Culturally And Linguistically Inclusive Instruction: Challenges And Solutions

Literature Review Relevant To the Issue

Discuss about the Culturally and Linguistically Inclusive Instruction.

Inclusive education is a concept which means that every child has the right to have an education. It takes into account the various learning aspects. Inclusion means including each and every child irrespective of cultural, social, geographical, demographic, physical and behavioral differences (Morton, Higgins, MacArthur, & Phillips, 2013).The main issue regarding inclusive education is the treatment of inclusion and integration as equivalents. This issue holds more significance for children with disability (Bourke, 2017). 

There are certain challenges for students with a disability. The failure to recognize a disability is a major problem. It is a challenge to identify a disability (like behavioral issues, developmental delay, and learning issues) during early childhood years. Most parents in Australia fail to accept behavioral disabilities and psychiatric disabilities (Bourke, 2017).

 Educational institutes in the rural areas do not have proper support services. There are limited numbers of schools that offer the same curriculum to children with special needs (Anderson, & Boyle, 2015).  Curriculum development is in the initial stages in Australia. There is a lack of awareness among parents regarding the available educational options in special or inclusive schools. Parents do not have the required knowledge regarding the selection of educational services according to the special needs of the child. This lack of information is more visible during early childhood and primary education. Children with a disability have limited access to vocational training. Many parents fail to plan the academic growth for their children with disabilities (Anderson, & Boyle, 2015).  They are not aware of the services of an aide or role of technology in educational assistance.

Children with special needs started acquiring some education. These initiatives were aligned with social justice. In the late 1960s, the concept of “integration” came into existence. This helped the students with disabilities to spend more time in regular classes for various subjects like music and art. The government passed the Disability Discrimination Act in 1992 (Whitburn, 2014). This law was passed for safeguarding the interests of people with disability. Discrimination on the basis of disability was considered as an offense. This act laid the foundation for integration as well as inclusion (Whitburn, 2014). People have started believing that children with disabilities should have access to education.

NAPLAN (National Assessment Program for Literacy and Numeracy) helps to analyze the student achievement. On the basis of these testing, resources are allocated to different schools. Children suffering from mental/ intellectual disabilities do not take this test. Thus, the existing testing practices in Australia are not suitable for children with disabilities. More children with special needs are entering schools on a yearly basis according to the Australian Early Development Index. More than 4 percent of entry level students have a disability (Pearce, Gray, & Campbell-Evans, 2009).

Possible Solutions to the Issue

 Several teachers and parents worry about the challenges associated with inclusion (Anderson, & Boyle, 2015). There are several logics that highlight the importance of special schools due to the high student-to-teacher ratio in a conventional classroom. No research study has been able to prove that special schools for children with disabilities are better in comparison to the conventional classroom setting. Inclusive education means that all children (including those with special needs) should receive a high-quality education. Arguments are being made that children with disabilities should be valued equally (Ballard, 2013). The most significant barrier to inclusive education is the presence of complex procedures for providing support facilities to such children (Morton, Higgins, MacArthur, & Phillips, 2013).

The lack of awareness about inclusive education leads to micro or macro exclusion. Several researchers have cited examples of micro or macro exclusion but reported them as study regarding inclusive education. Micro exclusion is a concept where a child with special needs is made to sit in a secluded area of school or classroom. In-spite of being enrolled in a normal educational setting, he is not able to participate in learning activities like other children. He may be treated as inferior in comparison to other children belonging to the same age group (Ballard, 2013). This makes him physically present in the same educational setting but not treated as equal. Macro exclusion is a concept where a child with special needs is isolated from the children belonging to his age by keeping him in a separate school or classroom (Ballard, 2013). There are some schools that pay special attention to the children with disabilities. For example, teaching sign language to a child suffering from Down syndrome in order to help him communicate with his classmates (Garner, & Forbes, 2013). A learning unit was introduced by the school about sign language. This unit was for every student in the class.

