The models of inclusive education: goals, implementation, methodology and evaluation

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Ternopil Volodymyr Hnatiuk National Pedagogical University

The models of inclusive education: goals, implementation, methodology and evaluation

Danaikokkali, PhD student Department

of English Philology and Methodics of English Learning

Abstract

The aim of this article is to outline the models of inclusive education. Furthermore, the article highlights the goals, implementation, methodology and evaluation of inclusive education models. The relevance of the problem under consideration is that the inclusion phenomenon is an expression of every child's right to educational equality, remains an important moral and political issue that needs to be addressed further. The feature of inclusive education is the willingness of teachers to accept students with special educational needs. Their attitudes and knowledge about inclusive education are important, as they are indicators of such willingness. The results of the study show that the role of teachers in inclusive education-coeducation programs is very important and great as the teacher is the lever to mobilize such models of inclusive education. The implementation of co-education programs for children with or without special educational needs increases the quality of education because they achieve co-education, interaction of children with and without special educational needs, while promoting the interest of all students for mutual acceptance and improvement of interpersonal relationships.

Key words: models of inclusive education, teachers' role, special needs, co-education.

Анотація

Моделі інклюзивної освіти:цілі, впровадження, методологія та оцінка

Данаікоккалі, аспірантка кафедри англійської філології та методики навчання англійської мови, Тернопільський національний педагогічний університет імені Володимира Гнатюка, Україна

У статті окреслено моделі інклюзивної освіти. Крім того, висвітлено цілі, методи впровадження, методологію та оцінку моделей. Автором доведено, що явище інклюзії є виявом права кожної дитини на рівність в освіті, а особливість інклюзивної освіти полягає в готовності вчителів приймати учнів з особливими освітніми потребами. Подано дослідження, які підтверджують, що роль учителів у програмах інклюзивної та змішаної освіти є дуже важливою. Автором доведено, що реалізація програм спільної освіти для дітей з особливими освітніми потребами або без них підвищує якість освіти, оскільки вони забезпечують змішану освіту, взаємодію дітей зі спеціальними освітніми потребами та без них, сприяючи зацікавленості всіх учнів у взаємному прийнятті та вдосконаленні міжособистісних стосунків.

Ключові слова: моделі інклюзивної освіти, роль учителя, особливі потреби, змішана освіта.

Introduction

Problem statement. Inclusive education is a relatively new form of educational support for people with disabilities. Its main features are that children with and without special needs coexist in the same schools, in the same classrooms with all their peers, participating in the teaching process according to their abilities and needs. In this context, the support of all students is attempted, regardless of cognitive, cultural or other peculiarities and the phenomena of removal, marginalization and negative social perceptions and opinions are limited.

However, the institution of co-education has gone through various stages over time, depending on the legislation and the various social, economic and political situations. In particular, one of the most important moves was in 2000 when the special classes were renamed to integration classes as an indication of measures to facilitate the inclusion of children with special educational needs in the "general" school. Also, the P. D. (1319 / г.Г. / 10.10.2002) legitimizes the possibility of the special educator to support the student with special educational needs in the context of the general class and for the first time the joint cooperation of the two teachers with the aim of operating a specific educational program is mentioned (Soulis, 2008). Finally, in 2008 the relevant law (3699/2008) refers again to the cooperation of general and special education teachers for the better support of the student with special needs while for the first time it is mentioned that students can attend a class of the "general" School with parallel support-co-education.

Regarding the organization of daily teaching there are three models of co-education:

1. The full co-education of the child in the general classroom with the simultaneous support of the teacher by a touring teacher.

2. The full co-education of the child in the general classroom with two teachers in the same room.

3. The partial co-education of the child in the general classroom and the simultaneous attendance of an integration school or remedial teaching department (Polychronopoulou, 2003a).

In terms of the purposes of inclusive education, a more general answer we could all receive is that co-education aims at the overall improvement of the living conditions of a child with special needs (Polychronopoulou, 2003a). Within this general improvement is their education (Michailidis, 2009). It is the right of every child to be an active member of the school, to participate in the experiences given to the school community and to have full access to the educational system which must be shaped in such a way that it meets the specific needs and abilities of each child (Farell, 2004).

More specifically, diversity at any level of school life is an occasion for learning and further improvement of the whole school community and not a problem. Through co-education, the "labeling" and grouping / categorization of the system starting from school is eliminated. Co-education, in addition to the spatial placement of the student with special educational needs, is undergoing significant changes such as organizational and structural, in order to better serve the needs of all students and this is a very important reason to impose this form of education. Equally important is the fact that in co-education the possibility of individualized teaching is given as a right of every student and not only in the context of special education..

