3. Lesson support
4. Evidence-based practice
5. Action plan to move forward
Figure 1.1: Reflecting on inclusion domains.
Visit go.SolutionTree.com/specialneeds for a free reproducible version of this figure.
Social, Emotional, and Academic Growth
The goal of inclusion is more than just preparing students to pass standardized tests and increasing academic achievement. For example, students with developmental needs include behavioral, social, emotional, and communication goals in the general education setting. Research asserts teaching students how to behave and interact with one another fits naturally into integrated school environments that promote healthy development and transferrable learning (for example, showing resilience and facing adversity; Darling-Hammond et al., 2020; Marchant & Womack, 2010).
Inclusion is more than a philosophy; it provides an educational environment in which students connect to both the curriculum and their peers, allowing for academic and social growth. Cognitive psychologist Lev Vygotsky was a firm believer in healthy relationships between individuals and saw cognitive development closely related to social engagements with peers (as cited in McLeod, 2018). Collaborative learning develops skills and strategies. Teachers must emphasize emotional, social, and behavioral issues that affect classroom lessons for students of all abilities as much as academic gains. In fact, teachers should not allow how students feel about themselves to be separate from how they learn. “When a child is frequently removed from the classroom, they are missing valuable instructional time and the opportunity to develop the type of social skills and relationships needed to become full and participating members of society” (National Council on Disabilities, 2018, p. 36).
Inclusion with the necessary supports is appropriate for students of all cognitive levels, not just learners with the highest academic skills. For example, more time spent in the general education classroom influences both academic and social-emotional gains for students with intellectual disabilities (IDs). Students with intellectual disabilities make more progress in literacy skills in general education classrooms compared to students in special education schools (Dessemontet, Bless, & Morin, 2011). Students with autism show improvements in behavior management, communication, and social skills when teachers infuse inclusion interventions (such as applied behavior analysis and inventories) into the curriculum (McGarrell, Healy, Leader, O’Connor, & Kenny, 2009; Waddington & Reed, 2009).
Such methods help students acquire and maintain skills in discrete steps through much practice and positive teacher reinforcement with appropriate incentives that match learners’ levels and skill sets. This support often includes increased verbal praise, tokens, peer supports, raising self-efficacy, and offering more smiles. Some children have difficulties regulating their emotions and may be overwhelmed by their feelings, exhibiting dysregulation. Dysregulation includes feeling and reacting to situations more intensely and quickly and being slower to calm down. These intense feelings can lead to more impulsive behaviors. Strategies for inclusion classrooms and home environments, such as increased awareness, validating emotions, active ignoring, positive attention, and clear expectations assist children to better regulate their emotions (Miller, 2020).
Students with emotional differences often experience rejection from peers, loneliness, and social isolation due to poor interpersonal skills. Students often wish to distance themselves from those with behavioral differences. At times, even teachers find it difficult to separate the behavior from the student (Karten, 2015). Consequently, this affects the degree of personal contact and social inclusion students with special needs experience both in and outside school. Mental health blogger Dennis Relojo-Howell (2017) notes, “Whether a student is included in the school choir, a soccer game, or a math lesson, being included fosters increased self-efficacy.”
The Collaborative for Academic and Social and Emotional Learning (CASEL; n.d.) outlines social-emotional learning (SEL) as the process of acquiring and applying the knowledge, attitudes, and skills to do the following.
1. Understanding and managing emotions
2. Setting realistic goals
3. Showing empathy for others
4. Establishing positive relationships
5. Making responsible, effective decisions
Messages from peers, families, and educators influence students’ self-image and performance. For example, when teachers consistently praise and encourage students, those students achieve more. When students receive encouragement from their families or caregivers, this boosts their self-esteem, translating to greater self-worth. Whether or not a student has a disability, social acceptance is a priority. Students are often uncertain about their sense of belonging, which can translate to poorer cognitive skills and declining gains (Sparks & Viadero, 2016). Even though students with disabilities are physically included in general education settings and work side by side with other students, they are not always socially accepted. These students discover early they are different from their peers, and this creates difficulties beyond their respective disabilities.
So, for example, although a student with a nonverbal learning disability who has difficulties with executive functioning or organization may very well belong in the general education setting, without the proper social and emotional scaffolding, he or she is still excluded, which further diminishes the student’s feelings of self-worth and capacity for emotional regulation. Feeling excluded also influences a student’s choices and actions, further impacting academic skills when participating in cooperative work, classroom discussions, and assessments. Students with special needs want to be on par academically and socially with their classmates but might not ask for extra help or clarifications for fear others will ridicule or view them as too needy.
When students are in elementary grades from kindergarten to grade two, they are less hesitant to ask for extra help, since they are not as aware of the social consequences or stigmatization of being different. As students with special needs advance in upper elementary grade levels, middle school, and high school they become increasingly more cognizant of their needs and are often hyperconscious of how others view them. Students are then less likely to ask for additional help, ultimately harming their academic efforts. It is important for educators to understand their own attitudes and emotions about inclusion, as well as the emotions of students with and without disabilities (Gilmour, 2018; Miller, n.d.).
Since childhood relationships with peers influence their adult social adjustments, inclusion classrooms must accept, support, and promote social competence (Meadan & Monda-Amaya, 2008; National Council on Disabilities, 2018). Of course, teachers must deliver curriculum standards, but they also need to respect and provide instruction to support students’ social, emotional, and behavioral skills. Teachers often need to address more than the academic content to help students regulate their emotions and interact appropriately with others. This requires an inclusion classroom atmosphere that models positive interactions and behaviors. Teachers offering strategies such as calming rooms and using mindfulness as common practices assist students surrounded by negative thoughts or behaviors (Clancy, 2020; Karten, 2019b).
Teachers who offer positive learning
