CHAPTER 4

COMPONENTS OF SPECIAL AND INCLUSIVE EDUCATION

BY

GROUP 3

SANCHEZ, JANNA

At the end of this chapter, you are expected to:

 Enumerate the processes involved in Child Find through the pre-referral process

 Identify the assessment tools, methods, and principles in working with children with additional
needs

 Identify the different placement within a continuum

 Compare accommodations and curriculum modifications

 Identify ways how to involve parents as part of the home-school collaboration

1. CHILD FIND THROUGH A PRE-REFERRAL PROCESS

Referral for evaluation and special education services begins by identifying students who have additional
needs and who may be at risk for developmental disabilities.

 School guidance counselors

 Early childhood teachers
 Primary school teachers
 Community-based day-care workers

A. Pre-referral Process

A child noted to have significant difficulties in relation to expected competencies and developmental
milestones may be referred by parents and teachers for observation and assessment.

Pre-referral team (Hallahan et al. 2014).

 Special education teachers
 Counselors
 Administrators
 Psychologists

Taylor (2009) provided an assessment model that begins with a pre- referral process. Children with
noted developmental delays and difficulties are identified through observations and use of norm- and
criterion- referenced tests.

Community-based screening. Child development and social workers use developmental screening tools
such as the Early Childhood Care and Development (ECCD) Checklist that covers items expected for a
child's typical development.

B. Pre-referral Strategies

Pre-referral strategies are designed to provide immediate instructional and/or behavior management
support to a child.
Using such strategies lessens the number of cases referred for special education and makes efficient use
of time and financial resources that could have been spent for special education assessment (Heward
2013).

Examples of pre-referral strategies:

 Observation of the child's behavior, including interactions with parents, teachers, and peers,
 Interview of parents and teachers to gather more information about the child.
 Review of school records.
 Analysis of the child's academic output through error analysis, portfolio assessment, and
criterion-referenced and curriculum- based assessment (Taylor 2009).

Figure 4-1. Pre-referral process

MAMING, ELLA

II. ASSESSMENT

Assessment is the process of collecting information about a child's strengths and needs. It uses a
problem-solving process that involves a systematic collection as well as interpretation of data
gathered (Salvia et al. 2013).

A. Assessment Purposes

Assessment has a variety of purpose in special and inclusive education.

1. Begins with initial identification
2. Results of an assessment are used to decide on a child's educational placement and to plan
instructional programs.
3. Progress monitoring and evaluation of teaching programs and services

Variety of assessment methods that regular and special education teachers can use, including:
(1) Interviews,
(2) Observations,
(3) Checklists or rating scales, and
(4) Tests

B. Methods of Assessment

Tests. School psychologists, educational diagnosticians, and other related professionals use a variety
of assessment tools to ensure that results are valid and reliable. There are two types of test
assessment:

 Norm-referenced tests are standardized assessments that compare a child's performance

with a representative sample of students of the same chronological age.

 Criterion-referenced tests compare a child's performance based on established standards

and competencies and can be used to describe student performance (Jennings et al. 2006 as
cited in Spinelli 2012).

Informal Assessment. Also known as non-standardized assessments are considered more authentic
and thus can be used primarily to describe performance and inform instruction. Such assessments
can be curriculum-based or performance-based, such as the teacher-made instruments used in
classrooms and portfolio assessments.

Authentic Assessment. Provide students the opportunity to apply knowledge and skills in
meaningful, real-world settings (e.g., classroom, playground, etc.) rather than in an artificial and
contrived setting (Dennis et al. 2013). Assessment tasks that are more real- life are considered more
authentic.

Example of authentic assessment:

Observation
 Date and time of the observation
 Names of children involved
 Location of the incident
  Verbatim recording of what the children said
 Actual events that occurred

Anecdotal records contain shorter descriptions of incidents or anecdotes that teachers and
specialists can use to analyze a student's behavior and plan strategies for a specific child or group of
children. Other examples are play-based assessment and portfolio assessment.

The different assessment methods and tools used to assess Carl after the pre-referral process are
discussed in the following:

C. Assessment Principles

Assessment practices should be anchored on principles as provided by the Division for Early
Childhood of the Council for Exceptional Student (DEC) (2014), the following are the assessment
principles recommended by DEC or the Division of Early Childhood:
  Child- and family-centered practices
 Team-based approach
 Application of individualized and appropriate process, and
 Use of genuine and meaningful communication that adhere to ethical and legal practices

MALUSAY, MEKAILA

III. PLACEMENT

Assessment results are used to decide a child's appropriate education placement within a
continuum from the least to the most restrictive settings.

General education classroom is the least restrictive environment for a child with additional needs.
Access to the same learning experiences and opportunities is provided as to typically developing
students. Thus it is considered as the "most normalized or typical setting" (Gargiulo, 2012).
Additional support in the form of accommodations or changes in expectations through curriculum
modifications may be provided but still within the same classroom as peers within the year level.

General education class but the child receives supplementary instruction and services such as
speech, physical, and occupational therapy or counseling services during the school day. Options
may be provided when such sessions are conducted, either during school or as an after-school
service.

Resource room. In such a placement, it is assumed that the child will benefit more from either a
small-group or individualized instruction with a specialist teacher who will be able to more
intensively target his learning needs.

Self-contained special education class but still located in a general education school. In this learning
environment, all students receive individualized and group instruction with peers with disabilities
and additional needs from a special education teacher. Depending on the program goals, students
may be given the opportunity to interact with typically developing peers through school community-
building activities.

Special education class in a special education school. Teams of professionals, along with the special
education teacher, work with students with disabilities and additional needs in a highly specialized
setting.

Residential facility is where students live and receive their educational support twenty-four hours a
day.

