INTRODUCTION:

When the students are placed in general education in their nearby schools in the classes as per their age irrespective of any difficulties or challenges they face with the intention to receive quality instruction and support which will help in meeting the core curriculum is called inclusive education. (Bui, Quirk, Almazanand Valenti, 2010; Alqurainiand Gut, 2012).

Inclusive education is all about the developing and designing the classroom activities and programmes in such a way that all students learn together and actively participate. It has to ensure that all students have an access to quality education and also should be capable to meet their diverse needs in such a way that it is respectful, responsive and supportive.

The students here actively participate in common learning environment which will reduce the obstacles and hurdles which leads to exclusion. Common learning environment is one of the importantcomponent of inclusive education where studentsfrom different backgrounds and having different abilities come togetherandlearn together in an inclusive environment. The whole philosophy behindthe inclusive education is to provide opportunities for all children to actively participate learn and are treated equally without any discrimination with respect to their physical or mental abilities. We need to develop inclusive classrooms and inclusive schools. As per RTE now all schools needs to be inclusive.

INCLUSIVE SCHOOL:

Inclusive school aimed at catering to the educational needs of all children who are vulnerable to exclusion due to their specific problems and circumstances. Inclusion means the process of educating children with and without special education needs (SEN) in general education system with innovatively designed instruction and support system in the curriculum, examination, methodology and class room environment for attaining quality learning from the part of the learners. The basic principle of inclusive school based is that all children should learn together. It should accommodate both different styles and rate of learning and ensuring quality education to all through appropriate curricula, teaching strategies, resources and creating learning environment. Various characteristics of inclusive schools are suggested by Meijer and Hegarty (1997), Lip sky and Gartner (1999), Madan M, J (2008) which includes welcoming attitude, appropriate school climate, trained teachers, shadow teacher, teaching learning materials, suitable curriculum etc.

RATIONALE FOR THE STUDY:

Under RTE (2009) “Every child of the age of 6 to 14 years shall have a right to free and compulsory education in a neighbourhood school till completion of elementary education. This goal of UEE is impossible without successful inclusion of all the disabled children in a mainstream education. But the status of inclusive education is unfair in all aspect such as poor enrolment, inadequate infrastructure, lack of proper accommodation facilities, lack of assistive devices, lack of proper curriculum and funds etc. on the other hand lack of awareness among parents to educate the children with special needs in an inclusive setting result inclusive education throughout the country is still at an infancy stage. In India a majority of children with special needs are not enrolled into the schools and do not receive any formal education. Many of the children are out of schools, very few percentage of children successfully complete primary education. Teachers also need to be oriented and trained in such a manner that they promote personal development, social skills, and student participation (Singh, Y and Agarwal, A, 2015).

Some schools have started claiming that they are inclusive schools. This is a new trend and there is no clarity among teachers and administrators to cater to the requirement of differently abled children along with the general students. This study is an attempt to understand what does these schools mean by inclusion and what are the practices being followed by them for inclusion. The review also shows that there are studies on special education and disabled children but researcher does not come across the study on inclusive practices.

Inclusive Education has been a concern of Indian government since the beginning. The primary target is to maximize the education opportunities for each and everystudent including the children with special needs. Every policy and program initiated by the government was aimed at improving the educational levels in the country. However, till now there are very few institutions who are making an attempt for inclusion. This study is an attempt to have an in-depth understanding of those schools that are practicing inclusion. This will be an attempt to understand the practices followed by them and its impact on the education of special children. This will also help in guiding other schools to learn how they are working towards inclusion.

OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY:

(1) To identify the inclusive school.

(2) To study the inclusive practices in an inclusive school.

METHODOLOGY OF THE PRESENT STUDY:

This study is a qualitative study which has used “Case Study‟ approach.

Identification of Case:

The list of schools claiming to be inclusive schools in Baroda city was prepared. The researcher then visited the schools and did a preliminary survey to understand the inclusion being practiced in the school. Out of these the researcher selected one school for in-depth study based on their contribution in this area and also their willingness to co-operate for the study.

