ODA BULTUM UNIVERSITY

COLLEGE OF SOCIAL SCIENCE AND

HUMANITIES
Dep’t:- psychology
 Chapter two:- Concept of Inclusion
Definition of inclusion in education/service
• An ongoing process aimed at offering quality education/services for
all while respecting diversity and the different needs and abilities,
characteristics and learning expectations of the students and
communities and eliminating all forms of discrimination‖ (UNESCO,
2008, ).
• Process of addressing and responding to the diversity of needs of all
persons through increasing participation in learning, employment,
services, cultures and communities, and reducing exclusion at all
social contexts.
• Having a wide range of strategies, activities and processes that seek to
make a reality of the universal right to quality, relevant and
 Defn of inclusion….
Inclusion seeks to enable communities, systems and structures in
all cultures and contexts to:-
• combat discrimination,
• celebrate diversity,
• promote participation and
• overcome barriers to learning and participation for all people.
• Inclusion has a goal of creating a world where there is peace,
tolerance, and sustainable use of resources, social justice, and
where the basic needs and rights of all are met.
 Defn of inclusion….
The above definition of inclusion has the following components:
1) Concepts about learners
 Education is a fundamental human right for all people
 Learning begins at birth and continues throughout life
 All children have a right to education within their own
community
 Everyone can learn, and any child can experience difficulties in
learning
 All learners need their learning supported child-focused
teaching benefits all children.
 Defn of inclusion….
The above definition of inclusion has the following components:
2) Concepts about the education system and schools
• It is broader than formal schooling
• It is flexible, responsive educational systems
• It creates enabling and welcoming educational environments
• It promotes school improvement – makes effective schools
• It involves whole school approach and collaboration between
partners.
 Defn of inclusion….
The above definition of inclusion has the following components:
3) Concepts about diversity and discrimination
• It promotes combating discrimination and exclusionary pressures
at any social sectors.
• It enables responding to/embracing diversity as a resource not as
a problem.
• It prepares learners for an inclusive society that respects and
values difference.
 Defn of inclusion….
4) Concepts about processes to promote inclusion
• It helps to identifying and overcoming barriers to participation
and exclusionary pressures
• It increases real participation of all collaboration, partnership
between all stakeholders
• It promotes participatory methodology, action research,
collaborative enquiry and other related activities
 Defn of inclusion….
The above definition of inclusion has the following components:
5) Concepts about resources
• Promotes unlocking and fully using local resources redistributing
existing resources
• It helps to perceive people (children, parents, teachers, members
of marginalized groups, etc) as key resources
• It helps to use appropriate resources and support within schools
and at local levels for the needs of different children, e.g. mother
tongue tuition, Braille, assistive devices.
 Inclusive service…
• According to McLeskey and Waldron (2000) inclusion includes the following
components:
• Students with disabilities and vulnerability attend their neighborhood
schools
• Each student is in an age-appropriate general education classroom.
• Every student is accepted and regarded as a full and valued member of the
class
• Provision of Special education supports to disabled with in the general
education.
• All students receive an education that addresses their individual needs
• No student is excluded based on type or degree of disability.
• All members of the school (e.g., administration, staff, students, and parents)
 Inclusive service….
• According to McLeskey and Waldron (2000) Non inclusive education/service
includes the following components:
• Placing students with disabilities into general education classrooms without
careful planning and adequate support.
• Reducing services or funding for special education services.
• Placing all students who have disabilities or who are at risk in one or a few
designated classrooms.
• Teachers spending a disproportionate amount of time teaching or adapting
the curriculum for students with disabilities.
• Isolating students with disabilities socially, physically, or academically within
the general education school or classroom.
• Endangering the achievement of general education students through slower
instruction or a less challenging curriculum.
 2. Principles of Inclusion
The fundamental principle of inclusion is that:-
• all persons should learn,
• work and live together wherever possible, regardless of any
difficulties or differences they may have.
• Inclusive education goes beyond SNE in that it considers other
sources of disadvantage and marginalization, such as gender,
poverty, language, ethnicity, and geographic isolation.
 Principles of inclusion…
UNESCO (2005) has provided four major inclusion principles that
support inclusive practice.
1.Inclusion is a process. It has to be seen as a never-ending search to
find better ways of responding to diversity. It is about learning how
to live with difference and learning how to learn from difference.
2. Inclusion is concerned with the identification and removal of
barriers that hinders the development of persons with disabilities.
3. Inclusion is about the presence, participation and achievement of
all persons.
4. Inclusion invokes a particular emphasis on those who may be at
risk of marginalization, exclusion or underachievement.
 3. Rationale for Inclusion
Educational Foundations
• Children do better academically, psychologically and socially in inclusive
settings.
• A more efficient use of education resources.
• Decreases dropouts and repetitions
• Teachers competency( knowledge, skills, collaboration, satisfaction
Social Foundation
• Segregation teaches individuals to be fearful, ignorant and breeds prejudice.
• All individuals need an education that will help them develop relationships
and prepare them for life in the wider community.
• Only inclusion has the potential to reduce fear and to build friendship,
respect and understanding.
 3. Rationale for Inclusion
• Legal Foundations
• All individuals have the right to learn and live together.
