Special education's zombies and their consequences

Zombies are defined as ideas or persistent myths that should have died out but have not. Special education's biggest zombie is that only full inclusion brings about true social justice and the most effective education for students with disabilities. Three examples of specific zombies about full inclusion are presented. First, that full inclusion has been internationally accepted policy since the Salamanca Statement in 1994. Second, that the feasibility of full inclusion has been demonstrated in some countries. Third, that there is extensive evidence that inclusion is more effective that special education. Six strategies that have been used to promote these inclusion zombies to the general public and legislators in various countries around the world are discussed. These are: reframing the problem; denying its reality; portraying special education as something of which most people disapprove; presenting full inclusion as something most people want; making the distinction between the two maximally stark; casting all challenges to the zombie as addressing the wrong question or relying on flawed research and demanding unthinking belief in full inclusion. It is concluded that special education's zombies related to full inclusion must be exposed, challenged and finally eradicated so that future education provision for children with disabilities can focus on achievable goals and evidence of effectiveness rather than placement.

Key points

• Special education's biggest zombie is that only full inclusion will bring true social justice to schooling because special education is essentially an inappropriate way of dealing with diversity; is a relic of the last century, unfairly discriminatory and exclusionary.
• Three inclusion zombies are: that full inclusion was recommended by the Salamanca Framework; that full inclusion has been shown to be a feasible approach to meeting all special needs; and that there is convincing research evidence that inclusion is more effective than special education. All three zombies are false but widely disseminated.
• Six strategies are used to promote full inclusion zombies: reframe the nature of the problem; deny the reality of the situation; portray special education as something generally disapproved of; present inclusion as something most people want; make a stark distinction between the two; cast all challenges to the zombie as flawed.
• Full inclusion zombies must be exposed, challenged, and eradicated, so that continued development of theory, research and practice in the education of young people with special needs can once again be the main focus of educators in this field.

     

The antithesis of inclusion? The emergence and functioning of ADHD special education classes in the Swedish school system

The neuropsychiatric paradigm has substantial impact on schools. The increase in the number of pupils being diagnosed with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is an expression of the medicalisation of deviance. There is also an increase in educational classes specially designed to meet the needs of children with ADHD. This is contrary to the notion of inclusion and in conflict with the Swedish school law. Thus, it is important to obtain knowledge about Swedish ADHD classes. A questionnaire was sent to all Swedish municipalities (290, response rate 76%) regarding schooling for pupils with ADHD. As many as 40 Swedish municipalities have classes specifically designed for pupils with ADHD. Although the classes are said to be specifically designed for ADHD problems, they are not properly evaluated. Municipalities with ADHD classes also exhibit ambivalence towards these classes. The emergence, prevalence and functioning of the ADHD classes are discussed in light of the notion of inclusive education.     

‘My success as a teacher amazes me each and every day’ – perspectives of teachers with learning disabilities

The purpose of the article is to study the development of educational policy in Norway in the field of the unitary school system and to analyse whether the development can be seen as a move towards increasing inclusion. The educational policy, when seen over a long time span, has progressively aimed towards the development of a common compulsory school that has embraced increasingly more groups, across social and geographical divides. At the same time, the development has been characterised by discord and tensions, e.g. between standardisation and differentiation, coordination and special arrangements and organisational and pedagogical differentiation. Gradually, it was stressed that as many pupils as possible should be allowed to live and grow up at home and that special education was to be coordinated with the ordinary school as much as possible. Later on, inclusive education has been clearly formulated as a principle of education. It did assume a broadening of responsibility for the ordinary schools in order to develop an educational programme that can accommodate the diverse learning needs of all pupils. It is pointed out that the policy of the unitary school has to deal with a lot of critical dilemmas for moving further towards inclusion.     

Teacher and parental views on inclusive education policy lending in the Czech Republic

In international education policy articulations by organisations such as the UNESCO, inclusive education is defined rather vaguely, usually in terms of human rights. Yet, national reception it is more or less taken for granted. Analyses of policy lending show that when national education traditions are not respected, the lack of clarity about the concrete form of inclusion is further augmented by resistance to a foreign import. Taking the example of the implementation of inclusive education in the Czech Republic, a secondary analysis of survey results on responses from teachers and parents is presented. This analysis contributes to a better understanding of the reactions of two groups of actors who have had only a marginal involvement in preparing the implementation of inclusion; specifically, teachers at ordinary schools and parents of pupils with special education needs. Teachers are critical of inclusion, which they regard as special care for individual pupils with special education needs. It is only in schools which have lengthy experience with integration that a transformation of the school culture and the teaching profession in the direction of greater teamwork has taken place. The imperative of inclusion coming from above is regarded more as interference with what is a spontaneous development. The view of parents to pupils with special education needs was that systemic support to inclusion was lacking. Parents are forced to be intermediaries between other actors, but often do not have enough information and are not respected by teachers as experts on their children.     

