by Jarred James Breaux

Created on: March 25, 2008

Today, more emphasis is being placed on inclusion, the practice of placing students with disabilities in regular education classrooms. Inclusion is based on the diverse society in which we live. The same way desegregation of public facilities brought about a better understanding of race and cultural difference, inclusion is a way for average students to become acquainted with people with disabilities and to understand their disabilities and their perspectives. Inclusion allows average students and students with disabilities to communicate and work together to achieve common goals, a familiar practice used on day-to-day job sites and other adult activities.

Research has found that the practice of inclusion is socially beneficial; however, there is question on the academic success of the program. A study, Data Analysis for Comprehensive Schoolwide Improvement by Victoria L. Bernhardt, found that students in general "felt" that they benefited, both socially and academically, from inclusion. However, a study of deaf and hard-of-hearing students by Michael Stinson and Shirin Antia discovered that children with certain disabilities, such as hearing loss, do not benefit from inclusion and score below average most often; Stinson and Antia believe this is due to poor communication between the teacher and the hearing impaired student. On the bright side, research conducted by Mary F. Piuma found that the employment rate for students with disabilities who were educated in inclusion classrooms was 20% higher than for students who were in segregated classrooms. A study by Bogdan and Taylor in 1989 revealed that average students in regular education classes become more accepting of students with disabilities and develop friendships with people with disabilities more easily than the other students. Given this information, I believe inclusion is the best method of educating students with disabilities who are able to be placed in regular classroom setting.

Educating students with disabilities amongst average students can be stressful, but it is no different than teaching students who learn at different levels. Teachers have found that they already individualize for students who learn through different mediums, such as visual or auditory learners, and for those that learn at different rates. Individualizing the curriculum does not require a teacher to "water-down" the lesson, but rather the teacher has to be innovative in reaching all students. In order to reach all the students,

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