Inclusion versus Specialized Education

I’ve just finished reading an article (and a very good one, at that) that recommends inclusion for children with severe disabilities as a research-based practice. (Jackson, L.; Ryndak, D. & Wehmeyer, M. 2010. The Dynamic relationship between context, curriculum and student learning: A case for inclusive education as a research-based practice. Research and practice for persons with severe disabilities.33-4, (4-1), 175-195). The article used theory, historical records, and empirical research to make the case that inclusive education is a research-based practice for children who have extensive support needs.

It is a fascinating article, especially for me as a former university professor. I loved the way they incorporated history, theories, and current research. However, I am left with a couple of questions.

A school with which I am familiar calls itself an inclusion school. However, two of its students, with the support of and at the request of parents, are leaving to attend a self-contained classroom and a private school. One child has been having challenging behaviors all year, and voicing his concern that he is not as “smart” as the other kids and that he “can’t think” like them. He receives social and emotional support in school as well. The other student has cognitive challenges as well, and the team and parents are concerned that he does not have friends or a community of like children and is not making academic progress at school.

Theoretically, I agree that inclusion is the best. Practically speaking, is there something else we should have been doing for these students? We can’t force typical children to want to ‘hang out’ after school with the child with challenges, and when a student becomes painfully aware that he is different and is doing different work in school, shouldn’t we respect that? I can only imagine what that must feel like to a child, to see his classmates doing more challenging work and not be doing the same. Both of these students are unhappy at school. Could more have been done? Perhaps (I have not been involved in these particular situations) the situations are limited by the knowledge/skills/beliefs of the educators and administrators. Perhaps, in the ideal world, these students could remain in inclusion. But right now, I don’t see how.