Integrating Students Into A Special Education Classroom

According to the National Center for Education Statistics, as of the year 2011-2012, approximately 13% of all students in public schools (6.4 million public school students) were utilizing some form of special education services at their school ("Children and youth," 2014). Despite this large percentage, there is still a controversy among school systems, parents, teachers and others about what is the best suitable environment for these kids in need of special education services. While many believe that a separate special education classroom is best for these students, others argue that integrating students into mainstream education classes provides the most benefits for these children educationally, emotionally and socially. Despite these conflicting

There are several different levels of integration of students with special needs into the general education classroom. First, there is mainstreaming. This is when special education students are placed into at least one or more general education classrooms, however they must “earn” this right to be involved in a normal general education setting. This is often the type of accommodation that is most commonly associated with what people think of as special education services in the school (Stout, 2001). Inclusion, on the other hand, is a bit more difficult to define because its definition varies from one school’s program to the next. While often confused with mainstreaming, full inclusion promotes the idea all students should be in the classroom together, and that there should be an elimination of self-contained programs for special education students (Stout, 2001). As stated in an article by Kasser and Lytle, “inclusion is a philosophy that states all individuals, regardless of ability, should participate within the same environment with necessary support and individualized attention. Inclusion is more than simply placing individuals together, it’s a belief

The journey to become an all-inclusive school may not always be the easiest one, but ultimately, many believe that the benefits of these programs entirely outweigh the effort it initially takes to begin them. For instance, as stated by Inclusive Schools Network, one benefit to an all-inclusive school is that it opens up a greater variety of educational opportunities for all students (Inclusive Schools Network, n.d.). Teachers who have a classroom full of students with diverse needs will need to alter their teaching techniques to include wider assortment of instructional techniques in their day-to-day teaching. For instance, this could include utilizing new learning modalities such as kinesthetic, visual or auditory strategies to reach out to a larger body of diverse students. This type of diverse instruction can open up a whole new range of learning techniques and assessments to all the students in the classroom, which can be directly beneficial to their educational experience (Inclusive Schools Network,