Critical Analysis of Inclusive Education Frameworks in the UK

This essay critically analyzes inclusive education within the UK context, focusing on the influence of teacher attitudes and professional practices on school development frameworks. It explores the key concepts of inclusive education, diversity, and teacher attitudes, examining the three major parad...Read More

Running head: ENGLISH
English
Name of the Student
Name of the University

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Introduction
The term inclusive education can be defined as the education process where all students
irrespective of their disability, class, religion and gender are welcomed by schools in an age
appropriate as well as regular classes. They are also provided with effective support to learn,
participate as well as contribute to all aspects of the school life. The Inclusive Education
Framework is a new digital resource for schools to help prepare, assess and develop how schools
serve pupils with special educational needs. In this paper a critical analysis of inclusive
education as well as school development frameworks that is influenced by the attitudes of the
teachers and professional practice in the UK context has been conducted. In UK, several rules
and legislation has been implemented in order to ensure effective inclusive learning. However,
several challenges have been faced by both the educators as well as the students when it comes
to inclusive education. Considering the fact that the attitude of the teachers is directly related to
the performance of the students as well as their potential to develop their skills and knowledge
through the academic career, lack of effective bonding between the teachers and students possess
the potential to impose highly negative impact on the student’s academic life. According to
Drummond, Hart and Swann (2013), teachers who are highly experienced and support the
morale behind inclusive educations are more likely to effectively follow the school development
frameworks and enhance learning outcomes of the students. On the other hand, mainstream
teachers, who lack expertise to teach a classroom with students from different cultural
backgrounds and disabilities and thus possess different educational needs, are less likely to
ensure positive outcome. In order to ensure an effective inclusive education in UK, it is highly
crucial to education the teachers about the importance of inclusive education and enhance their
expertise through training to match up with the school development framework.

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In this report, explanation of different paradigm associated with the field of education in
relation to disability will be discussed. In this section, definition of the key concepts like
inclusive education, diversity and teachers attitude has also been discussed. Along with this,
greater analysis of teacher attitudes and practices related to inclusion and school development
and further critique of the psycho medical paradigm as a key barrier to change has been
conducted in this report.
Section 1
Inclusive education ensures that all children in the regular school system have appropriate
learning opportunities. This enables children with as well as without disabilities to engage with
individually personalized assistance in the same age appropriate classes at the local school as
needed. It needs a new, child-centered curriculum, that involves representations of the full
spectrum of students in society (not just individuals with disables), which represents the needs of
all children – ramps instead of walkways and doors large enough for wheel Chair users, for
example. According to Saloviita (2020), inclusion and inclusive practice in education is used
interchangeably, there exist a major difference between the two. While inclusion is defined as the
step taken by the government to include all students irrespective of their cultural, religions
differences and disabilities to study, in the same classroom, inclusive practice is refer to the
practice that actually possess the potential to ensure successful inclusion, inclusion without
implementing inclusive practice in classrooms remains an incomplete and ineffective approach
towards inclusive education. Students are taught in small classes at an inclusive school, in which
they cooperate and encourage each other rather than compete. In classroom, at lunchtime or on
the playground children with disabilities are not isolated.

