Inclusive Education: Policy Priority and Recommendations for Effective Learning Outcomes

This position paper discusses the challenges faced by disabled students in Australia and the need for inclusive education. It highlights policy priority 2 and provides recommendations for effective learning outcomes. The paper also identifies key stakeholders and advocates for changes in education legislation.

Inclusive Education

Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................3
Main Body..................................................................................................................................3
A) Position.............................................................................................................................3
B) Justification.......................................................................................................................3
C) Recommendations.............................................................................................................5
Conclusion..................................................................................................................................6
References..................................................................................................................................7

Introduction
According to Christopher Boyle & Joanna Anderson, (2020), in Australia, inclusive
education has been a firmly established and recognised component of educational discourse
and policy for more than a quarter-century. In Australia, there is a strong focus on inclusive
education, with researchers looking at global developments and issues. The provided position
paper will highlight relative findings with selection of appropriate policy priority as the
learning and education outcome (Boyle & Anderson, 2020).
Main Body
A) Position
It is not easy to agree to an agreement on exactly inclusive education must seem like
and the argument has been difficult and controversial in modern times. The emphasis should
shift away from a comprehensive definition of inclusive education and toward the removal of
exclusive educational practises, since this is a more obvious place to start. Nonetheless, it
implies that this change has not yet occurred. Through its simplest sense, inclusive education
requires all students, regardless of ability, to study in their local school utilising appropriate
techniques, philosophies, and facilities.
With regards to the given issue related to inclusive education, the policy priority 2;
Building capabilities in the delivery of inclusive education for improving outcomes of
education for school students with disability can be taken into consideration. The stated
policy priority forms as a best option that will explore relative best aspects of the issues or
challenges faced in the case scenario. Australia were among the first countries to implement
the inclusive education concept for disabled students. Ever since, the term inclusive
education has augmented to encompass all students' education, as evidenced by even the most
latest Education Declaration, which states that Australian governments need to focus on
providing all young Australians of fair treatment to achieve their full potential and
accomplish their best educational outcomes.
B) Justification
A consideration of the reasons for inclusive education is pending. Policymakers
throughout the world are trying to create and execute reforms that would assure effective and
long-term inclusive education; at the same time, the number of young children with a variety
of learning needs participating in schools is increasing. Indeed, it has been suggested that the
concept of inclusive education has crossed a critical point, since many nations have achieved

an inclusiveness peak, or are becoming less inclusive, as Australia has, in current origins. The
Disability Standards for Education 2005 encourage teachers and school communities to
ensure that education is equitable to students with disabilities. School admissions,
infrastructure, buildings, and instructional resources are all part of accessibility. It involves
involvement in school activities such as trips, assemblies, and athletics, as well as access to
the same coursework, teaching, and learning programs as other students their age.. Students
with disabilities must also be protected from aggression, cruelty, mistreatment, and
manipulation at school. To conclude, schools should be welcoming environments where all
children may succeed. The most critical task in ensuring equal right to learning for children
with disabilities is a lack of financial resources. There are a number of financing sources
available, but none of them are sufficient to provide the entire range of services required. In
several states, the regulations for claiming for disability assistance payments have recently
altered. The funding is distributed, coming from a variety of departments. There is
occasionally a delay in receiving financing approval for particular students, placing them
whether in school or college without the necessary help, or not in school since they can
obtain it until the necessary funds is available. In some states, funding for a student with a
specific condition is allowed based on the funding requirements.
According to Eleanor Jenkin et. al., (2018), approximately one out of every six
Victorian teenagers has an impairment, which affects their capacity to study. Children with
disabilities contribute significantly to respective schools and communities. However, such
students begin to be put far underneath school and have inferior educational achievements
than their classmates without disabilities across Australia. For many individuals, their school
memories can have a significant impact on their future achievement, stability, and freedom.
People with disabilities are less probable to work and earn less than half as much as those
without disabilities on a weekly basis. A series of investigations and publications, along with
an evaluation of the Program for Learners with Disabilities, have brought focus to the
disadvantages faced by students in Victoria's government schools in recent times. The
Victorian government has addressed to the escalating criticism by announcing a broad-based
inclusive education reform programme, backed by a significant increase in money. These
changes are both necessary as well as desirable (Improving educational outcomes for children
with a disability in Victoria, 2018).
From the analysis of above literature several terms for addressing the issue faced by
disabled students were being solved through bringing in concept of inclusive education. In
the process being several standards of providing education in the region was taken into

