EDC2400

Module 1

Legislation, policies, practices and resources to support learners with additional needs in inclusive educational environments

Module 1 Legislation, policies, practices and resources to support learners with additional needs in inclusive educational environments

Topics

Overview

1. Teaching in todays inclusive classrooms
   • Introduction
   • What is special education?
   • What is special about special education?
   • A brief history of special education
   • The inclusive education movement
   • Equality versus Equity?

2. Legislation and policies for inclusive education

2.1 Australian legislation for educating all students

2.2 Australian legislation and policy for educating students with special education needs

2.3 Disability Discrimination Act (DDA)

2.4 Disability Standards for Education (DSE)

2.5 Policy

3. Practices and processes for inclusive education

3.1 Competencies of the inclusive teacher

3.2 Collaborative processes

3.3 Engaging with parents/carers for inclusive education

3.4 Engaging with external professional networks for inclusive education

Objectives

On successful completion of this module, you should be able to:

• Demonstrate a basic understanding of special education and learners with special education needs
• Describe a brief history of special education
• Explain the evolution of the inclusive education movement
• Demonstrate an understanding of inclusive education and how this relates to all educational settings
• Identify relevant legislation and policy regarding learners with special educational needs
• Understand how to apply this legislation and policy across educational contexts

Associated APSTs

1.6 Strategies to support full participation of students with disability

3.7 Engage parents/carers in the educative process

4.1 Support student participation

7.2 Comply with legislative, administrative and organisational requirements

7.4 Engage with professional teaching networks and broader communities

Text Readings

Hyde, M., Carpenter, L., & Dole, S. (2017).Diversity, inclusion and engagement.(3^rded.). Victoria, Australia: Oxford University Press.

Chapter 1 Understanding Diversity, Inclusion and Engagement

Chapter 2 Australian Schools, Policy and Legislation in

Perspective

1. Teaching in todays inclusive classroom

1.1Introduction

In todays inclusive classrooms teachers are responding to a diverse range of students with a diverse range of learning needs that occur for a variety of reasons race, language, culture, ability, socio-economic status, gender identity etc. This course, EDC2400, will focus on the needs of those students who have a diverse range of special educational needs as a result of disability. This is in no way intended to segregate students with disabilities from the diversity of their peers. It is important to remember that ability/disability is just one difference that may be experienced by a student. Having said that, the education of students with disabilities is a vital area in a pre-service teachers knowledge, understanding and experience.

Please note: the prescribed text is one of the most current texts related to the Australian education context. This text will provide you with up to date information and references relevant for Australian inclusive education. It is important to note that much of the additional literature that you will access about special education and inclusive education will have been published internationally (e.g. in the United States, or the United Kingdom). These countries have very different legislation, policies and practices from Australia. It is essential that you are aware of the differences between the different countries legislation, policies and practices and are able to interpret information you read with regards to the Australian context. As an educator in Australia you need to be knowledgeable about federal legislation and federal and state policy, and confident in discussing how these impact on the everyday practices of teachers and the implications for the students you teach.

1.2 What is special education?

Learning activity

Write down what you think special education is and what experience have you had with special education?

(Some students may have worked for many years in a special school as a teachers aide or have a sibling/child who has accessed a special education program for all or part of their schooling. Some students may have no experience in special education. There is no problem with that.)

There are a number of different definitions that have been used over time to define special education. Read through the following examples:

• Daniel Hallahan and James Kauffman (well-known names in special education), along with their colleague, Paige Pullen, state that, Special education means specially designed instruction that meets the unusual needs of an exceptional student and that might require special materials, teaching techniques, or equipment and/or facilities (Hallahan, Kauffman & Pullen, 2012, p.10).
• A more commonly used definition of special education in Australia is as follows, Special education means providing individualized instruction and supports that lead to better life outcomes for students with special needs (Rosenberg, Westling & McLeskey, 2011, p.4).

Important Note:Notice that neither of these definitions mention the specific place where education takes place, who delivers this instruction or specifically what is learned. They focus instead on the idea that special education is individualised education designed to meet the specific needs of the individual student.