This was helpful for every student because the knowledge about sign language helped the students in communicating with the child suffering from Down syndrome. This makes a perfect example of inclusive education in a classroom setting. But, one cannot ignore the fact that a child with a disability was involved in the learning processes with certain adaptations that he and his classmates had to make (cologon, 2017). The goal of inclusive education is to make all the children learn together without any discrimination. Two types of learning practices can be used in Australia: universal design for learning and differentiated instruction. “Differentiation” helps to personalize the learning experience for students. This includes providing assistance with writing, reducing the load of homework, giving flexible deadlines for assignments etc (cologon, 2017). This learning practice requires modification in the lessons and assessment techniques. Universal design for learning is based on developing a common curriculum for all students.

Parents should be made aware of the availability of every possible option for meeting special needs. It is the responsibility of the parents to choose a suitable educational setting for their children. Parents should opt for an inclusive school because disability support services can be managed in such schools. Thus, an appropriate environment should be created through the collaboration of parents and school authorities according to the level of disability (Australian Human Rights Commission”, 2017). The Australian government has already increased the flow of funds for supporting children with disabilities. These funds can make available the required equipment and ancillary staff. The Australian government should ensure that there are no delays in procedures for getting the funds approved. A specific budget should be allocated to schools for meeting the special requirements on the basis of needs rather than on categorization.  

Support for disabled students should be the top-most priority for the school in comparison to other requirements. A major portion of school/ college finances should be allocated for disability support. It is important to create coordination between different departments like health services and education for children with a disability even in rural areas. School going children with special needs should have access to the required healthcare services including physiotherapy and speech therapy (Australian Human Rights Commission”, 2017). The procedures for availing these ancillary services should be simplified. Educational institutes should have the provision to employ trained ancillary staff for meeting the needs of children with special needs.

 There should be a sufficient number of trained aides, therapists, interpreters, and translators for meeting the requirements of disabled children in Australia . They should be given adequate training for dealing with the sensitivities of their job (Garner, & Forbes, 2013). The role of aides should be to assist the children in the process of inclusion rather than distance him from his classmates and teachers. The educational institutes should have provisions for medical assistance and personal care. Several students with disabilities require medical intervention during their school timings. Presently, the availability of trained support and ancillary staff is not uniform. Urban as well as remote areas in Australia should have an adequate number of trained aides, disability support service providers, and personal care assistants (Garner, & Forbes, 2013). It is the responsibility of the educational department to have a sufficient number of equipment for meeting the needs of students. The equipment included walking frames, visual aids, hearing aids etc. Adaptation of educational curriculum needs to be done for students belonging to different age groups. A new Australian curriculum should be developed that is accessible to all the students including students with special educational needs. The curriculum needs should include the content and the assessment aspect. It is also required that the content and assessment aspect for students with disabilities should be aligned with that of their fellow classmates. Specialist teachers are required for effective implementation of inclusive education. The role of these specialist teachers increases in secondary schools because in this educational environment major focus is towards diverse subjects, vast curriculums and examinations. The teaching style should take into account the diverse learning abilities of children. Learning through games and group activities can help in creating an inclusive environment( Australian Human Rights Commission”, 2017). An inclusive learning environment can be created by combining universal design for learning and differentiated instruction. This means that the curriculum and assessment techniques should be designed in a manner that is inclusive in nature. But, there should be scope of individualizing the processes as some students may require additional support. For example, a student with writing problem should be given a choice to present his assignment in a word document or power point presentation (Moriarty, & Bennet, 2016). The testing procedures should be revised in order to include every learner. The educational practices should focus on post-school outcomes that include employment opportunities for disabled children.A major challenge in Australia is that there are several academic or vocational courses which cannot be undertaken by children with disability. This creates a problem for such students in acquiring academic qualification and pursuing their professional goals (Moriarty, & Bennet, 2016). Thus, it is important to address the curriculum needs. The government should ensure that the implementation of inclusive education practices is consistent.

