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Six Critical Areas for Creating Change Toward Inclusive Educational Practices
Anne M. Moll, Ed. D.
Brief Synopsis
Moving toward inclusive educational practices is a much larger job than simply having teachers change the methods they use to teach. Becoming inclusive requires a degree of change at many levels of the educational system. Because of the complicated nature of this change, many schools continue to be stymied by the challenges of creating inclusive educational practices.
As one part of my research, I have collected the most frequently asked questions from more than 4,000 participants in professional development on inclusive education. These questions consistently fall into six primary areas of concern or challenge. All six areas are interconnected, meaning as schools develop answers to questions in one area, the new knowledge generates changes in other areas. Each area is briefly described below in terms of its barriers and general solutions. More detailed information on these areas and more specific actions schools have taken to address them is available.
Six Critical Areas of Challenge
Personal
Individuals within schools must face personal questions concerning the premise of inclusive education and their individual belief systems. If the individuals in a school do not believe in instruction that supports student learning, inclusive educational practices will be very difficult, if not impossible, to implement.
Some typical questions posed by participants: Do I believe ALL children can learn? Is it my responsibility to ensure students are successful or does the responsibility lie elsewhere? Do I have to embrace the research suggesting that students who learn differently should be taught and allowed to participate in different ways.
General Solutions This is by far the most interfering and the most difficult area to address because it relates to the very core of an individual – their belief system. An individual’s belief system is so personal that it typically takes multiple, specific experiences to change. This area cannot be addressed and corrected simply through reading an article or listening to a lecture. Individuals need opportunities to (1) talk with others who have experienced inclusive education, (2) watch such educational practices in action, and (3) experiment with such practices in a risk-free environment.
Functional
When schools begin to implement inclusive practices, particularly using collaborative teaching models, many questions arise related to the functions of the job for each individual. When an individual feels their job role is changing and does not understand the expectations for the new role, the uncertainty can impede progress toward the new role. Teachers and instructional assistants express an enormous amount of anxiety over the uncertainty of their roles in inclusive education.
Typical questions in this area include: What will my specific role be as a(n) ____________ (e.g., special education teacher, general education teacher, IA)? What will my specific responsibilities be? Who is ultimately responsible for the students in a general classroom? Who writes the IEP? Legally speaking, what role can the special education teacher take on in a general classroom?
General Solutions Professional development that focuses on the legal requirements and the options in roles and responsibilities of school personnel can resolve the first layer of questions by giving specific ideas and examples of how each person can configure their job and how others have done it successfully.
Instructional
This instructional area includes a wide range of issues reaching from the broader philosophical aspects of the pedagogy to the daily techniques of instruction and assessment. The challenge in this area is determining the most appropriate process(es) for teaching students with different learning needs and identifying the best way(s) for students to demonstrate what they know.
Questions in this area commonly include: How do we teach to the student’s learning needs without losing the content? How do we ensure the core content is covered if we have to differentiate? Do we have to differentiate for every student every time? What modifications are legal? How do we assess students who learn differently? How do students with modified instruction participate in statewide tests? What strategies can be used to help students learn? How are grades figured with modified instruction?
General Solutions One simple professional development experience will not answer this challenge. To address this set of questions, multiple professional development experiences along with action research in the classroom will help educators answer these questions. The professional development should emphasis: how to analyze student needs, instruction and assessment design, specific instructional strategies to address various learning strengths, how to use assessment information (informal and formal) to make instructional decisions, and how to grade for learning.
Structural
As schools begin implementing inclusive practices is becomes evident very early on that some structures of the system must change. Some mechanisms within the school system may impede progress toward inclusive educational practices. Two of the biggest challenges in this area are student scheduling and the control of teacher schedules. The typical structures in place for these two scheduling issues do not usually facilitate inclusive practices. For example, often it is the counselor or assistant principal who makes class rosters, yet my research has found that in successful inclusive situations, teachers should be the ones making schedules to better balance student strengths and areas of need.
Common questions in this area include: How can teachers have time for collaborative teaching when they have to be in several classes at once? Shouldn’t teachers have common planning time? Should students with disabilities be clustered together in one or two classes or spread out? Who should schedule students?
General Solutions Professional development must focus on the various methods proven successful for scheduling students and for creating common planning time. In addition, research suggests that teachers need specific guidance on how to use common planning for the purposes of inclusive practices and avoid having that time taken over by other activities.
Organizational
The school, as an organization, faces challenges when implementing inclusive practices. The overall culture of the school must facilitate the premises behind inclusive education, which means embracing all students and taking responsibility for each student individually. Administrators play a huge role in this challenge because they set the tone for the entire school.
To create an inclusive environment, the school culture must be inclusive from the language used to communicate to parents and the community, to its facilities and even administrative practices. For example, in an inclusive school, there is not a separate student handbook for typical students and those with disabilities and the facilities are not earmarked as separate.
Commonly asked questions include: How do we get administrators to support this? How do we build a community of educators who believe that all children can learn? What do we say to parents as we build more inclusive schools?
General Solutions One of the most important initial professional development experiences should include a school-wide discussion or study of what inclusive education is meant to be which includes an opportunity to clarify any misconceptions and myths that exist from pop culture-like understanding of what inclusive education is supposed to be. Administrators should take opportunities to network with others who have implemented inclusive practices to talk about the positives and potential pit-falls.
Legal
Many questions arise concerning a wide range of legal issues when schools are moving toward inclusive practices. Often, there is a great level of mis-information regarding what the laws require, what teachers can do, and how schools should implement inclusive practices.
Common questions: Who is legally responsible for the instruction and grades of students with disabilities? What can I legally do as a teacher when working with students with disabilities? What does the law require for modifications? How are grades marked on report cards if they are modified? Can a special education teacher work with non-disabled students? What is the difference between a 504 Plan and a IEP?
General Solutions Professional development should focus on clarifying the No Child Left Behind Act (ESEA), the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, and all state and local procedures. It is important to use a qualified person to explain these laws in relationship to the daily practices of the classroom.
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