Sources of Data Collection:

The data was collected from various sources such as teachers, non-teaching staff, trustee and principal. Data were collected personally by the investigator. Documents were also used as source of data collection.

Tools for Data Collection:

The researcher conducted indepth interview with the teachers, principals, parents and administrative staff of school. Apart from Interview the researcher also used observation as tool for data collection. The researcher observed the school environment as well as the classes of the teachers to understand the teaching practices adopted. Document Analysis was also done. The documents which were analysed by the investigator included collection of document related to individual education plan, evaluation paper and assessment report by professional staff.

Data Collection:

Once the school principal agreed for study, the researcher sought appointment to set up the initial interview. Interviews were the primary method of data collection. For the purpose of this study, the researcher used unstructured interviews. The first meeting was an introductory meeting. In this meeting the researcher explained the purpose and the nature of the study. The second meeting was more focused. The researcher interviewed the principal in the office itself. The interviews lasted for minimum two hours and maximum three hours. The field notes were taken by the researcher. The researcher also interviewed three teachers. These teachers were also interviewed after the classroom observations to seek certain clarity on the questions which emerged during the observations. Each teacher was interviewed at several point of time depending on the need. The field notes were taken for all the interactions. Even while walking in corridors also during observations, the interviews were taken of teachers as well as principal.

The data was also collected during observation. The field notes were made during classroom observations and also while observing the facilities of the school.

Data Analysis:

The raw data which was gathered from different sources was read and re read multiple times. The data was collected in the form of field notes through interview and observation. The data was examined closely to find emerging themes and patterns. The major themes were teaching methodology, adaptation of time table, adaptation of curriculum etc. the information collected from various sources was then analysed under these major themes.

Limitations of The Study:

The richness of the data and results relied on the researcher’s skill of interviewing as well as the participant’s openness and willingness to cooperate in the study. The findings of this study cannot be generalised to other inclusive schools. The findings of the study must be evaluated in the light of these limitations.

The Inclusive Practices of The School:

It was found that the school hasbasicallyfour types of differently abled children which were: Mental Retardation, Mental Retardation and Down’s syndrome, Autism and Cerebral Palsy

1 Mental Retardation:

It was found that in the school total 15 students are there in the category of mental retarded children in which 10 students are mild mental retardation and 5 students are moderate mental retardation.

2 Mental Retardation and Down’s syndrome:

There were two students in the category of mental retardation and Down syndrome and both were boys.

3 Autism:

There were four Autistic students and all were boys.

4 Cerebral Palsy:

There were three students in the category of cerebral palsy in which two were girls and one boy. Girls were having spastic type of cerebral palsy, has increased tone in the muscles, resulting in unusual postures or abnormal movements. Boys having spastic diplegia type of cerebral palsy which involves muscle rigidity primarily in the legs.

Having understood the profile of the school with respect to differently abled students now in next section the researcher is highlighting on the inclusive practices adopted by the school.

Adaptation in time table:

Every day the school followsdifferenttime table which was prepared by the special teacher. The school hours were from 7.30a.m to 2.00.p.m. It began with the assembly. After assembly there used bespecial class (for differently abled children) for three hours. After lunch hours the students will have a common session of two and half hours wherein they were integrated with the entire class. In the special class of three hours, the focus used to be mostly on daily living skills, mass drill practice, sports, music, dancing, singing, weaving, good manners, conversation, preparation for marathon, activities, card making, practice for annual function, preparation for exhibition, painting, clay modeling (to develop motor clay), drawing, medical checkup, wrist band making, ball passing game, beading ( to develop eye hand co-ordination), outdoor play (to develop gross motor), story (to develop listening skill), therapy (speech), free play (to observe child behavior or interest), medical checkup.Apart from this they had to study compulsory subjects (Environmental studies, English, mathematics, Hindi) in which the focus was on reading practice, mathematics game, oral practice (tables and vowels and consonants in Hindi), and counting (1 to 50). During Integrated class which is scheduled after special class, children with differently abled are integrated with normal child. All children were not integrated. According to their degree of disability they were integrated. Except the five children (three autistic child, one cerebral palsy and one mental retardation and Down syndrome.) all were integrated. These five children werenot integrated because they were unable to cope up with normal child and used to disturb the whole class. But they were integrated during games period, activity, dance, free play, celebration of festivals etc.