The implementation of co-education programs for children with or without special educational needs increases the quality of education because they achieve co-education, interaction of children with and without special educational needs, while promoting the interest of all students for mutual acceptance and improvement of interpersonal relationships (Allan, 1999; Armstrong, 2003).

However, in order for there to be an improvement in their education and, consequently, in their lives, some basic principles concerning their co-education should be observed. First of all, the decision for the participation of each child in a class of co-education must be taken individually and with the appropriate evaluation. Then, if the child meets the conditions to attend co-education programs, his/her integration should be done gradually. Furthermore, both the curriculum and the individualized assessment should be prepared and always be available for the best course and development of the child (Michailidis, 2009). Regarding the evaluation of the child, it should be emphasized that it ought be frequent and that it is mainly the responsibility of his/her teacher.

The aim of the article is to outline the models of inclusive education. Furthermore, the article highlights the goals, implementation, methodology and evaluation of inclusive education models.

The main material of the article

From time to time, several models or programs for the inclusive education of children with and without special educational needs have been implemented. At this point, it will be presented the most well-known co-education models which are the "Learning Society", the "Adapted Learning Environments" model, "Success for All", "Beginners and Advanced Students", "Class in the Classroom" and "20/20 Analysis: A Tool for Pedagogical Assessment and Teaching Design" (Soulis, 2008).

The first model is called "Learning Society" and aims to ensure the best possible learning conditions for students in collaboration with various learning environments such as school, family and society in general. This model refers to all children regardless of age and educational level. The main characteristics are the teaching strategies and the analytical methods (Soulis, 2008).

The model includes two stages:

• the educational evaluation of the student according to the curriculum;

• the planning for the implementation of the program in relation to the school community, as well as with wider environments of the student as mentioned above. The model envisages the presence of a coordinator for each school, who undertakes both the training of teachers and the supervision of the program and the cooperation of those involved in the program (Wang et al., 1985). It also involves the effective involvement of parents, as it is considered that their active participation in school activities contributes to the student's performance (Lindsay & Dockrell, 2004).

The "Adapted Learning Environments" model is recommended for kindergarten or elementary school children, however it can be applied to older students with appropriate adaptations. The main purpose of the program is the essential integration of each student in the school community (Soulis, 2008). The main goal of the program is to focus on the individual needs, but also peculiarities, of each student based on his/her own pace. To achieve this, individual progress plans are created for each student, where the whole educational process is analyzed. An integral part of the program is the ongoing evaluation based on recorded measurements according to the curriculum. Some of the teaching methods used are direct teaching at the individual or class level, the collaborative method as well as th collaborative learning by pairs of students (Wang, et al., 1985).

The "Success for all" model is designed to develop reading, writing, oral and written skills within the syllabus. Initially, this program was designed for children attending kindergarten and/or the first three grades of primary school. However, the students of other classes were also included (Slavin & Madden, 2001). Factors that are crucial to the success of the program are related to the early treatment of reading difficulties, the priority in students with low performance, the continuous evaluation, appropriate techniques and methods (such as collaborative learning and individualized teaching), collaboration of teachers, parents and of all those involved in the program (Slavin et al., 1996).

As mentioned above, the program focuses on developing reading and writing skills. Based on this goal, students are divided into reading groups according to their level of reading ability and not according to the class they attend to. The program is implemented in two phases: in the first phase the students practice in the mechanism of reading, through activities of phonological awareness, while in the second phase there are comprehension and production exercises of written speech in groups of 4-5 students (Lane, et al., 2002). As for the students with serious learning difficulties, it is reported that they may be given additional personalized teaching for a short period of time (20 minutes), outside the classroom.

The "Beginners and Advanced Students" model is considered an extension of the model mentioned earlier, namely "Success for All". This model refers to areas such as reading, writing, mathematics and social skills and is aimed at students from pre-kin- dergarten level to sixth grade (Slavin & Madden, 2000). The program is mainly applied to students who have high rates of school failure. However, it also refers to students with special educational needs, for whom it is argued that they should be educated within the general school and co-edu- cated with their classmates (Slavin et al., 1996). The purpose of the model is to develop opportunities for reading ability, basic skills and knowledge, cultivate critical thinking and the ability to solve problems through the process of discovery (Soulis, 2008). The program consists of two parts.

The first part aims at the development of basic mental and cognitive skills, while the second part seeks to develop higher forms of learning but also to change the mood and attitude towards learning. In order to achieve all this, various forms of teaching are used, such as experiential learning, individualized and collaborative teaching. The main point is that students are assigned group tasks with the goal of developing individual and group responsibility.

