Speeches & Articles

CLASS SIZE AND COMPOSITION...A SLIPPERY SLOPE FOR CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES

By Anne Kresta, Inclusive Education and Community Development Specialist, Community Living Manitoba

The Manitoba Teachers’ Society recently released a report that summarizes its work assessing the increased feelings of stress teachers are experiencing province wide. This report indicates that majority of teachers feel overwhelmed with their workload and lists a series of recommendations to address this challenge. While these recommendations seem designed to best support the classroom teacher, it is important to understand that some of the implications of these measures may have detrimental impacts upon students with disabilities and their families. This is especially true of recommendations regarding class composition, where children would be ranked according to how much of the teacher’s time and energy would be required to educate them. The suggested ranking system, noted in an appendix to the report, does not take into consideration any support that the student may bring into the classroom with them such as an educational assistant or potential support from resource teaching staff. It also does not consider what the potential benefits of having that student placed within the classroom might be. Examples include:

• promoting teamwork among the students,
• providing opportunities to learn about diversity and inclusion, and
• allowing for the use of alternate teaching styles that can benefit all of the other students within the classroom, particularly those with invisible disabilities or those who may have borderline struggles with learning.

It was particularly alarming to read suggestions that “alternative programs” be instituted to provide “the most enabling environment” rather than have all students placed within the regular classroom. The amendment to the Public Schools Act: Appropriate Educational Programming, places particular emphasis upon the need to have students placed within the regular classroom at their neighbourhood schools. This is a cornerstone to inclusive education. Historically, phrases like “most enabling environment” and “alternative programs” have been used to segregate students with disabilities, and their interpretation is more often subjective, usually in the hands of administrative staff and without thorough consultation with the families and students involved in those placement decisions.

The suggested recommendations made within the Manitoba Teachers Society report should in no way, shape or form, lead to a debate on the merits of inclusive education versus segregated programming. That debate ended with the proclamation of the Amendment to the Public Schools Act. The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities affirms the proclamation.

Our children belong in the classroom with their peers, and our teachers must receive the supports that they need to ensure that all of the children in their classroom can obtain an appropriate education. This support should include more professional development, consultation with specialists who can provide their insights into barriers to the provision of the curriculum, and the use of educational assistants to support classroom practices that encourage learning opportunities. The use of educational assistants can range from providing opportunities for the teacher to engage in smaller group or one-on-one work with specific students, to addressing the unique support needs of specific students who are in the classroom. Alternatively, using the categorical funding available for the appropriate educational programming for specific students can offset the costs of hiring additional teaching or resource staff. Those decisions need to be made by a collaborative team of stakeholders that includes the parents (and student whenever appropriate). Too often, even with the amendment to the Public Schools Act, parents are left in the dark about the programming for their children with special needs. Not surprisingly, parents in this position can feel very defensive and want their child to have direct support (in the form of an educational assistant) to ensure that their learning, social and emotional needs are met during the school day.

It is important that classroom teachers are able to take ownership of all of their students and that the school and school division ensure that classroom teachers are encouraged and supported to do so.

Public education is about preparing all of our children for a future world that is inclusive, socially just, and diverse. By working collaboratively to root out the barriers to attaining these goals and supporting each other in the process, we will be able to move towards these goals and our children and society will be richer for it.

Kerri Joffe and Roberto Lattanzio, Staff Lawyers at ARCH Disability Law Centre have written an article – “Inclusive Education: Opportunities for Re-Design”. They presented it at the Canadian Association for the Practical Study of Law in Education (CAPSLE) Conference held April 25 – 27, 2010.

They write...
Recent developments in international law and Canadian education policy have affirmed Canada’s commitment to inclusive education. Canada has ratified the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (“CRPD”), thereby binding itself to fulfill the obligations set out in the treaty. One such obligation is article 24, which recognizes the right of people with disabilities to education and obligates States Parties to provide inclusive education systems. The objective of inclusive education, as articulated in the CRPD, is reflected in Canadian domestic laws, such as Ontario’s Human Rights Code (“Code”) and other provincial human rights statutes. In addition, recent Ontario education policy has articulated Ministerial expectations regarding inclusive education.

Despite these developments, inclusive education in Canada, and in Ontario, continues to be a source of tension among stakeholders in the delivery of public education services. At the root of these tensions are debates regarding the interpretation of individual versus collective rights, limited funding and resource allocation, collective agreements, disciplinary measures, and what constitutes appropriate accommodation. The very definition of inclusive education and how it is implemented can, in and of itself, be a great source of tension.

One factor that contributes to the persistence of these and other tensions...

-For the full article – Click here to download PDF

Toronto Star article focuses on Inclusive Education Forum in Toronto February 13 at OISE

-Check out the details

Community Living Ontario – Discussion of Philip Burge Article on Public Perception on Inclusive Education in Ontario.

Web posted article - Community Living Ontario Website

New study on inclusive education focuses on public perceptions Author says study highlights areas that can be improved upon Wednesday, February 04, 2009 --

Philip Burge says knowing how your community thinks is an important step towards addressing areas where improvements can be made.

