 Quality Education where special needs education belongs. This goal aims
to create inclusive and equitable quality education that promote learning opportunities that
provides equal access to all levels of education that is disability and gender sensitive.
This also includes the building and upgrading all educational facilities to create an
inclusive and effective learning environment for all.

Educ 6. - Foundations of Special and Inclusive Education

31
MODULE 2: Addressing Diversity through
the Years: Special and Inclusive Education
“Some see the disabilities, but special education
teachers
see the
possibiliti
es.” -
Unknow
n

Lesson 3: MEANING OF SPECIAL EDUCATION

AND CATEGORIES OF CHILDREN WITH SPECIAL
NEEDS

Individuals with special needs and characteristics are outstanding children and young
people like any other pupils in daily classes. Some of them, including those with mental disability,
develop slower than average pupils. Meanwhile, in their work, those who are gifted and talented
learn very quickly and demonstrate imagination. There are exceptional children who have learning
disabilities, but they cannot learn as well as they can, even if their mental capacity is average or
well above average. Still others have sensory disabilities like blindness or low vision and deafness;
communication disorders, physical disabilities, like cerebral palsy, spina bifida, spinal cord injuries
and limb deficiency; chronic health impairments like epilepsy, juvenile diabetes mellitus, asthma,
cystic fibrosis and hemophilia, among others.

However, despite their disabilities, like all other children, excellent children and young
people have the same psychological needs: they want to belong, be welcomed, valued and
cherished. They are capable of expressing respect, gratitude, affection and friendship in exchange.

The Special Education Division of the Department of Education of the Bureau of Elementary
Education handles and monitors special education services nationally. Special education requires
exceptional kids to learn in normal schools or in special schools. The special education teacher
helps them participate in school activities through a modified or functional curriculum.

Educ 6. - Foundations of Special and Inclusive Education

32
 LEARNING OUTCOMES
▪ Explain how special education enables exceptional children to benefit from the basic
education program of the Department of Education
▪ cite the difference between special education as essentially instruction and as purposeful
intervention;
▪ define the terms exceptional children and youth and children with special needs (CSN); ▪
distinguish the following basic terms in special education from each other: developmental
disability, impairment or disability, handicap and at risk;
▪ define, compare, and contrast the nine categories of CSN from each other; and ▪
develop positive attitudes towards exceptional children and youth.

Let’s Do It!
Current literature defines special education as individually planned, systematically
implemented, and carefully evaluated instruction to help exceptional children achieve the greatest
possible personal self-sufficiency and success in present and future environments (Heward, 2003).
Individually planned instruction. In the United States, the law on Individuals with
Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) requires that an individualized education program (IEP) be
developed and implemented for every special education student between the ages of 3 and 21. The
basic requirements of IDEA for all IEPs include statements of:
(1) the child's present level of performance, academic achievement, social adaptation,
prevocational and vocational skills, psychomotor skills, and self-help skills;
(2) annual goals describing the educational performance to be achieved by the end of each school
year;
(3) short-term instructional objectives presented in measurable, intermediate steps between the
present level of educational performance and the annual goals;
(4) specific educational services; and
(5) needed transition services from age 16 or earlier before the student leaves the school setting.

Systematically implemented and evaluated instruction. Each type of children with special
education needs requires educational services, curriculum goals, competencies and skills,
educational approaches, strategies and procedures in the evaluation of learning and skills.

Personal self-sufficiency. An important goal of special education is to help the child become
independent from the assistance of adults in personal maintenance and development, homemaking,
community life, vocational and leisure activities and travel.

The present environment refers to the current conditions in the life of the child with a disability.
The present environment includes the family, the school, the community where he/she lives, the
institutions in society that extend assistance and support to children and youth with special
education

Educ 6. - Foundations of Special and Inclusive Education

33
 needs such as the government, nongovernment organizations, socio-civic organizations and other
groups.
The future environment is a forecast of how the child with a disability can move on to the next
level of education, from elementary to secondary school and on to college or vocational program,
and finally, to the workplace where he/ she can be gainfully employed. Special education helps the
child in the transition from a student to a wage earner so that he or she can lead a normal life even
if he or she has a disability.

A boy with physical disability. A girl who is

blind reading using braille.
Let’s Connect the Dots
Based on your understanding, answer the
following questions.

1. What are the benefits if a child with disability will go to school? List them below.

It provides that every child with special needs has a right to an educational program that
is suitable to his/her needs. Special education shares with regular education basic
responsibilities of the educational system to fulfill the right of the child to develop his/her
potential. Disabled person have also the right in training vocational course and livelihood.

2. Don is labelled as child with ADHD. His parents enrolled him in the nearby school. The
school is hesitant to accept him. Why do think they are uncertain to accept Don?

ADHD is a type of ability that needs more attention and focus and can be considered as
special needs. The school is hesitant to accept Don because they knew that the child is
not normal and needs special education class instead of a normal class because the care
and attention in special schools or class are much more focus in the children's disabilities.

3. Why are some parents in denial when their child has disability?

Most of the parents denied their children with disabilities because some of them are afraid
or shy of their child’s disability.

Educ 6. - Foundations of Special and Inclusive Education

34
 Let’s Talk about It
Who Are Exceptional Children or Children and Youth with
Special Needs?
The term exceptional children and youth covers those with mental disability, giftedness and
talent, learning disabilities. emotional and behavioral disorders, communication disorders, deafness,
blindness and low vision, physical disabilities, health impairments, and severe disabilities. These
are children and youth experience difficulties in learning the basic education curriculum and need a
modified or functional curriculum as well as those whose performance is so superior that they need
a differentiated special education curriculum to them attain their full potential.

Exceptional children are also referred to as children special (CSN). Like the children and
youth in elementary and secondary schools, the mental ability of exceptional children of CSN may
be average, below or above.

There are four points of view about special education (Heward, 2003)

1. Special education n legislatively governed enterprise.

This point of view is expressed in the legal bases of education in Article IV, Section I
Section 5, Article XIll, Section 11 of the 1987 Philippine Constitution guarantee that the State shall
protect and promote the rights of citizens to quality education at all levels and shall take
appropriate to make such education available to all, The State shall provide citizens, the disabled
and out-of-school youth with training in civics, vocational efficiency and other skills. The State shall
adopt an integrated and comprehensive approach to health and other social services available to
all people at affordable costs. There shall be priority to the needs of the underprivileged, the sick,
the elderly, the disabled, women and children.

R. A. 7277 - The Magna Carta for Disabled Persons - provides for the rehabilitation, self
development and self-reliance of disabled persons and their integration into mainstream society.

The Philippine Policies and Guidelines for Special Education provides that every child
with special needs has a right to an educational program that is suitable to his/her needs. Special
education shares with regular education basic responsibilities of the educational system to fulfill the
right of the child to develop his/her potential.

There are many other laws, memoranda and circulars that have been enacted through the
years in support of special education.

2. Special education is a part of the country's educational system.

Special education is a part of the Department of Education's basic education program. With
its modest historical beginning in 1907, special education is now a major part of the basic education
program in elementary and secondary schools. The Special Education Division of the Bureau of

Educ 6. - Foundations of Special and Inclusive Education

35
Elementary Education formulates policies, plans and programs, develops standards of programs
and services. There are special education programs in public and private schools in all the regions
of the country. The government continues to grant scholarships to deserving school administrators
and teachers to pursue the graduate degrees at the Philippine Normal University and the University
of the Philippines. In-service education programs are conducted to upgrade the competencies of
administrators, teachers and non-teaching personnel. Networks and linkages in the country and
overseas are sustained.

3. Special education is teaching children with special needs in the least restrictive environment.

In the final analysis, teaching is what special education is all about. From this perspective,
special education is defined in terms of the who, what, how and where of its implementation.

