Inclusion is defined as: “all students are presumed competent, are welcomed as valued members of all general education classes and extra-curricular activities in their school, fully participate and learn alongside their same age peers in general education instruction based on the general education curriculum, and experience reciprocal social relationships.“
And numerous studies show positive effects of inclusion, including:
- higher expectations for student learning
- improved communication and social skills
- more satisfying and diverse social relationships
- improved academic outcomes in ELA and math
- better quality IEPs
- improved outcomes in education, employment, and independent living.
When we are facilitating inclusion, we want to make sure that we are actually facilitating inclusion. It’s crucial to know how to facilitate inclusion because if inclusion is executed well, it can be a positively defining moment in the life of every student in the classroom.
Inclusion is as much for the student with an IEP as it is for the general education students in the classroom. After all, special education students are general education students first. This means that If inclusion is executed poorly, it can be equally as defining for all students, but in a detrimental way.
Inclusion is a team effort.
When students with disabilities are included into a general education classroom, collaboration and communication are paramount between teachers. It’s important to avoid the dreaded “my student” or “your student” labels. Special education students are general education students first, and they are OUR students.
Special education teachers, general education teachers, and related service providers need to work together through co-teaching and collaborative planning to make inclusion happen. Inclusion means students with disabilities learn alongside their peers in general education classrooms for the majority (if not all) of the day, receiving their individualized accommodations and modifications, SDI, and other supports and services while remaining in the general education classroom.
True inclusion requires a culture of acceptance from school leaders, teachers, staff, and peers. It’s not just in one classroom.
Inclusion is planned.
Often times, inclusive practices are reactive to the needs of specific students entering a classroom. An example might be rearranging the classroom furniture so that it will accommodate a new student who uses a wheelchair, or adding visuals to the classroom anchor charts to support a student with autism.
What if the furniture was always spaced to accommodate a variety of students, and what if visuals were always utilized to support students who learn best this way?
It’s often said that the supports we use for students with disabilities are actually best practice and good for ALL students. If we, as special educators, can support our general education teachers with room and curriculum set up, it will make inclusion a much more normal and smoother process.
Inclusion is ever changing.
Have you ever had a student whose reinforcer changes what seems like every single day? Who responds to an intervention during one unit, but that same intervention falls flat when you introduce a new concept? Our brains are complex and our students are no exception to that!
With these constant changes and adaptations, we can’t expect our inclusive classrooms to stay stagnant and still support our students well.
Engaging in regular meetings to collaborate, evaluate, and reflect on the effectiveness of instruction and inclusive practices is SO important to the success of inclusion. This requires a high level of flexibility and responsiveness, but as a communicative team, it’s possible to keep up with the fluctuating needs of our students.
Inclusion is for everyone.
Singling out students and groups, pulling students out of the room for every intervention – is this inclusion? This sounds more like mainstreaming.
The terms mainstreaming and inclusion in education are often used interchangeably, but they have distinct meanings and approaches to integrating students with disabilities into general education settings.
Mainstreaming refers to placing students with disabilities in general education classrooms only when they can meet traditional academic expectations with minimal support. The focus of mainstreaming is primarily on academic performance and readiness to participate in a general education setting, and the expectation is for the student to “keep up” with their typically developing peers and adapt to the general education curriculum.
Whereas, inclusion is a philosophy that promotes educating all students with disabilities in general education classrooms with appropriate supports and accommodations with the expectation that the classroom adapts to the needs of diverse learners, rather than expecting students to conform to traditional norms.
When we remind ourselves consistently that inclusion is for everyone – and we focus on actual inclusion – it can really help shape the way we deliver services in inclusive settings.
Can a 1:1 aide support a student in a small, mixed ability group? Sure!
Can a speech language pathologist push in to a social science lesson to deliver services a few times per month? Why not!
Can the entire class have the option to record a video rather than write an essay for a science assignment, instead of just the student with an IEP? Yes!
Creating opportunities for inclusion is more than just plopping the student into a general education classroom, it’s also about creating an environment where they thrive.
Inclusion is Not…
- Placing students in general education classrooms without supports or an over-reliance on pull-out services as the primary model of supports.
Simply putting a student with a disability in a general education classroom without appropriate accommodations, modifications, or teacher collaboration is not inclusion. And while some students benefit from specialized instruction outside the classroom, an over-reliance on pull-out services (e.g., sending students to a resource room for most of the day) is not inclusive.
- Having separate expectations and activities for disabled students, or isolating students during lessons.
Inclusion does not mean every student learns in the same way. Effective inclusion requires differentiation, scaffolding, and multiple ways to demonstrate learning, but that does not mean that students should be given completely different assignments or lower expectations that prevent them from being part of the class community.
There are many factors that make inclusion work. We can call many experiences “inclusive”, but that does not ensure that we are executing inclusion well. True inclusion means creating a classroom and school culture where all students – regardless of ability – are valued, supported, and given equitable opportunities to learn and thrive. It requires intentional planning, collaboration, and commitment from educators, administrators, and the school community.
Reflecting on our practices, prioritizing team work, planning for inclusive experiences, and engaging in inclusive learning for everyone are meaningful ways to ensure that you’re not just engaging in inclusion, but doing it well.
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