OLCreate: Creating an Inclusive School: Week 1 forum

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Vianne Poon-Kwong Post 1

• 16 April 2021, 11:12 PM

1.3 Features of an Inclusive School

Kliewer (2001) “Inclusion involves all kinds of practices that are ultimately practices of good teaching. Inclusive education is a way of thinking about how to be creative to make our schools a place where all children can participate. Creativity may mean teachers learning to teach in different ways or designing their lessons so that all children can be involved.

I believe that some key features of Inclusive Education are below:

Accepting unconditionally all children into regular classes and the life of the school.
Providing as much support to children, teachers and classrooms as necessary to ensure that all children can participate in their schools and classes.
Looking at all children at what they can do rather then what they cannot do.
Teachers and parents have high expectations of all children.
Developing education goals according to each child’s abilities. This means that children do not need to have the same education goals in order to learn together in regular classes.

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Veera Kalliecharan-Ramodit Post 2 in reply to 1

• 16 April 2021, 11:24 PM

I would also like to add these 7 key features of quality inclusion:

1.Intentional, sufficient, and supported interactions between peers with and without disabilities

2. Specialized, individualized supports

3. Family involvement

4. Inclusive, interdisciplinary services and collaborative teaming

5. A focus on critical sociological outcomes

6. Effective, ongoing administrative supports

7. Ongoing program evaluation

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Radha Mohammed Post 3 in reply to 1

• 16 April 2021, 11:25 PM

I agree but I would also like to add: Designing schools and classes in ways that help children learn and achieve to their fullest potential (for example, by developing class time tables for allowing more individual attention for all students).

Having strong leadership for inclusion from school principals and other administrators.

Having teachers who have knowledge about different ways of teaching so that children with various abilities and strengths can learn together.

Having principals, teachers, parents and others work together to determine the most affective ways of providing a quality education in an inclusive environment.

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Ian Mangaroo Post 4 in reply to 1

• 16 April 2021, 11:42 PM

You have raised some excellent points here. I would like to add a few points.

For successful inclusion in a school community, these must be considered too:

- Total involvement with all stakeholders collaborating for the benefit of the children. This includes communicating and supporting across individuals' strengths, resources, skills and training.

- A revisiting and even rewiring of school culture to ensure that inclusion is the language spoken and practiced all around. This calls for greater commitment on the part of administrators, teachers, parents and other stakeholders in the community.

- Building a bank of resources for the present, and for future support for the children. Every approach to education must be child-centered and engaging.

- Using technology for teaching, communication, networking and supporting across the school community is useful for all individuals involved.

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Tanisha Francis-Garcia Post 5 in reply to 1

• 17 April 2021, 1:25 AM

I certainly agree with your suggestions. I would just like to add that in an inclusive environment, the children are at the centre of learning. We build our teaching around their needs. It is also building their self-esteem. When they walk into a school, they should feel a level of confidence knowing that each of them can access learning without any fear or inhibitions.