WHO: The exceptional children or the children and youth with special education needs are
the most important persons in special education. Then there are the school administrators, the
special education teachers, the regular teachers, the interdisciplinary teams of professionals such
as the guidance counselors, the school psychologists, the speech therapists, physical and
occupational therapists, medical doctors, and specialists who help provide the specific services that
exceptional children need.

WHAT: Every exceptional child needs access to a differentiated and modified curricular
program to enable him/her to learn the skills and competencies in the basic education curriculum.
The individualized education program (IEP) states the annual goals, the quarterly objectives, the
strategies for teaching and evaluation of learning and the services the exceptional child needs.

HOW: Children with intellectual disability are taught adaptive skills and basic academic
content that are suitable to mental ability. Gifted children are provided with enrichment activities
and advanced content knowledge so that they can learn more than what the basic education
curriculum offers. Most of them are in accelerated classes where they finish elementary education
in five years instead of six. Children who are blind learn braille and orientation and mobility or
travel techniques. Children who are deaf learn sign language and speech reading.

WHERE: There are several educational placements for these children. The most preferred is
inclusive education where they are mainstreamed in regular classes. Other types of educational
placements are special schools, residential schools, self-contained classes, home. bound and
hospital instruction.

4. Special education is purposeful intervention.

Intervention prevents, eliminates and/or overcomes the obstacles that might keep an
individual with disabilities from learning, from full and active participation in school activities, and
from engaging in social and leisure activities.

Preventive intervention is designed to keep potential or minor problems from becoming a

disability. Primary prevention is designed to eliminate or counteract risk factors so that a disability
is not acquired. Secondary prevention is aimed at reducing or eliminating the effects of existing

Educ 6. - Foundations of Special and Inclusive Education

36
risk factors. Tertiary prevention is intended to minimize the impact of a specific condition or
disability among those with disabilities. Remedial intervention attempts to eliminate the effects of a
disability.

The Basic Terms in Special Education: Developmental Disability, Impairment or

Disability, Handicap and At Risk

Developmental disability refers to a severe, chronic disability of a child five years of age or older
that is:

1. attributable to a mental or physical impairment or a combination of mental and physical

impairments;
2. manifested before the person attains age 22;
3. likely to continue indefinitely;
4. results in substantial functional limitations in three or more of the areas of major life
activities such as self-care, language, learning, mobility, self-direction, capacity for
independent living and economic self-sufficiency; and
5. reflects the person's need for a combination and sequence of special care, treatment or
other services that are lifelong or of extended duration and are individually planned and
coordinated. (Beirne-Smith, 2002)

Impairment or disability refers to reduced function or loss of a specific part of the body or
organ. A person may have disabilities such as blindness or low vision, deafness or hard of hearing
condition, mental retardation, learning disabilities, communication disorders, emotional and.
behavioral disorders, physical and health impairments and severe disabilities. These disabilities or
impairments limit or restrict the normal functions of a particular organ of the body. In the case of the
sensory disabilities blindness and deafness vision or sight and audition or hearing do not function
normally and restrict the person's seeing and hearing. The speech mechanism is impaired in
communication disorders and causes the person to have voice problems, improper rhythm and
timing in speech and even stuttering. The skeletal and nervous systems are impaired in cases of
physical and health impairments and severe disabilities. The results are crippling conditions,
cerebral palsy and other physical disabilities. Impairment and disability are used interchangeably.

Handicap refers to a problem a person with a disability or impairment encounters when

interacting with people, events and the physical aspects of the environment. For example, a child
with low vision or blindness cannot read the regular print of textbooks. The child either reads books
that are published in large print or transcribed into braille. A child who is hard of hearing or who
suffers from deafness cannot hear regular conversation and uses a hearing aid and reads the lips
of the speaker. A child who has a physical disability such as a crippling condition cannot walk
normally and uses a wheelchair, brace* or artificial limbs. However, it must be remembered that a
disability may pose a handicap in one environment but not in another. A wheelchair-bound child
with a physical disability may not be able to compete with his classmates in the Physical Education
class, but may excel in Mathematics, Science and other academic subjects.

Educ 6. - Foundations of Special and Inclusive Education

37
 At risk refers to children who have greater chances than other children to develop a
disability. The child is in danger of substantial developmental delay because of medical, biological,
or environmental factors if early intervention services are not provided. Down syndrome occurs
during the early phase of pregnancy when one parental chromosome fails to separate at
conception resulting in the child's having forty-seven chromosomes instead of the normal forty-six
or twenty
three pairs. At birth, the infant has abnormal physical characteristics and mental retardation. If a
pregnant woman contracts German measles or rubella during the first three months of pregnancy,
the fetus is at risk for blindness, deafness or mental retardation. The fetus in the womb of a woman
who consumes alcohol heavily and chain-smokes, or takes prohibited drugs is at risk for brain injury
that causes disabilities. If a disability runs in the family, the fetus may inherit it and the infant will be
born with a disability. Children may meet accidents, suffer from certain diseases, malnutrition and
Other environmental deprivations that can lead to disabilities.

Categories of Children at Risk

Children with established risk are those with cerebral palsy, Down syndrome, and other
conditions that started during pregnancy. Children with biological risk are those who are born
prematurely, underweight at birth, whose mother contracted diabetes or rubella during the first
trimester of pregnancy, or who had bacterial infections like meningitis and HIV. Environmental risk
results from extreme poverty, child abuse, absence of adequate shelter and medical care, parental
substance abuse, limited opportunities for nurturance and social stimulation.

What Are the Categories of Exceptionalities Among Children and Youth

with Special Needs?
1. Intellectual disability refers to substantial limitations in present functioning. It is characterized
by significantly sub-average intellectual functioning, existing concurrently with related limitations
in two or more of the following applicable adaptive skill areas: communication, self-care, home
living, social skills, community use, self-direction, health and safety, Functional academics,
leisure and work. Mental retardation manifests before age 18 (American Association of Mental
Retardation, 1992).
2. Giftedness and talent refers to high performance in intellectual, creative or artistic areas,
unusual leadership capacity, and excellence in specific academic field (US Government).
Giftedness refers to the traits of above-average general abilities, high level task commitment,
and creativity (Renzulli, 1978). Giftedness emphasizes talent as the primary defining
characteristic (Feldhusen, 1992). Giftedness shows in superior memory, observational powers,
curiosity, creativity, and ability to learn (Piirto, 1994).
3. Specific learning disability means a disorder in one or more of the basic psychological
processes involved in understanding or in using language, spoken or written, which may
manifest itself in an imperfect ability to listen, think, speak, read, write, spell or to do
mathematical calculations. The term includes such conditions as perceptual handicaps, brain
injury, minimal brain dysfunction, dyslexia, and developmental aphasia. The term does not
include children who