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A key concept associated with inclusive education is diversity. In inclusive schools children from
different ethnic, religious and cultural background as well as children with various types of
disability study in the same classroom. According to Campbell (2002) Inclusive education,
along with children, also provides learning opportunities for both youths and adults. The goal is
to eradicate exclusion that results from negative attitudes as well as lack of response to diversity
in race, ethnicity, social class, language, religion, gender, sexual orientation, economic status and
ability. Ferri and Connor (2010) have argued that diversifying a classroom has raised several
challenges for teachers, specially teachers who are accustomed with teaching mainstream
classrooms to ensure development of all the students in a similar way. However, teachers with
special trainings as well as experience to teach inclusive classrooms face lesser amount of
difficulties.
Another key term associated with inclusive education includes teachers’ attitudes towards
inclusive education. According to Saloviita (2020), inclusion primarily depends upon the
attitudes and the ability of teachers to react to these differences positively and effectively to SEN
/ D learners, their views and differences in classrooms. Actually, it can be evident how critical
the teacher's attitudes are. It's difficult to understand how any additional funding or instruction
will prevent a job from failing if a teacher does not want a certain child in their classroom. This
cannot simply decide the outcome that services such as information or assistance exist. The
instructor must also use these tools to achieve a certain purpose. According to Frederickson and
Cline 2009), one of the chief factors that impose highly negative impact on the attitude of the
teachers is the overall level of acceptance of the concept of inclusive classroom amongst
teachers. According to a good number of educators in UK, inclusion of disabled students, as well
as students with SEN will lower the speed of progress of mainstream students. In UK, only two

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third of the total number of teachers associated with inclusive education has been found to have
positive attitude towards inclusive practice. Fullan (1995) have argued that the primary reason
behind negative attitude towards inclusion is lack of knowledge and training of the educators.
Majority of the teachers associated with providing inclusive education lacks the knowledge of
the beneficial effect of inclusion. Not only this, a good number of teachers lacks the expertise to
deal with children with disabilities and create educational plan that will be beneficial for children
with and without SEN/D.
The three major paradigms associated with the field of inclusive education, includes the psycho-
medical, sociological and organizational paradigm. According to Huddlestonand Unwin, 2015)
The psycho-medical paradigm put emphasis on the fact that unique requirements arise from
individual disabilities, while the sociological paradigm emphasizes that special requirements
arise from the replication of social differences in society with the help of sorting as well as
monitoring. When it comes to the organizational paradigm, it is focused on the assumption that
special needs arise from shortcomings in the way schools are structured. The Psycho medical
paradigm is found to be closely connected with the educational system of Norway. School
development frameworks that follow the psycho-medical paradigm are found to be more focused
on individual diagnoses and treatment. The objective of this paradigm is to strengthen the weak
sides of the chisdlrens with SEN/D for liberating them from their disabilities. However Fullan
(1995) has argued that one of the chief challenges for school development frameworks following
the psycho-medical paradigm is that it does not totally support the concept of inclusive learning.
When it comes to sociological paradigm, the chief focus of school following this paradigm is to
consider disability as structural inequalities at the macro social level and institutional level.
Schools following this paradigm mandate inclusive education. However Lubet (2011), making

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inclusive education mandatory may lead to conflict between the educational system and parents
and families with diverse cultural background who held different value.
Mitchell (2005) proposes as an substitute approach, an integrated theoretical structure for special
education research that is based on all three levels: the child, the social level as well as the
institutional level. At an individual level it is highly necessary to concentrate focus on the
interactive learning process, on the dilemmas of schooling and the social creation of special
educational categories at the societal level, and on the dialectical study of organizations and
organizational complexity at the institutional level. Other scholars have called the advent of a
holistic/constuctivist approach (Lewis 1998) as well as transactional approach (Stangvik 1998) a
new holistic paradigm.
The organizational paradigm is considered to be the most effective paradigm as it points out the
issues associate with academic institution. Special education is considered as the product in
inadequacies in major schools, and so ways of making them more able to cope with student
diversity are to be found within this newly evolving model. The relationship with students and
physical, social and psychological conditions of individual students is seen as disabilities.
Education strategies and resources to overcome environmental problems should be designed to
ensure children develop and gain adaptive living skills. School development frameworks
following the organizational paradigm are well aware of the legislations associated with
inclusive education in UK like the Equality act 2006. Disability discrimination act 2005 and
Education act 2006. The school development frameworks associated with the organizational
approach are being developed keeping adhere to the current UK legislation. Parsons (2019) have
stated that several schools are following the organizational paradigm, instinctual techniques as
well as learning opportunities are structured for compensating the environmental differences for