Finally, children with multiple disabilities, often of the severe kind, are provided with home- or
hospital- based programs to manage their medical condition and learn as much as they could.

Inclusive education espouses that all students, to the maximum extent possible, is provided access
to general education classroom with the provision of support to remove barriers to enable success.
SERRANO, NECOLIE

IV. ACCOMMODATIONS AND CURRICULAR MODIFICATIONS

Students with disabilities and additional needs who are studying in an inclusive general education
classroom may need accommodations in the form of instructional support and other supplementary
services. Others who need more intensive support are provided with curricular modifications.

A. Accommodations

Accommodations are supports provided to students to help gain full access to class content and
instruction, without altering the curriculum standards and competencies expected and to
demonstrate accurately what they know.

Examples of accommodations:
 Altering instruments, toys or materials,
 Changing the room during specific activities,
 Providing time extensions or allowances for tests and tasks, and
 Changing response formats in worksheets.

Accommodations may be provided both during assessment and instruction, depending on the
learning profile and needs of a child and may vary in terms of presentation, response, setting, and
scheduling (Beech 2010)

1. Presentation Accommodations

Children with disabilities may need specialized presentation formats especially those with sensory
impairments so they can learn the same content alongside typically developing peers.
2. Response Accommodations

Response accommodations allow students with disabilities and additional needs a variety of ways to
complete assignments, written tests, performance tasks, and other activities. Providing such
instructional and assessment supports allows them to access the same learning experiences as other
students in a general education classroom.
3. Setting Accommodations

Accommodation in a setting may allow a child who gets easily distracted to work in a quiet corner of
the classroom in his own study carrel so that he will not be sidetracked by environmental stimuli. Or
a child who is still unable to read fluently may be allowed to take a silent reading comprehension
test in another room with a supervising adult just so she could hear herself read aloud which helps
her better understand the story.

4. Scheduling Accommodations

Changing time allotment, schedule of tasks and assessments, and management of time are some
types of scheduling accommodations.

Examples of accommodation that can modify scheduling:

(1) Extending time for assignments and assessments;
(2) Providing breaks in between tasks;
(3) Providing a visual schedule or a checklist of individual responsibilities;
(4) Providing predictable routines and procedures; and
(5) Providing an electronic device with alarms and cues.

ZACARIAS, BHEVZ

B. Modifications

Curriculum 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
are expected of typically developing students of the same age (DEC 2007).

Curricular modifications include changes in instructional level, content and performance criteria, as
well as the breadth and depth of content being learned by students.

Educational teams responsible for instructional planning may indicate curricular modifications in the
student's Individual Educational Plan (IEP).
V. PARENT INVOLVEMENT

Another component of an inclusive and special education is parent involvement.

This is anchored on Bronfenbrenner's Human Ecological Theory, which states that there are five
environmental systems that comprise a child's social context.

Division of Early Childhood of the Council of Exceptional Children (DEC) espoused the use of
family-centered practices in the assessment and instruction of young children.
Turnbull and Turnbull (2002 cited in Kirk et al. 2015) provided the principles of a family-centered
model:
(1) Honors the family choice by changing the power relationship between professionals and
families, (2) Abandons a pathology orientation and adopts a strengths orientation, and
(3) Where the entire family becomes the unit of support and not just the child with a disability and
the child's mother.

Parent involvement has been found to be directly related to academic achievement and
improvements in the school performance of children. Educational support and collaboration with
teachers have been found to promote child success in school (Reschly & Christenson 2009).

GAPATE, HAROLD

A. Home-School Communication

Having established the critical role of parents in a student's developmental and academic progress
and achievement, it is essential that there is a close home and school collaboration and
communication.

1. Parent-Teacher Conferences

Parent-teacher conferences are face-to-face meetings held between parents and teachers.
Conducting such meetings is necessary so parents of students with disabilities and additional needs
will be able to share about their child's background, strengths and abilities, history of difficulties,
and practices they have been implementing at home as well as interventions done with other
specialists. Together with teachers, they can coordinate their efforts and services to support their
child both in school and at home.

2. Written Communication

Home-school communication may also be conducted through written messages, such as the use of a
home-school communication notebook, where teachers and parents write homework assignments,
the student's behavior in the classroom, as well as progress on program goals.

3. Digital communication

With the influx of mobile devices, many parents and families are more able to communicate through
electronic and digital means such as email, text messages, and social network messaging systems. A
study found that parents and teachers perceive technology as an effective tool to promote parent
involvement and thus value its use for communication (Olmstead 2013).

4. Home-School Contracts

A home-school contract contains an agreement between teachers and parents regarding behavioral
and/or academic goals for a student with disability. Just like any formal contract, this is a written
agreement between teachers, parents, and students (when appropriate) on specific objectives and
corresponding reinforcements or rewards when they are met.
B. Other Ways to Involve Parents

a. Parent education

It may take the form of providing seminars and workshops to parents to equip them with a better
understanding of their child's disability and accompanying strengths, uniqueness, as well as specific
techniques and strategies that they can practice at home.

b. Parent support groups

Parents are able to ask other parents about tips and techniques to work with their children. Parents
should be empowered so that they can participate in planning and organizing parent support
groups. Through such groups, parents can draw support from one another during meetings as they
share techniques and strategies, even frustrations and successes about their children.

SANCHEZ, JANNA
SUMMARY

In summary, this chapter has presented the different components of inclusive and special education,
which include the following: pre-referral, assessment, placement, accommodations curricular
modifications, and parent involvement. Across these components, a team approach is highly
recommended where each member-the child, parents, general education teacher, special education
teacher, therapists, and other specialists-coordinate and collaborate in planning and making
decisions for the child with disabilities.

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