Contributions from: W. Thomas Southern, Rich Wilson, Colleen Mandell, Bowling Green State University Tom Kneavel and Ann Kneavel, Groldy Beacon College, Delaware, USA .
Abstract
In the United States the inclusion movement has expanded beyond arguments that the academic needs of students with mild and moderate learning difficulties could be adequately met within general education programmes to arguments that the most appropriate placements for all children, regardless of the severity of their disabilities are in the general education programme. In 1992 the Ohio State Department of Education invited proposals from local school districts to submit plans for inclusionary programming. In 1999 the State Department of Education commissioned an evaluation of the effects of the districts' inclusionary efforts on: academic and social development of students with disabilities, levels of participation in programs with typically developing student, parental acceptance / support, and support from local educators.
This evaluation considers how inclusion is defined by the operations of local districts. The evaluation included over 900 statewide surveys of administrators, teachers, parents, and students. Case studies were conducted in urban, rural, and suburban districts. Results of the evaluation provide perspective that is lacking from the largely speculative discussion of the effects of inclusion. This presentation will also consider the implications that the current operational variations of inclusion have for the fulfilment of federal and state policies to promote inclusion.
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