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ensuring children learn and achieve the skills of adaptive learning. Mainstream teachers are
given training to that they can develop the expertise to create student centric curriculum and
incorporate all the children , in daily class activities. Not only this, financial investment are being
done for incorporating equipments like wheelchair and other necessary strategies in order to
incorporate students with SEN/D in the classroom.
The one school development framework that is worth discussion includes the framework adopted
by the primary school in Hertfordshire (Schuelka et al. 2019). This framework have inspired the
teachers to provide independence to the children and motive their imagination power in an
inclusive classroom. Incorporation of strategies like enacting play, telling stories are conducted
by the teachers. Also instead of dictation, collaborative writing project and discussion is
encouraged for ensuring development in cognitive thinking and social bonding between children.
The school also took initiatives to ensure a school wide culture of learning. One such initiative
was the implementation, across the school, of mixed-age group meetings. Such groups, led by
Year 6 students, not staff, met (and continue to meet) regularly to address a variety of realistic
school issues as they arose, including teaching and learning aspects. In such sessions, for
example, arrangements for a maths evening were established as families were invited to school
to be taught by the students.
Skidmore (2004) has argued that one of the chief concerns associated with the organizational
paradigm is that even for bringing around minor changes in academic institutions, high level of
complexity arrives. For instance, teachers often face difficulties to develop a educational plan
that can address the need of all the children in the classroom. Moreover, it also becomes a
challenge for the teachers to teach students who develops aggressive behavior as well as students
who takes to time to learn in a limited amount of time and in a single class session. Along with

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this difficulties with financial resources faced by schools due to lack of funding both from local
as well as federal government cannot be ignored.
Section 2 (about 1500 words)
The Psycho-medical paradigm can be pointed out as one of the major barriers to effective
implications of inclusive education. The mentioned paradigm is the most common model used in
children with disabilities both for the treatment and for the education of them. Thomas and
Loxley (2007) have pointed out, this model offers medical evaluation to students based on their
mental and/or physical conditions in selected fields, recognizing both strengths and shortcomings
in school. For guidance purposes, people with identical symptoms and functional standards are
combined. According to Christensen (1996), this model is problematic for different reasons.
First of all, as the psycho-medical system consider the disability of the students to be responsible
for not being able to actively participants in inclusion, making them subjected to seclusion.
secondly, it incorrectly suggests homogeneity within diffrent diagnostic categories. According to
Ainscow 2005), another major issues associated with the mentioned paradigm includes, several
students who are included in inclusive classrooms that follows the psycho medical framework,
does not possess the potential to manifest demonstrable pathologies. Since they are being
categorized, the aim of inclusion which is to provide all the students with or without SEN/Ds
with appropriate learning environments as well as opportunities for achieving their potential is
not addressed. Schools, like the schools of Norway that follows the psycho medical paradigm
often segregates students on the basis of their needs and thereby defying the sole purpose of
inclusion. This it can be said that the psycho medical paradigm is one of the major barrier to
inclusive education in UK..

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While the three paradigm discussed above posses their own benefits and challenges, it can be
pointed out that organization paradigm if implemented in an effective way can enhance the
practice of inclusive education in school within an highly limited number of time. However, a
good number of barriers to inclusive education can be pointed out. The three chief concerns
associated with inclusive education in UK include teachers attitude and practices, lack of
effective school structures, lack of finding and policy framework in UK. According to Ainscow
et al. (2006), a good number of challenges are faced by teachers that are responsible for the
negative attitudes towards inclusive education. A good number of teachers who are compelled to
shift from mainstream teaching to inclusive teaching are not well aware of the benefit of the
inclusion. According to them the idea of inclusion is not practical since it may hamper the
development of knowledge and skills of children without SEN/D.
Ainscow and West (2006) have stated that several teachers are found not to be prepared to
interact with children with disabilities. They are of the opinion that disabled children lacks the
skills that are required for gathering knowledge and for being educated. Moreover, many are of
the opinion that inclusive education may result in bullying and discrimination which will not ony
impose negative impact on the academic performance of the children with Special needs but will
also impose negative impact on their psychological and physical health. According to
researchers, if teachers do not possess optimistic attitudes towards children with special
educational needs, it is not possible to effectively implement inclusive education. Moreover, the
persisting demand of standardizing academic standards also possess the potential to hinder the
creativity of the teacher in teaching children with SEN/D.
Armstrong and Squires (2012) have suggested that along with lack of competency and
knowledge, lack of required expertise and technological support can be pointed out for negative

