Strength Based Inclusive Education

STRENGTH BASED INCLUSIVE EDUCATION

Strength Based Inclusive Education
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction 3
Part 1 - Legislations and Strength based Inclusive education 4
Part 2 - Implications for teachers 7
Part 3 - Reflective Log 10
Conclusion 12
References 13
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Strength Based Inclusive Education
STRENGTH BASED INCLUSIVE EDUCATION
Introduction
Every child is unique in its own way, and has similar requirements for daily living as
others. However, some children tend to have physical, mental, or social disabilities, which
require them to have varied needs. These varied needs, termed as special needs, tend to be
diverse to each child, depending on their level of disability. Every such child has the right to
special care and support, and all the rights of a child considered “normal”, such as healthcare,
education, social security, right of expression, right to non-discrimination, etc. In order to
enable children with special needs have complete access to education, inclusive education
was implemented. Inclusion, in education, means that all children irrespective of their
abilities shall be pooled together and be provided the same level of education, albeit by an
individualized education plan (IEP) for those children who need special children.
This essay discusses the legislations, policies, and practices of inclusive education,
and the ways in which they are implemented in Australia’s schools. Reviewing relevant
literatures, the needs of a child with special needs are listed, and the strength based model of
inclusive education is discussed. A reflective log of the broad ranges of inclusive teaching
methods and their individual impact of is also made.
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Strength Based Inclusive Education
Part One – Legislations and Strength based Inclusive education
Special Education is not easy to be implemented, for it needs to have dedicated
trainers and an individualized plan for every child, according to their needs, making it
expensive, thus denying many special children of education. This issue has been handled by
the UNESCO, the Melbourne Declaration, and the Salamanca statement and framework, by
bringing forth anti-discriminatory conventions, which state the education must be made
available to all, depriving any person of education under any reason is considered a crime.
Exclusion of any child from mainstream education, on any grounds, has been considered
discrimination (UNESCO, 1990). This would ensure that all children, irrespective of their
abilities, are provided basic education.
In Australian schools, inclusive education has been followed abiding by the
conventions of the United Nations. There are lot of aspects that need to be covered in making
inclusive education effective, such as clear definition and policy guidelines for inclusion, a
supportive leadership that is effective, and that takes ownership of the challenges faced in
implementing inclusive education, proper training administered to teachers, special educators,
and parents or caretakers of the children, a holistic pattern of inclusion involving parents,
teachers, educators, and the child itself in its learning, a curriculum that is flexible to adapt to
the needs of the children, and ongoing assessments and a dynamic pattern of learning (Forlin,
Chambers, Deppeler, & Sharma, 2013).
Inclusive education has been discussed by many researchers, since its inception in the
1970’s. Before the concept of inclusion is brought up, one needs to understand the various
needs of a child, regardless of its abilities. By this, the child develops independence and
autonomy early in age, and is able to assess his/her needs and seek education accordingly
(Honey & Mumford, 2010). Learner needs are those which the every child needs to be
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