Becoming Your Own Worst Enemy

2023

Support for Learning

Zombies are defined as ideas or persistent myths that should have died out but have not. Special education's biggest zombie is that only full inclusion brings about true social justice and the most effective education for students with disabilities. Three examples of specific zombies about full inclusion are presented. First, that full inclusion has been internationally accepted policy since the Salamanca Statement in 1994. Second, that the feasibility of full inclusion has been demonstrated in some countries. Third, that there is extensive evidence that inclusion is more effective that special education. Six strategies that have been used to promote these inclusion zombies to the general public and legislators in various countries around the world are discussed. These are: reframing the problem; denying its reality; portraying special education as something of which most people disapprove; presenting full inclusion as something most people want; making the distinction between the two maximally stark; casting all challenges to the zombie as addressing the wrong question or relying on flawed research and demanding unthinking belief in full inclusion. It is concluded that special education's zombies related to full inclusion must be exposed, challenged and finally eradicated so that future education provision for children with disabilities can focus on achievable goals and evidence of effectiveness rather than placement. Key points Special education's biggest zombie is that only full inclusion will bring true social justice to schooling because special education is essentially an inappropriate way of dealing with diversity; is a relic of the last century, unfairly discriminatory and exclusionary. Three inclusion zombies are: that full inclusion was recommended by the Salamanca Framework; that full inclusion has been shown to be a feasible approach to meeting all special needs; and that there is convincing research evidence that inclusion is more effective than special education. All three zombies are false but widely disseminated. Six strategies are used to promote full inclusion zombies: reframe the nature of the problem; deny the reality of the situation; portray special education as something generally disapproved of; present inclusion as something most people want; make a stark distinction between the two; cast all challenges to the zombie as flawed. Full inclusion zombies must be exposed, challenged, and eradicated, so that continued development of theory, research and practice in the education of young people with special needs can once again be the main focus of educators in this field.

Section: Promotion Of Special Education Zombiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Special education's zombies and their consequences

Hornby

2023

Support for Learning

“…As stated by Kauffman (2019) in reviewing Imray and Colley (2017), the FIM is “an illness threatening the wellness of its more limited version, by analogy a sort of autoimmune system gone haywire” (p. 123). Those who insist on full inclusion then become not only their own worst enemies (Kauffman et al, 2020) but also the worst enemies of a meaningful, robust inclusion and the worst enemies of a significant number of students with disabilities. Engaging in a prohibition of LRE or CAP, like the many past policies of prohibition, is ill-advised (Kauffman et al, 2021; Yell & Prince, 2022).…”

Section: The Unfolding Of Lre Controversiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Hard LRE Choices in the Era of Inclusion: Rights and Their Implications

Journal of Disability Policy Studies

Burke

Anastasiou

2022

Self Cite

Rights of students are often misunderstood. Civil rights of minorities granted by the U.S. Supreme Court are confused with human rights of individuals with disabilities granted by the U.S. Congress. Federal law applying to education of individuals with disabilities requires that difficult decisions be made by families and schools regarding how to provide four different and interrelated provisions of Public Law 94-142 of 1975 (now the Individuals With Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004 or IDEA): (a) a free appropriate public education (FAPE), (b) an Individualized Education Program (IEP), (c) placement in the least restrictive environment (LRE), and (d) a full continuum of alternative placements (CAP). Special attention is given to LRE because the full inclusion movement and other influences related to a portion of disability studies have made it the central issue in special education. Under the law, three hard-to-answer questions must be asked in all cases involving special education: (a) What is an appropriate special education for a particular student with a disability? (b) What is the LRE in which that most appropriate education can occur for that individual student? (c) What is the CAP related to that individualized appropriate education?

“…The press for full inclusion and diminution or elimination of special education has become an international phenomenon (Anastasiou, et al, 2018(Anastasiou, et al, , 2020Kauffman et al, 2021). The idea of inclusion has been pushed to such an extreme that it is in danger of becoming its own worst enemy (Kauffman, Anastasiou, et al, 2020).…”

Section: Changing Calls For Inclusionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Several scholars and stakeholders have noted the possible de volution of special education, sometimes calling attention to what they consider alarming trends that seem more regressive than progressive in direction in the long run or warning that a trend taken to an extreme is counterproductive (e.g., Kauffman, 2022; Kauffman et al, 2017, 2019; Kauffman, Anastasiou, et al, 2020; Kauffman, Hallahan, et al, 2020; Maag et al, 2019; Martin, 1974; Weintraub, 2012; Zigmond & Kloo, 2017). An important point is that these changes started long ago, about the time of the federal breakthrough law of the mid 1970s.…”

Section: Confusion and Changes In Law And Policymentioning

confidence: 99%

Creeping Normality: Special Education’s Problem of a New Normal

Journal of Disability Policy Studies

Hallahan

Pullen

2022

Self Cite

Many alternative opinions about how best to respond educationally to the reality of human diversity in abilities are possible. Opinions and rhetoric now dominant seem to us inimical to a thriving, vibrant, effective special education. We see trends in concepts or ideas, policies, and publications that we believe could lead slowly but inevitably to special education’s diminishment and eventual demise. We describe what could become the “new normal” through the process of “creeping normalization” and suggest seven alternative propositions that we wish to see affirmed by professional associations and policy-making organizations.