A ascensão da programação de educação inclusiva marca uma mudança significativa em relação aos modelos tradicionais de educação para crianças com deficiência. Muitas vezes confrontados com estigma e falta de recursos, crianças com deficiência foram historicamente segregadas de seus pares por frequentarem escolas separadas, matricular-se em turmas de educação especial, recebendo educação através do ensino em casa, or simply missing out on education altogether.
Inclusive education is now becoming more prevalent, and evidence shows that when done well, it provides the most benefits for both the newly included learners but also the wider classroom and school populations.
What is inclusive education?
Very simply, inclusive education means that all children attend the same class and learn the same content. Regardless of ability or disability, children enroll in their local school to learn alongside peers from their community, and the education system is tasked with ensuring both physical access to schools and providing accommodations for full participation in learning.
While implementing effective inclusive education can require significant initial investment in time and resources, the benefits are long-lasting and widespread. And while there are many justifications for inclusive education, I will highlight two: improving quality education for ALL students and fostering a stronger community.
Inclusive education is quality education
When we think of inclusive education, we often focus on teacher practices to support children with disabilities. This is inaccurate. Inclusive education is not about providing education to children with disabilities, but rather improving the quality of education to ensure that ALL students can learn in one class.
Inclusive education practices are largely built on the foundation of Design Universal para Aprendizagem (UDL), which promotes learning environments that are “accessible, inclusivo, equitativo, and challenging for every learner.” The framework encourages educators to provide multiple ways for learners to engage with and learn new material, and multiple ways to demonstrate what they have learned. While this differentiation benefits learners with disabilities, it also promotes greater engagement and learning for the entire class.
Imagine, por exemplo, that a student has severe dyslexia. They stare at the page and letters overlap, words run together. Reading small text from a book might not be the best way for this student to learn new content. Em vez de, this student might benefit from listening to audio material. If this method was made available to all learners, it might also benefit a student at a lower reading level, a student who has a vision impairment, or a student who is still learning the language of instruction. It is unlikely that all these students would have a diagnosed disability, but all would benefit from this additional way of engaging with the material.
Providing differentiated instruction also encourages teachers to presume competence and set high academic expectations for students with and without disabilities. When children with disabilities are shuffled into separate classes or schools, it is easy to default to simplifying lessons to ensure they succeed. This often comes with good intentions — teachers want their students to feel successful — but it does not always serve students in the long run or recognize their true academic potential. In an inclusive classroom, the default shifts to identifying ways to ensure that all students can achieve the learning objective, even if the content must be taught differently or additional resources are required.
Fostering community
Looking across their class, a teacher should see a smaller version of their community. Neighborhood schools should reflect the wider population, mirroring and celebrating its diversity — considering such differences as sex, ethnicity or religion. Through this atmosphere, children are exposed to diversity and learn to navigate the world around them. No entanto, when individuals with disabilities are segregated in the school system, children grow up viewing them as “other”. Simultaneamente, children with disabilities learn that they have no place to engage with their peers without disabilities.
These mindsets carry into adulthood. Segregation in schools often leads to segregation in the broader community as the same exclusive practices are mirrored outside the classroom. If children with disabilities are not seen as a part of the school community, then adults with disabilities will receive this same treatment, lacking access to the workforce, community spaces, and social practices. Through inclusive education, no entanto, schools establish ALL children as equal members of the community. It teaches all children to engage with those different from themselves and to presume competence even in those who look or learn differently. Como tal, both children with and without disabilities are raised with the mindset that they all have a valued place within society. When reaching adulthood, it will then be natural, por exemplo, to function in a workplace with colleagues with and without disabilities.
Fostering a sense of belonging, strengthening relationships among diverse peers and promoting integration into the broader community are all benefits of inclusive education. While access to quality lessons, educational content and learning materials is critically important, the social benefits of inclusive education for ALL learners are what will create lasting societal change that will shift longstanding stigma and lead to more inclusive societies within and beyond schools.