Inclusion in Elementary Education Pros and Cons
Inclusion is a much-debated topic and this is particularly true in the elementary school environment. This is evidenced in a report entitled: "Teacher's Attitudes Toward Inclusion: Survey Results from Elementary School Teachers in Three Southwestern Rural School Districts" reported in the Rural Education Quarterly Spring Issue 2003 by Hammon and Ingalls. This work reports the benefits identified by those who support inclusion as well as the reasons that inclusion have not bee supported. There are many benefits and as well, there are many drawbacks to inclusion in the elementary school setting as evidenced in the work of Hammon and Ingalls (2003). This work seeks to discover precisely what the pros and cons to inclusion in the elementary classroom are and to present those findings in the review of four separate report reviews in the sections to follow on the pros and cons of inclusion in the elementary school setting. For this purpose, the following articles have been chosen for review in presenting the pros and cons of inclusion in elementary classrooms:(1) Russell Johnston: "Toward Refined Instruction Through Inclusion: Evaluation of an Elementary School Inclusion Program. Boston College. (2004)
" (1997) Harries explains that three types of integration are involved in inclusion which are those of: (1) Locational integration; (2) Social integration; and (3) Functional integration. The great difficulties arising from this situation ended in the child's mother seeking another school. INCLUSION - CONS The work of Caitlin Scott entitled: "Two Parents: Two Points of View: The Pros and Cons of Inclusion" states that one parent is just not sure that inclusion is the best practice in view of her son's education and state: "If they just fling him along [due to promotion] he's not going to get anywhere. Nondiscrimination is an important life lesson. Inclusion was at first an ideal for the son of this woman who is a child with DiGeorge syndrome "a genetic order characterized by heart abnormalities, learning disabilities or mental retardation and a low immune system. Students are forced to work together and create a cooperative, non competitive environment. " (Johnston, 2004) This study evaluated the components of: (1) Curriculum modification; (2) Socialization supports; (3) Staff training; (4) Collaboration; (5) Instructional resources; (6) Special education teacher expertise; (7) Caseload sizes; (8) Instructional space; and (9) The use of a cluster model of inclusion. " this mother had experienced great difficulty in obtaining a "stable, self-contained program" for her son with learning disabilities. Another problem started when the young boy changed schools and the school was not prepared for inclusion. (3) Scott, Caitlin (2002) Two Parents: Two Points of View: The Pros and Cons of Inclusion. " (Harries, 1997) Additionally, inclusion "promotes a system of cooperation. (Harries, 1997)Harries reports a studied conducted in order to "examine the differences among students with learning disabilities, student with low academic achievement and students with average academic achievement.
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