ANALYSIS ON INCLUSIVE EDUCATION FOR A CONDUCIVE CLASSROOM ENVIRONMENT

    Inclusive education focuses on providing educational opportunities for a group of heterogeneous classroom students from different socioeconomic backgrounds in regular schools and the provision of providing equitable learning opportunities based on their specific needs by breaking physical, attitudinal, and informational barriers. It is defined as a learning environment that promotes the full personal, academic and professional development of all learners irrespective of race, class, colour, gender, disability, sexual preference, learning styles and language.          

                                                                                  

        

Aims and objectives

• Education for all by focussing on universalising education

• Identification of skills and promoting the same

• Development of social consciousness amongst the students

• To prepare for new challenges

• Development of brotherhood

• To improve quality of education

• For the development of healthy citizenship

• For developing feelings of self respect, social equality and self reliance

                                                                              

Initiative programmes taken by Indian Government

• The Integrated Education for Disabled Children Scheme,(IEDC)

• launched in December, 1974 Replaced by IEDSS(2009- 10)

• The District Primary Education Programme , 1994

• The National Policy on Education, 1986

• The Project Integrated Education for the Disabled(PIED), launched in 1987

• The person with Disabilities Act, 1995

• The Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, 2000

• Rehabilitation Council of India act (1992) made a historic collaboration with National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE) on January 19, 2005

Challenges to implement inclusive education

    The road to achieving inclusive education is a long and varied one, on which challenges and opportunities of prodigious manner arises constantly. Although the Government of India has attempted to create policies that are inclusive for people with disabilities, their implementation efforts have not resulted in an inclusive system of education. Students are forced to leave school due to their parents poor economic condition, and to work to help their parents make ends meets. This leads to the growing number of child labourers, which in turn leads to physical and psychological disabilities. There are challenges around negative attitudes and behaviour, on the part of both teachers and parents. Another serious challenge is the fact that most disabled people are still excluded from equal access to mainstream education. Majority of schools are not equipped with meeting the needs of disabled students.

Strategies to be adopted

• Effective preparation of teachers for special education programmes

• Ensuring the flexibility of inclusive education

• School-based support team should develop strategies to meet the needs of learners with special educational needs.

• The school has the primary responsibility for helping children learn alongside their typically developing peers. An inclusive school must enable education structures, systems and methodologies to meet the needs of all children, particularly those who face the greatest barriers to achieving their right to education

• Parents have a right to be involved in all decision-making concerning their child. They should be made aware of the opportunities and significances of inclusive education and to utilize the same.

• Altering transportation facilities so that these children can move around with relative ease.

• Architecturally, there should be ramps and wheelchair access constructed in service areas such as toilets.

• Student-oriented components, such as medical and educational assessment, books and stationery, uniforms, transport allowance, reader allowance and stipend for girls, support services, assistive devices, boarding the lodging facility, therapeutic services, teaching learning materials, etc should be provided according to need of the students.

• Differently abled children should be treated equally as the normal children and instead of looking them in sympathy their talents and abilities should be recognised for their self-respect and welfare of the society.

    Right to Education Act 2009 ensures education to all children irrespective of their caste, religion, ability, and so on. Inclusion is more than a method of educating students with disabilities. It stresses that each child, regardless of the intensity and severity of his or her disabilities, is a valued member of society and is capable of participating in that society. A good inclusive education is one that allows all the students to participate in all aspects of classroom equally To meet the challenges, the involvement and cooperation of educators, parents, and community leaders is vital for the creation of better and more inclusive schools. In this manner a conducive classroom environment could be created.