Inclusion seen by student teachers in special education: differences among Finnish,Norwegian and Swedish students

This article describes various views of special teacher students towards inclusion. In order to examine these, we analysed a series of statements made by students in Finland, Norway and Sweden. The specific aims were to see how these views can be seen as supportive or challenging for inclusion in schools. A questionnaire with one closed question and two open-ended questions was used in all countries. The results show that students in similar Nordic countries have different views about inclusion. Norwegian students mostly supported inclusion while Finnish students expressed the most reservations. The arguments about inclusion by Norwegian students were the most pupil-focused; those by Finns were teacher-focused, with Swedes being in between. The results seem to reflect the educational policy in these countries. Discussions, more information, as well as good models of inclusion seem to be needed. The implications of these findings for special and regular teacher education are also discussed.     

Do different routes to becoming a special educator produce different understandings of the profession and its core concepts?

There are multiple routes to becoming a special educator in Norway. In recent years, bachelor's degree programmes have offered an alternative to the traditional path in which special education coursework is taken as a part of teacher education. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether these different programmes produce different understandings of the special education profession and its core concepts. We surveyed 27 bachelor students and 36 teacher education students using open-ended questions concerning their future goals and expectations and the concepts of ‘inclusion,’ ‘learning disability,’ and ‘special educator’. Teacher education students were more likely to: (a) view inclusion from a broad perspective, emphasizing a sense of belonging and community, (b) define the concept of learning disability from a categorical perspective, and (c) perceive special educators as essentially ‘expert’ teachers for children with special needs. Bachelor’s degree students also emphasized special educators’ role in supporting individuals with special needs, yet were more likely to apply a relational perspective when describing the concept of learning disability.     

When differences do not matter: inclusion in a Mexican primary school / Cuando las diferencias no importan: la inclusión en una escuela primaria mexicana

Studies show that disability is a cause of educational exclusion worldwide. Different countries adopt different views of the inclusion movement. Different variables seem to be associated with the success or failure of inclusion. This study takes place in a primary school located in Mexico. It aims to identify how inclusion is experienced by children with and without special needs, and the connections between inclusion and quality of life. Measures utilized were the questionnaire My Primary School from the Index for Inclusion and the Questionnaires on Assessment of Quality of Life for Children, self-report, and parents’ report. Participants are 69 regular students and 15 students with special education needs. Self-reports from regular children and proxy reports from the mothers of the special education needs students were analysed. Results indicated that there is an association between perceived inclusion and experiencing quality of life; having special needs does not impact on scores on QoL or inclusion; educational level does not impact on perceived QoL or inclusion for special education students. These results are discussed in light of a culture that appreciates diversity.     

采取有力措施,促进残疾儿童教育权利平等和机会公平——六论残疾儿童教育公平

为促进我国残疾儿童教育的权利与机会公平,针对我国残疾儿童教育现状,作者建议制定特殊教育法、加大执法力度,从而保障残疾儿童教育权利的平等;建立特殊的教育财政投资制度,全面普及残疾儿童义务教育,优化教育结构,从而促进残疾儿童教育机会公平。     

Partnerships between special and mainstream schools

Mainstreaming and inclusion of students with special educational needs in regular education, challenge traditional concepts and common practices. Traditionally, special education has been a parallel yet separate educational system. Even though there is almost universal agreement on the goals of inclusion and mainstreaming, special education schools have proved to be resilient and still exist in many countries. One approach to promoting the goal of inclusion is the establishment of collaborative partnerships between special and mainstream schools. This paper will discuss models of such partnerships based on a literature review and visits to partner special and mainstream schools in Israel. Positive elements of these partnerships as well as challenges involved are presented.     

ADHD in the context of Finnish basic education

Students with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) are a growing group served under special education services in many western societies. This article describes the history and current state of the services, as well as the assessment procedure. Our conclusion is that the status of students with ADHD in Finnish basic education (Grades 1 to 9) is still unclear. Based on the comparison of the prevalence and the population served in special education we can assume that this group is probably underserved in the Finnish school system. We also present findings from two recent studies among families with ADHD children in Finland. Family viewpoint can contribute to our knowledge and understanding about the diversity of the symptoms’ manifestation as well as the extent and completeness of the possible outcomes of the disorder. In the context of schooling, studying these families’ viewpoints can be of additional use in evaluating the present state of school practices in relation to institutional enactments established in educational acts. Future challenges about meeting the variety of pupils’ needs according to inclusive pedagogy are discussed.     

