BENEFITS
OF LRE
Introduction
The benefits of learning in the LRE for children with
special needs can be great: increased
motivation, higher self-esteem, improved communication and socialization
skills, and greater academic achievement.
While some children with disabilities will require a special class,
the LRE for most will be in a general education class with appropriate supports
and services – an inclusion class.
Children with disabilities in inclusion classrooms, particularly in
their home school, tend to form friendships more readily and develop better
social skills, especially if teachers promote interaction. Exposure to the general education
curriculum, taught by teachers trained in that curriculum, gives the disabled
child the chance to aim for the same goals as everyone else, and results in
higher academic achievement than the lower expectations often applied in a
self-contained special education class.
Nor are the children with disabilities the only ones to benefit from
their inclusion in general education classes.
Rather than being disadvantaged by being in an inclusion classroom,
children without disabilities who are educated alongside their disabled peers
generally have a greater awareness of diversity, act more responsibly, and
demonstrate improved academic performance.[1]
Benefits
for Students with Disabilities
Communication and Social
Interaction: numerous studies have
shown that students with and without disabilities interact more frequently in
integrated and inclusive settings than in self-contained environments.[2] This is true for pre-school[3],
elementary school[4], and
secondary settings[5]. Increased social interaction can lead to
social competence and communication skills.
Studies show improvement in the area of social skills and communication
to be associated with participation in an inclusive educational program.[6] Anecdotal evidence from New York City
inclusion programs confirms that non-disabled peers provide role models for
more socially acceptable behavior, also that being a fully included member of a
general education class increases self-esteem.
Students with disabilities in inclusive settings have been shown to
develop a greater circle of nondisabled friends than those in self-contained
classrooms that offer less social interaction with students without
disabilities,[7] especially
when the school the student is attending is close to his home.[8] A more diverse social life for disabled and
non-disabled children alike is valuable in itself, but also because of the
social and cognitive development it promotes in both.
Academic Skill Acquisition for Students with Mild
Disabilities: Studies of students
with mild disabilities placed in the general classroom report increased
academic skill acquisition to varying degrees.[9] There are program models in which
substantial gains were found,[10]
and models in which gains were shown in some, but not all, curriculum areas[11]
or for some, but not all, students.[12] The small groups associated with cooperative
learning and with peer tutoring were associated with academic benefits for
students with and without disabilities in a variety of curriculum areas.[13] For example, in one study all
students (regular, remedial and special education) in an inclusive school (in
comparison to a non-inclusive control school) demonstrated significantly
superior gains in several areas, including reading, vocabulary and language.[14]
Academic Skill Acquisition for Students with More Severe
Disabilities: Studies have reported
that students with more severe disabilities who take part in general education
classes show some academic increases and behavioral and social progress.[15] Parents have reported that their children
with more severe disabilities, placed in general education classrooms, were
able to learn material from the general education curriculum.[16] The model of instruction matters; studies
show that small, cooperative learning groups in which a student with severe
disabilities is a member with nondisabled peers best supports these students’
engagement and learning.[17] In a study that focused on programs meeting
selected criteria for best practices and models for teacher training, students
with severe disabilities made much greater progress in the general education
classrooms as compared with their peers in special education classrooms.[18]
The Importance of Curriculum: In addition to the model of instruction, the
curriculum used in the inclusive classroom is an important factor in the
educational success of all students. It
should give all students, regardless of their abilities, the opportunity to
become involved with and progress in the general education curriculum. It should be designed with the flexibility
to be presented in different ways for different learners, available in
materials accessible to all students, and allow for different levels of
complexity for the differently-abled.[19]
The Effect on the General Education Students
Educational Impact:
Parents of students without disabilities want to know whether their
child’s learning will suffer, and whether he/she will receive less attention
from the teacher in an inclusive classroom. In a well-run inclusion class,
research indicates they needn’t worry.[20] A study comparing the teacher’s use of time
in classrooms with and without students with more severe disabilities found no
negative impact on instruction.[21]
In fact, in general education classrooms including students with mild
disabilities, research demonstrates that the academic success of students
without disabilities is actually increased.[22]
Researchers suggest that the instructional practices used in inclusion
classrooms, which reflect the expertise of both general and special educators,
benefit all the students in the class.[23] For example, as stated above, learning in
small instructional groups has been found to be associated with academic
benefits for students with and without disabilities in a variety of curriculum
areas.[24] Even in small instructional groups including
a severely disabled student, the students without disabilities performed as
well as their peers in groups not including a disabled member.[25]
Effect on Development and Behavior: Research of typically developing children
show that their development does not slow as a result of being in a classroom
with children with disabilities.[26] Nor do typically developing students adopt
the inappropriate behavior of some students with disabilities in their
inclusive elementary classroom.[27] In fact, the rest of the class has much to
gain from including people with disabilities. Studies have found that students in
inclusive classrooms have positive experiences with their disabled peers and
develop improved attitudes towards those with different abilities.[28] Teachers report that accommodation of
disabled students in inclusion classes naturally gives rise to conversations
about fairness and equity that enhance the values and social skills of all
students.[29] Surveys of non-disabled students educated in
inclusion classrooms reported improvement in self-concept and reduced fear of
human differences.[30] These results were confirmed by other
surveys of parents’ reports of their children’s outcomes in inclusion classes.[31]
Studies Finding Negative Outcomes to Inclusion
Upon examination, the relatively few studies that found poor
results for students in inclusion classrooms mostly involved students placed in
general education classrooms without proper supports[32]
or special education services.[33] Therefore, they are not inconsistent with
the research reported above showing gains to students both with and without
disabilities in inclusion classrooms with prepared teachers, adequate supports
and effective instructional techniques.