Adaptation in curriculum:

Adaptation and modification are important tools for a child to successfully accomplish the goals and objectives of education and actively participate in school activities. In this school it was observed that the curriculum for each class gets transacted through sessions such as:

(A) Formal academic class (English, Mathematics, Hindi, Environmental studies)

(B) Informal sessions (Art, Music, Dance, Singing and so on)

(D) Special session for children with differently abled

These sessions along with arrival, departure and lunch sessions were observed for each child. According to mental age and ability, class is allocated to child. Initial two weeks they werekept in special class and after that they were integrated. Curriculum was different for normal children and differently abled children. Differently abled child first go for their special class during their school hours and then integrated with normal child. During special class also the curriculum was different according to level and ability of the child. It was observed that one of the 8^th class student who had mild mental retardation, had to study the same curriculum as that of normal child, So it can be said in this case that he was fully integrated in inclusion system. He initially was given some drill practice and other activity and later on was integrated with normal child.

Curriculum adaptation and teaching strategy for different subjects:

The school adopted different teaching strategies for different subjects. In this section these strategies are discussed.

(1) Mathematics:

The findings regarding the curricular adaptation done in mathematics are as follows:

· Mostly focus on tables, fraction, direction, mathematical activity, measurement, numbers (counting and reversing numbers) and time.

· For the concept of measurement (tall, short), weight (heavy, light), volume (full, empty) etc they used concrete things or objects.

· Two digit additions without carryover or with carryover can be demonstrated using simple objects like matchsticks.

· To teach Addition, teacher put two different things like ball and pen in two different buckets then asked the children to count both the material and add. For ex. Two balls and four pen and then four balls and two pen.

· While teaching direction real examples were given like sun rises in the east, our almirah is put in north; our playground is on south and so on.

· To teach children the concept of time, teacher used clock of the school.

· While teaching mathematics, teacher using teaching learning material such as picture, charts, flashcards, real objects etc.

· Teachers provided extra support in terms of extra time, attention and support whenever required.

(2) Environmental studies:

Regarding the curricular adaptation done in Environmental studies, the findings were:

· Mostly focus was on the concept like name of animals (jungle, water) ,birds, insects, fruits, vegetables, flowers, transport, trees, family (mother, father, sister, brother and so on ), body ( nose, eye, hair and so on ), senses ( hearing, taste, smell, touch, sight), about the school, food, seasons ( summer, winter, rainy), safety habits (know you name, father name, mobile number, address , your school name, always walk on the footpath, not to play with fire and so on), good habits (table manners while feeding, brushing twice a day, always say the golden words (use please, thank you, sorry), keep yourself clean and so on), community helpers ( doctors, teachers, fire fighter and so on).

· While teaching environmental studies, teacher mostly used teaching learning material like pictorial book, pictures, charts, field visit etc.

· General concept of environmental studies was taught with the help of field visit and picnic.

· While teaching environmental studies, teacher mostly used to draw a picture on the notebook of the students and write name of the picture and asked students to repeat those words. For eg. Teacher draws a picture and name of cat and student repeat those words by writing in their notebook.

(3) Language:

Regarding the curricular adaptation done in language, the findings were:

· Mostly focus on alphabet, finding vowels, correct word (tan/ten), matching follows, fill in the blanks, action words with pictures (drinking), complete sentence, finding pictures etc.

