Monday, October 3, 2011

Inclusive education: what do we know and what do we still have to learn?

Inclusive education: what do we know and what do we still have to learn? In "Uses of Instructional Time in Classrooms Serving Studentswith and Without Severe Disabilities," Hollowood, Salisbury,Rainforth, & Palombaro (this issue) have produced a research studythat investigated a timely topic: inclusive education for students withsevere disabilities. It is with great personal interest that I read thisarticle, applauding the authors for addressing empirical questionsarising out of policies and practices that often have a philosophicalbasis only. Applied demonstrations of the behavioral effects of proposedpractices can only help consumers of special education research(teachers, administrators, and parents) make better decisions andjudgments about services and practices to adopt and use.In developing any new area of research, the initial investigatorsmust take special care to ensure that the readers and consumers of thepublished research understand the exact conditions under which theeffect is obtained, to ensure greater replicability of experimentalvariables. Investigators also need to explicitly specify theexperimental conditions that were not analyzed an��a��lyze?tr.v. an��a��lyzed, an��a��lyz��ing, an��a��lyz��es1. To examine methodically by separating into parts and studying their interrelations.2. Chemistry To make a chemical analysis of.3. in the scientific study,under which the same behavioral effect may not occur. Too often thepracticing public alters one (or more) of the conditions from apublished study, and thereby possibly negates the critical variable(s)responsible for the behavioral effect. The authors clearly stated theboundaries of their findings and the possible limitations of theirstudy, but these limitations are worth revisiting.FINDINGS AND LIMITATIONSWhat are the findings of this study? The major research questionposed was, "Does the presence of a student with severe disabilitiesin a general education elementary setting affect the level of taskengagement in students without disabilities?" For this initialstudy, the comparison between levels of engagement of students withoutdisabilities in an inclusive class versus students without disabilitieswho were not in an inclusive class produced no differences between thesetwo conditions. This is certainly an encouraging finding in that theinclusive education in this study had no adverse effect on students whoare not disabled. However, the next question is the extent to whichthese findings generalize generalize/gen��er��al��ize/ (-iz)1. to spread throughout the body, as when local disease becomes systemic.2. to form a general principle; to reason inductively. (Hersen & Barlow bar��low?n.An inexpensive, one- or two-bladed pocketknife.[After Barlow, the family name of its makers, two brothers in Sheffield, England.] , 1976). What conditionspresent in the Hollowood et al. investigation might be limiting factorsin the generalizability of the results?Let's consider the following factors, which were present in theHollowood et al. (this issue) study: (1) the number of students in thegeneral class, (2) a general education model that was reported to be oneof structure, (3) the presence of an aide to offer individualizedinstruction Individualized instruction is a method of instruction in which content, instructional materials, instructional media, and pace of learning are based upon the abilities and interests of each individual learner. and attend to other needs of the student with severedisabilities, and (4) the training and experience of the aide. As anexample, the presence of an aide might be critical to attaining thelevel of engagement found in this study. Concurrently, the absence of anaide in the general class might (highly probable) result in a failure toreplicate rep��li��catev.1. To duplicate, copy, reproduce, or repeat.2. To reproduce or make an exact copy or copies of genetic material, a cell, or an organism.n.A repetition of an experiment or a procedure. these results. The reader and consumer of this informationmust be clear on how "inclusive education" was implemented inthis study. Readers of this study should clearly understand the researchquestions that were addressed, the conditions under which such questionswere addressed, and the list of potential limiting factors that relatedto the generalizability of the results to other applied efforts(Hollowood et. al., 1995).AREAS FOR FUTURE STUDYAlthough some questions were addressed in this initial investigation,several other important questions, need to be posed and studied. Futurestudies on inclusive education might address three major areas: (1)learner outcomes, (2) training and qualifications of the aide ininclusive education, and (3) relative costs of the different educationdelivery systems.Assessing learner outcomes, either through achievement test measuresor curriculum-based measures (Tucker, 1985) as a dependent variable -for students both with and without disabilities - is a high priority forfuture research efforts involving inclusive education. Whereas engagedtime in the current study produced a desired result, the investigatorsdid not address student learning. It is possible that student outcomemeasures (e.g., by collecting multiple dependent measures) may notdemonstrate similar positive results. It is an empirical question thatbegs an answer; and critics of inclusive education will quickly raisethis question (as they should). An even more pressing issue is theefficacy of inclusive education versus segregated education, related tolearner outcomes. One should not presume pre��sume?v. pre��sumed, pre��sum��ing, pre��sumesv.tr.1. To take for granted as being true in the absence of proof to the contrary: We presumed she was innocent. that the