Summary
The research demonstrates that being educated in an inclusive classroom benefits all students in the class. Their social growth is enhanced and the typical students’ academic progress is not slowed and will even be promoted in a good inclusion class. With a prepared teacher, a well-designed, student-centered curriculum and the use of effective instructional models, all students in the class will have the opportunity to learn and achieve. Future inquiry should focus not on whether to do inclusion, but how to do it well.
[6] Studies of
parent reports of their children’s development: see Bennett, T., DeLuca, D.,& Bruns, D. (1997).
Putting inclusion into practice:
Perspective of teachers and parents.
Exceptional Children, 64, 115 – 131, and Guralnick, M.J., Connor, R.T., &
Hammond, M. (1995). Parent perspectives
of peer relationships and friendships in integrated and specialized programs. American
Journal on Mental Retardation, 99, 457 – 476. Non-comparison studies in inclusive classrooms: see Hunt,
P., Alwell, M., Farron-Davis, F., & Goetz, L. (1996). Creating socially
supportive environments for fully included students who experience multiple
disabilities. Journal of the Association for Persons with Severe Handicaps,
21, 53 – 71; and Hunt, P., Staub, D., Alwell, M., & Goetz, L.
(1994). Achievement by all students within the context of cooperative
learning groups. Journal of the Association for Persons with Severe Handicaps,
19, 290 – 301.
[7] Fryxell, D.,
& Kennedy, C.H. (1995). Placement
along the continuum of services and its impact on students’ social
relationships. Journal of the
Association for Persons with Severe Handicaps, 20, 259 – 269; Kennedy,
C.H., Shukla, S., & Fryxell, D. (1997), op. cit.
[8] McDonnell,
Hardman, Hightower, & Kiefer-O’Donnell (1991), op. cit. at
footnote 5.
[9] Fishbaugh,
M.S., & Gum, P. (1994). Inclusive education in Billings, MT: A prototype for rural schools. ERIC Reproduction
Service, No. ED 369636.
[10] E.g.,
Wang, M.C., & Birch, J.W. (1984). Comparison of a full-time mainstreaming
program and a resource room approach. Exceptional Children, 51,
33 – 40.
[11] E.g.,
Affleck, J., Madge, S., Adams, A., & Lowenbraun, S. (1988). Integrated
classroom versus resource model:
Academic viability and effectiveness. Exceptional Children, 54,
339 – 348.
[12] E.g.,
Manset, G., & Semmel, M.I. (1997). Are inclusive programs for students with
mild disabilities effective? A comparative review of model programs. The
Journal of Special Education, 31, 2, 155 – 180, and Zigmond, N.,
& Baker, J.M. (1990). Mainstreaming experiences for learning disabled
students (Project MELD): Preliminary report. Exceptional Children, 57,
176 – 185.
[13] Lew, M.,
Mesch, D., Johnson, D.W., & Johnson, R. (1986). Components of cooperative
learning: Effects of collaborative skills and academic group contingencies on
achievement and mainstreaming. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 11,
229 – 239; Maheady, L., Sacca, M.K., & Harper, G.F. (1987). Class wide
student tutoring teams: Effects on the
academic performance of secondary students. Journal of Special Education,
12, 107 – 121.
[14] Jenkins,
J., Jewell, M., Leicester, N., O’Connor, R.E., Jenkins, L., & Troutner,
N.M. (1992). Accommodations for individual differences without classroom
ability groups: An experiment in school
restructuring. Exceptional Children,
60(4), 344-359.
[15] Cole, D.A.,
& Meyer, L.H. (1991). Social
integration and severe disabilities: A
longitudinal analysis of child outcomes. The Journal of Special Education,
25(3), 340 – 351.
[16] Ryndak,
D.L., Downing, J.E., Morrison, A.P., & Williams, L.J. (1996). Parents’
perceptions of educational settings and services for children with moderate or
severe disabilities. Remedial and Special Education, 17, 106 –
118.
[17] Dugan, E.,
Kamps, D., Leonard, B., Watkins, N., Rehinberger, A., & Stackhaus, J.
