Grasping the Promise of Inclusion.

N

26

Accountability; Disabilities; Educational History; Educational Legislation; Educational Trends; Elementary Secondary Education; Federal Legislation; Inclusive Schools; Mainstreaming; Mental Retardation; Program Development; Regular and Special Education Relationship; Special Education; Teaching Models; Trend Analysis

A teacher and mother of a child with mental retardation examined the history and current status of the inclusion movement. A review of the historical background considers the origins of special education, the Education for All Handicapped Children Act of 1975, major court cases, and requirements of the 1997 amendments to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act requiring that all children be considered for regular class placement regardless of the severity of the disability. The next section reviews research on inclusion of special education students in regular classrooms and issues of accountability. Discussion of what inclusion is focuses on 14 things that inclusion is not and then describes several inclusion models including co-teaching, use of a methods and resources teacher or an inclusion specialist, and such teaching methods as multilevel instruction, cooperative learning, activity-based learning, mastery learning, technology use, peer support, and tutoring programs. Examples of "typical" inclusive classrooms are followed by a review of research on the benefits of inclusion. The final sections address the following topics: what it takes for inclusion to be successful; whether inclusion can work for every disabled child; program implementation; overcoming resistance to change; and the effects of inclusion over the long term. (Contains 28 references.) (DB)

2003

ED471855