consideration by ‘Australian Professional Standards for Teachers’. Differentiation education
to suit the distinct learning requirements of disabled students across the complete range of
abilities is explicitly stated in the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers along a
range of key areas, including the priority of inclusion for all children. Supporting student
engagement and strategies to help them with disabilities were also being considered as the
participative attention under the standard. Inability to recognise or identify a student's
disability, on the other hand, is a barrier to education in a variety of ways. It may not be
possible to identify a child's disability in early childhood if there is a learning complexity and
the child is simply too energetic to notice it, if there is an educational delay because very
young children establish at vastly different rates in their first years, or if there is a complex
mix of athletic, behavioural or emotional, and intellectual disability that is not diagnosable
until later in life.
C) Recommendations
It appears that there are insufficient services available to address the requirements of
impaired pupils. Early childhood education sometimes need a variety of services. Physical
accessibility, as well as the availability of support services and a diverse range of schools
capable of providing full access to the general curriculum, limit school selection. Following
are some recommendations that are subjected towards bringing in positive developments
being related with possible innovative ideas and thoughts;
 According to the NCCD, (2020) nearly 19.9% of Australian school students obtained
a disability adjustment in 2019. As a result, it is evident that all Australian educators
must prioritise inclusive education and assisting children with disabilities in schools
and classrooms. The NCCD recommends that schools examine their students'
requirements and obtain data of the amount of adaptations they make to meet those
needs, as well as information concerning the broad categories of impairments that
students have physical, intellectual, perceptual, or social as well as emotional. This
enables schools to properly strategy for and support instructors in personalising
learning for their learners across the panel. The NCCD has been assisting the
Australian Government with funding distribution since 2018 by utilising this statistics
to guide the disability weighting granted to schools (Nationally Consistent Collection
of Data on School Students with Disability, 2020).
 According to Australian Human Rights Commission, (2022), in order to serve
students with disabilities, there is a strong need for coordinated service provision. The

necessary collaboration between education, health, and community services is
disorganised or non-existent for the given region is being recommended. One of most
important fields of special education, occupational therapy, and physiotherapy
comprise support personnel that are frequently unavailable to educational authorities
for their students. In recent years, methods for obtaining these services have changed,
and accessibility has decreased (Access to Education for Students with a Disability:
Barriers and Difficulties, 2022).
Numerous concepts for resolving the issue encountered by disabled students was
solved by the introduction of the idea of inclusive education, according to the
examination of the abovementioned literature. The provided recommendations took into
account numerous standards of providing education in the region by taking considerations
to variety of stakeholders. Differentiation education for students suffering with disability
throughout the whole spectrum of abilities can be addressed seeking to the above
provided recommendations.
Conclusion
The above position paper highlighted the issue faced by disabled students for
obtaining effective learnings at Australia. From the analysis it can be concluded that,
appropriate amendments or changes in education legislation system in Australia is to be done
in accordance with the highlighted issue. The discussion evaluates on drawing suitable
recommendations, identifying key stakeholders and advocating that relates to policy
priorities.

References
Boyle, C., Anderson, J. The justification for inclusive education in
Australia. Prospects 49, 203–217 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11125-020-
09494-x
Improving educational outcomes for children with a disability in Victoria, (2018),
<https://apo.org.au/node/180676>
Nationally Consistent Collection of Data on School Students with Disability (NCCD) (2020)
b, Personalised learning and support, <https://www.nccd.edu.au/personalised-
learning-and-support>.
Nationally Consistent Collection of Data on School Students with Disability (NCCD) (2020)
a, <https://www.nccd.edu.au>.
Inclusive education: Teaching students with disability, (2020).
<https://www.aitsl.edu.au/research/spotlights/inclusive-education-teaching-students-
with-disability>
Access to Education For Students With A Disability: Barriers And Difficulties, (2022).
<https://humanrights.gov.au/our-work/access-education-students-disability-barriers-
and-difficulties>