For kids, back to school is usually an exciting time of year. But for some students, caregivers and parents, it is filled with anxiety, school placement decisions, and the dread of the “Individual Education Plan“. This academic year is no different. But we at IAO are here to give you hope as you begin to navigate this year with inclusive goals and education in mind.
Placement
Last spring, we hosted a webinar of academics who had reviewed research about inclusive education settings. In this systematic literature review of 15 studies, the researchers compared the impact of belonging, engagement and academic achievement between students in segregated placements and general education settings. The review faced the challenge that 11 of 15 of the studies did not clearly indicate whether the classrooms studied were actually inclusive, or merely “integrated”.
Comparison of classroom settings
Segregated settings in this review were defined as “50% or more of a student’s time spent exclusively with other disabled children, separate from mainstream classrooms” (Barron, et al., 2024).
Integration was defined as “placing students with disabilities within mainstream classes without accompanying structural changes” (Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD, 2016). In this setting, students may still be separated from the rest of the students in the class as teachers attempt to primarily accommodate academic needs. “Integration does not eliminate segregation, marginalization, discrimination or devaluation in mainstream school settings” (Haug 2017).
The authors of the review study defined inclusion as the following:
“A process of systemic reform embodying changes and modifications in content, teaching methods, approaches, structures and strategies in education to overcome barriers with a vision serving to provide all students of the relevant age range with an equitable and participatory learning experience and the environment that best corresponds to their requirements and preferences.” (Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, 2016)
Inclusion is where all students learn in the same environment with consideration of three factors: academic achievement, belonging and engagement. The experiences of students in the 15 studies reviewed may have varied significantly depending on whether they were in integrated or inclusive classroom settings.
Nonetheless, positive correlations were found between academic outcomes and learning in the general education setting: the studies relevant to literacy found stronger outcomes from students who spent 80% or more of their time in general education classes than those who spent less than 80% of time in general education classrooms. Three of the four studies related to numeracy found that students made more academic progress in general education compared to segregated settings. Two studies explored the long term academic trajectories of students in segregated settings. They found that students in segregated classes were more likely to be streamed into lower academic track in high school. None of the studies related to academic achievement indicated more favourable academic achievement outcomes in self-contained settings.
As IAO’s Toronto District School Board Special Education Advisory Committee Representative, Nora Green, recently noted in the Toronto Star, it’s key that kids with special needs be supported in their local schools: they’re more likely to build connections with people in the neighbourhood and that “dramatically changes people’s lives”. From a family perspective, it disrupts familial connections in schools and complicates already complicated schedules when siblings are forced into different schools. In some cases, very young children are on long bus rides (an hour each way) instead of being able to attend their local school.
We know the students themselves can feel the sting of being “othered” and that special education classrooms are frequently very disrupted and disruptive environments.
If you’re struggling with getting your message across for supports and accomodations in the general education setting, now is a good time to take a look at our advocacy modules, developed in partnership with the University of Western Ontario’s Canadian Research Centre on Inclusive Education.
The Individual Education Plan
In Ontario, we have a long way to go to make the IEP meaningful for the student and something that is to be celebrated. While British Columbia has made great strides through the work of Shelley Moore, focusing on strength-based and inclusive IEPs, Ontario’s approach has not changed in decades. Nonetheless, the IEP can be a powerful tool, if developed properly an implemented with care.
The Maryland Coalition for Inclusive Education has prepared a quick guide to making the most out of the IEP process. It neatly sums up a person-centered approach to inclusive education, particularly for students with developmental disabilities, some of our most vulnerable learners and citizens. Key principles are:
- Inclusion in the general education classroom and in other settings within the neighbourhood school
- Individualization, focusing on the learner’s unique gifts and support needs across all activities in the school day and year
- Teamwork and collaboration, to work as teams in creative solution-finding
- Flexibility, plans may need to be modified or adjusted as the learner adjusts and the team learns more about the student
- Competency, presuming it – as the least dangerous assumption.
IAO wishes you an excellent academic year!
