FREE ESSAY ON INCLUSION

INCLUSION

Inclusion
Topic: Inclusion in general education
General purpose: To inform
Specific purpose: To inform the audience of the aspects of inclusion of disabled students
it general education classrooms
Thesis: Inclusion is the process by which children and youth with disabilities
participate in the same general education classrooms that they would attend if they did
not have a disability (usf.edu)
Introduction:
I. Attention-getting device: According to Deborah Smith of Vanderbilt University,
inclusion is a movement that seeks to create schools and other social institutions based
on meeting the needs of all learners as well as respecting and learning from each other's
differences. The inclusion movement has focused on individuals with disabilities, but it
is designed to alter the philosophy for educating all students. Inclusion will inevitably
effect each of us in some way, either as a student or as a parent to either a student
with a disability or without a disability. You or your children will at some point be
learning side by side with a disabled student as long as inclusion is found to be the
best learning environment for all students with and without disabilities (Smith 29). 
II. Thesis: Inclusion is the process by which children and youth with disabilities
participate in the same general education classrooms that they would attend if they did
not have a disability (usf.edu).
III. Preview: Today I am going to discuss how inclusion in general education is defined,
then I will introduce some of the problems that inclusion has attempted to rectify in
education, and finally I will address the areas in which inclusion affects the
community.
[Transition: First I will discuss inclusion in general education is defined along with
some of the philosophy inclusion encompassed.]
Body:
I. According to Bob Friedman, the director of the University of South Florida's
Department of Child and Family Studies, inclusion in general education involves including
every student regardless of disability in a general classroom environment (Freidman).
A. Inclusion means a climate of acceptance is created, no one is rejected or locked out
(Horton).
1. The disabled students are accepted not only by the teachers but also by their peers in
the classroom.
2. The disabled students are included in all extracurricular activities as well as
classroom activities.
B. According to Kelly Horton, the former director of Special Education in Sullivan
County, inclusion focuses on everyone's abilities and possibilities, and disregards any
disabilities or limitations 
(Horton).
1. Each person's skills are acknowledged.
2. It is pointed out that no one has to be good at everything.
[Transition: Now that I have given you a working definition and some philosophy behind
inclusion in the classroom, let's move on to some of the problems inclusion is looking to
resolve.]
II. Inclusion is characterized by an attitude of problem solving.
A. The implementation of an inclusive classroom looks to solve some of the financial
problems currently facing our education system.
1. The Department of Education included in its 20th Annual Report to Congress that the
current emphasis on inclusion reflects a concern about the increasing costs of special
education services in a time of budget austerity (Department of Education).
a. Including the disabled students in the general education classroom with their peers
would cut these costs.
b. Inclusion would also help reduce the need for maintaining a parallel educational
structure to meet the needs of the disabled students.
2. The data used by the Department of Education suggests that the per pupil special
education expenditures have grown at about twice the rate of general education
expenditures.
B. Another problem that inclusion addresses is the fact that many of the youth with
disabilities do not leave school with the necessary knowledge and social skills to
fulfill adult roles (Department of Education).
1. According to the Department of Education, less than 25% of the youth with disabilities
currently enroll in post-secondary education (Department of Education).
2. Inclusion allows disabled students more interactions with their non-disabled peers,
thus instilling in them many of the social skills needed in the adult world.
C. Inclusion also engages a concern about the rapid and steady rise in the number of
students identified as eligible for special education.
1. This increase in students served in special education programs encourages more
inclusive environments by taxing the capacity of special education settings (Department
of Education,).
2. The percentage of students ages 6 through 17 receiving special education services
increased from 9.6% in 1987-88 to 10.6% in 1995-96 (Department of Education, 1997).
[Since I have discussed the problems that inclusion is aiding to resolve, let's now talk
about how inclusion affects some aspects of the community.]
III. Inclusion not only affects the disabled students, but also those of us without a
disability along with the teachers and society in general.
A. Students educated in inclusion classrooms had a greater number of interactions and
social contacts with students without disabilities and received greater levels of social
support behaviors (Salend and Duhaney).
1. Salend and Duhaney point out in their studies involving inclusion that this
interaction with students without disabilities opens up a larger friendship network and
enables the disabled to procure more long lasting friendships with students without
disabilities (Salend and Duhaney).
2. The data collected also showed that the interactions were more often initiated by
students without disabilities (Salend and Duhaney).
B. An important factor in considering the effectiveness of inclusion programs is the
effect of the program on the academic and social behaviors of the students without
disabilities (Salend and Duhaney).
1. According to the studies done by Salend and Duhaney, the students without disabilities
possess positive views of inclusion and believe that inclusion benefits them in increased
acceptance, understanding, and tolerance of individuals differences (Salend and
Duhaney).
2. They also found that the students without disabilities had a greater awareness and
sensitivity to the needs of others as well as an improved ability to deal with disability
in their own lives.
C. There have been both positive and negative outcomes of inclusion for teachers due to
the individual success in implementing inclusion, the availability of financial
resources, and supportive services for the teacher (Salend and Duhaney).
1. Salend and Duhaney's research identified the positive outcomes to include an
increasing skill level to meet the needs of their students with and without disabilities,
developing an increased confidence in their teaching abilities, and feeling good about
their ability to change (Salend and Duhaney).
2. The concerns that the teachers were found to have were that the education of the
students without disabilities would suffer, the lack of funds to support personnel and
instructional needs, and the rigid requirements associated with the general education
curriculum.
D. The effects of inclusion on society as a whole have been found to have a more positive
nature (Alper).
1. Inclusion supports an overall value of equality.
2. It has also been found to teach socialization and collaborative skills as well
building supportiveness and interdependence (Alper).
[We are all affected by inclusion in some way or another.]
Conclusion:
I. Summary: Today I have given you a better grasp of the concept of inclusion in general
education, how it is attempting to solve some of the problems currently facing our
education system and how it effects not only students with disabilities but all aspects
of society.
II. Closure: Hopefully you were able to gain the insight that inclusion affects each of
us in some way from my earlier statements regarding the inclusion movement and its desire
to alter the philosophy of education of all students. Maybe in taking this knowledge with
you, you may see for yourself the affect inclusion is currently having on your own day to
day life. 
Bibliography
Works Cited
Alper, Sandra. "Philosophy of Inclusive Education." 30 Oct. 2000.