Page 207 - DEDU506_SPECIAL_EDUCATION_ENGLISH

Unit 28: Inclusive Education and Mainstreaming

disability, speech or language impairment, traumatic brain injury, and visual impairment. States Notes
and school districts were free, however, to use their own definitions, and there is wide variety in
classification.
National statistics show that enrollment in special education is highest in the elementary school
years. By high school, typically 4 to 5 percent of special education students are returned to general
education classrooms.
An overview of the guidelines shows that for a student to be eligible for special education, he or she
must have a disability that can only be helped by special education. Special education can be used
only when education in a regular classroom does not work. For example, a school district would
need to make other arrangements if a special needs student was disruptive and prevented the students
in a standard classroom from learning, or if the standard classroom wasn't providing a sufficient
education for a student with special needs.
The trend is for school districts to appoint support facilitators who help regular teachers with resources
and equipment. Ideally, support facilitators work in the classroom with all students who need help,
rather than focusing exclusively on the special needs student and drawing undue attention to him or
her.
Forced educators to reexamine the practice of mainstreaming to see whether it could be improved. In
response to the lawsuits, educators recommended that schools spend more time determining the
least restrictive environment available for each special education student. To this aim, a series of
questions should be applied to each special education student's individualized educational plan
(IEP). Would it be possible for the student to learn in a regular classroom if supplementary aids and
services were provided? What steps have been taken to accommodate the student in a regular
classroom? Can the student with a disability benefit from being in a regular classroom? What is the
effect of the disabled student on classmates? Is the student likely to monopolize the time of the
teacher or aides? Is the student likely to be disruptive and to interfere with the ability of other students
to learn? Educators stress the importance of a team approach to exploring these questions, with the
regular classroom teacher and special education teacher working together.
Researchers studying special education issues point to the importance of considering a range of
options for each special needs student. There are many gradations in between spending full time in
a regular classroom or full time in a special education classroom. For example, some students might
benefit from learning subjects such as music, art and physical education with their class in full, while
they are pulled away for special education instruction in reading and math. Many schools have
resource rooms where students can receive individual tutoring or small-group instruction.

What is IEP? Explain.

28.3 Methods of Teaching in Mainstreaming
Educators have developed many strategies for providing a mixture of regular education and special
education. The special education student spends most of the week in a regular classroom and is
pulled out for individualized or small-group instruction three to five hours a week. Educators have
experimented with different systems of grouping special needs children by grade level or by degree
of disability when they meet in a small-group setting in the resource room. Education Digest described
one school system's experience in attempting to "push in" most special education students to a regular
classroom. The school system learned that to function well, some special education students actually
needed more pullout time, not less. There was another option in which a special education teacher
would come to a regular classroom and "pull aside" special needs students at a separate table and
assist them in doing the regular class work with some modifications.
Special education teachers and aides also assisted the special needs students with organizational
tasks. Each morning, the teachers and aides would check to be sure the special needs students had

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