Lachlan Dwyer

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Promoting Inclusive education in the classroom is vital for the proper development and
education of children within the classroom environment (Hyde, et. al., 2010). Children
who may suffer from one or more disabilities are at a particular risk at being left behind
and developing a sense of rejection if they are not included and actively encouraged
within the classroom.
The term disabled functions as a larger umbrella category which includes many different
and varying conditions. This can make it difficult in promoting an inclusive classroom
which supports disabled children as disabilities vary greatly and a program that supports
a child with one disability is not necessarily going to support another student with a
disability (Hyde, et. al., 2010). For instance solutions and practices that would encourage
the inclusion of a hearing impaired student would not necessarily support a student who
is visually impaired.
For a classroom to be able to actively include disabled students it is important for it to be
dynamic and a certain degree of flexibility provided for these students in order to cater
for the difficulties that certain students may face in completing certain activities. In order
to promote inclusive education in the classroom, no two classrooms would be the same
as each classroom would be catering to the needs of each individual child and no two
students will be the same (Hyde, et. al., 2010). Because of this there would be no set
stereotype for what is the perfect inclusive classroom as no two classrooms would
function the same and this can make it difficult to draw set rules on regulations on how
to most effectively implement strategies that promote inclusive education because each
classroom will vary greatly in contexts.
Many teachers may be apprehensive towards having children who suffer from a disability
in their classroom. One of their main concerns is that having a child with a disability in
their classroom would somewhat inhibit the amount of time for the teacher to focus on
other students in the classroom (Shaddock, Giorcelli, Smith, 2007). Many teachers also
report that they feel that they have inadequate training, resources and access to
professional development in order to most effectively teach a student with a disability
(Shaddock, Giorcelli, Smith, 2007). It is therefore, quite important to promote the role of
the teacher in being one of the key facilitators in promoting an inclusive classroom
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environment. It is important that teachers are provided with education and training in
order to be able to effectively promote an inclusive classroom (Shaddock, Giorcelli, Smith,
2007). It would be very difficult to expect a teacher who has very little knowledge with a
disability such as Autism, to be able to formulate effective teaching strategies which
would promote the students inclusion and education in the classroom.
The main goal of an inclusive classroom environment would be to promote the inclusion
of all students in the classroom in order to give them the best possible opportunities for
learning in the classroom. The idea of promoting an inclusive environment in the
classroom is very much a global issue and is in no way limited to just Australia (Sargeant,
2012). The education system is to a certain degree influenced by international bodies
such as the United Nations which have composed many documents and policies which
promote the rights of a child (United Nations, 1989) in getting an education and actively
encourage all children to be actively included in their education (Sargeant, 2012). In
Australia though, legislation has been developed at both State and Federal levels which
promote an inclusive classroom environment. The Commonwealth Disability
Discrimination Act (1992) makes it unlawful for education providers to refuse a childs
application to attend school on the basis of their disability. It also makes it unlawful for a
child to be expelled, limited access to resources or subjected to any other kind of
harassment on the grounds of their disability (Australian Government, 1992). At a base
level this would mean children who may suffer from a disability are protected by the
legislation from discrimination in an education facility. Therefore education providers are
encouraged to actively include children who may be disabled in their classroom and to
embrace the diversity that these children may bring to a school. Education Queensland is
the state body which provides state legislation for Queensland. It places a large emphasis
on all students collectively achieving their full potential in the Education setting.
Education Queensland actively tries to encourage all student s to feel and develop a
sense of belonging in the education system and therefore not feel left out. They also
encourage the role of parents and carers in the promotion of a positive education
environment which is inclusive of all students.
Both these legislative bodies as a whole seek to promote the individual growth and
development of students and the idea of forming a positive education environment
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which is conducive to learning which would actively promote an inclusive learning
environment (Sargeant, 2012).
It is important to understand that each child in a classroom will have a different context
from each and every student in the classroom with them. There are many factors which
contribute to a students context and it is important to become familiar with a children's
context in order to better develop strategies to include them in the classroom. A
students family will probably be one of the biggest influences in their life and this will
affect how the react to situations, deal with conflict and so on (Hyde, et. al., 2010). It is
therefore vital for a teacher to develop good relationships with a students Parents
(Shaddock, Giorcelli, Smith, 2007).
In implementing strategies in a classroom to promote inclusive education, it can be much
more successful if Parents also play a role in the implementation (Hyde, et. al., 2010). For
instance some students, especially some that suffer from certain disabilities react very
positively to having a routine which sets out what activities are planned for the day and
what the student is expected to do. By having parents also implement a routine in their
own homes, these students become more comfortable and know what is expected for
them to achieve during the day as the expectations and routines are set out for them,
therefore they are more likely to behave in a positive manner and be active contributors
to an inclusive classroom environment. By informing parents on the aims of which a
teacher is trying to achieve, parents can play a positive role in helping to achieve those
goals by working in cooperation with the teacher towards a common aim (Hyde, et. al.,
2010).
It is important for teachers to be able to share the workload and to seek assistance in
areas that they may be unsure on how best to deal with a situation (Sargeant, 2012). If a
teacher in a classroom has access to a teaching assistant or parents who may assist in the
classroom it is important for the teacher to utilise these resources and work in
synchronicity together towards the common goal of developing an inclusive classroom. It
becomes quite challenging to develop an inclusive classroom environment when one or
more students have a disability (Shaddock, Giorcelli, Smith, 2007). In this situation it is
important for a teacher to utilise the resources, professional assistance and that of other
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teachers in order to make a sustainable and achievable goal of creating an inclusive
environment. A teacher working in isolation would find it extremely challenging at
achieving these goals without assistance (Sargeant, 2012).

