Inclusive Education Programs, Vol. 11, No. 9, September 1, 2004,

Copyright 2004 LRP Publications
Inclusive Education Programs

September 01, 2004


SECTION: Vol. 11, No. 9

HEADLINE: Establish a new standard for inclusion in the classroom

BYLINE: By Carol Blessing*

BODY:
The principle of the least restrictive environment contributes significantly to the perpetuation of special education being thought of as an entity or a process.

In its day, the principle of the least restrictive environment seemed a progressive approach to creating alternatives to individuals with disabilities. At its heart, the LRE principle was intended to facilitate the inclusion of students with disabilities in the general classroom. Unfortunately, it has had the reverse effect and has created a vehicle for holding students with disabilities away from an academic and social mainstreamed life.

The principle of the LRE carries a built-in assumption that there are circumstances under which a segregated environment is appropriate, thereby, perpetuating a belief that certain disabilities create the criteria for placing people in restrictive or segregated environments.

But research has shown inclusion is academically and socially stronger for all students than are other educational responses to disability.

Diversity when celebrated and embedded within the classroom curriculum across all subject areas creates an ideal environment in which inclusive classrooms thrive. The elements of inclusive classroom communities include:
n Peer tutoring.
n Focus areas of interest.
n Complementary group composition, meaningful content.
n A focus on student abilities and talents.

Good teaching methods incorporate all of these elements into the exchange of information and experiential learning to maximize the opportunity for student success while simultaneously weaving the content of the lesson into the fabric of the academic learning standards the lesson reinforces.

*Carol Blessing works with the Program on Employment and Disability at Cornell University's School of Industrial and Labor Relations. Contact her at (518) 283-4408 or cjb39@cornell.edu.