Inclusion in the Classroom: Finding What Works for General Education Teachers

Abstract

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) enabled students with disabilities to be included in a general education classroom. A students can be part of a full inclusion classroom where a general education teacher teaches the students with and without disabilities for the entire day. Exceptional students are also immersed in partial inclusion classrooms where the students spends part of the day in the general education classroom and the other part of the working with a special education teacher outside of the general education classroom. In a partial inclusion classroom, general and special education teachers will work together to find a method of instruction that will benefit these special students. This article identifies the advantages and disadvantages of inclusion, the laws that govern it, and how general educators can integrate different methods of teaching into their classroom to maximize its success. The writer argues that both forms of inclusion have their benefits, but partial inculsion is the ideal method for students with disabilities.