• Human being shouldn‘t be devalued or discriminated against by being
excluded or sent away because of their disability.
• There are no legitimate reasons to separate children for their
education.
 Rationals of inclusion…
Economic Foundation
• IE has economic benefit, both for individual and for society.
• IE is more cost-effective than the creation of special schools across
the country.
• Children with disabilities go to local schools.
• Reduce wastage of repetition and dropout.
• Children with disabilities who live with their family use community
infrastructure.
• Better employment and job creation opportunities for people with
disabilities
 3. Rationale for Inclusion
• Foundations for Building Inclusive Society
• Formation of mutual understanding and appreciation of
diversity
• Building up empathy, tolerance and cooperation
• Promotion of sustainable development
2.3. Factors that Influenced Development of Inclusion
Inclusiveness originated from three major ideas. These include:
• Inclusive education is a basic human right;
• Quality education results from inclusion of students with
diverse needs and ability differences, and
• There is no clear demarcation between the characteristics of
students with and without disabilities and vulnerabilities.
2.3. Factors that Influenced Development of Inclusion
• IE is facilitated by many influencing actors.
1. Communities: education and community-based programs movement that
favor inclusion of their community members.
2. Activists and advocates: the combined voices of primary stakeholders. (e.g.
disabled activists; parents advocating for their children; child rights advocates;
and those advocating for women/girls and minority ethnic groups).
3. The quality education and school improvement movement:
4. Special educational needs movement:
5. Involvement of International agencies: (UN, FTI towards the EFA goals.
UNESCO)
6. Involvement of NGOs movements, networks and campaigns:
7. Other factors: the current world situation and practical experiences in
education.
 4. Benefits of Inclusion
1. Benefits for Students with SNE.
• Appropriate models of behavior. They can observe and imitate socially
acceptable behaviors of the students without special needs.
• Improved friendships with the social environment.
• Increased social initiations, interactions, relationships and networks
• Gain peer role models for academic, social and behavior skills
• Increased achievement of individualized educational program (IEP) goals.
• Greater access to general curriculum.
• Enhanced skill acquisition and generalization in their learning
• Improved academic achievement.
• Improved school staff collaboration to meet these students‘ needs and ability
differences
•
 4. Benefits of Inclusion
2. Benefits for persons without SNE
• opportunities for interacting with their age peers who experience SEN in
inclusive school settings.
• Serve as peer tutors during instructional activities
• Play the role of a special buddy‘ during lunch, in the bus or playground.
• Gain knowledge of a good deal about tolerance, individual difference, and
human exceptionality.
• Have chance to learn about many of the human service profession.
• Have increased appreciation, acceptance and respect of individual
differences
• Get greater opportunities to master activities by practicing and teaching
others
• Have increased academic outcomes.
 4. Benefits of Inclusion
3. Benefits for Teachers
• Opportunities to learn new ways to teach different kinds of
students.
• They gain new knowledge, such as the different ways children
learn and can be taught.
• They develop more positive attitudes and approaches towards
different people with diverse needs.
• They have greater opportunities to explore new ideas.
• Encourage their students to be more interested, more creative
and more attentive.
 4. Benefits of Inclusion
4. Benefits for Parents/Family
• Learn more about how their children are being educated in
schools.
• Become personally involved and feel a greater sense of
accomplishment
• Feel valued and consider themselves as equal partners in
providing quality learning.
• Learn how to deal better with their children at home.
• Know that their children and all children are receiving a quality
education.
 4. Benefits of Inclusion
2.5. Benefits for Society
break down barriers and prejudice that prevail in the society
towards persons with disability.
Communities become more accepting of difference,
understand that everyone benefits from a friendlier, open
environment that values and appreciates differences.
2.5. Ultimate Goal of Inclusion
• Creating schools where everyone belongs.
• Students educated together have a greater understanding of
difference and diversity.
• St/s educated together have fewer fears about difference and
disability.
• An inclusive school culture creates better long-term outcomes
for all students.
• Make sts to understand more about the ways that they‘re all
alike.
5. Features of Inclusive Environment
• An inclusive environment is one in which members feel respected by
and connected to one another.
• An inclusive environment is an environment that welcomes all people,
• respectful, supportive, and equalizing.
• reaches out to and includes individuals with disabilities and
vulnerabilities at all levels.
• It ensures the respect and dignity of individuals with disabilities
• It meets current accessibility standards to the greatest extent
possible to all people with special needs
• Provides accommodations willingly and proactively
• Persons with disabilities are welcomed and are valued for their
contributions as individuals.
 2.6. Barriers to inclusion
• Problems related with societal values and beliefs- particularly the community
and policy makers negative attitude towards students with disability and
vulnerabilities.
• Economic factors- poverty of family, community and society at large,
• Lack of taking measures to ensure conformity of implementation of inclusion
practice with policies
• Lack of stakeholders taking responsibility for collaborating and cooperating.
• Conservative traditions among the community members about inclusion.
• Lack of knowledge and skills among teachers regarding inclusive education.
• Rigid curricula, teaching method and examination systems
• Fragile democratic institutions that could not promote inclusion
• Inadequate resources and inaccessibility of social and physical environments
• Using inclusive models that may be imported from other countries.