Issues related to inclusion & provisions to resolve it

1. By,
Garima Tandon
B.Sc., B.Ed., M.Ed.
Banaras Hindu University
Issues related to inclusion & provisions to resolve it
Issues in Inclusion-
1. Attitudes: Societal norms often are the biggest barrier to inclusion. Old
attitudes die hard, and many still resist the accommodation of students with
disabilities and learning issues, as well as those from minority cultures.
Prejudices against those with differences can lead to discrimination, which
inhibits the educational process.
2. Physical Barriers: In some districts, students with physical disabilities are
expected to attend schools that are inaccessible to them. Many schools don’t
have the facilities to properly accommodate students with special needs, and
local governments lack either the funds or the resolve to provide financial
help. Environmental barriers can include doors, passageways, stairs and
ramps, and recreational areas. These can create a barrier for some students to
simply enter the school building or classroom.
3. Curriculum: A rigid curriculum that does not allow for experimentation or
the use of different teaching methods can be an enormous barrier to
inclusion. Study plans that don’t recognize different styles of learning hinder
the school experience for all students, even those not traditionally
recognized as having physical or mental challenges.
4. Teachers: Teachers who are not trained or who are unwilling or
unenthusiastic about working with differently-abled students are a drawback
to successful inclusion.
5. Equality vs Equity: When discussing the topic of inclusive classrooms,
some may argue that it is not ‘fair’ to give one student more attention than
the rest. This can be a common complaint from parents who believe that
their child is being neglected as a result of the teacher having to spend an

2. increased amount of time with students who have higher learning needs.
Situations such as this can bring up an ethical dilemma with inclusive
classrooms;
6. Funding: Adequate funding is a necessity for inclusion and yet it is rare.
7. Organization of the Education System: Centralized education systems are
rarely conducive to positive change and initiative. Decisions come from the
school system’s high-level authorities whose initiatives focus on employee
compliance more than quality learning. The top levels of the organization
may have little or no idea about the realities teachers face on a daily basis.
8. Policies as Barriers: Many policy makers don’t understand or believe in
inclusive education, and these leaders can stonewall efforts to make school
policies more inclusive. This can exclude whole groups of learners from the
mainstream educational system, thereby preventing them from enjoying the
same opportunities for education and employment afforded to traditional
students.
Provisions for Inclusion-
1) Modification of Context- It is require to modify physical infrastructure of
school to make it feasible for disabled children.
2) Co-operativeness rather than Competition- Cooperativeness should be
more emphasized than competition to enhance social interaction among
children.
3) Flexibility in content selection- There should be flexibility in selection of
content during curriculum development to ensure the need of this diverse
group of learner. Varoious kind of examples and activities should be
included to ensure optimal learning of all students.
4) Support from peer group- Positive attitude of peers towards disabled
children is key to success of inclusion. Acceptance by peers result in
increased motivational level. According to Nanda et al
5) Proper teacher training

3. 6) Equity rather than equality- In our personal opinions, in order to create
effectively inclusive classrooms, they need to be based on equity rather than
equality. At first glance, equality may seem like the appropriate way to
approach public education. All students should receive the same education,
same access to resources, same amount of teacher interaction time, etc. After
all, that is fair, isn’t it? We would have to disagree. In the case of inclusion,
we think that it is ethical to provide each student with the necessary
resources and instruction that will allow them to be successful. For some
students, they may need very little, whereas others may need extensive
amounts of extra support. For this reason, it appears obvious that a
classroom based on equality rather than equity cannot be one that is
effectively inclusive.