In contrast:

• James Kauffman, in particular, has always maintained that general education, even the best, cannot replace special education. Within his definition of special education he maintains that special education is more precisely controlled in pace or rate, intensity, relentlessness, structure, reinforcement, teacher pupil ratio, curriculum, and monitoring or assessment. While we think its a good idea to improve the education of all children, an objective of the [US] federal education laws of the early 21^stcentury, good or reformed general education does not and cannot replace special education for those students at the extremes of the range of disabilities (Hallahan, Kauffman & Pullen, 2012, p.10).

Learning activity

Although this is an introductory course in special education, all of you have come to this course with previous knowledge,

experience and existing dispositions (attitudes).

Consider which of the above definitions resonates most with your current view of special education and why? What are the differences and similarities between the various definitions?

View Clip

Special Education Teaching Definition of special education (1.22 mins)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BoTjW6MY2aI&feature=related

Take particular note of the final section of this clip when the teacher mentions response to intervention. This is an important term that you will need to be familiar with.

For the purposes of this course we will be using the Rosenberg, Westling & McLeskey definition (2011, p.4): Special education means providing individualized instruction and supports that lead to better life outcomes for students with special needs.

1.3 What is special about special education?

There are several factors which makes special education special. These include:

• Intensity - Special education instruction may involve adjusting the intensity of instruction provided to a student. More time for direct instruction and practice are critical elements of more intense instruction. This may involve a lower teacher-pupil ratio, using strategies such as class-wide peer tutoring, cooperative learning, or co-teaching.
• Structure - Students with special educational needs are provided with learning conditions that are more organised, explicit, and predictable.
• Curriculum - While almost all students with special educational needs learn based on the general curriculum, many of these students require specialised supports and accommodations to access this material. Some students with significant disabilities require an alternative curriculum for some part of the school day that addresses basic life skills, alternative communication, or social skills.
• Collaboration - For a successful educational experience, professionals from general and special education, parents/carers and other professionals, must combine their expertise to address the needs of students with special needs.
• Monitoring/assessment - Teachers monitor the students progress in an academic area, and adjust instructional methods based on this information. Thus, teachers may use a variety of approaches if a student with special needs has difficulty learning critical elements of the curriculum.

(McLeskey, Rosenberg & Westling, 2013)

Note:These factors do not include the location where the instruction takes place.

1.4 A brief history of special education and the evolution of the inclusive movement

Several centuries ago, children considered different were kept at home or in institutions. In the 18^thand 19^thcenturies however it was believed that alternative, segregated schooling would more successfully meet the learning needs of these children than regular education (Hunt & Marshall, 2005). The development of schools that segregated students were initially intended for students with visual and hearing impairments schools for the blind and schools for the deaf. These schools claimed to offer more appropriate education for these students than the regular education system.

In the late 19^thcentury and early 20^thcentury compulsory education for all children was mandated in many countries, for example, the UK and US. This legislation instigated the debate of what was appropriate education for students with difficulties and disabilities. At that time education for children with disabilities was informed by the ideology of deficit and difference imbedded in the medical model. From this perspective, children were identified as different to the norm, or abnormal, and the idea was that they could receive treatment to be fixed, that is, made normal. In other words, the education system needed to provide a different service to address the learning needs of these children special education. This system of segregated schools for children with disabilities was the most common option in most developed countries and still exists in many forms today.

In the 1940s, 50s and 60s there was a shift to move the social responsibility for defective children away from the medical and psychological sphere to the education field. Throughout the 1960s and 1970s many educators began to criticise the segregation of students with disabilities. The process of educating students with disabilities apart from their peers was deemed ineffective and stigmatising, resulting in low expectations for those students (McLeskey et al., 2013).

In the 1970s, legislation in the UK and USA had a major impact on the development of special education. These legislative changes were shaped by the civil rights movement and parent advocacy (McLeskey et al., 2013) and had a profound influence on educational provision for handicapped children in so much as it stated that mainstreaming or integration, the term used to describe the participation of children with disabilities in the general education classroom, was the preferred mode (Foreman, 2008; Hunt & Marshall, 2005).

