Integration of children with special needs means the placement of children with disabilities or of those with special educational needs in mainstream education settings with some adaptations and resources, but on the condition that the disabled person and or the student with special educational needs can fit in with the existing structures, attitudes and an unaltered environment (Malcoci, 2015).
The issue of integration of children with disabilities into the mainstream schools is a main topic of debate for educational professionals (Avramidis, 2000). This essay will examine the different attitudes with regard to Integration of children with special needs in regular schools, in theory and in practice, and then provide some recommendations for
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As Burns notes, a child might live up to a label of “stupid” just because he or she has been placed in a special class with other children who are labeled with learning disabilities (Burns, 2000).
Similarly, Cambra and Silvestre highlight the connection between peer group perception and construction of the personal self esteem among students with special needs. They argue that school integration is a necessary condition to enable the social integration of special education students and therefore improving their self-esteem. (Cambra and Silvestre 2010).
The academic argument concentrates on the idea that the challenge of being in a regular classroom will promote the academic progress of the child with special needs (Avramidis, 2000). According to Daniel and King, students in inclusion classes were more likely to experience gains in reading scores (Daniel & King,
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Finally, Schirmer’s study suggests this academic benefit can be achieved if regular teachers and special education teachers combine their knowledge and skills to enable development of better strategies which concentrates on effective methods for all children, rather than adjusting the existing methods for those children with special needs (Schirmer, 1995).
On the other hand, there are many arguments against the integration of children with special needs in regular schools which broadly can be also divided to social and educational arguments. While there is no real counter argument to the moral idea of integration as a basic right to justice, the performance of it in reality finds objections that emphasize the gap between theory and reality.
Avramidis notes that negative attitudes about integration demonstrates that decision-makers were out of touch with classroom realities (Avramidis, 2002). Integration in some countries become just a matter of placing children with special education needs and disabilities into schools without taking their needs into consideration (Hodkinson,