Educ 6. - Foundations of Special and Inclusive Education

 38

have learning problems which are primarily the result of visual, hearing or motor handicaps, of
mental retardation or of environmental, cultural, or economic disadvantages (US Office of
Education, 1977).
4. The term emotional and behavioral disorders means a condition exhibiting one or more of the
following characteristics over a long period of time and to a marked degree, which adversely
affects educational performance: (a) an inability to learn which cannot be explained by
intellectual, sensory, and health factors; (b) an inability to build or maintain satisfactory
interpersonal relationships with peers and teachers; (c) inappropriate types of behavior or
feelings under normal circumstances; (d) a general pervasive mood of unhappiness or
depression; or (e) a tendency to develop physical symptoms or fears associated with personal
or school problems. The term includes children who are schizophrenic (or autistic). The term
does not include children who are socially maladjusted unless it is determined that they are
seriously emotionally disturbed (US Department of Education).
5. Speech and language disorders or communication disorders exist when the impact that a
communication pattern has on a person's life meets any one of the following criteria: (a) the
transmission and/or perception of messages is faulty; (b) the person is placed at an economic
disadvantage; (c) the person is placed at a learning disadvantage; (c) there is negative impact
on the person's emotional growth; (d) the problem causes physical damage or endangers the
health of the person (Emerick and Haynes, 1986).
6. Hearing impairment is a generic term that includes hearing disabilities ranging from mild to
profound, thus encompassing children who are deaf and those who are hard of hearing. A
person who is deaf is not able to use hearing to understand speech, although he or She may
perceive some sounds. Even with a hearing aid, the hearing loss is too great to allow a deaf
person to understand speech through the ears alone. A person who is hard of hearing has a
significant hearing loss that makes some special adaptations necessary (Paul and Quigley,
1990, cited in Heward, 2003).
7. Students with visual impairment display a wide range of visual disabilities - from total blindness
to relatively good residual (remaining) vision. There is a visual restriction of sufficient severity
that it interferes with normal progress in a regular educational program without modifications
(Scholl, 1986, cited in Heward, 2003). A child who is blind is totally without sight or has so little
vision that he or she learns primarily through the other senses, such as touch to read braille. A
child with low vision is able to learn through the visual channel and generally learns to read print.
8. Physical impairments may be orthopedic impairments that involve the skeletal system- the
bones, joints, limbs, and associated muscles. Or, they may be neurological impairments that
involve the nervous system affecting the ability to move, use, feel, or control certain parts of the
body. Health impairments include chronic illnesses, that is, they are present over long periods
and tend not to get better or disappear.
9. The term severe disabilities generally encompass individuals with severe and profound
disabilities in intellectual, physical and social functioning. Because of the intensity of their
physical, mental or emotional problems, or a combination of such problems, they need highly
specialized educational, social, psychological and medical services beyond those which are
traditionally offered by regular and special education programs in order to maximize their
potential for useful and meaningful participation in society and for self-fulfillment. Children and
youth with severe
 Educ 6. - Foundations of Special and Inclusive Education
39

disabilities include those who are seriously emotionally disturbed, schizophrenic, autistic,
profoundly and severely mentally retarded, deaf-blind, mentally retarded-blind and cerebral
palsied-deaf (US Department of Education).

Labels and names that were derogatory were used in the past to describe people with
physical deformities, mental retardation and behavior problems. These demeaning terms that are
not used anymore are "imbecile, moron, idiot, mentally deficient, dunce and fool." Even the words
"mute" and "dumb" are unacceptable and inappropriate to describe persons who manifest speech
and language problems as a result of deafness.

Is It Correct to Use Disability Category Labels?

There are two points of view regarding the use of labels to describe children and youth with
disabilities. The first point of view frowns on labeling these children as mentally retarded, learning
disabled, emotionally disturbed, socially maladapted, blind, deaf or physically disabled. Use of
disability labels calls attention to the disability itself and overlooks the more important and positive
characteristics of the person. These negative labels cause the "spread phenomenon” to permeate
the mind of the able-bodied persons. The disability becomes the major influence in the
development of preconceived ideas that tend to be negative such as helplessness, dependence
and doom to a life of hopelessness. The truth is, persons with disabilities are first and foremost
human beings who have the same physical and psychological needs like everybody else. They
need to belong, to be loved, to be useful.

The second and less popular point of view is that it is necessary to use workable disability
category labels in order to describe the exceptional learning needs for a systematic provision of
special education services.

Nevertheless, decades of research and debates on the issue have not arrived at any
conclusive resolution of the labeling problem. A number of pros and cons have been advanced by
various specialists and educators (Heward, 2003).

Pros and Possible Benefits of Labeling

• Categories can relate diagnosis to specific types of education and treatment. • Labeling may
lead to "protective" response in which children are more accepting of the atypical behavior by a
peer with disabilities than they would be if that same behavior were emitted by a child without
disabilities.
• Labeling helps professionals communicate with one another and classify and assess
research findings.
• Funding of special education programs is often based on specific categories of exceptionality.
• Labels enable disability-specific advocacy groups to promote specific programs and to spur
legislative action.
• Labeling helps make exceptional children's special needs more visible to the public.
 Educ 6. - Foundations of Special and Inclusive Education
40

Possible Disadvantages of Labeling

• Because labels usually focus on disability, impairment, and performance deficits, some
people may think only in terms of what the individual cannot do instead of what he or she
can or might be able to learn to do.
• Labels may cause others to hold low expectations for and to differentially treat a child on the
basis of the label. which may result to a "self-fulfilling prophecy.” For example, in one study,
student teachers gave a child labeled "autistic" more praise and rewards and less verbal
correction for incorrect responses than they gave a child labeled "normal." Such differential
treatment could hamper a child's acquisition of new skills and contribute to the development
and maintenance of a level of performance consistent with the label's prediction.
• Labels that describe a child's performance deficit often mistakenly acquire the role of
explanatory constructs. For example, "Sherry acts that way because she is emotionally
disturbed."
• Labels suggest that learning problems are primarily the result of something wrong within the
child, thereby reducing the systematic examination of and accountability for instructional
variables as the cause of performance deficits. This is especially dama2ing outcome when
the label provides educators with a built-in excuse for ineffective instructions. For example,
"Jalen hasn't learned to read because he's _____________”.
• A labeled child may develop poor self-concept.
• Labels may lead peers to reject or ridicule the labeled child.
• Special education labels have a certain permanence; once labeled, it is difficult for a child to
ever again achieve the status of simply being “just another kid.”
• Labels often provide a basis for keeping children out of the regular classroom. • A
disproportionate number of children from diverse cultural, ethnic and linguistic groups have
been inaccurately labeled as disabled, especially under the category mild mental retardation. •
Classification of exceptional children requires the expenditure of a great amount of money and
professional and student time that could better be spent in planning and delivering instruction.

Educ 6. Foundations of Special and Inclusive Education

41
 Let’s See What’s on Your Mind

1. Define and explain the following terms:

a. Exceptional children

An exceptional child is one who deviates from the normal child in mental, physical,
emotional and social characteristics to an extent that he/she requires special education
service. He/she may far above or extremely below from the average.
b. Disability

Disability is a physical or mental condition that significantly limits a person’s motor, sensory,
or cognitive abilities. Also, state of having such a condition.
c. Impairment

Impairment it refers to a physical or mental defect or the loss or reduced function of a body
part or organ.
d. Handicap

Handicap a condition in which part of your body or mind has been permanently damaged or
does not work normally. This word is now considered offensive by many people.
e. At risk

At risk refer to a children who have greater chances than other children to develop a
disability. The child is in danger of substantial developmental delay because of medical,
biological, or environmental factors if early intervention services are not provided.

a. A legislatively governed enterprise?

Article 4 section 1 and section 5, Article 13 section 11 of the 1987 Philippines Constitution guarantee that the
state shall protect and promote the right of all citizens to quality education at all levels and shall take
appropriate steps to make such education available to all the state shall provide adult citizens that disabled and
out-of-school youth with training in civics vocational efficiency and other skills.

b. A part of basic education?

Special education is part of the department of education’s basic education program with is
modest historical beginning in 1907, special education is now a major part of basic
education program in elementary and secondary schools.
 c. The process of teaching children and youth with special education needs?

In the final analysis teaching is what special education is all about from this perspective
special education is defined in terms of who, what, how, and whereof its implementation.

Who: expect exceptional children or the children and youth with special education needs
are the most important person in special education.

What: every exceptional child need access to a differentiated and modified curricular
program to enable him or herself to learn the skills and competencies in the basic
education curriculum.

How: children with mental retardation are tough adapted skills and basic academic
content that are suitable to their mental ability.