general educationclass will produce learning and social benefits that cannot be producedin segregated sites - the scientific and professional community wouldlike to see the empirical proof.A second area for future research on the efficacy of inclusiveeducation should deal with requisite skills of the one-on-one trainingaide. The Hollowood et al. study includes no description of the trainingqualifications (i.e., requisite instructional and management skills) ofthe personnel assigned as a one-on-one aide. Although I might beuninformed, some advocates of inclusive education presume that anyperson who can provide help to the student will suffice suf��fice?v. suf��ficed, suf��fic��ing, suf��fic��esv.intr.1. To meet present needs or requirements; be sufficient: These rations will suffice until next week. . If learneroutcomes for the student with disabilities is not an issue, then thequalifications of the personnel to provide instruction becomes less ofan issue. On the other hand, if the aide is to be accountable forproviding instruction that offers the capability for changing learnerbehavior, then I think the training, skills, and qualifications of theaide need to be examined and empirically validated. To presume otherwiseflies in the face of empirically validated behavioral and instructionaltechnology There are two types of instructional technology: those with a systems approach, and those focusing on sensory technologies.The definition of instructional technology prepared by the Association for Educational Communications and Technology (AECT) Definitions and Terminology that has been developed by many of the great research centersand major universities across the country (see Cipani & Spooner Spooner is an English surname of Anglo-Saxon origin, and may represent people as well as certain places : PeopleArthur Spooner, fictional character played by Jerry Stiller on The King of Queens television show ,1994). If one is to examine the educational and social benefits ofinstruction, does it not matter how material is presented to studentswith severe disabilities in general classes? If so, what transpires whenan aide is not trained to use that technology?A final area for future research is the cost effectiveness ofinclusive education. Some proponents of inclusive education maintainthat costs of this model are no greater than the costs for segregatededucation. I have a hard time seeing the financial equivalence ofinclusive education with the more traditional delivery model. Let'sexamine a hypothetical Hypothetical is an adjective, meaning of or pertaining to a hypothesis. See: Hypothesis HypotheticalHypothetical (album) example in comparing costs. In a segregated site,a class might have eight children with severe disabilities, with onespecial education teacher and one or two special education aides. In aninclusive educational model, the same eight students might have onespecial education teacher (as a consultant) and a total of eight aides,in addition to the general education class teacher. Can the cost reallybe the same? I would like to see the resource allocation resource allocationManaged care The constellation of activities and decisions which form the basis for prioritizing health care needs broken down inthis manner, using a model of having eight students with severedisabilities in eight general classes with an aide each versus onesegregated class. I won't believe it until I see it.CONCLUSIONAs one might conclude, these questions are interrelated in��ter��re��late?tr. & intr.v. in��ter��re��lat��ed, in��ter��re��lat��ing, in��ter��re��latesTo place in or come into mutual relationship.in whenconsidering the overall effectiveness of an inclusive education model.If the qualifications and teaching competencies of an effective aidewere identified, then ensuring that aides in inclusive classrooms havesuch skills could have an impact on learner outcomes. Such an effect onlearner outcomes could have beneficial effects on cost-benefit analysesof inclusive education. That is, greater cost might be economicallyjustified if inclusive classes produced increased skill development instudents. The reader should not assume a bias on my part in posing thesequestions. Advancing a research agenda implies neither advocacy noropposition of inclusive education. It merely recognizes the possibilitythat techniques and practices that evolve from a philosophical base mayor may not produce desired results. Further, if desired results arecontended by the proponents of a given approach, it behooves theeducational community to empirically justify such conterhions-beforefull-scale adoptions (and associated costs) occur. Research must addressthese issues, and we must look at inclusive education as a methodologythat needs to move from a philosophical and moral debate to empiricaltesting. Only then will all children served by educational agencies befully served.REFERENCESCipani, E., & Spooner, F. (1994). Curricular and instructionalapproaches for persons with severe disabilities. Boston: Allyn &Bacon. Hersen, M., & Barlow, D. H. (1976). Single case experimentaldesigns: Strategies for studying behavior change Behavior change refers to any transformation or modification of human behavior. Such changes can occur intentionally, through behavior modification, without intention, or change rapidly in situations of mental illness. . New York New York, state, United StatesNew York,Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of : PergamonPress. Hollowood, T. M., Salisbury, C. L., Rainforth, B., Palombaro, M.M. (1995). Use of instructional time in classrooms serving students withand without severe disabilities. Exceptional Children, 61, 242-253.Tucker, J. A. (1985). Curriculum-based assessment: An introduction.Exceptional Children, 52, 199-204.

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