(1995). Effects of cooperative learning
groups during social studies for students with autism and fourth-grade peers. Journal
of Applied Behavior Analysis, 28, 175 – 188; Hunt, P., Staub, D.,
Alwell, M., & Goetz, L. (1994). Achievement by all students within the
context of cooperative learning groups. Journal of the Association for
Persons with Severe Handicaps, 19, 290 – 301; Logan, K.R., Bakeman,
R., & Keefe, E.B. (1997). Effects of instructional variables on engaged
behavior of students with disabilities in general education classrooms. Exceptional
Children, 63, 481 – 198.
[18] Hunt, P.
Farron-Davis, F., Beckstead, S., Curtis, D., & Goetz, L. (1994). Evaluating
the effects of placement of students with severe disabilities in general
education versus special classes. Journal of the Association for Persons
with Severe Handicaps, 19(3), 200 – 214.
[19] Orkwis, R.
(1999). Curriculum access and universal design for learning. ERIC/OSEP Digest # E586, ERIC
Reproduction Service No.: ED437767.
[20] Peltier,
Gary L. (1997). The effect of inclusion
on non-disabled children: A review of
the research. Contemporary Education,
68 (4), 234 – 238; Staub, D. (1996). On inclusion and the other
kids: Here’s what research shows so far
about inclusion’s effect on nondisabled students. Learning (September/October 1996), reprinted at http://www.edc.org/urban/.
[21] Hollowood,
T.M., Salisbury, C.L., Rainforth, B.,
& Palombaro, M.M. (1995). Use of
instructional time in classrooms serving students with and without severe
disabilities. Exceptional Children, 61, 242 – 253.
[22] Manset, G.,
& Semmel, M.I. (1997). Are inclusive programs for students with mild
disabilities effective? A comparative review of model programs. Journal of Special Education, 31, 155
– 180.
[23] Lew, M.,
Mesch, D., Johnson, D.W., & Johnson, R. (1986). Components of cooperative
learning: Effects of collaborative
skills and academic group contingencies on achievement and mainstreaming. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 11,
229 – 239.
[24] E.g.,
Maheady, Sacca, & Harper, 1987, op. cit., and Mathur, S.R.,
& Rutherford, R.B. (1991). Peer-mediated
interventions promoting social skills of children and youth with behavioral
disorders. Education and Treatment
of Children, 14, 227 – 242.
[25] Hunt et
al., 1994, op cit..
[26] Studies of
preschool students: Odom, S.L.,
Deklyer, M., & Jenkins, J.R. (1984).
Integrating handicapped and nonhandicapped preschoolers: Developmental impact on nonhandicapped
children. Exceptional Children,
51, 41 – 48; and Bricker, D.D., Bruder, M.B., & Bailey, E. (1982). Developmental integration of preschool
children. Analysis and Intervention
in Developmental Disabilities, 2, 207 – 222. Study of school-aged students: Sharpe, M.N., York, J.L., & Knight, J.
(1994). Effects of inclusion on the
academic performance of classmates without disabilities. Remedial and Special Education, 15,
281 – 287.
[27] Staub, D.,
Schwartz, I.L., Gallucci, C., & Peck, C.A. (1994). Four portraits of friendship at an inclusive
school. Journal of the Association
for Persons with Severe Handicaps, 19, 314 – 325.
[28]
Helmstetter, E., Peck, C.A., & Giangreco, M.F. (1994). Outcomes of interactions with peers with
moderate or severe disabilities: A
statewide survey of high school students.
The Journal of the Association for Persons with Severe Handicaps,
19(4), 263 – 276; Stainback, W., Stainback, S., Moravec, J., &
Jackson, H.J. (1992). Concerns about
full inclusion: An ethnographic
investigation. Included in Villa, R.A.,
Thousand, J.S., Eds. (1995) Creating
an Inclusive School. Alexandria,
VA: ASCD.
[29] Evans,
I.M., Salisbury, C., Palombaro, M., & Goldberg, J.S. (1994). Children’s perception of fairness in
classroom and interpersonal situations involving peers with severe
disabilities. Journal of the
Association for Persons with Severe Handicaps, 19, 326 – 332.
[30] E.g.,
Helmstetter, E., Peck, C.A., & Giangreco, M.F. (1994). Outcomes of interactions with peers with
moderate or severe disabilities: A
statewide survey of high school students.
Journal of the Association for Persons with Severe Handicaps, 19,
263 – 276; Peck, C.A., Donaldson, J.,
& Pezzoli, M. (1990). Some benefits
adolescents perceive for themselves from their social relationships with peers
who have severe disabilities. Journal
of the Association for Persons with Severe Handicaps, 15, 241 – 249.
[31] E.g.
Giangreco, M., Edelman, S., Cloninger, C., & Dennis, R. (1993). My child has a classmate with severe
disabilities: What parents of
nondisabled children think about full inclusion. Developmental Disabilities Bulletin, 21, 77 – 91.
[32] Baines, L.,
Baines, C., & Masterson, C. (1994).
Mainstreaming: One school’s
reality. Phi Delta Kappan, 76(1),
39 – 40.
[33] Zigmond,
N., & Baker, J. (1995). Concluding
comments: Current and future practices
in inclusive schooling. The Journal
of Special Education, 29 (2), 245 – 250.
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