· In language class, teacher used daily or real life example to understand easily. For eg. Teacher gives work on my house and asked child to draw a picture of house and explain it. Child used to explain house that this is a house, it is of blue colour, it is a new house and so on.

· Teacher used different types of teaching learning material during language classes like picture books, flash card, sentence card, puzzle game etc.

· In language classes, teacher usedactivity based method mostly like word drilling, storytelling, loud reading, dictation, play way method, poem recitation, picture reading etc.

· New words were taught by visual dictionary.

· Poem taught through action and recitation.

· While using picture cards, teacher used to limit to only two colors as some children had difficulty in differentiating the minor differences in shades of colour.

· Mostly focus used to be on reading, writing, speaking and listening skill.

· Concept of “nouns” taught by teacher through stories in written form. Teacher asked students to underline the name of person, things, place etc.

· Most of the concept in English was taught through activities. For eg. A child was given a picture of a man and a tree then asked students to paste the picture of the man on/behind/under/besides the tree.

Apart from this teacher made individual plan for the academic year according to their ability and interest.

Individualized Educational plan:

A child with mental retardation has delayor lag in almost all areas of development or some specific area; therefore individual plans are needed to give intensive inputs in specific domain.

In the school, teacher used to assess the competency of child in the following areas:

(1) Self-help (Dressing, feeding, toilet management)

(2) Behavioral traits (nail biting, anger, extent of participation in the activity, disturbing the class or not)

(3) Social development (peer interaction, sharing, helping others)

(4) Motor skills (coloring, cutting, throwing, catching)

(5) Language (identification, comprehension)

(6) Cognitive (concept)

On the basis of student’s observation of child for few months, strength and areas of lag in each domain of development are noted. This kind of analysis actually helps the school to identify the correct domain of development for intervention. It is only through undergoing this process they get to identify the area of lag. Some of the examples for this individual plans are discussed below.

A play group student (Arun) who was suffering from cerebral palsy, hadsame curriculum but for him the delivery was as a slower phase according to his ability. For eg. In English Neelam took eleven months to learn A to Z, while Arun took eleven months to learn only A to P. In mathematics Neelam learnt numbers 1 to 10 in eleven month, while Arun learnt only 1 to 7. Arun learnt only four colourname in whole academic year though they both suffered from Cerebral palsy. Similarly, in KG class, Class I, Class II, Class III, Class IV had differently abled students who had same curriculum but needed individualized plans. The teacher prepared individual pals for these students according to the ability and interest of learner.

Co – curricular and Recreational facilities in the school:

Co-curricular activities are important medium of socialization. It gives opportunity to students to interact with peers. Depending upon the need and level of the differently abled child indoor and outdoor games were organized in the school. Various Indoor games such as such asCarom, Chess, Balloon tennis, Ball soup, Music games, Fun tunnel, Play sand tub were played.

Note: The names of the students are fictitious.

Outdoor games such as Nature walks, Hide N’seek, Throwing and catching game (sensory odd ball), Running game were organized.

House system and competition:

The school had house system under which various competitions were organized such asPainting competition, Dramatic club, Aesthetic club, Mono acting competition, Handwriting competition, Story telling competition, Quiz competition, Dance competition, Drama, Craft

Apart from this school also organized sports day, annual programme dance, outdoor participation, yoga classes, garba, marathon, Olympic khelmahotsav (Ahmadabad), days celebration, sports and culture activities, plantation, exhibition (coloring thumb painting beg, candle making, jewelry making and so on.

The school encouraged differently abled children to take part in different events. They organized sports and games for different abled child to keep them active and engaged. Yoga classes were held under the supervision of experts. School integration programme were organized regularly. In such programme differently abled children took part with normal child in eating, drawing, short story telling, singing and dancing and so on.

Teaching learning method:

Most of the differently abled children learnt at slow pace. The school provided different methodology of teaching that helped them to overcome their difficulty such as:

(1) Break down learning task:

One of the important teaching methods used was to break down learning tasks into small steps. Each learning task was introduced, one step at time. Once the student mastered one step, the next step was introduced. For eg. In English while teaching alphabets one month teacher focused on only A to E and after they mastered A to E, they go for F to J and so on.

