Educational psychology and the effectiveness of inclusive education/mainstreaming

Abstract

Inclusive education/mainstreaming has been promoted on two bases: the rights of children to be included in mainstream education and the proposition that inclusive education is more effective. This review focuses on the latter issue. The evidence from this review does not provide a clear endorsement for the positive effects of inclusion. There is a lack of evidence from appropriate studies and, where evidence does exist, the balance was only marginally positive. It is argued that the policy has been driven by a concern for children's rights. The important task now is to research more thoroughly the mediators and moderators that support the optimal education for children with SEN and disabilities and, as a consequence, develop an evidence-based approach to these children's education.

Moving Toward an Inclusive Education System: Lessons from the U.S. and Their Potential Application in the Czech Republic and Other Central and Eastern European Countries

“…Over 25 years of research on the outcomes of students with and without disabilities at both the elementary and secondary levels suggests neither adverse nor positive academic impact of IE (Cole, Waldron, & Majd, 2004;Farrell, 2000;Hunt, Staub, Alwell, & Goetz, 1994;Lindsay, 2007;Markussen, 2004;Myklebust, 2002;Obrusnikova, Valkova, & Block, 2003;Rankin et al, 1999;Rea, McLaughlan, & Walther-Thomas, 2002). Such research has included measures of gains in academic attainment over a wide range of curricular areas, including math, literacy, science and physical education.…”

“…K-5) level. However, interpretation of comparative studies focused on all outcomes associated with IE should be tempered as a result of their typically quasi-experimental nature and a wide variety of methodological weaknesses (Foreman, 2009;Lindsay, 2007;Myklebust, 2007).…”

Teasing and social rejection among obese children enrolling in family-based behavioural treatment: effects on psychological adjustment and academic competencies

“…In the country, universal schooling according to the ideas of mainstreaming 33 is obligatory for grades 1-10, and children's height and weight are routinely measured by school nurses in grades 1, 4, 7 and 10. School nurses in the municipal area were asked to contact parents of obese children in the age range of 8-12 years (obesity defined according to the definition of the International Task Force of Obesity 34 ).…”

Teachers' attitudes to signing for children with severe learning disabilities in Indonesia

“…Education for all is as a right which is being worked towards globally (Lindsay 2007), albeit inconsistently (Stangvik 2010), having been stated as part of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (Lindahl 2006). Inclusive education has grown from the enactment these basic human rights and is explicitly advocated in Convention of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (United Nations 2006), A key part of the inclusive education movement is a consensus that all children, including those with disabilities and impairments, should have the opportunity for an education and, furthermore, an education with their peers.…”