Children With Special Needs: To What Extent Does Education Implement Inclusion in Classrooms, Research Proposal Example

Statement of Purpose

Inclusion is not only an educational right for children with special needs, it is also a human right that all children should have access to equal education because all children would like to have the same opportunities. Even though the term inclusion is erroneously assumed to refer to only children with disabilities or special needs, it actually encompasses broader elements. Any child who is at risk of being alienated for reasons of race, gender, sex and any other factor that can contribute to exclusion will benefit immensely from the practice of inclusion (Booth and Ainscow 43). It is also something commonly used in the workplace to settle issues of diversity. Inclusion aims to bring understanding and to take down any form of barriers the children may be experiencing through their learning. Inclusion has been a subject of diverse interest within the educational field for decades (Booth and Ainscow 43).

Audience

The audience I will be targeting for this research paper are mainly parents of children whose ages are from 5 – 10, and grade school students in order to raise awareness of this type of education.

Research Question

Are elementary schools doing enough to implement inclusion in their curriculums?

Thesis Statement

Mainstreaming, which is the idea of including children with special needs in regular education classroom settings with typical students is not seen in most curriculums in the United States despite the awareness for inclusion as well as the call for equality.

Background/Argumentative Position

There’s a need to foster and nurture an inclusive mindset in the priorities of educational centers so that the rights of children are equal and balanced (Ryndak et al., 1996). This leads to a balanced and egalitarian society that is proud of its ideals and values that promote fairness. Despite the demonstrated benefits of inclusive education and the mandates that have been passed by law to ensure its adoption, some schools are still lacking in adjusting their environments and providing support for teachers to implement inclusive education in their practices. Research into the benefits of inclusion for special education students (sped students) will serve to promote the ideals of inclusion, ensure its adoption and promote awareness on how best it can be practiced and integrated into the curriculum of most educational centers and institutions (Ryndak et al., 1996).

Significance/Project Value

Achieving inclusion in classrooms is a significant problem not limited to local arenas (Scott, et. al, 1998). It is a problem deemed even more challenging in less industrialized nations. The high number of excluded children has not only increased the need to ensure that they have access to the available educational facilities in their districts; it has also generated significant research in the area. This research will focus on identifying the benefits of inclusion for students in need of sped (special education) in grades K to 3. There is a need to raise awareness on the significance of inclusion, and how it may benefit children with and without special needs (Scott, et. al., 1998). The full integration of children who are participating in special education and the regular students needs to be implemented in the school’s curriculum; this will be seen as mainstreaming within the classroom setting.

Methodology/Research Strategy

The main objective of this study is to add to the current field of knowledge on best practices for achieving inclusion in educational institutions and learning centers by showcasing its benefits and reviewing literature on how inclusion is currently being practiced.

In the long run, it is hoped that the results of this study will help to improve the practice of inclusion in organizations by adding insights into how to achieve inclusion in local schools and communities, how educational centers can benefit from inclusion and how to achieve the ideals of an egalitarian society across the world.

Qualitative research methods which include interviews, observation and the use of focus groups will be adopted in this research from previous studies concerning this topic. Past literature on inclusion and education in regards to children who partake in special education will be reviewed. The objective of the research is to demonstrate the benefits of inclusion by observing special education students from grades K to 3. In terms of specific research questions, the following questions will be posed:

1. What are the benefits of inclusion to special-education students?
2. What are the benefits of inclusion to the schools concerned?
3. What are the current policies implemented in support of inclusion?
4. How can these benefits best be achieved?

Problems/Contingency Plans

The problem this research may face is lack of information on inclusion in the classroom. Also, it will be difficult to find interviewees who are willing to participate. However, these problems will be overcome by gathering data and statistics on inclusion in the classroom and analyzing them in comparison to the literature which is to be reviewed on the topic. As for the interviews, if children are not found as research subjects, teachers will be interviewed.

Annotated Bibliography

Devon County Council. (N.d). What is Inclusion? Retrieved from Devon County Council: http://www.devon.gov.uk/index/childrenfamilies/cwan/discplus/early_years_inclusion/what_is_inclusion.htm. This source explains what inclusion is and how it can positively improve the learning environment of the child. The article is not limited    to the benefits of inclusion in the classroom, inclusions reach is discussed also in the level of the community as well as in the home. It also briefly discusses how inclusion can be implemented and to whom this inclusion is necessary for.

Keogh, B. (2007). Celebrating pl 94-142: the education of all handicapped children act of 1975. Issues in Teacher Education, 16(2), Retrieved from             http://caddogap.com/periodicals.shtml doi: ISSN-1536-3031. This journal article discusses the act which was declared for children with disabilities. This source states why this act was declared and whom it affects. It also states the benefits of inclusion and how far the act has helped the educational system to date. This article is the celebration of the act and it emphasizes as well the need for inclusion in society and how educational systems can better achieve mainstreaming.

Ryndak, D. L., Downing, J. E., Morrison, A. P., & Williams, L. J. (1996). Parents’ perceptions of educational settings and services for children with moderate or severe disabilities. Remedial and Special Education,17, 106-118. This article discusses how parents may handle their children whom may be suffering from a disability. It goes into the struggles a family may have in certain situations such as these. The family here is seen as a structural-functional unit which needs to be supported by the local community as well as the educational system. The parents of children with disabilities are observed in how differently they may handle child rearing, and how they would need help outside the family.

Scott, B. J., Vitale, M. R., & Masten, W. G. (1998). Implementing instructional adaptations for students with disabilities in inclusive classrooms. Remedial and Special Education, 19 (2), 106-119. This article looks into the needs for implementing inclusion. It discusses that inclusion not only benefits children with disabilities, but it also does well for families as well as the community. The awareness for inclusion, in this article, is said to be at a low, and there is a need for better a understanding of mainstreaming in classroom environments. Mainstreaming is discussed as something which should be integrated within the educational system because it is a right of every child to be treated fairly within the classroom.

Tony Booth, and Mel Ainscow, eds., From Them to Us: An International Study of Inclusion in Education (London: Routledge, 1998) 43, Questia, Web, 12 Oct. 2010. This study observes inclusion and its different levels as well as how schools may approach it. It discusses how it can be implemented within schools, and how it may benefit not only children with special needs, but also regular students. It is stated in the article that there is a level of awareness regarding the need for inclusion and mainstreaming, however this is not seen as much as it should be.