The integration of specialist professionals such as speech pathologists, counsellors,
psychologists, etc. can better help to promote a child's success at learning in the
classroom (Shaddock, Giorcelli, Smith, 2007). By giving some children assistance in
boosting areas of their learning in areas in which they may be lacking can better help
them to learn in a more effective manner. For instance the use of speech pathology can
better help a student to communicate their ideas and issues verbally thereby allowing
them to learn at a more effective rate compared to if they had not received any
professional assistance (Shaddock, Giorcelli, Smith, 2007).
Teachers should also look at engaging themselves with professional assistance at times.
Studying research can help a teacher to develop more effective teaching strategies which
seek to engage every member of the class (Koki, David van Broekhuizen, Uehara, 2007).
Inclusive practice is important in a classroom as it stops certain activities or lessons from
alienating certain students in the class (Shaddock, Giorcelli, Smith, 2007). Rather than
creating activities that suit most of the class and having other students complete a
different activity, teachers can slightly alter activities so that they include all members of
the class, particularly those that may suffer from a disability (Shaddock, Giorcelli, Smith,
2007). For instance if a classroom contains a hearing impaired student, a teacher can
create activities which include much higher levels of visual teaching so that a child with
hearing difficulties can still participate in and follow along with the lesson.
This type of planning can require a change in mind set as it requires teachers to think
more actively about how they can best plan lessons so that they actively include all
members of the class (Shaddock, Giorcelli, Smith, 2007). Many students, especially those
with a disability, want to be seen with a sense of normality and not as alien from their
other classmates. Therefore by planning lessons which include all members of the class,
no student is singled out or alienated from the group which acts positively to form an
inclusive classroom environment.
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One of the key aspects of inclusive practices is to plan learning which will focus on
students strengths rather than planning activities which are designed to avoid there
weaknesses (Shaddock, Giorcelli, Smith, 2007). For instance a child who is visually
impaired may have above average hearing, therefore planning activities that are based
around listening such as playing a jungle scene recording and asking students to identify
all the different animals that they can hear is a more positive approach than basing the
planning activities on the basis of avoiding visual aspects.
Teachers can also develop learner profiles of students in their class that without
assistance would struggle to participate to their full potential (Shaddock, Giorcelli, Smith,
2007). By best catering to the styles in which these students learn, they can learn at a
level that will be higher to their full potential (Richmond, 2011). For instance a student
who has ADHD may benefit from activities that are multi-sensory rather than engaging
just one sense in order to keep them focused on the activity at hand.
Developing an inclusive learning environment in the classroom can create a much more
positive learning experience for students and can help them operate at their maximum
learning potential (Richmond, 2011). Whilst actively encouraging an inclusive learning
environment can require more effort and a change in mind set, it is helping those
students who would fall behind in a normal classroom achieve to the best of their
potential and that is an achievement worth the extra effort.

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References

Australian Government (1992) Disability Discrimination Act. Retrieved from:
http://www.comlaw.gov.au/Details/C2010C00023

Hyde, Merv. & Carpenter, Lorelei Rita, &Conway, Robert N.F., (2010) Diversity and
inclusion in Australian schools. Oxford University Press, South Melbourne, Vic.



Koki, S., David van Broekhuizen, L., Uehara, D. (2007) Prevention and Intervention for
Effective Classroom Organization and Management in Pacific Classrooms. Pacific
Resources for Education and Learning, Honolulu, Hawaii.

Richmond, C. (2011) Accelerating Competence in Behaviour Management. Retrieved from
LEO

Sargeant, J. (2012). Lecture 1: Introduction to Inclusive education. Retrieved from LEO


Shaddock, A., Giorcelli, L., & Smith, S. (2007) Students with disabilities in mainstream
classrooms. Australian Government Department of Education, Employmentand
Workplace Relations.

United Nations (1989) Convention on the Rights of the Child. Retrieved from:
http://www.unesco.org/education/pdf/CHILD_E.PDF








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