Special Education v/s Inclusive Education: How are they similar or different?
Coco goes to an inclusive school. She is a part of an inclusive classroom with 27 other students, with and without disabilities. 28 different brains, personalities, interests and quirks. All learning and growing together in the same classroom. Coco also attends a special education class for a part of the day, in a small group, where she works on her reading, writing and communication skills. She feels included, heard and supported in both the settings, and loves going to school!
How is her special education class different from her inclusive classroom? Are these practices distinct or interrelated? Does a school need both in order to be inclusive?
Special education is the practice of providing individualised instruction and support to students with disabilities or learning difficulties. It is designed to be need-based and individualised, which means that every student in special education will have a different plan depending on their needs, abilities and goals. This field has historically been associated with special/segregated schools or homeschooling, which were the options for students with disabilities before integration became a practice. For the past few decades, schools in India have integrated students with disabilities (typically mild to moderate) in mainstream schools, due to which special ed has become an essential requirement within those schools. The purpose of special ed is to provide support, to students with disabilities and to teachers. Its purpose is not necessarily to teach class content, but to build the academic and developmental skills required to be successful and independent learners. In a typical mainstream school, students with disabilities who may not be performing at the grade level, and may exhibit a gap in their skills, will benefit from special ed classes. For example, Coco who is in the 4th grade is still reading at a 2nd grade level. She receives special education support to build upon her reading skills, while she continues to learn the same content and participate in the mainstream classroom alongside her typically developing peers.
Inclusive education, on the other hand, is the practice of educating students with disabilities alongside their peers without disabilities, in the same classroom. It is meant for ALL learners. Inclusive ed is based on the premise that all students develop and learn differently, and therefore one fixed way of teaching and learning cannot ensure successful outcomes for all. Inclusive ed is not just limited to including students with disabilities, but is responsible for ensuring that their needs are met in the mainstream classroom as well. Implementing inclusive education requires flexible curricula that have been designed keeping in mind diverse learners. This is to ensure that multiple pathways are provided to students to reach the same goal, as opposed to the traditional ‘one size fits all’ methodology. There is evidence that suggests that inclusive ed benefits not only learners with disabilities, but those without disabilities as well, and helps build the capacity of teachers and school systems.
Here is a mind map that attempts to convey how I view the relationship between special ed and inclusive ed. While they are two distinct practices, that may exist by themselves, each practice is stronger and more effective when these co-exist.
As per my experience with Indian schools, so far, special education has existed without inclusive classroom practice. Due to this, oftentimes the responsibility of educating students with disabilities falls on the special educator(s). This results in students spending a lot of their school day outside the mainstream classroom, in a small group setting. While this may be helpful in schools where teachers or classrooms are not equipped to meet the needs of all, this goes against the idea of inclusion. Segregating students with disabilities, not providing them with the education they deserve within the classroom, is unfair, ableist, and deprives them of an equitable quality education and social integration.
An inclusive school will ideally have both the practices feeding into each other. Special education services will ensure that students with disabilities are able to develop the skills required to access the general curriculum and receive appropriate support, along with accommodations and modifications needed to be successful. Inclusive classroom practices will help students feel more included and at par with their peers, thus reducing the extent to which the special educator may be responsible for their learning. While the onus of Special Education lies primarily with Special Educators, the onus of Inclusive Education lies with ALL teachers, as well as the entire school community. Consistent collaboration among special ed and general ed (mainstream) teachers helps understand and meet the diverse needs of our students, and builds the capacity of all educators, thus creating stronger education systems.
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