Over the following decades these changes in legislation in the UK and the USA resulted in a move towards the integration of students with disabilities into regular classrooms. The process of integration was initiated in an attempt to educate previously segregated students with disabilities and difficulties with their non-disabled peers for at least part of the school day (McLeskey et al., 2013). While these integration programs aimed to involve children with diverse abilities into the existing classes and structures within a school, which could be seen as a positive step, they required that the child fit in to a pre-existing model of schooling. As a result, students with disability spent part of their time in general education, where the main goal was placement, but still spent the majority of their time in segregated special education classrooms receiving instruction (Ashman, 2015). For many children with disability, this did not provide positive outcomes in terms of the childs learning or socialisation.

Furthermore, it was not clear who was responsible for the education of these students - regular or special education teachers. Amendments continued to be passed on existing legislation in this area to ensure the rights of children with disabilities and their families were met. These rights included zero rejection so no child would be refused an appropriate school education, free appropriate public education for all children, non-discriminatory evaluation procedures to be conducted and due process under the law (Hunt & Marshall, 2005).

Dissatisfaction with integration and mainstreaming, and the continued exclusion of many students from regular education contributed to the formation of the international inclusion movement of the last decade of the 20^thcentury and the first decade of the current century.

In Australia the currentDisability Discrimination Act [DDA] 1992legislates that educational services are provided to children with disabilities. This act was the basis on which the Australian Disability Standards for Education [DSE] (2005) were developed. The original DDA legislation addressed enrolment, whereas the DSE addresses enrolment, participation, curriculum, student support services, and the elimination of harassment and victimisation. Due to these standards schools are now legally obliged to provide support to students with a disability regardless of the school they attend.

In summary, special education began as alternative education for children who were deemed as different to the norm as it was believed to be more appropriate for these childrens needs. The segregation of children with disabilities for educational purposes was firmly established by the first half of the 20^thcentury. Due to the limited demonstration of positive student outcomes from segregation and the social justice movement, the call came for the integration of students with disabilities and difficulties. However, the placement of students into the regular classroom for part of the school day did not yield consistent improved outcomes. In addition, this part-time integration into the mainstream did not observe the rights of students with disabilities and difficulties. The inclusion movement evolved as a response to these factors. With inclusion came a rethink of education for all students a different outlook.

The following table provides a brief overview of the history of key influences of the inclusive education movement in Australia, the United States and the United Kingdom.

Learning Activity

Write down the definition of each of the following terms:

Normalisation, Mainstreaming, Integration, Inclusion

(Hint: find the definitions in your textbook or references)

Consider the differences between each of these terms. Think back over your experiences within schooling contexts (e.g. as a student, pre-service teacher, parent, teacher aide, volunteer) and discuss which model you think was used and why.

1.5 The inclusive education movement

View clip

Inclusive education (2.37 mins)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Oxwcb6tJ6k

The ideology of inclusion and inclusive practices promotes a new way of perceiving education (Mitchell, 2005). Inclusive practices address the needs of all students with the expectation that support is provided for students with difficulties and disabilities in the regular classroom alongside students without disabilities. This model of service delivery involves direct support for school, classroom teachers and students in order to develop, implement and maintain appropriate and effective education strategies to meet the needs ofallstudents.

Text reading

Read Chapter 1 Understanding diversity, inclusion and engagement, pp. 3-13 of your text.

Reflection activity Understanding equity (Module 1 prompt 1)

The current inclusive education movement began in earnest in the last decade of the 20^thcentury. The inclusive education movement is based on the premise that all students have a right to be educated alongside their peers in regular/ mainstream classrooms. This premise is not just concerned with placement of students with special educational needs, it involves effectively meeting their learning needs. Advocates of this movement believe the effective instructional practices of special education should be available to all students and all teachers should be practitioners of these research-based techniques. As Roger Slee (2013) suggests, inclusion calls for changes to the way we understand and think about difference, changes to the extant institutional order and changes to cultural practice.

Learning Activity

Brainstorm issues that may be associated with the inclusion of students with disabilities from the following perspectives:

• Students with disabilities
  • Students without disabilities
  • Parents of children with disabilities
  • Parents of children without disabilities
  • Regular classroom teachers
  • Special education/support teachers
  • Community

Click on the following links to access the

UNESCO Salamanca Statement:

http://www.unesco.org/education/pdf/SALAMA_E.PDF

The Dakar framework:

http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0012/001211/121147E.pdf

1.6 Equality versus Equity

Any discussion around inclusive education and inclusion in our society needs to consider the concepts of equality and equity. One of the main difficulties that many teachers face in an inclusive classroom is that they believe that all children need to be given the same education in order to provide equality. Watch the following clips and think carefully about what you believe is the best option equality or equity.

