Okay, the survey wasn't meant as a race, or a competition between teams. At writing I had 229 responses, 14 percent who are still doing pull out, 15 percent whose students only go to specials with typical students, 31 percent who are doing push in, and 37% who are in co-teaching situations.
I also got a couple responses from outside the U.S. who said that they couldn't participate because I didn't offer the choices they offered in their situation. I would love to hear more--feel free to email me by double clicking on the link near my picture. About.com is a New York Times Company, and as a regular reader of the Times, I consider the New York Times to be the newspaper of record for the United States, just as the Chicago Tribune is the newspaper of record for Chicago and the Philadelphia Inquirer is the newspaper of record for Philadelphia. I feel that it is my primary responsibility to write for teachers in the United States based on the laws of the United States. I certainly believe that practice in Canada, New Zealand, Japan, even Sri Lanka, can inform our practice here, just as our practice will hopefully inform yours. I hope I take the time to explain the educational and philosophical purposes of some of these laws.
Inclusion, like desegregation laws, are meant in part to remedy years of neglect and abuse. Despite the clear intention of PL94-152 enacted in 1975, children with disabilities have not been educated in their neighborhood schools with typically developing peers. In Pennsylvania, the class action suit, Gaskins vs. Pennsylvania, has pushed school districts even harder to provide services and support so children stay in general education classrooms.
In an ideal world general education and special education teachers would work together to see that special education and general education students are able to thrive in classrooms that provide for all needs. None of us live in an ideal world. The challenge is to work together to create the kind of collaborative relationships that make it work. I will be researching for resources to help teachers build effective co-teaching partnerships. I will also be asking you to share some of your successes and suggestions as well.
I hope those of you from around the world will also tell us how you configure services for students, especially secondary students.
Comments
Thank you for starting this discussion! I teach at the secondary level in a public school that has grades 8-12. We follow the inclusion model at our school however it is not without its challenges. I am wondering what the research is, if any, on high schools and inclusion? There appears to be a lot at hte elementary and middle school levels, but I’m having difficulty finding it on high schools. Thank you!
The UNESCO Salamanca Statement of 1994, adopted by representatives of 92 countries, calls on the international community to endorse the approach of inclusive schools by implementing practical and strategic changes. I would hope that the majority of countries are moving in the direction of inclusion. In Norway the law encourages inclusion, but many schools lack money and expertise, and parents get pressured (subtly or not so subtly) to send their disabled children to special schools for elementary/junior high. At the high schools level, special schools are less common, but segregated programs are common and focus too much on “feel-good” activities and ADL, and less on skills to prepare disabled students for the work force.