School Inclusion Can Be Abuse

School inclusion ‘can be abuse’. That is the title of a BBC on line story which includes a report on a recent study of the British inclusive education system prepared for that country’s National Union of Teachers “The Costs of Inclusion” by John MacBeath, Maurice Galton, Susan Steward, Andrea MacBeath and Charlotte Page, published by University of Cambridge Faculty of Education. Professor John MacBeath of Cambridge was interviewed and stated that placing some students in a mainstream classroom could be seen as a form of abuse:

“Physically sitting in a classroom is not inclusion. Children can be excluded by sitting in a classroom that’s not meeting their needs.” The typical secondary school timetable – rushing from physics, to history then French, say – was for some children as bewildering as being “on another planet”. “You might call it a form of abuse, in a sense, that those children are in a situation that’s totally inappropriate for them.” Professor MacBeath also indicated that the report is not “anti-inclusion” , just that mainstream classroom inclusion is not appropriate for all students, particularly those with complex needs.“

The BBC story and the “Costs of Inclusion” report can be found at:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/education/4774407.stm

http://www.teachers.org.uk/resources/pdf/CostsofInclusion.pdf

I have personally argued against placement of all autistic children in mainstream classrooms as has the Autism Society New Brunswick which asks that the school system look at what works for each individual child. If a child does not learn in, and is overwhelmed by, a mainstream classroom then he or she should not be placed in that environment. A quieter environment is necessary for some autistic children who also require more individualized instruction. Flexibility in choice of learning environment is needed. Some autistic children are capable of learning in a mainstream classroom. Some are not. It is critically necessary to examine the evidence and see what works for the individual child. Failure to place an autistic child in the right learning environment because of a rigid adherence to the philosophy of mainstream classroom inclusion for all may constitute abuse.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/education/4774407.stm