View clip

Equity and equality (2.48 mins)

While the poetry may leave you cringing, the message is a critical one

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lrKRm6KAzfU

View clip

Whats Up? Equality vs. Equity (5.41 mins)

The real life examples given here help to explain the concept

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rkh2oKBfH4w

Reflection activity Animal School (Module 1 prompt 2)

Look at the following images. What do they represent for

you? How do they make you feel?

Many of us do not intentionally create barriers for students with additional educational needs, but we do need to stop and think about how what we are doing might be creating barriers. Relate the below graphic (animal school) to our current education system what are the similarities and/or differences? Then consider the graphic Equality is not enough What does this mean for our current education system?

Animal School:

Equity vs equality, pinterest,https://www.pinterest.se/pin/68750331789829187/

Amy Sun, 2014, Equality is not enough,https://everydayfeminism.com/2014/09/equality-is-not-enough/

The goal of inclusive education for all students, including those with special educational needs is liberation:

Chris Huebsch, Liberation,https://plus.google.com/+ChrisHuebsch/posts/5spUtz3pfA4

Learning activity

In terms of the last image, how close is reality to what we currently see in the educational context? Does our current education system support equality, equity, reality or

liberation? What will it take for us to reach the stage of

liberation?

2. Legislation and policies for inclusive education

In Australia, the roles and responsibilities of teachers for inclusive and special education are set by both federal and state governments. The federal government has implemented two key pieces of legislation, while the various state governments provide policies that support the enactment of this legislation. The following topic will provide you with important information regarding this legislation and policy.

2.1 Australian legislation for educating all students

In Australia, the Alice Springs (Mparntwe) Education Declaration (2019) sets the educational expectations for all students. It identifies the key priorities that the Australian government and the broader Australian community have determined for all Australian school students. Please note that this Declaration was updated in December 2019 and replaces the Melbourne declaration on educational goals for young Australians. You will find a transition period where many texts still refer to the Melbourne Declaration, although you will need to be familiar with the Alice Springs (Mparntwe) Education Declaration.

Text Reading

Read Chapter 2 Australian schools, policy and legislation in perspective, pp. 14 23.

Reflection Activity Disability Standards for Education (DSE)

(Module 1 prompt 3)

Consider how two educational goals set by the Alice Springs Declaration relate to students with additional educational needs.

2.2 Australian legislation and policy for educating students with special education needs

The two main federal legislative Acts that govern the education of students with special needs in Australia are theDisability Discrimination Act 1992(DDA) and theDisability Standards for Education 2005(DSE). Both the DDA and DSE legislate inclusive practices throughout all areas of education in Australia. It is important that, as both a pre-service teacher and a teacher, you are familiar with both. This legislation outlines the responsibilities of every Australian school and teacher in meeting the needs of students with special educational needs, regardless of the educational context.

Both legislative Acts have been implemented to protect the rights of students with special educational needs and ensure that these students have the same access to educational outcomes, as determined by the Melbourne Declaration on the Education Goals for Young Australians (2008), as students without special educational needs.

Text Reading

Read Chapter 2 Australian schools, policy and legislation in perspective, pp. 23-31.

2.3 Disability Discrimination Act

The following is a link to AustraliasDisability Discrimination Act (DDA) 1992.Pay particular attention to the links Who does the DDA protect and Getting an education. Who does the DDA protect provides the definition of disability indicating which students are referred to in the Disability Standards for Education. Getting an education specifically relates to students in schools and the responsibilities of schools and their staff.

Key reading

Use the following link to access the DDA:

https://www.humanrights.gov.au/our-work/disability-rights/guides/brief-guide-disability-discrimination-act

2.4 Disability Standards for Education

This link will take you to theDisability Standards for Education [DSE], (2005). I would suggest that you download and save the PDF format of these standards. All teachers working in any education sector throughout Australia are legally obliged to adhere to these standards. Thus, they are something that you should be very familiar with. Take the time to read through them and refer back to them as needed throughout the course and throughout your career as a teacher.

