Lesson 7: Meeting the Needs of Learners with Learning Difficulties

“Disability in all its forms has always been a naturally occurring part of human diversity (Hansen, 2014, p. 152).”

"Reaffirming the right to education of every individual, as enshrined in the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and renewing the pledge made by the world community at the 1990 World Conference on Education for All to ensure that right for all regardless of individual differences (Hansen, 2014, p. 158).”

The Challenge of Inclusive Education

"Inclusive education presents a more profound challenge than simply ‘integrating’ children, i.e. putting them in a mainstream setting and providing support so they can ‘fit in’ (Hansen, 2014, p. 158).”

"Rejecting segregation or exclusion of learners for whatever reason – ability, gender, language, care status, family income, disability, sexuality, colour, religion or ethnic origin; maximising the participation of all learners in the community schools of their choice; making learning more meaningful and relevant for all, particularly those learners most vulnerable to exclusionary pressure; rethinking and restructuring policies, curricula, culture and practices in schools and learning environments so that diverse learning needs can be met, whatever the origin or nature of those needs (Hansen, 2014, p. 158).”

In some countries the term is synonymous with integration or special education, terms that can result in segregation and exclusion for some young people.

Educational psychologists often act as "gatekeepers" watching over inclusive practices.

Pragmatic Approach to Creating Inclusive Environments

"While efficacy studies control and compare the outcomes of different settings, pragmatic approaches find examples of ‘what works’ and build a model of inclusion from this knowledge. Beginning from a premise that an inclusive classroom should be able to deliver curriculum subjects to all pupils within it, an international systematic review identified several factors that were associated with successful outcomes (Hansen, 2014, p. 161).”

Application to my future career: What I learned this week can easily be applied to my future career as a social sciences teacher in some capacity in a secondary educational setting is simple; this week's coursework helped reaffirm the fact that every individual, regardless of disability in any of it;s forms, has the right to an equal and appropriate education. in my efforts to always find a better way to keep my students engaged, if i find something that works, stick with it, and build upon those ideas to try and reach a greater audience so that I can create the inclusive educational environment that ALL students deserve.