In June 1994 representatives of 92 governments and 25 international organisations formed the World Conference on Special Needs Education, held in Slamanca, Spain. The above statement called on the international community to endorse the approach of inclusive education and to support the development of special needs education as an integral part of all education programmes.
The Framework for Action stated that “inclusion and participation are essential to human dignity and to the enjoyment of human rights.” Education can mirror this by creating ‘genuine equalisation of opportunity.’ It says the fundamental of the inclusive school, is that all the children learn together, wherever possible and that ordinary schools must recognise and respond to the diverse needs of their pupils, while also having a level of support and services to match these needs. The Salamanca Framework for action asserted that inclusive schools would be the most effective at building bonds between children with special needs and their associates. The countries with few or no special schools should establish inclusive schools instead of special schools. Inclusion has gained acceptance as a worldwide descriptor.
UN Standard Rules on the Equalization of Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities (1993) called on all countries to have a policy on inclusive education. The policy should be clearly stated so it is understood at the school and community level. That special education should only be preparation for mainstream. Countries around the world should aim for gradual inclusion.
When the term ‘special educational needs’ is used pupils with learning difficulties, physical impairments, and behavioural disorders are being identified. This descriptive terminology implies exclusion. The expression integration has been superseded by inclusion, though it is still used by some teachers. When teachers refer to integration, they mean pupils attending mainstream school who would have previously attended special school or special classes. Inclusion is a more accurate term which describes the quality of education special needs pupils are receiving in a mainstream setting. An inclusive school should cater for all pupils without a specific reference to SEN pupils. The meaning of inclusion after Salamanca in the West can be identified to mean a clear distinction between inclusion and integration. Inclusion can be defined as a process where in an educational setting a school responds to all pupils as individuals. The concept integration suggests that a SEN pupil doesn’t belong from the start and has to be included.
Inclusive education cannot be viewed separately from education as a whole. The concept of inclusion highlights some important questions about the nature and purpose of education systems and the part which schools play in the life in the community. The role of the school isn’t just to impart specific knowledge and learning. Article 29 of the UN convention (Salamanca .1994) says the role of education must have a broader outlook. Education should develop pupil’s personality and talents. IT is contested that if Article 23 of Salamanca the disabled child’s right to participate in the community with the fullest possible integration with the education covered by Article 29 there would be an inclusive school where there is a place for everyone and ‘..Education is such that the school atmosphere is one that welcomes everyone’ (Thomas Hammarberg).
There are three types of placement for pupils with SEN (Special Educational Needs). These are ‘One-track’ which is inclusion of almost all pupils in one system, supported by a wide range of services. The countries that support the policies which lead to this type of inclusion are Italy, Portugal, Sweden, Greece, Norway, USA, Canada, Australia, China, and South Africa.
There is ‘Dual-track’ placement where Special education is considered separate from mainstream, SEN pupils are in one system and follow a different syllabus and curriculum Switzerland and Belgium are good examples of this approach. The Netherlands also has been practicing a two tier approach for over twenty years however a lot of countries which practice a two tier approach are in a transitional period and are moving towards an inclusive model. This approach is based upon the medical model of disability.
There is also ‘Multi –track’ an assortment of approaches between mainstream and special, assorted groups in different systems. the countries which have this approach are Denmark, France, Finland, the Czech Republic Poland and the United Kingdom.
In this assignment I will outline and evaluate an example of each of these approaches, single track, dual track, and multi-track.
For several decades the Dutch approach towards SEN has been described as a ‘two track’ approach. One of the tracks is mainstream education and the other is special education. Children with handicaps, learning difficulties, behaviour problems, would be referred to special schools. Recently legislators and parents have become alarmed at the increasing number of special education placements. There has been a demand for SEN children to be educated in a mainstream environment. The Netherlands is in a transitional period and is shifting towards an inclusive paradigm.
Growing bodies of people in the Netherlands believe the separation of pupils from mainstream education is in contradiction to the Salamanca statement and the pupil’s human rights. Until recently In the Netherworlds support for SEN pupils was only available in special schools, and school counseling services. Special and mainstream education work separately from each other and special help has only been available to pupils who attend a special school.
It has been relatively easy to star new schools in the Netherlands because of government policy. Special schools for various kinds of disabilities and impairments have been easy to setup with funding from the government.
“Special education has ten different categories located in a system of separate schools. In these special schools there are also specialist departments for certain kinds of more severe disorder” (Pijl, 2003)
Until recently there weren’t any parent organizations that were challenging the current situation of segregation of SEN pupils and advocating an inclusive mainstream approach to education. The separation of students with SEN from mainstream education has been continually increasing and there is a concern for education to be more inclusive. Parents of children with Down’s syndrome are requesting better chances for their children to be included in their communities, schools. Politically there have been calls for greater inclusion of special needs pupils.
Canada led the world for a time two education authorities near Toronto had no special schools or special classes began using the term ‘inclusion’.
D.Mitchell, 2005: Sixteen propositions on the contexts of inclusive education.
Contextualizing Inclusive Education: Evaluating Old and New International Paradigms
Pijl, S.J. (2000). Special education in the Netherlands. In C.R. Reynolds and E.Fletcher-Janzen (eds) Encyclopedia of Special Education (2nd edn) (pp.1253-1256). New York. John Wiley.
The Salamanca Statement and Framework for Action on Special Educational Needs-adopted World Conference on Special Needs Education; Access and Quality, Salamanca Spain, June York: UNESCO, 1994)
Thomas Hammarberg Former Vice-Chair, UN Committee on the Rights of the Child and Ambassador and Special Advisor on Humanitarian Issues at the Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs in Stockholm.