Daily Times

The sustainable development goals (SDGs) are all about inclusion, and countless benefits of inclusion are evident in every sector of progressive societies. When we talk about tracking the outcomes of inclusion in education, various studies have demonstrated that students with or without disabilities could, both, benefit more in a variety of ways than a teacher can think.

The more we evaluate the information gathered from schools and families about inclusion, the more we realise that one of the biggest barriers to inclusion is the lack of training in teachers’ education programmes. It is no fault of theirs as new teachers have limited information about inclusion. They are not given the knowledge, skills set or resources to teach in inclusive classrooms.

Pakistan, we are in a situation where we ought to implement inclusion to meet the SDGs and prepare new teachers for inclusive classrooms, but we are not quite there yet.

For preparing the novice teachers, here are a few things that new teachers should know about inclusive classrooms.

One of the best things about inclusive teaching is that a teacher is not expected to work alone. Inclusive teaching is always a collaborative effort and requires the input and support of a school-based team. The team, generally, comprises of the classroom teacher, special education teacher/ learning specialist, student’s family, school administrator, and community support workers. The teacher, with the assistance of the school team, plans and delivers services tostudents with disabilities in an inclusive classroom.

When we analyse the schools’ situation in Pakistan or around the world, no general school education can be observed because it is a universal fact that no two brains are alike. Human beings develop and learn at different degrees and in different ways. It is a fact that no teacher can hold a class of students who learn at the same pace and in the same way. Every teacher has to deal with a group of students with a wide range of ability levels that they need to reach and teach. We have students from a wide variety of backgrounds who read at different levels, can do diverse creative writings, calculate math at different speeds, would rather draw than writing, or prefer physical education over IT.

In most of the developed societies, it has been recognised now that a good and effective teacher believes in inclusive teaching. The truth is that quality teaching is inclusive teaching. Effective teachers practise to value students’ diversity and focus on students’ strengths rather than shortfalls. These educators use an inclusive approach to engage students in learning, provide positive educational experiences, and set realistic learning outcomes. Expert teachers use highly effective teaching strategies, possess strong classroom management skills, are responsive and reflective in their teaching practice, and provide supports to their students, having result-based plans.

Good teachers use research-based methods such as the Universal Design for Learning to provide students with different ways to connect and succeed with the curriculum. So, if a teacher is already executing most of the above-mentioned approaches, then she/heis already an inclusive teacher and just need to stay regulated on the same inclusive strategies.

Modifying curriculum for students who do not yet have an understanding of grade-level content, has long been the sole responsibility of special education teachers. However, since the goal of inclusion is to include students in as much of the general education environment and curriculum as possible, and educationists need to make modifications as frequently as possible across all areas of the educational programmes. Therefore, if we want to see full, reliable inclusion in the Pakistani school system, modifications should be the responsibility of every teacher, and extensive training should be conducted on designing effective IEPs.

When general education teachers take ownership over the development and delivery of lessons for their students, we can truly begin to move towards more inclusive classrooms where students have the opportunity to experience, access and achieve the curriculum. Unfortunately, general education teachers are very rarely trained on how to modify and design a lesson for a student who does not yet work at the grade level. So, we need to train each teacher and particularly, the new teachers, on how to plan an effective and efficient individual education plan.

If we want to see full, reliable inclusion in the Pakistani school system, modifications should be the responsibility of every teacher

Three easy steps are suggested to modify a curriculum at any grade level:

1. Identify the curriculum standard(s) that need to be taught for students with and without an individual education plan. Align the grade-level goals and modified goals to the possible extent.

2. Plan a lesson that will teach both the grade-level and modified goals. A teacher can begin with planning the grade-level lessons and then incorporate the modified goals. This will, probably, require some changes to the lesson.

There are four key areas in a lesson where changes can make modified goals achievable:

Content: Provide content that is related to the grade-level curriculum but is more at level forstudents with disabilities

Instructional Method: Provide an alternate and better-suited form of instruction

Conceptual Difficulty: Reduce the difficulty of the concept in a lesson

Educational Goals: Adjust the learning outcomes of the lesson

3. Use instructional strategies such as deletions, substitutions, and additions to make necessary changes to the lesson.

Numeracy and literacy rates improve when students are placed in an inclusive classroom under inclusive instructions. There are improved outcomes for students with disabilities in the areas of employment and independent living after high school. Inclusive classrooms also give studentsmany opportunities to not only learn academics but develop their social and emotional intelligence. Students practise pro-social skills such as acceptance, patience and empathy on a daily basis. Pro-social behaviours help children to interact with others in effective ways. Every day children have to deal with peers, events and problems. Practising sharing, helping, cooperating, and empathy help children to deal with day-to-day events in ways that are helpful.

Our education sector needs to be well equipped as per the requirements of inclusion where inclusive education facilitates the social and emotional growth and development of persons with disabilities and proves that inclusion always yield positive results in human societies.

The writer is a Lahore-based educationist