In my many years of service as a teacher, teacher trainer, and then a Principal, I found that the greatest barriers to inclusion are attitudes and beliefs. The attitude of unwillingness to embrace a philosophy of inclusion or to change existing practices. These stereotypes are often caused by a lack of knowledge and understanding.
When I started out with inclusion, my first steps were the toughest. I saw a lot of barriers on the road ahead, from staff skepticism to plain old lack of time. What I realised in my journey is that myths and misinformation are at the root of much resistance to inclusion by parents, teachers, and classroom peers. The notion that inclusion does not benefit all students is another major hindrance.
This is why parents must be aware of the goals of inclusive education. Parents of learners with disabilities are protective and apprehensive that their child will be teased, left out, and not receive a quality education in an inclusive setting. In the same way, parents of non-disabled learners do not want to sit their child with a disability. The false sense of entitlement from parents of non-disabled learners is the toughest to be dealt with.
Inclusive schools have a collaborative and respectful school culture where students with disabilities are presumed to be competent, develop positive social relationships with peers, and are fully participating school community members. The parents of schools play an important role in the advocacy of inclusion. Their attitude toward children with disabilities influences the beliefs of their children.
Teaching students to include
Children need to be actively involved in the transition to a caring inclusive school as they are key stakeholders. The way forward with students is as follows:
Students need to be prepared to welcome the new child,
Children enhance their learning by working together as the best way to learn is to teach it to someone else,
Students need social opportunities to interact with peers in addition to their academic studies,
Introducing a buddy system works wonders.
“It is time for parents to teach young people early on that in diversity, there is beauty, and there is strength. -Maya Angelou
(The author is Director-Principal, OES International School-Andheri, Mumbai)
