Week 1: What are the features of an inclusive school?
4. Attitudes to inclusion
One key feature of an inclusive school is a positive attitude to diversity from its teachers and administrators. This will help all learners to understand diversity and to value differences. In the next activity you will listen to Daniel explaining that some communities have unhelpful attitudes which stem from a lack of understanding of disabilities and what causes them.
The reasons for disabilities are numerous and complex, with many arising from difficulties at birth (WHO, 2018).
Misconceptions can be challenged by giving people the opportunity to interact and understand each other, rather than focus on difficulties and/or differences. Schools have a vital role to play in this respect.
Activity 1.4 Developing positive attitudesAllow approximately 20 mins for this activity. Listen to Daniel talking about some of the attitudes that he has encountered towards children with disabilities. Listen from 0:50s to the end. (If you have completed the Inclusive Teaching and Learning course, you will already have listened to the first 50 seconds) View transcript / Download PDF As you listen, note down some of the attitudes he refers to. Note down your responses to the following questions:
Make a short contribution to the Week 1 forum. Either describe… a situation from your experience in which attitudes were successfully challenged or describe a situation where unhelpful attitudes caused a problem. It might be a single incident, or something that took place over time. Read the other contributions and note down any suggestions that you could use in your role as an educator. |