That reasoning led him to co-author a new study entitled, A Quarter Century of Inclusive Education for Children with Intellectual Disabilities in Ontario: Public Perceptions, which surveyed 680 adults from across Ontario to find out their opinions on inclusive education.

Despite increasing movement towards inclusive education, which he says gathered steam in the 1980s with the introduction of Bill 82, the public's opinion of its utility remains divergent.

When asked what type of school is best for children who have an intellectual disability, 52 per cent of the public viewed some degree of inclusive education in schools as best while 42 per cent believed that education in a segregated setting was best.

Burge, who is an associate professor of psychiatry at Queen's University, says that despite conducting the survey in southeastern Ontario, which provides greater opportunities for inclusive education, these results were unanticipated.

"We know that certain Ontario school boards, especially in the Toronto and Ottawa areas, have a long and ongoing history of favouring segregated schools than do most other Ontario jurisdictions," says Burge.

"Given the norm of greater opportunities for most children with intellectual disabilities in southeastern Ontario (where the survey was conducted) to receive part of most of their schooling in integrated classrooms it was surprising to uncover such a high proportion of respondents who believed (segregated) schools was best for children who have an intellectual disability."

Reasons for the public's opinion may be explained in a follow-up question of the survey. When participants were asked what they perceived as obstacles to inclusion 79 per cent said schools lacked the resources needed and 69 per cent of the respondents believed teachers were unprepared to teach students who have an intellectual disability.

Burge says due to the limitations of the survey he is unable to comment on whether the perceived barriers are real or only perceptions but the study's outcomes should be used to dig deeper into the issues.

"What appears clear is that these perceptions are likely held by a significant proportion of the adult public and these views likely impact their support level for efforts to expand inclusion in schools," he says.

From the findings the authors conclude that it is imperative for school boards to further explore and ultimately address the lack of preparedness perception held by the public.

The authors further suggest that the public may be unaware of recent policy developments to enhance inclusive education such as Education for All in 2005, meant to strengthen student's learning through greater needs identification and allocation of resources, and a proposal from the college of teachers which recommends adjustments of the content to the program of professional education that would make special education a required element.

The authors add that boards of education, educators and government ministries can play a key role in better communicating to the public recent developments in order to further strengthen support for inclusion and increase available educational resources to address the remaining challenges.

Also important to the study’s findings was the positive link between people who know someone who has a disability and their positive opinions of inclusion education. People who know someone with an intellectual disability are more than twice as likely to favour inclusive school environments.

The authors recommend disability awareness programs and personal success stories from children would be helpful to informing the public of the potential benefits of an inclusive school environment.

http://www.communitylivingontario.ca/page/communitylivingleaders/ezlist_item_1e7b39f4-0ed4-485d-a60f-c24552177ee6.aspx

“Inclusive Education: The Way of the Future”

Diane Richler, President of Inclusion International, was a speaker at the International Conference on Education held in Geneva in November 2008. She was representing the non-government (NGO) sector. The conference theme was “inclusive education” and was attended by Ministers of Education and senior officials from dozens of countries from every region of the world. Diane’s address provides a clear statement on why inclusive education is important, and answers several key questions on what it will take to move ahead. Diane Richler lives in Toronto and is a former Execitive Vice President of The Canadian Association for Community Living. She was a co-editor of Changing Canadian Schools and is a member fo the Order of Canada. She is currently serving a second 4 year term as President of Inclusion International.

To Read Diane’s Commentary – CLICK HERE – and when you read it go to our feedback page and share your thoughts – Be part of the Discussion.

Recent Article on Inclusion in Ontario

Philip Burge from Queen's University and his colleagues have written an interesting article on inclusive education in Ontario. Check it out.

New Article on Inclusion in EDUCATION CANADA – the Journal of the Canadian Education Association.

The current issue of Education Canada has an article by Gordon Porter titled: Making Canadian Schools Inclusive: A Call to Action. Porter was invited to write the article to follow-up on his selection as a recipient of the CEA Whitworth Award for research in Education. Click HERE for a PDF copy of the article as it appears in the Spring 2008 issue is attached. Click HERE for a second copy that might be used for printing is also attached.

Speech at Inclusion Event



Alice Bender, an educator from Montreal provides a passionate description of her perspective - "Inclusion - from the heart". It is the text of a speech she delivered recently at a session for teachers & parents in Fredericton, NB. In English & French, Alice shares her own journey towards inclusive schooling.


Click Here to read Alice Bender's speech...(pdf 57KB)

Keynote Speech at Inclusion Event



Dr. Michael Bach, Executive Vice-President of the Canadian Association for Community Living was the keynote speaker at a major inclusion event held in New Brunswick November 26-28, 2006. Dr. Bach opened the session by addressing over 300 teachers and educational leaders in attendance. He spoke about the context in which the demand for inclusive education occurs in Canada and analyzed critical factors that require discussion and reflection. For a full copy of the speech check the link in our LEARN Section.

See also Bach Paper NB IE Conf Nov 06