Where: there are several educational placements for the children the most preferred is
inclusive education where they are mainstream in regular classes other type of education
placement are special school’s residential school self contained classes home-bound and
hospital instruction.

d. An intervention process?

Special education is, first of all, purposeful intervention designed to prevent, eliminate,
and overcome the obstacles that might keep a child with disabilities from learning and
from full and active participation in school and society. Special education provides three
basic types of intervention: prevent, remedial, and compensatory.

Educ 6. - Foundations of Special and Inclusive Education

42
 3. Fill in the following matrix with the definition, learning and behavior characteristics of the
categories of CSN.
Category of CSN Definition, Types, Characteristics

1. Specific learning disability means a disorder in one or more of the

basic psychological processes ability to
listen, speak, read, write spell or do
mathematical calculation.

2. Severe impairment generally, encompass individual with

severe and profound disabilities in
intellectual, physical and social functioning.

3. Physical impairment may be orthopedic impairment that involve

the skeletal system, or they may be
neurological impairment that involve the
nervous system.

4. Visual impairment display a wide range of visual disabilities-

from total blindness torelatively good
residual (remaining) vision.

5. Hearing impairment it is a generic term that includes hearing

disabilities ranging from mild to profound.
Thud encompassing children who are deaf
and those who are hard of hearing.

6. Speech and language disorder exist when the impact that a

communication pattern has on a person’s
life

7. Emotional and behavioral disorder a condition exhibiting one or more over a

long period of time

8. Giftedness and Talent refers to high performance in intellectual,

creative or artistic areas, unusual
leadership capacity, and excellence in
specific academic fields.

9. Mental Retardation refers to substantial limitation in present

functioning (sub- average intellectual
functioning)

Educ 6. - Foundations of Special and Inclusive Education 43

 Educ 6. - Foundations of Special and Inclusive Education
44

Let’s Dig Up More

On the space provided, make a Poster and Slogan about special needs education. You may
choose your own theme. (Anything about Special Education)

Criteria:

Relevance to the topic- 25%

Originality- 20%

Creativity- 30%

Visual Impact 25%

100%

Educ 6. - Foundations of Special and Inclusive Education

45
My Poster and Slogan

Educ 6. - Foundations of Special and Inclusive Education

46
 MODULE 3: Making Schools Inclusive
“Strength lies in differences not in similarities”
-Stephen R. Covey

Lesson 1: System of Unifying

You have previously heard about the culture, meaning and basis of special needs and inclusive education.
We can now move on to finding out how to incorporate inclusive strategies in the classroom by recognizing
the role that disability frameworks play. This lesson offers perspectives and practical tips on the cultivation
of inclusive behaviors and the successful application in the classroom of such activities. To help schools
decide their next steps in transitioning to a more inclusive setting, it is entirely based on the Booth and
Ainscow (2002) framework.

➢ Diversity is the new "normal."

➢ Inclusive practices must be dynamic and collaborative.
➢ To be truly inclusive, educators must always check for the presence, participation, and
achievement of their learners.
➢ Differentiation plays an important role in the success of inclusive education practices.

LEARNING OUTCOMES

➢ Identify the unifying framework

➢ Identify the common barriers to inclusion
➢ Explain the process of UDL
➢ Differentiate accommodations from modifications

Educ 6. - Foundations of Special and Inclusive Education

47
 Let’s Do It!
In 2002, Booth and Ainscow created an Index for Inclusion, which seeks to guide
educational institutions to create their own next steps and action plans if they wish to be
restructured to become more inclusive. "It takes on the social model of disability as its starting
point, builds on good practice, and then organizes the index work around a cycle of activities which
guide schools through stages of preparation, investigation, development, and review" (UNESCO
2005: 30).

Creating Inclusive culture

Three dimensions of the Index (Booth and Ainscow 2002:7

Booth and Ainscow (2002) clarified that these three dimensions, including the creating
inclusive cultures, evolving inclusive practices and producing inclusive policies, are interconnected
and "chosen to direct thinking about school change" (2002:7), and the formation and establishment
of an inclusive culture is considered the backbone of the system. It would be very difficult to get
people to shift policies and procedures without this at the core. A non-supportive community would
most probably lead to opposition from the direct stakeholders of the school. They add that these
three dimensions often branch out into parts to further guide schools to take more direct steps
towards this change in paradigm.

The Dimensions and Sections in the Index

DIMENSION A -Creating inclusive cultures

Section A.1 Building community

Section A.2 Establishing Inclusive Values

This dimension creates a secure, accepting, collaborating, and Stimulating community, in which
everyone is valued as the foundation for the highest achievements of all. It develops shared
inclusive values that are conveyed to all new staff, students, governors, and parents/carers. The
principles and values, in inclusive school cultures, guide decisions about policies and moment to
moment practice in classrooms, so that school development becomes a continuous process.

Educ 6. - Foundations of Special and Inclusive Education

 48

DIMENSION B: Producing Inclusive Policies

Section B.1 Developing the school for all

Section B.2 Organizing Support for Diversity

This dimension makes sure that inclusion permeates all school plans. Policies encourages the
participation of students and staff from the moment they join the school, reach out to all students
in the locality, and minimize exclusionary pressures. All policies involve clear strategies for
change. Support is considered to be all activities which increase the capacity of a school to
respond to student diversity. All forms of support are developed according to inclusive principles
and are brought together within a single framework.

DIMENSION C: Evolving inclusive practices

Section C.1 Orchestrating learning

Section C.2 Mobilizing resources

This dimension develops school practices which reflect the inclusive cultures and policies of the
school. Lessons are made responsive to student diversity. Students are encouraged to be
actively involved in all aspects of their education, which draws on their knowledge and
experience outside school. staff identify material resources and resources within each other,
students, parents/carers and local communities which can be mobilized to support learning and
participation.

The Dimensions and Sections in the Index of Inclusion. Adapted from Booth & Ainscow, @2002:8
Let’s Connect the Dots
Explain the following:

1. Diversity is the “new normal”.

Diversity is truly a new normal because we do not only limit or cater someone but all
people with different race and color. It is now a new normal and setting aside our
differences and combining the similarities for the better future.

2. What is the role of this framework in adopting inclusive education in school? How can it
help in the community?

This framework hepl inclusive education in school for children and teachers to help reach
out the children not eliminating the one and selecting the other but to let everybody
encourage to join the school and help them adjust in the atmosphere or the environment
of the school. Empowering teachers and offer quality education for all while respecting
diversity and different needs and abilities, characteristics, and learning expectations of the
students and communities, eliminating all forms of discrimination.

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49

Let’s Talk about It

I. CREATING INCLUSIVE CULTURES
Inclusion is as much the responsibility of culture as schools are responsible for it. From the
previous chapter, we learned that the secret to effective inclusive practices is the combination of
structures and the alignment of disability concepts. We will discover in this chapter that inclusive
education is an evolving process of partnership that needs to be dynamically revisited. For it to
really work, the meaning has to resonate with all educational stakeholders.

The stakeholders in educational reform are those who are "invested in the welfare and
success of a school and its students" (www.edglossary.org). In other words, they are the teachers,
administrators, school workers, officials and other employees, the parents and their families, the
community, and the government. Collective bodies, such as local companies, media advocacy
groups, sociocultural organizations, and other organizations, can also be active in education
directly or indirectly. Stakeholders are important because they play a major role in "connecting
what is taught in a community school" (www.edglossary.org).

In 2017, UNESCO has stated that substantial global improvements have been made in
access to education, especially at the primary level, over the last 15 years. Nevertheless, the 2016
Global Education Tracking Study shows that there are still an estimated 263 million children and
young people between the ages of 6 and 17 around the world who are not currently in school. The
report also confirmed, among others, the continued plight of women against discrimination based
on gender. The issue of inclusive education and how it impacts PWDs could not be more real with
growing globalization and international migration.