Every individual in the society should support and promote the concept of inclusive education in Australia. Government initiatives such as funding can make inclusive education a success. Parents should act responsibility in creating the right educational setting (Warming, 2011). For proper implementation of this educational model, infrastructural and resource development is required. Workload and responsibility will increase for the teachers and school authorities. Additional training and financial resources are required for meeting the requirements of every student especially the students with disabilities. Researchers suggest that class size should be reduced to facilitate inclusive educational setting. This will help the teachers in understanding their students in a better manner and assess their learning capabilities (Moriarty, & Bennet, 2016).

Researchers suggest that inclusive education has better academic outcomes for all the children (including children with disabilities). There are several benefits associated with the inclusive educational system. This increases the level of self-awareness and develops communication skills. Inclusive education also helps in social development by providing equal opportunities to every child. It also helps to make every child self-dependent and more efficient (Moriarty, & Bennet, 2016).

Education is the foundation of social and cultural development. There are several challenges associated with inclusive education pertaining to disabled children. The disability should not be restricted to physical handicap Parents need to accept that their child has a disability and inform the school authorities about it. It is important to provide proper personal care assistance to children with special needs (Pearce, Gray, & Campbell-Evans, 2009). In Australia, there is a lack of consistency in the disability support services and educational services when a disabled student moves from one educational setting to the other. Special attention is required for students suffering from physical disability, learning difficulties and behavioral problems (Doran, 2016). Children with a disability can attain high levels of education if they receive disability support services. Financial support from the Australian government can help them in acquiring quality education. The Australian government should take responsibility for improving the flow of funds and procedures for availing the ancillary services (Whitburn, 2014).

It is the responsibility of the society that a child with a disability should not consider himself as inferior to others (Doran, 2016). The educational system needs to be improved for including every child in the learning process. Vocational training courses should be made available for disabled students. An adequate number of trained teachers, aides. disability support service providers, and personal care assistants should be available for assisting the children in the process of inclusion. The effectiveness of inclusive education can be increased by reducing the class size. The inclusive educational system can help to ensure personal and professional growth for children with disabilities.

References

Anderson, J., & Boyle, C. (2015). Inclusive education in Australia: rhetoric, reality and the road ahead. Support For Learning, 30(1), 4-22.

Access To Education For Students With A Disability: Barriers And Difficulties | Australian Human Rights Commission. (2017). Humanrights.gov.au. Retrieved 6 April 2017, from https://www.humanrights.gov.au/publications/access-education-students-disability-barriers-and-difficulties

Bourke, P. (2017). Inclusive education reform in Queensland: implications for policy and practice: International Journal of Inclusive Education: Vol 14, No 2. Tandfonline.com. Retrieved 6 April 2017, from https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13603110802504200?journalCode=tied20

Ballard, K. (2013). Thinking in another way: ideas for sustainable inclusion. International Journal Of Inclusive Education, 17(8), 762-775.

Doran, P. (2016). Teachers’ self-reported knowledge regarding English learners: perspectives on culturally and linguistically inclusive instruction and intervention. International Journal Of Inclusive Education, 1-15.

Garner, P., & Forbes, F. (2013). An ‘at-risk’ curriculum for ‘at-risk’ students? Special educational needs and disability in the newAustralian Curriculum. Journal Of Research In Special Educational Needs, 15(4), 225-234.

Moriarty, B., & Bennet, M. (2016). Practicing Teachers’ Reflections: Indigenous Australian Student Mobility and Implications for Teacher Education. Social Inclusion, 4(1), 32

Morton, M., Higgins, N., MacArthur, J., & Phillips, H. (2013). Introduction to the special issue – making inclusive education happen: Ideas for sustainable change. International Journal Of Inclusive Education, 17(8), 753-761.

Pearce, M., Gray, J., & Campbell-Evans, G. (2009). The Inclusive Secondary Teacher: The Leaders’ Perspective. Australian Journal Of Teacher Education, 34(6).

Whitburn, B. (2014). National and international disability rights legislation: a qualitative account of its enactment in Australia. International Journal Of Inclusive Education, 19(5), 518-529.