What is the Role of the School and the Teacher as an Agent of Change in Inclusive Education
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What is the Role of the School and the Teacher as an Agent of Change in Inclusive Education
Definitions of Inclusive Education
According to United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF),
“Inclusive education is the most effective way to give all children a fair chance to go to school, learn and develop the skills they need to thrive.”
UNESCO views inclusion as
“a dynamic approach of responding positively to pupil diversity and of seeing individual differences not as problems, but as opportunities for enriching learning.”
Some definitions of Inclusive Education by Authors are:
According to Stephan and Blackhurst,
“Inclusive Education is a set of values, principles and practices that seeks more effective and meaningful education for all students, regardless of whether they have exceptionality labels or not.”
According to Uppal and Dey,
“Inclusive Education aims to provide a favourable setting for achieving equal opportunity and full participation for all, thus bringing children with special needs well within the preview of mainstream education. It recognises the diverse needs of the students and ensures equality education to all through appropriate curricula, teaching strategies, support services and partnership with a community and parents. In simple words, it means that all children with or without disabilities learn together.”
Role of School and Teacher in Inclusive Education
Schools and teachers play a very important role in inclusive education. They are the main agents of change in inclusive education.
The role of school in inclusive education are as follows:
1). To provide a sense of belongingness to all students regardless of their disability.
2). To create a positive learning environment that fosters creativity and unity among students.
3). To encourage diversity and inclusion among students and have respect for one another.
4). To provide every student the education they deserve and help them to succeed.
5). To create an environment that is safe and supportive where students feel comfortable tolearn.
6). To give all children access to education regardless of their condition or disability.
7). To give students with disability the access of all facilities provided by the institution.
8). To build school structures in such a way that the facilities are accessible by disabled students.
9). To remove discrimination among students on the basis of disability.
10). To provide equal and equitable opportunities of education to all students.
11). To design the curriculum in such a way that is relevant to the livelihood of all students.
12). The curriculum should be flexible to meet the needs and interests of every student.
13). To enable all groups of children to learn and live together with equality.
The role of teacher in inclusive education are the following:
1). To promote the overall development of all learners that makes them realise their potential.
2). To enable cooperative learning while meeting the needs of all students.
3). To help the children with disabilities become stronger and confident in themselves and their abilities.
4). To allow disabled students to actively and fully participate in all school activities without any discrimination.
5). To instil positive behaviour and values among all students.
6). To foster critical thinking among all students that enables them to love independently.
7). To acknowledge the differences and uniqueness of every student and use it for their betterment.
8). Promoting healthy relationship among students by encouraging for better understanding of each other.
9). To encourage team work and mutual support among students during needful times.
10). To identify every student’s social, emotional, behavioural, and academic strengths.
Thus, the role played by both school and teacher in inclusive education is very crucial. Both agents should work towards spreading diversity and inclusion among students. They need to foster cooperation among students and improve them in every way possible.
