Episode 14: Barriers to Inclusion

In the previous 2 episodes we have discussed the advantages of inclusion for the neurodiverse as well as the neurotypical students. Anything that has advantages, will also have barriers. We shall look at these barriers from the education point of view. Children with disabilities face many barriers in, accessing the education they need, to become healthy, happy and productive citizens of the world.

Some common barriers are as follows:

• ATTITUDINAL BARRIERS: We can look at attitudes of society, adults and then students.
  • Society at large may have some negative attitudes and stereotypes like they are defected or bad influence on others or even consider Godly so must be kept only at home. These are often caused by a lack of knowledge, understanding, and acceptance of persons with disabilities. Many people are not prepared to interact with people with disabilities. They think that persons with disabilities lack the skills needed to live in the community or to be educated with non- disabled children. Adults may pass on their biases to children quite easily. So students may feel isolated, bullied or ridiculed in school and community. We must remember that Attitudes can be changed by exposing them to inclusion practices, in-service education programs, workshops, and seminars.
  • PHYSICAL BARRIERS are those that prevent the accessibility to education. One is the lack of the physical structures like wheelchair accessible ramps for buildings, washrooms and public transportation is a main difficulty identified by several students with disabilities when going to school and public places. Undoubtedly, most school structures do not respond to this requirement. The second type of physical barrier is the lack of facilities or assistive technology to aid children with a particular type of difficulty. These physical barriers can be changed by establishing neighborhood schools, providing transport facilities, modifications in building structure and classroom setting.
• Rigid CURRICULUM  The rigid curriculum is one of the chief obstruction / impediments to the progress of inclusive education. It happens because it does not meet the needs of a broad range of diverse learners. A rigid curriculum that does not allow for experimentation or the use of different teaching methods, or that don’t recognize different styles of learning. Thankfully this is something that is evolving and the curriculum and the ways to approach it are becoming more flexible.
• Human Resource is another barrier. An absence of adequately skilled personnel and a limited investment in training for professionals to assist them in learning and implementing inclusive practices The educators are the most significant human resource for advancing inclusive education. Their proficiency and outlook have a dramatic impact on the lives of students who are different and who have learning challenges. Training at all levels is the key here.
• Physical Resources: funding shortages for materials, equipment, and technology as well as barriers resulting from overcrowded facilities and inadequate time for planning and collaboration between staff members, scarce learning materials, and absence of support. Policy makers play a huge role in this.

We  know that overcoming all the barriers can’t happen overnight. We need to understand them so that we can work on eliminating them.

Elimination of these barriers will make true inclusion a reality for all children to learn together. Decades of research show better outcomes for people with disabilities when they are included.

Something I read on www.theinclusiveclass.com: Inclusion is intentional. It is about identifying and removing barriers so that everyone can participate to the best of their ability.