Exploring the views and beliefs of parents of typically developing children about inclusion and inclusive education

Background: The inclusion of pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SENDs) in regular classrooms has been identified as a high priority in many policy documents published by both European and international organisations. Its implementation, however, is influenced by a number of factors, some of which are directly related to the participation and attitudes of different stakeholders, including parents of typically developing children. Parents, as a social group, can act in favour of inclusion or they can support more segregated educational environments.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to explore, in a Greek context, the views and beliefs of parents of typically developing children about different aspects of the education of children with disabilities, with a particular focus on inclusion and inclusive education.

Method: Interviews were held with 40 Greek parents representing 40 typically developing school-aged children who were educated in six different primary education schools, from the broader area of central Greece. All of the children, at the time of the study, were educated in mainstream classes, in which an in-classroom support system was applied. Open-ended interview questions focused on parents’ views and beliefs about the implementation of inclusive educational programmes. Data were analysed according to the principles of an inductive data-driven approach.

Findings: The research findings indicate that most of the participant parents did not feel informed about specific school policy practices relevant to inclusive education; they were not aware of the notion of ‘inclusion’ or approached inclusion from an integrationist point of view. Within this context, they hold positive to neutral attitudes towards inclusion, on the basis that a child with SENDs can cope with the school requirements.

Conclusions: This small-scale, exploratory research study suggests the importance of informing and involving parents of typically developing children in efforts to promote more inclusive practices.     

Children and youth in behavioural and emotional difficulties,skyrocketing diagnosis and inclusion/exclusion processes in school tendencies in Denmark

In parallel with a national school policy on an inclusive school with a marked reduction in the number of pupils who, due to their disruptive behaviour, are referred to educational provisions outside of the ordinary school environment, a sharp rise has been seen in the number of children and teenagers who are given a clinical diagnosis, first and foremost that of ADHD (Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorders). Over just a few years, the skyrocketing of diagnoses has turned notions of children and teenagers with emotional and behavioural difficulties upside down. From being young people who should ‘just pull themselves together and behave properly’ many have become pupils with a neurological dysfunction that requires treatment. The article provides insight into how diagnoses over very few years have come into focus in schools and in special needs education, and how this has made a deep impression and changed understandings of the best possible special and general educational provisions for children and teenagers with behavioural and learning difficulties. The article focuses on trends in Denmark and therefore builds primarily on Danish sources.     

An analysis of the discourses on attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in US special education textbooks,with implications for inclusive education

The purpose of this paper is to examine the discourses on attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) found in textbooks used in pre-service special education programmes in the USA. Five textbooks are examined with the intent of discovering how ADHD is portrayed to future teachers. A discourse analysis framework is utilised, revealing five categories that structure the discourses of textbooks: definition, causes, symptoms, characteristics, and treatment. Examples of each are provided, followed by a critical analysis of the underlying meanings and assumptions. The analysis reveals an overwhelmingly medicalised narrative in which children diagnosed with ADHD are presented as inherently dysfunctional and devoid of positive characteristics. Two implications of this analysis are suggested: (1) teachers are likely to limit their pedagogical responses to these children in favour of relying upon medical knowledge and (2) teachers are apt to construct policy that is inconsistent with the goal of inclusive education to embrace diversity in the classroom. Lastly, the importance of exposing pre-service teachers to an alternative discourse on ADHD is discussed.     

Parents' attitudes to inclusion of their children with special needs

This study investigated the attitudes of 354 Australian parents who have a child with a disability and who attends a state school in Queensland. The types of disability of the children were broadly in accordance with accepted prevalence figures, except for a greater number reported as having autistic spectrum disorder and fewer students with a learning difficulty/attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. The children were in a range of classes, from special schools to schools where there was in-class help from a special teacher or teacher aide. Many of the parents favoured inclusion, some would if additional resources were provided, and a small group of parents favoured special placement. There were a limited number of negative attitudes to inclusion reported by the parents, and though some parents thought that some need existed for in-service education about inclusion, this was not a widespread view.     

Creating spaces to belong: listening to the voice of girls with behavioural,emotional and social difficulties through digital visual and narrative methods

While interest in the voice of children and young people has grown alongside concern for their rights and participation, for those excluded from mainstream education or with a label of behavioural, emotional and social difficulties, the issue of student voice takes on particular relevance. Yet the voices of these young people, and particularly girls, are often hidden and unheard both in education and educational research. Using digital visual and narrative methods we have been listening to girls excluded from mainstream education. They attend Kahlo School, a small special, girl-only secondary provision in the south of England, and our focus has been on gathering their views as stakeholders in the school and engaging them in curriculum and school development. In this paper, we reflect on the affordances of visual and digital methods and on how the girls perceive their educational inclusion and exclusion. We discuss the themes of space, identity, relationships and community that have emerged from analysis of the data, and conclude by outlining the importance of the core messages about belonging and not belonging that we heard in the girls' accounts.     