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attitude of teachers towards inclusive education. For instance, in a class room with students
suffering from hearing problem, it becomes highly challenging for teachers to communicate with
children without appropriate technological support like provision of hearing aim. Not only this,
teachers who are accustomed to teach mainstream students lacks the skills to communicative
effectively with students with mental disabilities, students who demonstrate aggression or
students with slow learning capabilities. In such cases training is a highly crucial factor to be
incorporated. Lack of training makes it difficult for teachers to provide an effective education
and being unable to provide the same makes them develop negative attitudes towards inclusive
education.
Lack of competence amongst students and even teachers has been noticed several times when it
comes to inclusive educations. While these risks cannot be ruled out, it is highly crucial to
educate the teachers that through implementation of effective inclusive practices, these risks can
be avoided. These practices includes training teachers so that they obtain the ability to develop
effective activities where all the children can be included, developing effective bonds with
children with disabilities, specially children who require special attention and children who
demonstrate aggressive behavior. Allan (2003) has pointed out in several schools of UK, training
programs are organized for equip teachers with awareness competences so that they can
demonstrate more sensitive and positive attitudes along with strong commitment towards
inclusive education. Armstrong, Armstrong and Spandagou (2010) have pointed out that several
learners,, specially children with disabilities or chronic illness, prefers to study art home initially
and later join the curriculum. For them the management of inclusive schools in England provides
learning materials, audio-visual cassettes as well as working kits. Not only are these teachers
encouraged to conduct frequent communication with students so that a trust and the feeling of

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being can be developed within the latter which can lead to a strong bond between the teacher and
the student. Another strategy associated with the inclusion practices includes ensuring a flexible
curriculum. While developing the curriculum it is highly crucial for the teachers to ensure that
the curriculum has been developed on the basis of student centered learning material. In several
school development framework, awareness programmes for parents are organized in order to
make the same aware of the issues faced by the students so that they can be supportive.
Armstrong and Barton (1999) have stated while effective inclusive measures has been taken by
several schools in UK, a good number of schools in the nation still lacks efficient school
structures and policy framework required to ensure effective inclusive education. For instance,
only 43 percent of the total number of inclusive schools possess appropriate wheelchair ramps
for children with movement disabilities. Considering the fact that wheelchair ramps are highly
crucial for children with disabilities to attain classroom independently without any external help.
Not only can this lack of appropriate washroom and public transportation also be pointed out to
be the major factor responsible for ineffective implications of inclusive practice. Lack of
required infrastructure in school is hindering the attendance of the students with disabilities.
Armstrong (2002) has pointed out that lack of effective facilities as well as assistive technology
for aiding children with particular type of difficulties. The term assistive technology can be
defined as the products as well as services that are designed for meeting the particular needs of
the children with disabilities an allow then to build up their abilities as well as meaningful
participation in the affair of schools.
Armstrong (2003) has argued that curriculum is a major part of school structure. As an impact of
negative attitudes of the teachers, majority for the educators are still sticking to centralized
design as well as rigid approach with highly limited amount of flexibility makes it highly

