How Legislation and Policies Influence Education in Australia

describe the importance of supporting the rights of all children and young people to participation and equality of access.

Firstly, Mrs. Creech discusses meaningful inclusion. Students with disabilities will learn and a slower pace, and therefore they need follow a curriculum that meets their needs. When students are part of general education classes, it is important to evaluate the material that will be taught to the child during inclusion. Valuable lessons include: skills in self-care, communication and vocational goals. It is important to see the big picture for these children. We need to teach skills that are going to contribute to their independence as adults.

When children and young people are able to participate fully, they will feel valued for who they are and the contribution that they make. This will also help them to develop a sense of identity and help them build up their self-esteem. Children should be able to make their own choices and have control of their own learning. Children and young people must also have the opportunity to become independent learners, which in return will give them a feeling of self-worth and well-being, and help them to achieve their full potential, since they will be more likely to be motivated. Promoting the rights of all children and young people to participate and having equal access and opportunities, will also help them to prepare themselves for adult life. Inclusion in education is one aspect of inclusion in society. Policies which promote equality and inclusion should give out a positive message and encourage an atmosphere of mutual respect.

Equality and Diversity Act (2010) is another important legislation which is linked to every LLUK standard. In my opinion, knowing and understanding the Equality and Diversity Act is crucial for me as a teacher in order to assess every learners needs and to meet these needs. It is not easy to treat all my students equally, especially if they are different nationalities, different races, different backgrounds and maybe with disabilities. But, with the initial assessment rrrr,,,, and choosing the right learning strategies and resources I’m sure I’ll be able to meet every learners needs. In order to succeed in meeting all my learners’ needs, I’ll use group tasks; I’ll differentiate them according to their level of knowledge, their learning styles, and by their disability if this is applicable without letting them feel discriminated.

Inclusion in education also caters for a variety of other students such as gifted and talented, students that speak English as a second language (EAL/D) or students that come from diverse backgrounds, including refugees. These children have a right to rigorous, relevant and engaging learning activities drawn from a challenging curriculum that addresses their individual learning needs. Teachers can use the Australian Curriculum flexibly to meet the individual learning needs of gifted and talented students.

An inclusive school culture is essential for the wellbeing of all students including those with a disability.

1.2 Describe the importance of supporting the rights of all children and young people to participation and

In my opinion the education departments are not doing enough to encourage schools and explain to the teachers the benefits of inclusion to both the children with disabilities and the rest of the students (Ashman & Elkins, 2009). Children are our future and it is important that through inclusion they learn to understand that differences make us who we are. I think it also further teachers the message to booth the children and the rest of the community that of social justice which says just because your different doesn’t mean you don’t deserve fair treatment (Ashman & Elkins, 2009).

Students with special needs need deserve the same education general education students are presented with. The philosophy of “ Disability Inclusion” concentrates on creating a safe, loving, and effective learning environment for students who suffer from physical, learning, and behavioral disabilities. When a student with disabilities is placed in the same environment as a non-disabled student, the results show wonderful improvement. When we are able to discover the strength of the student we are able to see just how much the student can improve in an inclusion classroom. Disability Inclusion not only sets a new beginning for an equal education of special education students, but it allows for more interaction with the child, and a more hands-on assessment.

This report will aim to discuss the inclusion for special educational needs (SEN) students as well as those students with autistic spectrum condition (ASC). This report will discuss inclusive education and its history, as well as the social, political and philosophical arguments that impact upon it. The report will look at how educational practice is shaped by legislative and regulatory frameworks; it will also show how our own practice provides support for all children to achieve within mainstream education.

Cambridge, Johnson, & Newton (2014) states, “The attitude of teachers is paramount to the successful implementation of inclusive education”. The research showed that teachers generally had a positive attitude towards inclusion, but many negative factors affected their attitude. Factors such as lack of professional development, knowledge, and skills negatively impacted the teachers’ perception of inclusion. Cambridge, Johnson, & Newton (2014) talks about how important it is for teachers to have a positive attitude. The teachers’ attitude is known to have an impact of how students learn and socialize. As a teacher who teaches students with disabilities, I can understand how the teachers’ attitude can affect the student. There has been times when I have gotten frustrated because none of my teaching methods and techniques were not working. What I began to realize is that the more frustrated I became, the more frustrated my students became. I feel if I had more training or in-depth training on different ways to reach my students, neither of us would be as frustrated. It is like walking into a job untrained. Nobody wants that. The participants of this study, although having a fairly positive attitude toward inclusion, preferred to teach students with mild disabilities. They preferred students with mild disabilities because they did not feel they had the right resources, time, and technology, to meet the needs of students

Inclusion can be defined as the act of being present at regular education classes with the support and services needed to successfully achieve educational goals. Inclusion in the scholastic environment benefits both the disabled student and the non-disabled student in obtaining better life skills. By including all students as much as possible in general or regular education classes all students can learn to work cooperatively, learn to work with different kinds of people, and learn how to help people in tasks. “As Stainback, Stainback, East, and Sapon-Shevin (1994) have noted, ‘...the goal of inclusion in schools is to create a world in which all people are knowledgeable about and supportive of all other

Inclusion in classrooms can further benefit the communication skills and sense of community among students with and without disabilities. “Children that learn together, learn to live together” (Bronson, 1999). For students with special needs, inclusive classrooms provide them with a sense of self-belonging. The classrooms provide diverse environments with which the students will evolve feelings of being a member of a diverse community (Bronson, 1999). For students without disabilities, they learn to develop appreciation of the diversity. The classrooms provide many opportunities for the students to experience diversity and realize that everyone has different abilities that are unique and acceptable. From this realization, the students will learn to be respectful for others with different characteristics (Bronson, 1999). Inclusion in classrooms is beneficial to all students’ individual and community growth.

Within the past decades and a big discussion has occurred regarding the most appropriate setting within which to provide education for students in special education. Although the change in the educational environment is significant for handicapped student the concepts of inclusion also bring up new issues for the regular education classroom teachers.

One of the most controversial issues facing educators today is the topic of educating students with disabilities, specifically through the concept of inclusion. Inclusion is defined as having every student be a part of the classroom all working together no matter if the child has a learning disability or not (Farmer) (Inclusion: Where We’ve Been.., 2005, para. 5). The mentally retarded population has both a low IQ and the inability to perform everyday functions. Activities such as eating, dressing, walking, and in some cases, talking can be hopeless for a child with mental retardation.