1. What Stakeholders Can Do

 The rights-based approach to educational programming "insists that no right can exist
without a corresponding governmental obligation" (Van den Brule-Balescut & Sandkull 2005).
Therefore, governments and communities are beginning to recognize how they are accountable to
children with additional needs to meet their right to education and to provide safe, accommodating
and equitable access to quality education. Legally defining terms and formalizing a framework for
the establishment of inclusive schools in areas where there is no starting point ensures continuity,
universality, implementation consistency, and ultimate success of inclusion in the country. Some
steps stakeholders should take to build inclusive cultures are the following:

• Set the parameters for inclusion.

The government has identified key individuals and careers and highlighted significant
factors contributing to the success of inclusive education, such as the mechanism of
placement, boards, personnel and duties, teacher preparation and pay, incentives for
involvement in the private sector, and the Department of Education's cooperation with other
government branches. These explicitly reflect not only an effort to centralize inclusive
policies, but an initiative to make everyone responsible for the care and well being of
children with additional needs. These are also compliant with what UNESCO is calling for in
terms of involving every stakeholder.
• Build key people. The government agrees that teacher preparation is important, both at the
level of special needs education and at the level of general education. It also encourages
the

Educ 6. - Foundations of Special and Inclusive Education

50

use of teaching structures based on facts, the provision of student assistance, and access
to teaching materials. Most notably, calls are made for organizations such as the
Department of Education to continue study and shape policies to be initiated in order to
further develop the equitable framework and adapt it to the needs of children with additional
needs. This is a significant aspect that every nation must continually revisit as students'
needs across continents, while identical, depending on where they live, will have nuances.
With the hope that what worked for one country would work for another, educational
systems should not just be lifted and 'copied-pasted'. UNESCO (2005) notes that clarity of
intent, concrete objectives, motivation, inspiration, resources, and policy and practice
assessment all lead to an effective shift towards inclusion.
• Identify and eradicate barriers. The UNESCO Guide for Inclusion (2005) promotes the
identification and elimination of barriers relevant to the structural transformation of prevailing
attitudes and values. In view of its current legislative policies that underpin the undeniable
significance of inclusion, the Philippine government seems to be in line with this aspect.
Education systems and implementation programs are also constantly reorganized,
emphasizing the need for key stakeholders such as colleges, parents, and other policy
makers to gain more awareness and capacity building to navigate an inclusive climate.

Common Barriers to Inclusion

• Attitudes, values systems, misconceptions, and societal norms — can lead to prejudices
and/or actual resistance to implement inclusive practices (UNESCO 2005).
• Physical barriers — the lack of building, facility, transportation, or road accessibility are types
of physical barriers that can literally affect one's mobility.
• Curriculum - a rigid "one size fits all" type of curriculum that does not allow room for individual
 differences can significantly stunt one's learning and opportunity for growth. • Lack of teacher
training and low teacher efficacy- whether training in teaching strategies, using curriculum
frameworks, or behavior and classroom management, lack of training as well as low
confidence in one's own skills can directly affect how inclusive practices are implemented.
• Poor language and communication- language barriers may also directly have implications on
how well inclusive practices are implemented.
• Lack of funding -enough funding can allow for training more teachers as well as coming up
with more appropriate programs, instructional materials, or facilities; lack of funds can be
limiting and debilitating to schools.
• Lack of policies — policies have the ability to unify beliefs and mobilize resources;
unfortunately, lack of it can become a convenient justification for inaction.
• Organization of educational systems - centralized systems may have some type of
detachment in terms of implementing policies and seeing the reality of how such policies are
affecting learners and other stakeholders.
• Too much focus on performance-based standards — schools have also reportedly refused
inclusion because of fear that the presence of learners with additional needs will pull down
their rankings in standardized tests.

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51

2. Special Education vs. Mainstreaming vs. Inclusive Education

Part of what needs to occur when creating cultures is to also determine distinctions among
frameworks and practices. Most important in this scenario is to understand how different special
education, mainstreaming, and inclusive education are from each other. In the previous chapter, we
discussed how special education is often regarded as segregated and exclusive. It has to be noted,
however, that this perception is entirely due to its nature of addressing cases in a highly
individualized way. This is not to mean that special education is an environment that violates
human rights. Because special education assesses, instructs, and evaluates students individually
and intentionally, this type of educational setting is beneficial to those with very unique needs as
well.

Mainstreaming shares more similarities with inclusion than with special education. Both look
at integrating the child with additional needs into a general education setting. There are, however,
nuances between the two as well.

Comparing special education, inclusion, and mainstreaming

Special Education Inclusion Mainstreaming
 Learners Students who are All same-aged peers/ Selected learners are
not part of the learners are in one included in a general
classroom norm class regardless of class -based
ability. education on their
readiness instead of
their age.

Curriculum Strengths-based General education Learner may have

and needs-based curriculum access to both
individualized general education
curriculum curriculum and a
more
individualized
curriculum.

Assessment and Mostly strengths Norm-referenced Both norm- referenced

Evaluation based but is and strengths-based
sometimes is also
standards-based

Learning All services All services happen Receives services in

Placement and happen inside the inside the general both the general
Delivery of special education education classroom. education classroom
Services classroom but and outside through
other services the use of resource
such as rooms
therapeutic and therapeutic
interventions may programs.
be integrated into
this
Educ 6. - Foundations of Special and Inclusive Education
52
setting or delivered
separately.

Philosophy Learner-centered: Rights-based: All Preparatory and

Some learners learners have a right Integrative: Learners
have very specific to access quality are given access to
needs that may education that is general education but
not available to others. will need to catch up
on skills first.

II. PRODUCING INCLUSIVE POLICIES

As reiterated in the previous chapters, the premise of inclusion starts with an acceptance
and embracing of diversity. It is difficult to start movement if this practice is not rooted on a culture
that assumes the right perspectives and values. For simultaneous paradigm shifts to happen
among its education stakeholders, schools must first create a new culture.
 UNESCO (2005) realistically acknowledges that a societal change in attitude need not be
initially present in a community before inclusion can be fully practiced. Rather, it must be viewed as
a perspective or an ideal to work toward. Without this realization, differences in standards and
quality of education may surface as potential problems. Just very recently, the pre-service
education curriculum was restructured so that special needs education units are not only given to
special needs education majors but to other education majors as well. This is a huge step for
teachers and a nod to inclusive education. The following is a list of other possible steps that
educators can take to facilitate the much-needed societal shift and inform policy:

• Involve other sectors of society. Current training and awareness campaigns seem to limit
the movement of inclusion to a mere homeschool relationship. At most, these are extended
to the departments for social welfare and health. However, for an inclusive set-up to truly be
successful, active involvement of the entire community must be ensured. For instance,
those in the business, commercial, security, and religious sectors must also be given
representation in trainings. These campaigns must be wide enough in scope as to cover
supermarkets, restaurants, malls, public and government agencies not directly associated
with social welfare or health, transportation, land, airline and maritime companies, the media,
and even the research teams of our policy makers. At the same time, they must be specific
enough to reach the local churches, the subdivision playgrounds, and the village stores. In
recent years, students in the tertiary level from various programs have been showing
growing interest in the PWD community. For instance, students belonging to architectural
and interior design programs have been working on theses and capstone projects where
their main clients have additional needs. The idea is for everyone—regardless of their
training or exposure—to become more sensitive and aware of the PWD population. The
more aware a community is, the more it will be able to help.
• Collaborate. Whether creating an academic program specific to a child with additional needs
or creating a new legislative bill for the PW D community, collaboration is crucial. Each
member of the inclusive education team would have their own strengths and weaknesses,
and these have to be used wisely to benefit the child with additional needs. Del Corro-

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53

Tiangco (2014) states that general education teachers are trained in the general curriculum
but would not know how to teach and manage children with additional needs; while a
special needs education teacher would be equipped to handle atypical behaviors but would
not know much about the general education curriculum. True collaboration would
guarantee an inclusive program that would cover as many areas as possible.