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difficult for children with SEN/D to make improvement (Saloviita 2020). Lack of interests of the
teachers to try out new approach and approaches to ensure equal participation of all the students
in a certain classroom, thus can be pointed out to be a major barrier for inclusive education in
UK. The fact that competency as well as attitudes of the teachers is the most crucial barrier to
inclusive education cannot be ignored.
Barnes and Mercer (2004) have pointed out that lack of effective policy framework and funding
are the two major barriers to inclusive education. Issues like bullying and other physical and
psychological factors can be effectively prevented with the help of strict policies. However, a
good number of schools with inclusive education lack strict policies against discrimination
against students with SEN/D. Additionally, lack of effective policies can also be encountered in
implementation of curricular by teachers and making training and education compulsory for the
educators (Nagpal 2018).
Barton, L., (1997) argued that while attitude of the teachers is a crucial barrier, insufficient
funding can be considered as the chief treat to the effective implementation of inclusion.
Effective inclusive practices requires supply of financial resources so that effective school
structure, like, wheelchair ramps, lifts, training and education sessions , funding for necessary
equipments like hearing aid, wheelchairs and other can be obtained for children with disabilities.
Lack of effective finding is getting reflected in the scarcity of resources like insufficient
classrooms, lack of teachers, inadequate facilities, dearth of qualified staffs, scarcity in learning
materials and absence of support in a good number of schools in UK. Barton (2001) has stated
that insufficient funding possess the potential to hamper ongoing professional development that
can help in keeping both the classroom teachers and parents updated on the best practices
associated with inclusion (Barton 2003).

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Conclusion
From the above discussion, it can be pointed out that provision of effective education and
training to teachers and ensuring effective school structures and policy frameworks trough
effective funding can ensure effective implication of inclusive education. In inclusive schools
children from different ethnic, religious and cultural background as well as children with various
types of disability study in the same classroom. The goal is to eradicate exclusion that results
from negative attitudes as well as lack of response to diversity in language race, social class,
religion, gender, ethnicity, economic status, sexual orientation and ability. It has been found that
Inclusion primarily depends upon the attitudes and the ability of teachers to react to these
differences positively and effectively to SEN / D learners, their views and differences in
classrooms. Actually, it can be evident how critical the teacher's attitudes are. It's difficult to
understand how any additional funding or instruction will prevent a job from failing if a teacher
does not want a certain child in their classroom. The three major paradigms associated with the
field of inclusive education, includes the psycho-medical, sociological and organizational
paradigm. The psycho-medical paradigm put emphasis on the fact that unique requirements arise
from individual disabilities, while the sociological paradigm emphasizes that special requirement
arise from the replication of social differences in society through sorting as well as monitoring.
When it comes to the organizational paradigm, it is focused on the assumption that special needs
arise from shortcomings in the way schools are structured. While several schools in UK are
follows the legislations associated with inclusive education in UK like the Equality act 2006.
Disability discrimination act 2005 and Education act 2006, a good number schools lacks this
factor. one of the chief concerns associated with the organizational paradigm is that even for

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bringing around minor changes in academic institutions, high level of complexity arrives. For
instance, teachers often face difficulties to develop a educational plan that can address the need
of all the children in the classroom. While attitude of the teachers is a crucial barrier, insufficient
funding can be considered as the chief treat to the effective implementation of inclusion.
Effective inclusive practices requires supply of financial resources so that effective school
structure, like, wheelchair ramps, lifts, training and education sessions , funding for necessary
equipments like hearing aid, wheelchairs and other can be obtained for children with disabilities.
Main aspects of the comprehensive implementation of education include the introduction of
school and level classroom tests and plans; educating and encouraging all teachers in
comprehensive activities, not just specialist ones. The implementation at the national level needs
legislation in place that clearly identifies and promotes inclusive education. There are good
mechanisms for data collection and management. There is consistency in curricula. Across the
United Kingdom, education ministers and other regional bodies of education policy exert power
to allow for a changed curriculum, include alternative assessment methods and make the
curriculum and learning results for teachers and students. Thus with the effective implantation of
polices as well as supply of resources from both the local and federal government, the quality of
inclusive education is expected to reach to an effective level in near future.

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