Key reading

Use the following link to access the Disability Standards for

Education (DSE):

https://www.education.gov.au/disability-standards-education

Learning activity

Consider the term Reasonable Adjustment (DSE Part 3, pp. 13-16). Why is the understanding of this term so important to the concept of inclusion? Provide examples of reasonable adjustments that could be used in your teaching context or that you have personally experienced or seen used.

2.5 Policy

Students in Australian classrooms have multiple, diverse, and changing needs that are shaped by individual learning histories and abilities as well as cultural, language backgrounds and socio-economic factors. The Australian Curriculum acknowledges the commitment in the Melbourne Declaration on Educational Goals for Young Australians (2008) tosupport all Australians to become successful learners, confident and creative individuals and active and informed citizens. Some students will need additional support to realise this goal and while every state and territory has its own definition and decision making process, the Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) identifies this group of students as having special education needs.

Access the following link to ACARA and the advice provided on student diversity:

http://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/studentdiversity/student-diversity-advice

Each Australian state and territory implements specific policy on the recognition and support of students with disability and special educational needs. These policies define how students learning needs are to be met in the specific educational context.

Key learning Activity

Examine the Queensland Department of Education and Training Disability Policy:

https://education.qld.gov.au/students/inclusive-education

Look through the various links and information on this site. In particular, download and read the inclusive education policy PDF.

(If you are living or working in any other Australian State, examine similar policies for that state. Find these through a simple google search.)

3. Practices and processes for inclusive education

3.1 Competencies of an inclusive teacher

Many teachers, when they are first introduced to the idea of inclusion, are concerned about their ability to effectively address the needs of all students in their classroom. However, Rosenberg, Westling and McLeskey (2011) suggest that to be effective in an inclusive setting, teachers need to:

• Have a commitment toprofessionalism
• Provideeffectiveinstruction toallstudents
• Reflecton the quality of their practice

What this means simply, is that effective inclusive teachers have a belief that all children deserve to learn at school. They continue to learn how to do this by reflecting on their own knowledge and practices and being willing to gain new knowledge and practices in order to effectively support the students they are working with. Thus, an effective inclusive teacher is one that believes that they CAN make a difference and help all children learn.

Text Reading

Read Chapter 2 Australian schools, policy and legislation in perspective, pp. 31-38

Learning Activity

Consider both the rewards and challenges of being a teacher

in an inclusive educational environment.

(There are no right or wrong answers, but do consider this question with regards to what you have learned so far)

3.2 Collaborative processes for inclusive education

A teachers role has never been easy and it is to be becoming even more challenging, particularly with the emphasis on inclusive education. No one teacher can or ought to be expected to have all the expertise required to meet the educational needs of all students in the classroom (Lipsky, 1994 cited in Dettmer et al., 2009, p. 79). Collaboration, in an educational context, requires a group of people to work together sharing their individual expertise and thus increasing the knowledge available to support individual students.

Within the context of inclusive education a range of situations exist where teachers will be involved in collaborative processes. At the everyday classroom level, collaboration may involve working within teaching teams or with a teachers aide to support individual or groups of students. At other times the particular needs of an individual student may require a more formal collaborative and consultative approach to be undertaken with outside specialists. Teachers of students with special educational needs will be involved in both informal and formal collaborative activities as they seek to meet each students individual needs.

It is important to remember however, that the collaborative process in schools is only meaningful when the focus is on supporting the student. The process itself is not the goal or outcome, generating effective strategies and interventions to support the students participation in school must be the goal of collaboration.

Reflection Activity Listening (Module 1 prompt 4)

Read the following quote:

How does this quote and the previous clip about listening relate to each other? What strategies can you use to improve your listening skills, particularly when working collaboratively in an inclusive education setting?

3.3 Engaging with parents/carers for inclusive education

Parents are the first and most influential teachers of their children and as a result should be key stakeholders in all situations that involve the support, participation and learning of a student with special educational needs. Collaborative partnerships between home and school will provide teachers and parents with a joint understanding of goals that are needed to support the child in both environments. A successful collaborative working relationship between teachers and parents provides benefits for everyone involved, the teacher, the parent and most importantly, the student (Heward, 2014).

