?

WHY STUDY
INCLUSIVE
PRACTICE
IN
ELEMENTARY
EDUCATION
CLASSROOMS
ARE
DIVERSE
Students come from a
VARIETY Diverse
classrooms mean
of backgrounds diverse student
needs. Studying
and have a inclusive practice

WIDE
gives teachers the
knowledge of how
best to deal with

RANGE
of interests, preferences
each of the unique
needs that can
be found within a
learning strengths and needs. classroom.
(Alberta Education, 2010, pg 3)

On any GIVEN day,

in any GIVEN subject area,
or for any GIVEN type of activity,

DIFFERENT
students may have
DIFFICULTY
engaging in classroom activities,
or learning new skills and concepts.
(Alberta education, 2010, pg. 9)

STUDENTS INCLUSIVE STUDENTS

WITHOUT
DISABILITIES
PRACTICE WITH
DISABILITIES
BENEFITS
EVERYONE
INCLUSION LED TO TEACHERS STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES
BEING FOCUSED ON WHAT EMPHASIZED THAT THEY

ALL WANTED TO LEARN

w hat their peers w ere learning,

STUDENTS and they

STRONGLY PREFERRED

NEEDED, INCLUSIVE PRACTICE GIVES

STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES
BEING INCLUDED
IN THE SAME
LEARNING ENVIRONMENT
WHETHER OR NOT THEY HAD
A DISABILITY
OPPORTUNITIES TO WORK (Shogren, 2015, pg. 251)
(Shogren, 2015, pg. 251)
ALONGSIDE THEIR PEERS AND
BUILD SELF-CONFIDENCE BOTH
SOCIALLY AND ACADEMICALLY. AT
I LIKE LEARNING FROM THE SAME TIME, STUDENTS I LIKE LEARNING FROM
OTHER PEOPLE AND I WITHOUT DIABILITIES ARE OTHER PEOPLE AND I
LIKE TEACHING OTHER LIKE TEACHING OTHER
PEOPLE WHAT THEY
EXPOSED TO A WIDER DIVERSITY PEOPLE WHAT THEY
HAVEN'T LEARNED YET WITHIN THE CLASSROOM. HAVEN'T LEARNED YET
(Shogren, 215, pg. 250) ADDITIONALLY, AN INCLUSIVE (Shogren, 215, pg. 250)

CLASSROOM ALSO ENCOURAGES

THE TEACHER TO FOCUS ON ALL
OF THE STUDENTS' NEEDS.

SCHOOLS WITH A INCLUSION

POSITIVE CREATES
& A
INCLUSIVE
ATMOSPHERE, BETTER
WHERE
DEVELOPMENTA L NEEDS
&
SCHOOL
ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT
W ERE VA LUED
CULTURE
EQUALLY,
DOCUMENT A

HIGHER AN INCLUSIVE CLASSROOM ENCOURAGES STUDENTS AND

TEACHERS TO WORK TOGETHER. THIS RESULTS IN

SENSE
OF
STRONGER SOCIAL INTERACTIONS BETWEEN STUDENTS
AND TEACHERS, AND CREATES A MORE POSITIVE
CLASSROOM ENVIRONMENT.
BELONGING
(Shogren, 2015, pg. 256)

HOW EVER,
THERE IS A
SIGNIFICANT

GAP
BETW EEN
W HAT RESEA RCHERS
RESEARCH HAVE FOUND
& 2+
2 =4

W HAT EDUCATORS
PRACTICE
(Mitchell, 2014, pg. 2)

WHILE THE BENEFITS OF INCLUSIVE

EDUCATION MAY BE CLEAR, INCLUSIVE
PRACTICE DOES NOT ALWAYS HAPPEN
IN THE ELEMENTARY CLASSROOM

EDUCATION & TRAINING ARE SEEN AS

KEY FACTORS INFLUENCING WHETHER
A TEACHER WILL EXPRESS A
POSITIVE VIEW OF INCLUSION
AND WILL FEEL CONFIDENT ENOUGH
TO IMPLEMENT IT

SUCCESSFULY (Sharma, 2015, pg. 143)

4
2=
2+

STUDYING INCLUSIVE PRACTICE IS

THE BEST WAY TO BRIDGE THE GAP
BETWEEN WHAT THE RESEARCH
TELLS US, AND WHAT IS PRACTICED IN
CLASSROOMS.

SO.....

?
WHY STUDY
INCLUSIVE
PRACTICE
IN
ELEMENTARY
EDUCATION
DIVERSE POSITIVE
EVERYONE
CLASS CLASSROOM
BENEFITS!
ROOMS! ENVIRONMENT!

AND THE BEST WAY TO GET INCLUSIVE PRACTICE INTO THE CLASSROOM IS BY
EDUCATING AND TRAINING OUR TEACHERS ABOUT INCLUSIVE EDUCATION

S I V E
C L U
IN CTICE
P R A
101

STUDY INCLUSIVE PRACTICE!

References
Alberta Education. (2010). Making a Difference: Meeting diverse learning needs with
differentiated instruction. Retrieved from
https://education.alberta.ca/media/384968/makingadifference_2010.pdf
Mitchell, D. (2014). What really works in special and inclusive education: Using
evidence-based teaching strategies. London, England: Routledge
Sharma, U., & Nuttal, A. (2016) The impact of training on pre service teacher attitudes,
concerns, and efficacy towards inclusion. Asia-Pacific Journal of Teacher
Education, 44(2), 142-155. DOI: 10.1080/1359866X.2015.1081672
Shogren, K.A., Gross, J.M., Forber-Pratt, A.J., Francis, G.L.,Satter, A.L., Blue Banning,
M., & Hill, C. (2015). The perspectives of students with and without disabilities
on inclusive schools. Research and Practice for Persons with Severe Disabilities,
40(4), 243-260. Doi:10.1177/1540796915583493