Discussing inclusive education: an inquiry into different interpretations and a search for ethical aspects of inclusion using the capabilities approach

Inclusive education emerged as an idea within United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization’s Special Education Unit and was presented as a new way ahead at the ‘World Conference on Special Needs Education’ in Salamanca in 1994. Since then, it has been on the global agenda as the overriding political objective within education. In spite of this, the international agreement, on an ideological basis, was not initially founded on a common interpretation of the meaning of ‘inclusive education’. However, the Salamanca Statement reflected clearly the idea of overcoming the divide between regular and special education. After 20 years, a vast amount of research and numerous reports and national strategies for implementing inclusive education, there are in these a lack of agreement over a common interpretation of inclusive education. Since 1994, the concept inclusive education has explored the world, so to say, without having landed, and the effort of giving it a clear working definition has thus far been elusive. In order to create a possible common ground for the mutual interpretation of inclusive education, I argue that it is important to see inclusion as an ethical issue. It is crucial to ask again what the purpose of inclusion is. To this end, it is vital to see inclusive education not just as a social and structural matter about how various aspects of a school are organized to meet diverse children’s needs in terms of personnel, pedagogical methods, materials and cultural structures, but also to see inclusive education as an ethical issue. Inclusion impinges on ethical questions because it is for the purpose of something. It conveys something that is valuable. Consequently, I find it pertinent to investigate the ethical aspects of inclusion. I do so in this article, firstly, by juxtaposing different interpretations for inclusive education in the literature. Secondly, I suggest some ethical aspects of inclusion in light of the so-called ‘capabilities’ approach.     

运用新的评估方式提高随班就读质量的初步设想——"融合教育"的视角

中国的随班就读在接收残疾儿童入学上已取得了很大的成功,但随班就读的质量一直是困扰人们的一大难题。结合国际融合教育的理念,文章从评估入手,探讨了评估在促进随班就读方面的重要意义,并分别介绍了课程本位评估、真实性评估、动态性评估以及生态评估在随班就读中的运用,以期能为随班就读的教师和管理者提供一些理论和实践的启示。     

残疾儿童教育不公平现象的原因分析——五论残疾儿童教育公平

我国残疾儿童教育存在不公平的现象,造成这一现象的主要原因有如下几点:(1)在法律法规方面,残疾人教育法律法规不完备、执法不到位,导致残疾儿童受教育权没有得到充分保障;(2)在经费方面,残疾儿童教育经费投入不足,并且残疾儿童教育教师薪酬水平比普通儿童教育教师低;(3)在教育管理方面,不仅残疾儿童教育管理体制不健全,而且残疾儿童教育督导不力;(4)在社会、文化方面,社会支持保障体系不健全,传统文化对残疾人的偏见也对残疾儿童教育存在着消极影响。     

Inclusion in Malaysian integrated preschools

Inclusive education has been introduced through a number of policy developments in Malaysia over the last 10 years but there is little research investigating the extent and nature of inclusive education for preschoolers with special educational needs (SEN). This study surveyed both regular and special education teachers in Malaysian integrated preschools asking them about the level and nature of inclusion taking place in their preschools and their perceptions and beliefs about inclusion. There was little evidence of practices of inclusion taking place. Both regular and special educators agreed that SEN should be educated alongside their peers in a school but were unlikely to agree that the SEN students should be in the same classroom. Factors identified as influencing inclusion included school culture, skills and competency, guidance and information, workload and students' disabilities. More guidelines and support are required for successful inclusion in Malaysian integrated preschools.     

Financing special needs and inclusive education – from Salamanca to the present

ABSTRACT

The focus of this paper is upon an examination of the ‘direction of travel’ in European countries from special needs education to inclusive education – a development influenced by the Salamanca Statement. The 1994 Salamanca Statement argued that inclusive schools provide ‘an effective education for the majority of children and improve the efficiency and ultimately the cost-effectiveness of the entire education system’ (ix). Underpinning this assertion are issues around special needs and inclusive education are financed. The paper will examine the degree to which the critical issue of financing has – or has not – changed across European countries since Salamanca. This examination takes retrospective look at key issues identified in the European Agency 1999 study of funding models for special education in 17 European countries, compared and contrasted with those identified in a 2016 study of approaches to funding inclusive education in 18 European countries. This paper argues that the essential issues underpinning their financing mechanisms have changed very little. For many European countries, changing systems of financing of inclusive education can still be seen as a key lever for achieving the goal of more widespread inclusion of learners with special educational needs, as outlined in the 1994 Salamanca Statement.