Porter (2009) suggests that there is a continuum of parent-teacher relationship styles from relationships driven by the professional or teacher to those that are driven by the parents. The type of relationship style fostered at the beginning of a relationship will influence the ease with which a collaborative process will be developed with parents throughout the teaching year. The type of relationship that parents have experienced in the past will also influence their expectations about this process. That is, parents who have mainly experienced a professional driven relationship may have a difficult time adapting to a family-centred or family-driven relationship style when they are working with teachers to resolve a school-based difficulty.

Figure 1.2: Continuum of parent-teacher relationship styles

Sources: Dunst 2002; Osher & Osher 2002 cited in Porter, 2009

Learning activity

Look closely at the relationships styles as shown in the figure above. Go through each of these styles and discuss the positives and negatives of each with relation to developing a collaborative consultation processes. Which style do you think would lend itself to collaborative consultation and why? Which relationship style has been the most common in your experience in educational settings?

In an increasingly diverse society such as Australia, it is imperative that teachers are aware of the importance of supporting diverse parents and families. Parents and families can have a variety of different characteristics including age, socioeconomic status, working status, family composition, gender, disability, ethnicity, religion, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander heritage, parenting beliefs and styles and different family pressures. The essential first step in developing effective collaborative relationships with diverse families is to suspend your judgement of what is the right type of family and how they should function (Porter, 2009).

3.4 Engaging with external professional networks for inclusive education

As stated above, No one teacher can or ought to be expected to have all the expertise required to meet the educational needs of all students in the classroom (Lipsky, 1994 cited in Dettmer et al., 2009, p. 79). This, combined with the recognition that inclusive teachers must continue to learn by reflecting on their own knowledge and practices and being willing to gain new knowledge and practices in order to effectively support the students they are working with, highlights the importance for teachers to engage with external professional networks.

Conclusion

In this module students have been provided with an overview of the field of special education and inclusive education and how it relates to all educational settings within Australia. A brief history of the development of special education and the inclusive movement was presented and students have been asked to consider the current situation of special education and inclusion and how this impacts on different groups of people.

Relevant and current legislation, policy and practice was introduced, giving students knowledge regarding the responsibilities that they will have when working with students with special needs in any educational setting.

References

Ashman, A. (2015).Education for inclusion and diversity. Melbourne, Victoria: Pearson.

Dettmer, P., Thurston, L. P., Knacendoffel, A., & Dyck, N. J. (2009).Collaboration,consultation, and teamwork: For students with special needs.(6^thed.). Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson Education.

Foreman, P. (Ed.). (2011).Inclusion in action (3^rdEd.).South Melbourne: Cengage.

Hallahan, D.P., Kauffman, J.M. & Pullen, P.C. (2012).Exceptional Learners. An introduction to special education(12^thed.).Boston: Pearson.

Heward, W. L. (2014). Exceptional children: An introduction to special education (10^thed.). Essex: Pearson.

Hunt, N., & Marshall, K. J. (2005). Exceptional children and youth: An introduction to special education (4^thed.). Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co.

McLeskey, J, Rosenberg, M.S., & Westling, D.L (2013).Inclusion: Effective practices for all students(2^nded.). Boston: Pearson.

Mitchell, D. (2014). What really work in special and inclusive education: Using evidence-based teaching strategies. (2^nded.). Routledge: New York.

Rosenberg, M. S., Westling, D. L. & McLeskey, J. (2011).Special education for todays teachers: An introduction(2^nded.). Boston: Pearson.

Russo-Campisi, J. (2017). Evidence-based practices in special education: Current assumptions and future considerations.Child Youth Care Forum: Springer.doi: 10.1007/s10566-017-9390-5

Porter, L. (2008).Teacher-parent collaboration: Early childhood to adolescence.Victoria, Australia: ACER Press.

Slee, R. (2013). How do we make inclusive education happen when exclusion is a political predisposition?International Journal of Inclusive education,17(8), 895-907. doi:10.1080/13603116.2011.602534