Overview
The requirements put forth by No Child Left Behind “all but mandate the use of a co-taught delivery model” (Walsh, 2012, p. 33) and “make inclusive instruction and co-teaching …necessary, especially at the secondary level,” (Shippen et al., p. 42) in providing academic instruction to students with disabilities in the least restrictive environment (LRE). Beyond the legal requirements that make inclusion education necessary, Kaufman and King (2011) explain that the social aspects of learning affect the “motivation, self-esteem, and… academic success of students with disabilities” (p. 52) and that “When students believe they are accepted… they are more likely to exert increased effort to achieve academically…” (p. 56).
Government policies …show more content…
They define a school culture as “the guiding beliefs and expectations evident in the way a school operates” (p. 59) and further explore how engaging in a collaborative change process “results in new values, beliefs, norms, and preferred behaviors” (p. 59). They highlight that such collaborative processes are crucial in establishing initiatives concerning inclusive education for students with disabilities.
One way of promoting an appropriate education for all students is to implement a co-teaching model in the school, which can be introduced as “a high-leverage school system strategy that can result in continuous improvement for all students and accelerated achievement for students with disabilities” (Walsh, 2012, p. 29). It is important to note that successful implementation of inclusive practices throughout a school system must have the active and intentional support of school system leadership (Walsh, …show more content…
However, a thorough review of the literature has provided a more narrowed focus, based on strong themes that emerged from the readings. Specifically, improving the quality of inclusive education is not the sole responsibility of the teaching pairs involved. Rather, the focus on needed improvements must be supported by central office personnel, building-level administrators, and all teachers in the buildings. Teachers need to be mentored, coached, and taught how to work as part of a co-teaching pair. While this finding was anticipated, the level of need for professional development is much deeper than predicted. Providing a tool such as a common planning is not enough… we need to teach teachers how to maximize their planning times, how to analyze data, how to differentiate instruction, and how to work well with others. Just as general education teachers lack knowledge about specific instructional strategies and special education teachers lack subject matter expertise, most teachers have not had formal instruction or education in these areas. It is up to the school’s administration team to help teachers acquire those skills so that they are effective in the inclusion
The requirements put forth by No Child Left Behind “all but mandate the use of a co-taught delivery model” (Walsh, 2012, p. 33) and “make inclusive instruction and co-teaching …necessary, especially at the secondary level,” (Shippen et al., p. 42) in providing academic instruction to students with disabilities in the least restrictive environment (LRE). Beyond the legal requirements that make inclusion education necessary, Kaufman and King (2011) explain that the social aspects of learning affect the “motivation, self-esteem, and… academic success of students with disabilities” (p. 52) and that “When students believe they are accepted… they are more likely to exert increased effort to achieve academically…” (p. 56).
Government policies …show more content…
They define a school culture as “the guiding beliefs and expectations evident in the way a school operates” (p. 59) and further explore how engaging in a collaborative change process “results in new values, beliefs, norms, and preferred behaviors” (p. 59). They highlight that such collaborative processes are crucial in establishing initiatives concerning inclusive education for students with disabilities.
One way of promoting an appropriate education for all students is to implement a co-teaching model in the school, which can be introduced as “a high-leverage school system strategy that can result in continuous improvement for all students and accelerated achievement for students with disabilities” (Walsh, 2012, p. 29). It is important to note that successful implementation of inclusive practices throughout a school system must have the active and intentional support of school system leadership (Walsh, …show more content…
However, a thorough review of the literature has provided a more narrowed focus, based on strong themes that emerged from the readings. Specifically, improving the quality of inclusive education is not the sole responsibility of the teaching pairs involved. Rather, the focus on needed improvements must be supported by central office personnel, building-level administrators, and all teachers in the buildings. Teachers need to be mentored, coached, and taught how to work as part of a co-teaching pair. While this finding was anticipated, the level of need for professional development is much deeper than predicted. Providing a tool such as a common planning is not enough… we need to teach teachers how to maximize their planning times, how to analyze data, how to differentiate instruction, and how to work well with others. Just as general education teachers lack knowledge about specific instructional strategies and special education teachers lack subject matter expertise, most teachers have not had formal instruction or education in these areas. It is up to the school’s administration team to help teachers acquire those skills so that they are effective in the inclusion