School policies
“Using more examples to explain difficult concepts will benefit all children” can also impact their self-concept, and they will start to doubt themselves and thinking that they are not good enough. Most of the time, these things negatively impact the academic and social achievement of those students. The outcome is that students whose needs are not met drop out, or they engage in behaviours that may result in them being suspended or expelled.”
How can a teacher or professor ensure that their teaching is as inclusive as possible? “The most important thing, like I said, is that they need to acknowledge 100% of their students. When planning, they need to decide to focus on that 15% of children who need extra help or accommodation. They also need to realise that by making their teaching more responsive to all members in the class, they are also making class more interesting for the children without additional needs. For example, using more examples to explain difficult concepts, using a range of teaching strategies will benefit all children. Teachers can also use other children in the class as human resources – children working together is a powerful tool. Children can explain difficult ideas in child language and may make learning more meaningful. They should also not be afraid to enlist the help of teaching assistants and other teaching staff. They can also ask their colleagues for ideas if they find they don’t know enough about engaging all learners in some classroom activities.”
Which tools would you recommend for a teacher to aid in inclusive teaching? “One of the most important tools is for teachers to know how to build relationships with their students. An interesting TED talk by Rita Pierson, called ‘every kid needs a champion’, goes into this in more depth. It talks about how children who do not like their teacher will not learn as well from them. And it is harder to build a relationship with those students who feel excluded. The teacher needs to understand the particular child and get to know them – this will be a powerful tool to build relationships. Reflective teaching is also incredibly useful. This is where teachers ask their children what they’ve learnt from them – this really increases the amount of feedback that a teacher gets and helps them learn what their pupils are actually picking up.”
How should parents take action when a school is non-inclusive? “If your school is non-inclusive, it is not easy to change it. It’s a hierarchy too. Schools should make sure that there is a person that children can go to, such as a ‘wellbeing co-ordinator’, who they can voice their concerns to. It is important that schools senmagazine.co.uk
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About the author Umesh Sharma is Professor in the Faculty of Education at Monash University, Australia, where he is the Academic Head of the Educational Psychology and Inclusive Education. His main areas of research are positive behaviour support, inclusive education for disadvantaged children and policy and practice in special and inclusive education. research.monash.edu/en/persons/umesh-sharma @MonashUni linkedin.com/in/umesh-sharma-117720a0/
acknowledge any faults they have and that they work together to make their teaching better. Schools should also work with parents, to send them positive messages about the child too. The best schools I know send a letter to the parents at the beginning of the year, introducing themselves. This sets the basis for a positive working relationship with the parents. They maintain ongoing communication with parents rather than inly contacting parents when something goes wrong.”
How can teachers ensure that students work well with their fellow students with special needs? “Teachers need to be careful with their language, so as to not stigmatize their students. One way to ensure collaboration is to have a lot of inclusive games where children have to work together. An important concept is to ‘sink or swim together’, where if one student fails, all kids fail. This helps aid co-operation and mutual understanding. Teachers could also use group teaching strategies (e.g. co-operative learning and peer tutoring) where peers work to support each other with their learning.”
What is the ideal inclusive learning environment? “The ideal school is any school that believes that all students are different and that is always learning new things. The school should celebrate difference and shouldn’t disable a learner because of the way he or she learns. Inclusive schools empower all learners. The ideal inclusive environment also supports their teachers really well, and teachers at those schools should believe that inclusion is an opportunity. A good metaphor is that someone who has only ever driven on smooth roads will find it hard to drive on a busy street in London – but someone who has learned to drive in a busy place will have an advantage everywhere. Inclusion is like one of those roads where there is a lot of traffic, but if you learn to drive well, you can drive anywhere in the world.” SEN109