The "Class in the Classroom" model refers to children with mild to moderate mental retardation who attend the general classroom. A key element of the model is the coexistence of the teacher of general and special education in the form of co-teaching (Konnor et al. 2006). When implementing the model, the teacher teaches the students without special educational needs the material provided, while at the same time the special education teacher presents the same material adapted to the needs and capabilities of students with special educational needs. The purpose of the model and its basic principle is to offer students equal learning opportunities (Soulis, 2008). A special feature of this model is the pedagogical evaluation of students, which is carried out at different times in order to determine their abilities and weaknesses, so as to identify educational objectives and to make any adjustments whenever it is considered useful. In teaching, teachers use a variety of techniques such as frequently asked questions, teamwork, practicing skills and presenting new knowledge at different levels of difficulty.

The "20/20 Analysis" model aims to identify students in a class or school that belong to the 20% of the lowest and highest student population, according to their academic performance. More specifically, the program is aimed at students belonging to high-risk groups of school failure either because they are students with mental retardation or from low socioeconomic background or may even be gifted children (Sharpe, & Johnson, 2001). This model is implemented in two phases, where the first includes the process of pedagogical evaluation and the second phase the alternative ways of teaching (Reynoldetal., 1993). Initially, in the first phase, the most comprehensive assessment of information about the student's abilities and needs is sought, so that appropriate educational intervention can be created later. children education inclusive special

The assessment tools that can be used can vary and may be weighted tests, informal assessment tools or the syllabus itself. In the second phase, all alternative teaching methods are examined in order to provide the appropriate educational support to the specific students (Reynold et al., 1993). A key element in this phase is the cooperation and teamwork of all those who attend this program.

However, it is important to find out the role of teachers in Inclusive Education Programs. In inclusive education programs, an important element is the cooperation of both teachers with each other and with the students. As far as children with special educational needs are concerned, their co-education is related to the collective responsibility of the whole school community and not only of the class teacher or the special education teacher.

The separation of the roles of teachers and the cooperation between teachers within the school community can affect the co-education of children either positively, which is desirable or negatively. This fact was observed through a research conducted in France on teachers working in S.E. schools. Unclear separation of roles was observed, and as a result the co-education program was not properly functioning and on the other hand there was strong concern on the part of parents about the effectiveness of this program (Ebersold, S., 2003).

Regarding the cooperation between teachers and students in the context of S.E., teachers should have discussions with students so that they do not distinguish their classmate due to his cognitive, behavioral or even external differences. Also, another responsibility of the teacher is to recognize the achievements of the child with peculiarities in obvious ways (Soulis, 2008). At this point, a very interesting program that took place in England from the University of Manchester will be described, concerning the collaboration of teachers working in S.E. schools, with a team of the University which included students and university professors. Through this program, the teachers, as well as the academics, came together and discussed the teaching methods they used for the children they had taken on. Through these meetings and discussions, as well as the information they received about each case of the students they had, the teachers themselves were informed about other methods used by their colleagues and which could be quite effective for their own cases of students.

Although at the beginning the teachers themselves were very wary of this collaboration, but also of the role that academics would play in their work, they definitely benefited in the process and were quite open to the development of this program (A inscow, Howes, Farrell, & Frankham, 2003). Certainly, the requirements of coeducation are many and the doubts of teachers regarding the effectiveness of these programs in the traditional conditions of the course have been strongly and repeatedly pointed out. Most of their criticism focuses on the inadequacy of teaching time, the possible inappropriateness of the programs, but also on the possible burden on the rest of the students in the class.

However, the majority of teachers also report a lack of the necessary knowledge and skills that are essential to achieving co-education programs. However, the greater number of shortages of most teachers is not so much the subject of special Pedagogy as that of teaching methodology, ie it is not related to their readiness in relation to knowledge and educational programs but to their ability to approach different children with different methods (Soulis, 2002). What needs to be understood is that not all students learn at the same pace and in the same way, so that a different approach to teaching design and a different support structure is needed. They also cite as obstacles to the coeducation of children with and without special educational needs, the building infrastructure of schools and the lack of appropriate supervisory means (Tafa, 1998).

Conclusions

In addition to the basic principles that must be observed, there are also certain conditions for the implementation of inclusive education. These conditions focus on coeducation policy strategies and on whether those involved in an inclusive education program are committed to implementing them. For this reason, the principles and purposes of the program should be the result of all participants. It would also be a good idea to accurately describe the measures they propose to each other for their daily school life. Also, the applied tactics they choose will include methods of continuous evaluation so that it is possible to achieve the goals. Finally, regarding the participants in the inclusive education, good and substantial cooperation is required, setting as a separate and personal goal for each of them the success of their program.

But the role of teachers in inclusive education-co-education programs is very important and great as the teacher is the lever to mobilize such a program. The success or failure of the program depends on him. The achievement of the program requires common goals and plans and new methods of cooperation, something that has not happened much until today. This requires both general education teachers and special education teachers to acquire new skills in areas such as organization, counseling and communication, skills that in themselves require continuous improvement of teachers

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