Inclusion in action: an in-depth case study of an effective inclusive secondary school in the south-west of England

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Inclusion and school organisation: is this equity vs excellence?

Recently the focus of educating children with significant learning difficulties has moved from 'integration' to 'inclusion.' This is, simply, a change from the process of 'integration' – where children are placed in existing provision, to a policy of 'inclusion', which, according to the authors, "requires restructuring educational environments to foster a sense of belonging in all children." The Salamanca Declaration (Unesco, 1994) (Click to p.10, Where can I find out more?) has been used in many parts of the world to formulate strategies towards inclusive schooling. It states that "inclusive schools are the most effective at building solidarity between children with special needs and their peers." The principles of this declaration are also reflected to some extent in the UK Green Paper Excellence for All Children although the paper does not define 'inclusive' nor suggest that all children should be transferred to mainstream schools.

Research into special educational needs (SEN) has led some practitioners and policy makers to the view that SEN does not arise from problems which lie with the students, but in the way the schools are organised to meet the requirements of all pupils - and thus become more inclusive. The authors suggest that pressures on schools to increase academic excellence can act as a barrier to the kind of organisational change necessary for a school to become more inclusive by meeting the needs of all pupils.

While some schools have changed the way in which they are organised to meet these requirements, the authors refer to research which suggests that this approach poses a great dilemma for education because of the perceived conflict between equity (inclusivity) and excellence. A move towards inclusivity is, they suggest, likely to be more problematic than might have been assumed.

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Research Home Themes \| Find digests \| About the digests resources glossary researchers contact TRIPS Introduction Inclusion and school organisation: is this equity vs excellence? What did the researchers set out to do? The case study school How was the study designed? What the study found Conclusions drawn from the research Implications Where can I find out more? Send us your feedback Collated digests To view/remove/add notes and save your collated digests click here Get Word Reader Inclusion in action: an in-depth case study of an effective inclusive secondary school in the south-west of England This digest found in Inclusion Send to a friend Word doc 60KB Printer friendly Collate for later Inclusion and school organisation: is this equity vs excellence? Recently the focus of educating children with significant learning difficulties has moved from 'integration' to 'inclusion.' This is, simply, a change from the process of 'integration' – where children are placed in existing provision, to a policy of 'inclusion', which, according to the authors, "requires restructuring educational environments to foster a sense of belonging in all children." The Salamanca Declaration (Unesco, 1994) (Click to p.10, Where can I find out more?) has been used in many parts of the world to formulate strategies towards inclusive schooling. It states that "inclusive schools are the most effective at building solidarity between children with special needs and their peers." The principles of this declaration are also reflected to some extent in the UK Green Paper Excellence for All Children although the paper does not define 'inclusive' nor suggest that all children should be transferred to mainstream schools. Research into special educational needs (SEN) has led some practitioners and policy makers to the view that SEN does not arise from problems which lie with the students, but in the way the schools are organised to meet the requirements of all pupils - and thus become more inclusive. The authors suggest that pressures on schools to increase academic excellence can act as a barrier to the kind of organisational change necessary for a school to become more inclusive by meeting the needs of all pupils. While some schools have changed the way in which they are organised to meet these requirements, the authors refer to research which suggests that this approach poses a great dilemma for education because of the perceived conflict between equity (inclusivity) and excellence. A move towards inclusivity is, they suggest, likely to be more problematic than might have been assumed.