Research Report Essay -- essays papers

Research Report In the past, disabled students—students with physical and emotional/behavioral problems—were often segregated from the â€Å"normal classroom environments.† The segregation of students, either through special schools or home-based tutoring, was justified for various reasons. Separate schools provided specialized services, tailored to meet the educational needs of children with a specific type of handicap. Moreover, this freed the regular public schools of having to provide services and infrastructure needs of the disabled student population (Circle of Inclusion Project, 2003). More recently, there has been a movement towards full inclusion--integrating students with disabilities into regular classes. In 1975, a law was passed that brought about significant changes in the education of children with disabilities and then in 1990 legislation expanded the services for students with disabilities. While presenting challenges to educational systems, many people feel that full inclusion is a positive public policy direction for the educational system. But the issue remains hotly debated. Some researchers feel that inclusion in the regular classrooms is not the best placement for every child. Opponents of full inclusion contend that teaching students with disabilities poses a diverse range of educational challenges. The nature of the handicap may vary greatly, including communication disorders; mental retardation; emotional or behavioral disorders; severe multiple disabilities; other health impairments; deaf or hard of hearing; physical disabilities, low vision or blindness; and autism traumatic brain injury, and other specific learning disabilities. Such differences in disabilities are often difficult to... ...r this goal? Bibliography Circle of Inclusion Project. (2002) University of Kansas. Retrieved 4/16/03 from http://www.circleofinclusion.org/ Curry School of Education, University of Virginia (2001). Learning Disabilities In Inclusion: Clarification of Terms. Retrieved 4/16/03 from http://curry.edschool.virginia.edu Hines. R. (2001) Inclusion in Middle Schools. ERIC Digest # ED459000. Retrieved 4/8/03 from http://www.ericfacility.net/ericdigests/ed459000.html Inclusion. (2003) Education Week on the Web. Retrieved 4/6/03 from http://www.educationweek.org/context/topics/issuespage.cfm?id=47 Inclusion: The Pros and Cons, Executive Summary (1995). Issues†¦About Change, 4. (3). Retrieved April 16/03 from http://www.sedl.org/change/issues/issues43.html Woolfolk, A.. (2001). Educational Psychology 8th Edition. Massachusetts: Allyn & Bacon.