Literature Review On Inclusive Education

CHAPTER 2
2. REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
2.1 Introduction
The inclusion of students who are deaf refers to their being educated within a classroom of students with normal hearing. This concept of inclusion differs from mainstreaming in that the latter may refer to a variety of degrees of contact with hearing students, while in inclusion a deaf student is placed in a classroom with hearing students. Before 1975, although attempts were made to educate students who were deaf in regular schools, about 80% of students who were deaf in Zimbabwe were being served in special schools (Cohen, 1995). Education for all called for the education of all children appropriately in the ''least restrictive environment''. Although the law resulted in some students

According to UNESCO, inclusive education is a process of addressing and responding to the diverse needs of all children by increasing participation in learning and reducing exclusion within and from education (Nguyet and Ha 2010). Inclusive education is a process of increasing the presence, participation and achievement of all learners (Booth and Ainscow 2002). The process involves mainstreaming children with special educational needs into regular classroom settings, allowing them to learn side by side with their peers without disabilities. Inclusive education implies that children with special educational needs have to attend mainstream schools they would have attended if they did not have a disability. Mainstreaming children with special needs education has a positive impact on both social and academic learning for children with and without special needs (Farrell 2000). Bunch (2008) views the inclusive education philosophy as socially just and more effective in both academic and social spheres. Worldwide, the educational authorities have adopted the principle of inclusion to address the social and moral obligation to educate all learners (Forbes

It is a symbol of respect for all of humanity. It can be argued that inclusive education is about social justice and equity and takes into account learner’s abilities, potential and diverse needs. The learner does not have to adapt to the social system. The school or the education system has to change in order to meet the learning needs of all children in a given community (Kisanji 1999; Armstrong 2005). In other words, inclusion involves restructuring the cultures, policies and practices in schools so that they respond to the diversity of students in their locality (Booth and Ainscow 2002). The guiding principle in inclusive education is that all learners have a right to learn in mainstream schools. Zimbabwe is a signatory to the Salamanca statement and framework for action on special needs education and other inclusive education related international charters and conversions (Mpofu 2007; Musengi 2010; Chireshe 2011). Although Zimbabwe does not have an inclusive education specific policy, it has inclusive education related policies like the Education Act of 1996 and the Zimbabwe Disabled Persons Act of 1996 which advocates for non-discrimination of people with disabilities in Zimbabwe