(2) Visual aids:

Children with mental retardation do best in learning environment where visual aids are used. The school teachers used flash card, pictures, charts, real objects. These visual supports stimulated learning and provided tools for effective language building

(3) Hand on strategy:

Hand on strategy is helpful for the students with learning difficulties. They learn best when information is concrete and observed. Foreg General concept of environmental studies is taught with the help of field visit and picnic.

(4) Immediate feedback:

To form a connection between cause and effect, teacher provided immediate feedback. That enables them to make a connection between their behavior and teacher response because student with mental retardation, autistic child, Down syndrome requires immediate feedback.

(5) Activities:

To teach daily living skills and social skill (good manners, getting along in a group, playing a game), teacher used the group activities. For eg. In dancing, singing, playing, teacher mostly focuses on group activities to know the behavior of the child.

(6) Learning by repetition:

Education is also imparted through learning by repetition because due to poor memory such child needs constant repetition of things.

(7) Play way method:

Play way method of learning is a child centric method where learning is imparted through play activities. This makes teaching more interesting and lively. Different subjects such as language, mathematics etc are taught through series of activities like games, songs, free play etc. for eg in mathematics for the identification of numbers teacher asked students to put the numbers of balls in the buckets (there are four to five buckets and on which the numbers are given, if student choose one bucket and the number is ten then teacher asked the students to put ten balls in the buckets with counting loudly). For eg. Count the number of chocolate and match with proper numbers (one to ten numbers are there on plastic.

Adaptations done in Assessment procedures:

General adaptations were used by teacher in evaluating differently abled child learning outcome. Some of these are: Separate paper for all the differently abled child, Special seating arrangement, Providing extra support during, extra time, flexibility in evaluation format, Separate assessment procedures, Assessing both curricular and co-curricular activities, Assessment through observation, Activity based assessment, Continuous and comprehensive evaluation, Oral exam, Assessment of the child done individually or in small groups etc.

Teaching aids/equipment:

In the school following teaching aids were available.

(1) Flashcard and visual support:

Flashcard and visual support helps child to engage with increasing vocabulary, promoting language development and strengthening communication skill. These flashcard and visual support stimulate learning and provide tools for effective language building.

(2) Peg board:

Peg board is used to improve the fine motor skills, hand eye coordination and fingers stronger of differently abled child. To grasp the peg and successfully placed it in a small hole is a big accomplishment for most of the differently abled child. It can also be used in math activities such as counting how many pegs are on peg board.

(3) Special toys:

Special toys build children intellectual, physical, emotional skill. Games and puzzle will keep them entertained, improving logic, hand eye coordination and memory skills. For eg riding toys, tents and tunnels, trampolines, balancing board, stacker building set, cardboard blocks, sand table, sensory table, plush toys (bear, puppy, monkey and so on), puzzle (alphabet sound puzzle, number sound puzzle and so on) etc. Apart from this they have charts, media of pictures, models etc.

CONCLUSION:

Evans and Lunt (2002), Thomas and Loxley (2007), Hansen (2012), Kauffman and Badar (2014), it is now widely recognized that the policy of “Full Inclusion”, with its vision of all children being educated in mainstream classrooms for all or most of their time at school is impossible to achieve in practice. This is because it is considered that there will always be some children with special education needs who cannot be successfully included in mainstream classroom, which sets a limit to the proportion of children who can be effectively educated in mainstream schools.Since the vision of full inclusion is therefore unachievable and that of inclusive education is unclear, it is considered that what is now needed is a new version for the education of children with special education needs to replace those of inclusive education and special education.

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Received on 26.12.2022 Modified on 16.02.2023

Res. J. Humanities and Social Sciences. 2023;14(3):117-123.

DOI: 10.52711/2321-5828.2023.00024