• Recognize the shift in roles of the teachers. With the shift to inclusive education, the role
of special education (SPED) teachers suddenly seems to be reduced to only "as needed."
As a result, the SPED teacher's role no longer becomes that of an implementer but that of a
consultative nature instead. It also becomes the responsibility of the general education
teacher to know what to do when faced with a learner with additional needs in his or her
classroom. The SPED teachers' role—their trainings, their insights, and their skills as a
supposed prime mover in the inclusive education framework—must neither be diminished
nor disregarded. Instead, these must be used to ensure a good inclusive program is
provided to children with additional needs. Conversely, general education teachers must go
through skills training and capacity building workshops to ensure that they are supporting
all types of learners in their classrooms appropriately.
• Include transitions in planning. An abrupt systemic change that is not well-planned or that
 disregards practices—whether existing or implied—may hinder the shift to inclusion and
cause resentment from all stakeholders. Instead, current practices have to be respected
and honored so as to facilitate a gradual shift to inclusive education.
Booth and Ainscow (2002) recommend that schools reflect on their current policies and
practices to check their readiness for an inclusive set-up. They also devised a questionnaire that
would help administrators, faculty' and other stakeholders comprehensively gather baseline data. A
move that would greatly help in informing policy would be to examine different aspects of the
school and the delivery of its services. Specifically, schools may look at the following:

• Student admissions
• Accessibility to utilities and facilities
• Supports available to students, parents, and school personnel
• Learner accommodations
• Exclusionary or discriminatory incidents
• Number of bullying cases
• Faculty and staff promotions

III. EVOLVING INCLUSIVE PRACTICES

Evolving inclusive practices is the third dimension to Booth and Ainscow's framework for
schools (2002), where administrators must first try to create an inclusive culture among its
stakeholders, then build better, more all-encompassing policies. The goal of the first two steps is to
ascertain habit forming conditions, which make procedures that are otherwise unfamiliar feel like
second nature to us. We want to reach a point where inclusive teaching practices are expected.
Once this happens, we can start focusing on raising the participation and success rates of learners
with additional needs inside our classrooms.

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54

Moreover, the term "evolving" assumes that we already have strategies in place which we
just have to revisit for possible tweaking. It suggests advancement and positive growth, which
means we can look at these existing strategies and just adjust these according to the needs of our
students along the way. Two effective evidence-based inclusive practices that can be used in the
classroom are Universal Design for Learning (UDL) and Differentiated Instruction.

1. Universal Design for Learning

In architecture, universal designs refer to structures that were made in such a way that they
can be used by customers or clients with a wide range of needs (Dukes & Lamar-Dukes 2009 as
cited in Salend 2011). Such designs ensure accessibility for all. For example, an architect designs a
commercial complex where ramps, elevators, escalators, handrails, wide doorways and sidewalks,
and signs embossed in Braille abound. It is a very user-friendly building. Obviously, the designer
imagined that some customers might walk into the complex in wheelchairs or white canes. The
architect does not know if or when it's going to happen, but he anticipated it and incorporated it into
his design anyway.
 Such is the mechanics of a Universal Design for
Learning (UDL) approach to instruction. UDL refers to
the design of instructional materials and activities to
make the content information accessible to all children
(Rose & Meyer. 2006 as cited in Turnbull et al. 2013). It
is best used in a general education classroom where
learners are different. Through the provision of delivering
content and allowing student to construct learning in
more than one way, UDL ensures that all students learn
genuinely.

There are three elements to UDL:

1. Multiple means of representation

2. Multiple means of action and expression
3. Multiple means of engagement
In UDL, teachers are supposed to present information and materials in many different Ways,
taking into consideration that some students may have not fully absorbed the lesson the first time it
was presented, The concept of multiple means Of representation is meant to ensure that all
students are able to access and understand learning material, After 'this, teachers allow students
to express what they learned in various ways, and finally, the teacher uses different techniques to
reinforce learning at the students' optimal levels.

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55
UDL Principles UDL Principle and Examples of UDL
Inclusive Practices Implementation and
Inclusive Practices

Principle 1: Equitable Use Inclusive practices are • Use UDL principles

designed to be useful, equitably
appealing, and safe for all • Use culturally responsive
students, families, and teaching strategies and
professionals to use. materials like MTBMLE
(mother tongue based
Individual differences and multilingual education)
various contexts are
respected.
Principle 2: Flexible Use Inclusive practices are
designed to accommodate
the individual preferences,
abilities, and needs of all
students, families, and
professionals. Flexibility in
providing choices for
methods and pacing are
exercised.

Principle3: Simple and Inclusive practices are • Establish classroom rules

Intuitive Use designed to be easy for all and routines
to use and understand. • Use graphic organizers for
synthesizing material
• Develop scoring rubrics
with the students

Principle 4: Perceptible Inclusive practices are • Use technological and

Information designed so that they assistive devices to
communicate valuable support learning,
information to all through communicate with
various formats. parents, or share
information

Principle 5: Inclusive practices are • Teach study and learning

Tolerance for Error designed to minimize errors strategies
and unintended • Teach self-regulatory
consequences by providing techniques
safeguards and warnings to • Encourage students and
assist all in using them foster their intrinsic
safely. motivation
• Offer grading alternatives
that are valid and
appropriate

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56
Principle 6: Low Physical Inclusive practices are • Chunk activities and give
Effort designed to be used more breaks
comfortably and efficiently • Teach mindfulness
without much effort from all. Provide additional
support as needed
 Principle 7: Size and Space Inclusive practices are • Take advantage of seat
for Approach and Use designed for use by all, arrangements and
regardless of their mobility, classroom furniture (e.g.,
physicality, or way of specialized chairs,
communication. stability balls, use of
ambient music, and
appropriate lighting).
• Provide opportunities for
outdoor work
• Allow technology as
needed

Principle 8: Community of Inclusive practices are • Use project-based

Learners designed to promote social learning
interaction and • Promote collaborative
communication to all. activities such as fish
bowl discussion or
think-pair share
• Establish strong home
school partnership
• Classroom check-ins and
check-outs

Principle 9: Inclusive Inclusive practices are • Make students aware of

Environment designed to foster and comfortable with
acceptance and a sense of diversity
belongingness for all. • Emphasize social roles in
the classroom;(e.g., that
we students are there to
teach each other and
learn from each other)
• Allow bonding activities •
Do team-building exercises
regularly and integrate
lesson in such activities

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57

2. Differentiated Instruction

According to Tomlinson (2010), differentiated (or differentiating) instruction is a teacher's

response to students' varying needs, interests, and learning styles. "It refers to a systematic
approach to planning curriculum and instruction for academically diverse learners. It is a way of
thinking about the classroom with the dual goals of honoring each student's learning needs and
maximizing student's learning capacity," When teachers differentiate instruction, they use a variety
of teaching and learning strategies that are necessary to meet the diverse needs of students in any
class (Friend & Bursuck 2009).

Why Differentiate Instruction?

All learners are unique and have varying interests, talents, as well as needs. Hence, it is
essential that teaching and learning experiences reflect this diversity. To ensure engaged,
successful, and flourishing lea teaching and learning experiences need to be designed in a way
that provide opportunities for students to learn and demonstrate their understanding in varied ways.
Thus, Differentiating Instruction (DI) helps ensure that learners are engaged in respectful tasks and
provide diverse means of learning that reflect their strengths and address their needs
simultaneously.

