Problem 2
- Does inclusive education work? how does it affect children with special needs and
those without?
- what are the pros and cons of inclusive education (regular classroom) vs special
education? who should decide?
- How does inclusive education work? Different methods
- what is the best educational approach for children with special needs?
Some overall points after discussion:
- are parents right to want special education? depends on their child’s need, there
needs be collaboration to determine what’s best for the child
- there seems to be no harm of inclusive education but that doesn’t necessarily mean
it will always be beneficial
- there are many variables that affect the effectiveness of inclusion students’
tendencies, teacher’s willingness and quality, amount of inclusion (different
moderators)
Ruijs – Effect of inclusion on students with and without special education needs reviewed
(broadest focus) (2009)
- the aim of the article: overview of the academic and socio-emotional effects of
including children with mild to moderate special educational needs on both the
regular students and the students with special educational needs
- overall trend is towards inclusive education
- there are major differences between countries in the policies of inclusive education
- 2 types of arguments in favor of inclusive education:
o 1. socio-political:
inclusion is a matter of human rights
most important right is to have good education even if this means
special education
rights can conflict – parents want inclusion, but special education is
better for the child
other children have a right to good education as well
there’s a right to choose
o 2. empirical: policy decisions should consider the effects of inclusion on
students (both regular and special needs)
achievement of students with special educational needs
- pros: they could learn from more able students, be motivated because regular
education focuses on academic achievement
- cons: less motivated and less self-confident comparing to others, likely to achieve
less than peers without special education
findings:
- majority of the studies found positive to neutral results
- this indicates that students with special needs achieve better in inclusive settings
than in non-inclusive settings
, - some warnings: some studies didn’t have a control group, there were major different
between the studies in the way the inclusion was designed
- one study found stronger effects in girls than boys
- children with SEN achieve more in math and language in inclusive classrooms
- there might be differences between different kinds of inclusion
socio-emotional effects on children with special educational needs
- special education: they might feel rejected because they attend special schools
- inclusive education: they might compare themselves, negative effect on self-
confidence
- travel long distances to go to special school, adverse effect about social contacts in
the neighborhood
- integrating children is believed to lead to increased opportunities for social
development
findings:
- mixed findings, not possible to draw a conclusion about the effect
- studies with no control groups: children with special needs are less liked than their
peers and are often assessed more negatively on sociometric questionnaires
- studies with control groups: mixed results
- number of interactions increase because of inclusive education but students with
special needs still have a less positive social position
academic effects on the other children in the class
- argument against inclusion: adverse effects on other students bc they take up more
of the teacher’s attention, the general standard of class may be lowered, and others
might be distracted
- argument for: in inclusive classes there’s more adaptive education which benefits all
students, extra teachers/assistants might have positive effect on students
findings:
- difficult to draw clear conclusions, mixed results
- large differences in design between studies, the amount of additional support and
the way children were included differed
- differences between schools seemed to be more important than inclusive or non-
inclusive education
- differential effect: inclusive curricula seemed to benefit the low-achieving students
social effects on the other children in class
- pro: children become more aware and less afraid of differences, fewer prejudice
- cons: children could copy undesirable behaviors from children with special needs
findings:
- little research about the social effects
- most results are positive, neutral or mixed, very few studies have negative effects
- children in inclusive classes have fewer prejudices, more willing to play with them
more and have a more positive attitude
- it’s unclear whether children’s general image improves or whether the positive image
only applies to classmates
- Does inclusive education work? how does it affect children with special needs and
those without?
- what are the pros and cons of inclusive education (regular classroom) vs special
education? who should decide?
- How does inclusive education work? Different methods
- what is the best educational approach for children with special needs?
Some overall points after discussion:
- are parents right to want special education? depends on their child’s need, there
needs be collaboration to determine what’s best for the child
- there seems to be no harm of inclusive education but that doesn’t necessarily mean
it will always be beneficial
- there are many variables that affect the effectiveness of inclusion students’
tendencies, teacher’s willingness and quality, amount of inclusion (different
moderators)
Ruijs – Effect of inclusion on students with and without special education needs reviewed
(broadest focus) (2009)
- the aim of the article: overview of the academic and socio-emotional effects of
including children with mild to moderate special educational needs on both the
regular students and the students with special educational needs
- overall trend is towards inclusive education
- there are major differences between countries in the policies of inclusive education
- 2 types of arguments in favor of inclusive education:
o 1. socio-political:
inclusion is a matter of human rights
most important right is to have good education even if this means
special education
rights can conflict – parents want inclusion, but special education is
better for the child
other children have a right to good education as well
there’s a right to choose
o 2. empirical: policy decisions should consider the effects of inclusion on
students (both regular and special needs)
achievement of students with special educational needs
- pros: they could learn from more able students, be motivated because regular
education focuses on academic achievement
- cons: less motivated and less self-confident comparing to others, likely to achieve
less than peers without special education
findings:
- majority of the studies found positive to neutral results
- this indicates that students with special needs achieve better in inclusive settings
than in non-inclusive settings
, - some warnings: some studies didn’t have a control group, there were major different
between the studies in the way the inclusion was designed
- one study found stronger effects in girls than boys
- children with SEN achieve more in math and language in inclusive classrooms
- there might be differences between different kinds of inclusion
socio-emotional effects on children with special educational needs
- special education: they might feel rejected because they attend special schools
- inclusive education: they might compare themselves, negative effect on self-
confidence
- travel long distances to go to special school, adverse effect about social contacts in
the neighborhood
- integrating children is believed to lead to increased opportunities for social
development
findings:
- mixed findings, not possible to draw a conclusion about the effect
- studies with no control groups: children with special needs are less liked than their
peers and are often assessed more negatively on sociometric questionnaires
- studies with control groups: mixed results
- number of interactions increase because of inclusive education but students with
special needs still have a less positive social position
academic effects on the other children in the class
- argument against inclusion: adverse effects on other students bc they take up more
of the teacher’s attention, the general standard of class may be lowered, and others
might be distracted
- argument for: in inclusive classes there’s more adaptive education which benefits all
students, extra teachers/assistants might have positive effect on students
findings:
- difficult to draw clear conclusions, mixed results
- large differences in design between studies, the amount of additional support and
the way children were included differed
- differences between schools seemed to be more important than inclusive or non-
inclusive education
- differential effect: inclusive curricula seemed to benefit the low-achieving students
social effects on the other children in class
- pro: children become more aware and less afraid of differences, fewer prejudice
- cons: children could copy undesirable behaviors from children with special needs
findings:
- little research about the social effects
- most results are positive, neutral or mixed, very few studies have negative effects
- children in inclusive classes have fewer prejudices, more willing to play with them
more and have a more positive attitude
- it’s unclear whether children’s general image improves or whether the positive image
only applies to classmates