How Is Instruction Differentiated?

Bender in 2002 (as cited by Gentry et al. 2013) identified elements of the curriculum that
can be differentiated: (1) content, (2) process, (3) product, and (4) learning environment in
response to the students' characteristics: interests, readiness, and learning profile. As an overview,
differentiation is achieved by providing materials and tasks:

a. at varied levels of difficulty;

b. with varying levels of instructional support;
c. by using multiple grouping arrangement;
d. that involve student choice; and
e. use varied evaluation strategies.
As teachers, you must know your curriculum. You are suggested to revisit or identify which are
non-negotiable and negotiable learning objectives and tasks. You are also expected to know your
students' interests, readiness level (based on diagnostic data), and learning styles/profile (strengths
and needs). You may create a class profile to provide an overview of the class’s characteristics and
needs, Next, you have to identify and plan what and how to differentiate your material. The goal is
to start small and take simple steps toward differentiating instruction.

Differentiation strategies

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58
CONTENT PROCESS PRODUCT LEARNING

What is taught? How is it taught? How is it assessed? ENVIRONMENT

What is learned? How is it learned? How is learning How is the

demonstrated? classroom
arranged?
 • Provide additional • Choices of reading • Homework • Flexible grouping:
material skills materials options whole class, small
• Varied presentation • Students choice groups, one-on one,
• Reduce materials
styles: Say it, on product (oral peer teaching,
• Skills exploration Show it, and pairs, partner
presentations,
by interest Model it. written report, learning,
• Use media (Video, role plays, independent
audio, computer, simulations, etc.) learning, and
TV, and • Varied journal cooperative
Manipulatives) prompts learning
• Varied pacing • Choice Boards • • Flexible
• Reading Think-Tac-Toe • seating •
buddies: - Read/ Tiered activities Preferential
summarize (by readiness seating
- Read/Question/ and interest) • Pull-out from
Answer • Less items (with class (for
- Visual special needs) learners with
organizer/ special needs
• Learning
Summarizer contracts
• Think-Pair-Share • RAFT (Role,
by readiness, Audience,
interest, and Format, Topic)
learning profile
• Learning centers/
stations
• Small-group
instruction
• Jigsaw (expert
group)
• Cooperative
learning activities
• Team, games and
activities
• Cubing
• Learning contracts

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How Is the Classroom Managed During Differentiated Learning?

Structure the classroom by establishing routines during differentiated learning activities.

1. Explain to the students the reason for differentiation. Make sure this is understood by all. 2.
Use "anchor activities" which students can automatically work on when completing assigned
tasks to maintain a productive work environment and maximize instructional time. Examples of
anchor activities are: reading a chosen book (e.g., for book report), journal writing based on a
 prompt, skills practice (spelling, math), use of manipulative objects, etc. 3. Assign roles during
small-group activities/instruction to ensure accountability and a positive learning environment.
These are suggested group roles, but older learners and their teachers may decide on other
roles. Learners should have the opportunity to assume each of the roles. a. Facilitator
b. Recorder
c. Summarizer/Timekeeper
d. Presenter
e. Errand monitor
4. Implement routines for collaborative work.
a. Establish working groups (by interest, by readiness, etc.)
b. Have a plan for "quick finishers"
c. Have a plan for when to ask for help (role of the errand monitor).

Anchor Activity Options

(for upper elementary / middle school students)

• Work on your book report selection (read quietly until time is called). If you have already
finished our book, then work on your review (consult the hint book for guidelines). •
Complete one of the three journal prompts provided.
• Select a Learning Interest packet from the anchor option file box.
• Select at least one area of test prep practice you believe you need to review. •
Work on your Orbital or Independent Project

Anchor Activity Options

(for secondary students)
• Journals or Learning logs
• “Project extensions”
• Independent reading
• Lab works
• Related course reading with questions or extensions activities
• Test prep or practice test review for ACT or SAT
• Project interest
• Learning Packets
• Independent Studies
• Computer Skills
• WebQuest or telecollaborative projects

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60
 Let’s See What’s on Your Mind
Answer the following comprehensively.

1. What is the difference between mainstreaming and inclusion? Answer in terms of

philosophy, teaching practices, services available, and students placements.

Mainstreaming share more similarities with inclusion, they both look integrating the child
with additional needs into a general education setting. But there are differences between
the two, in terms of philosophy, inclusion is right based: all learners have a right to access
quality education that is available to others, while the philosophy of mainstreaming is
preparatory and integrative: learners are given access to general education curriculum
and norm referenced assessment of evaluation, while mainstreaming used both general
education curriculum and a more individualized curriculum and a norm referenced and
strengths-based assessment of evaluation. Also in inclusion, learners are all same aged,
they are in one class, regardless of ability, and all services happen inside the general
education classroom while in mainstreaming only selected learners are included in a
general education class based on their readiness instead of their age, and they received
services in both general education classroom and outside through the use of resources
rooms and therapeutic programs. In addition, the main difference between the two is that
students who are participating in the mainstreaming expected to keep up with the other
students in the class with little to no assistance while the focus of inclusion is to gain
social and life skills, even if they don’t make academic gains.

2. What are the most common barriers to inclusion in your place? Give only three and
explain.

Physical barrier, lack of funding, lack of teacher training and low teacher efficacy. These
are the three common barriers to inclusion in our place since we are located in a rural
area. There is no enough fund to support the inclusive education because of having a
lack of funding it also cause to have a physical barriers and lack of teaching training and
low teacher efficacy.
 3. What is differentiation? How different are accommodations from modifications? When
should we accommodate and when do we modify?

Differentiation is a planned curriculum that takes into consideration the individual needs
or interest of the child is a systematic approach to planning curriculum and instruction for
academically diverse learners. It is a way of thinking about the classroom with the due
goals of honoring each student learning needs and maximizing student’s learning
capacity. Differentiation means tailoring instruction to meet individual needs and it
focuses on how a child will demonstrate learning. Differentiation instruction is a teacher’s
response to student’s varying needs, interests and learning styles.

Accommodation are supports provided to students to help gain full access to class
content instruction, without altering the curriculum standard and competencies expected
and to demonstrate accurately what they know while modifications are provided for
students with significant or severe disabilities where content expectations are altered, and
the performance outcomes are changed in relation to what is expected of typically
developing students of the same aged. In short, accommodation changes how students
learn the material while the modifications changes what a student is taught or expected to
learn.

We use accommodation when we want the student to learn the knowledge and skills
without looking at its disability which means that we will allow the child to access the
same curriculum other student’s are offered example is when there is a deaf and mute
learner, you can accommodate them with a sign language interpreter. So we
accommodate when the said way of teaching is still possible with the type of disability a
learner have. But we will use modifications when there is already a severe disability and it
is already impossible for the learner to follow with that way of teaching for example is in a
way a test, you will allow a fewer items to be completed or rewording it with simpler
language is an example of modifications.

4. What is UDL? Explain what you have understood.

Universal design for learning (UDL) provides the opportunity for all the students to access,
participate in, and progress in the general education curriculum by reducing barriers to
instruction. It is an approach to teaching and learning that gives students equal
opportunity to succeed and it is about building in flexibility that can be adjusted for every
person’s strengths and needs. You can implement UDL by having a clear goal, then
design a multiple means of representation like video presentation for subject matter
content, next is design multiple means of action and expression for example is animated
digital coaches to help with comprehension and models of expert performance using
differing approaches, and then design a multiple means of engagement like creation of
voice avatars for digital test presentation, and lastly it reflecting your design on the
student’s outcome and how they interact with the goal, support, and strategies.
Educ 6. - Foundations of Special and Inclusive Education
61
Let’s Dig Up More
Write T if the statement is true. If it is false, underline the word/ phrase and make the
statement correct.

F 1. A supportive community would most probably lead to opposition from the direct
stakeholders of the school.

A non-supportive community would most probably lead to opposition from the direct stakeholders
of the school.

F 2. Evolving inclusive practices dimension creates a secure, accepting, collaborating, and

stimulating community, in which everyone is valued as the foundation for the highest achievements
of all.

Creating inclusive values dimension creates a secure, accepting, collaborating, and stimulating
community, in which everyone is valued as the foundation for the highest achievements of all.

T 3. Stakeholders are the teachers, administrators, school workers, officials and other
employees, the parents and their families, the community, and the government.

F 4. The Differentiating Instructions refers to the design of instructional materials and

activities to make the content information accessible to all children.

The UDL refers to the design of instructional materials and activities to make the content
information accessible to all children.

T 5. In the field of education, inclusion is the process of putting students with special
education programs based on their skills in a general education classroom during particular time
periods.

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62
 Post Test
Encircle only the letter of your answer.

1. It means a condition that can manifest itself in an imperfect ability to listen, think, talk, read, write,
spell or to do mathematical calculations in one or more of the fundamental psychological
processes involved in understanding or using language, spoken or written.
a. Specific learning disability
b. Emotional disability
c. Language and communication disorder
d. Intellectual disability
2. When interacting with people, events and the physical aspects of the environment, it refers to a
problem a person with disability or impairment encounters.
a. Disabled
b. At risk
c. Developmental Disability
d. Handicap
3. It is a prediction on how the child with disability will progress to the next stage of schooling, on to
college or vocational program and eventually to the workplace from elementary to secondary
school.
a. Present environment
b. Future environment
c. Past environment
d. Perfect environment
4. According to this model, in order to reintegrate the disadvantaged into society, these deficits must
undergo rehabilitative intervention, such as therapies, counseling, and the like. a. Moral/
Religious Model
b. Social Model
c. Right-Based Model and Twin Track Approach
d. Functional Model
5. They are seen as impaired not because they are incompetent, but because they are deficient and
disadvantaged because society' insists'.
a. People who are handicapped.
b. People who have disability.
c. People who have mental deficits.
d. All of the above.
6. It is an educational method that positions students with disabilities in the general education
classroom under the supervision and direction of a general education teacher along with typically
developing children.
a. Special Education
b. Normal Education
c. Inclusive Education
d. Special Needs Education

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7. This law exempts PWDs on VAT on the following sale of goods and services and inclusion of
funeral services.
a. RA 10366
b. RA 10070 (2010)
c. RA 11228 (2019)
d. RA 10754 (2016)
8. An act to improve the accessibility of disabled persons by requiring the installation of facilities and
other equipment by some buildings, organizations, establishments and public utilities. a. RA
10070 (2010) – Implementation of Programs and Services for PWDs in every province, city and
municipality- PDAO Law
b. Administrative Order 35 (2002)- National Disability Prevention and Rehabilitation (NPDR
Week)
c. BP 344 (1983)- Accessibility Law
d. RA 10524 (2013) – (Expanding the Positions Reserved for PWDs)
9. It refers to the design of the instructional materials and activities to make the content information
accessible to all children.
a. Accommodations
b. Inclusive practices
c. Differentiated instructions
d. Universal Design for Learning
10. It is an evidence-based model of disability.
a. Moral/ Religious Model
b. Biomedical/ Individual Model
c. Functional/ Rehabilitation Model
d. Social Model
11. It is considered road maps or blueprints that were developed by the United Nations to ensure a
better and sustainable future for everyone.
a. Vision and Mission
b. Objectives
c. Agenda
d. Sustainable Development Goals
12. It sees disability as either a blessing or a curse.
a. Moral/ Religious Model
b. Biomedical/ Individual Model
c. Functional/ Rehabilitation Model
d. Social Model
13. They invested in the welfare and success of a school and its students through educational
reforms.
a. Stakeholders
b. Administrators
c. Supervisors
d. Community

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14. When can you say that the teacher differentiates instructions?
a. When he/she teaches with great passion and commitment.
b. When he/she uses a variety of teaching and learning strategies.
c. When he/she continues to teach effectively in the class.
d. When he/she delivers the lesson well in front of the class.
15. It is designed to keep potential or minor problems from becoming a disability.
a. At risk
b. Handicap
c. Preventive intervention
d. Developmental disability
16. It is defined as the state or quality of being different or varied or a point of difference.
a. Special Needs Education
b. Mainstreaming
c. Diversity
d. Inclusive Education
17. A common barrier to inclusion where there is lack of building facility, transportation, or road
accessibility.
a. Lack of funding
b. Poor language communication
c. Curriculum
d. Physical barriers
18. Kind of risk where the child is born prematurely, underweight at birth, whose mother contracted
with diabetes or rubella during the first trimester of pregnancy.
a. Established risk
b. Environmental risk
c. Biological risk
d. Hazardous risk
19. It considers disability as a failure from which the PWD is born, which needs to be evaluated and
corrected.
a. Social model
b. Functional/ Rehabilitation Model
c. Biomedical/ Individual Model
d. Moral/ Religious Model
20. A model that goes beyond explanation, providing a theoretical structure that stresses the human
dignity of PWDs for disability policy.
a. Social Model
b. Functional/ Rehabilitation Model
c. Right-Based Model
d. Biomedical/ Individual Model

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i
 Preface
In response to the needs and challenges of the times, the growth of special education
in the Philippines has received reasonably good support over the years from both the
government, non-governmental organizations and stakeholders. A course on the fundamentals
of special education is also included in the program for teacher education to prepare beginning
teachers for the inclusion of exceptional children in everyday classes. In order to address the
needs of vulnerable children against the persistent obstacles and demands of the new
millennium, the advent of the 21st century calls for new approaches and directions in special
education.

This learner’s module introduces and guides the instructors and learners to the world
of special education and provides an advance coordinator of the course on the cognitive,
affective and psychomotor goals that are required to be accomplished by the students. It is
compiled from different references within the context of the Philippine educational system.

The lessons in each module will offer prospected educators a solid appreciation and
understanding of the foundations of inclusive and special education. The compilers claimed that
this collection is a valuable and realistic resource for educators to practice in different
environments: classrooms for general education, special education settings, and inclusive
classrooms, as well as for administrators and school owners interested in embracing and
incorporating inclusion in their respective schools.

You may encounter different disabilities that are notable in the society like children with
intellectual disabilities, learning disabilities, emotional and behavioral disorders, communication
disorders, blindness and low vision, hearing impairment, physical disabilities, and multiple and
severe disabilities. This module will give you advance insights of the characteristics of the
disability; on how to deal and handle them and some instructional materials to be utilized inside
the classroom.

The compilers hope that as you read this module, you will be inspired and challenged to
appreciate children with special needs; promote inclusivity in school; escalate uniqueness and
diversity among all learners, thus, creating an atmosphere where humanity should be respected
and loved.

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 Table of Contents
Preface ………………………………………………………… ………...................... i

Pretest ………………………………………………………………………….……… 1

Module 1: Understanding Diversity ……………………………………………….…… 4

Module 2: Addressing Diversity through the Years: Special and Inclusive

Education

Lesson 1: Models of Disability………………………………………........................... 10

Lesson 2: Special Needs Education and inclusion ………………............................ 22

Lesson 3: Meaning of Special Education and Categories of Children with Special

Needs …………………………………………………………………………………
…..
31

Module 3: Making School Inclusive

Lesson 1: System of Unifying ………………………………………......................... 46

Post Test ………………………………………………………………………………. 62

Educ 6. - Foundations of Special and Inclusive Education