The mainstreaming of children with special needs should be done on a case by case basis. This essay will discuss the pros and cons of mainstream education for children with special needs and the various levels of help required by each child. It will exploring the social stigmatization and attitudes towards special needs children in mainstream education, specialized teachers and resources to fit each child’s needs and how government funding changes might affect mainstream therapists.
A case study by Caswell, McDonald, MacArthur & Simmons Carlsson (2007) tells us about Simon (18 years old) who had previously attended a regular school “but had been withdrawn because the school seemed unable to meet his needs” (p.126) Simon is now enrolled in a self-contained school which matches his needs better. Another case study of Ian (11 Years Old) who was moved to an intermediate with an attached unit for special needs students said “…at the other school I was the only one with a walker...” (p.130) at his current school there are many others with walkers or wheelchairs “…I know I wont be looked at like I am completely from, from planet mars or something…” (p.130). During the observation period Ian would spend a great deal of time away from class which lead to his teacher voiceing a concern about the amount of work he was missing while at therapy sessions.
Kimi Ora School is a Special needs school in Wellington that aims to provide the best for the students enrolled (Stevens, 2009) . At the beginning of 2011 Kimi Ora will be split into two satellite units like the one attended by Ian; one at Evans bay intermediate and the other at Naenae intermediate. It is hoped that at Evans Bay intermediate, which already has an impressive special needs unit, will continue help with good integration and the reduction of social stigmatization (Roy, 2010).
A report by the Human Rights Commission (2008) tells us that is often detrimental towards children with special needs with classmates or staff often being patronizing or openly discriminatory. However, both Coie & Pennington (1976) and Hazzard (1983) show that children in some cases may gain better understandings of special needs as they grow older (Encyclopedia of special education, 2001) .
The definition of mainstreaming in education is the placing of students with special needs in a regular class (MSN encarta, 2009) . Wolfberg & Schuler (1999) tell us that the mainstreaming of children with special needs can provide them with the ability to learn some social skills through observation. However, there are still problems for special needs students in mainstream education including; the feeling of being socially rejected by their classmates, becoming targets for bullying or them becoming embarrassed at the level of extra help needed to partake in activities as stated by Jacques, Wilton, & Townsend (1998).
A study conducted by Semmel, Abernathy, Butera, & Lesar (1991) discovered that teachers believed that "full time placement of students with mild disabilities will not have positive social benefits for these students". Reynolds, Martin-Reynolds, & Mark (1982) state that the teachers attitude towards special needs children is the most important thing for sucsessfull mainstreaming to occur. In an address to the Auckland Disability Law Workshop in 2010 the Associate Minister of Education, Heather Roy, said...
Wherever I go I hear about the need for teacher training in special education - how important it is for families to have teachers who know how to work in partnership with them and support a child with a disability to learn. I hear about the need for professional development for all teachers so students with special needs can have their needs met irrespective of the class they are in or the subjects they choose.
Not having enough specialized teachers for special needs student’s means some may miss out on valuable learning time.
Smith (2009) wrote that with the 2009 budget the government decided the country can no longer afford the $2.5 million a year to fund therapy services for hundreds of children. Therapists in mainstream schools may not be able to provide the level of help needed to improve the quality of life for certain students because of these funding cuts. The education minister, Anne Tolley, has moved this therapists' budget to a $51 million funding pool to allow more children to access grants from ORRS (On-going and Reviewable Resourcing Schemes). ORRS is a government run program that provides resources for a very small number of students who have the highest level of special needs during the student’s school years (Ministry of Education, 2010) . Roy (2010) states that parent’s cannot continue to rely on funding raises to provide the improvements they are demanding in the future.
Children with special needs often face different challenges in mainstream education due to social differences and negative attitudes from others towards them. To widely implement it there needs to be a case by case assessment and given the that child’s individual needs a decision should be made between the government, parents and the student as to what is best for the education of that child. The changed of government funding for special needs education may mean in the future specialized education (therapists and teachers) may not be available for those that need it.
Reference List
Clark, P., McDonald, T., MacArthur, J., Simmons Carlsson, C., & Caswell, P. (2007). Research project on Intergrated Effective Service Provision for Children and Young people with Physical Disabilities: Two Part Research Project. New Zealand: Ministry of Education.
Coie, J., & Pennington, B. (1976). Childrens perceptions of deviance and Disorder. Child Development , 407-413.
Encyclopedia of special education. (2001). A reference for the education of the handicapped and other exceptional children and adults (Vol. 2). (C. R. Reynolds, & L. Mann, Eds.) New York: John Wiley and Sons.
Hazzard, A. (1983). Childrens experiance with, knowledge of and attitudes towards disabled persons. Journal of Special Education , 2 (17), 131-139.
Jacques, N., Wilton, K., & Townsend, M. (1998). Cooperative learning and social acceptance of children with mild intellectual disability. Journal of Intellectual Disability Research , 29-36.
Ministry of Education. (2010, September 15). NZ Education. Retrieved September 27th, 2010, from ORRS Guidelines: http://www.minedu.govt.nz/NZEducation/EducationPolicies/SpecialEducation/FormsAndGuidelines/ORRSGuidelines/The_Ongoing_and_Reviewable_Resourcing_Schemes.aspx
MSN encarta. (2009). Dictionary . Retrieved September 7, 2010, from MSN encarta: http://encarta.msn.com/dictionary_/mainstreaming.html
Reynolds, B. J., Martin-Reynolds, J., & Mark, F. D. (1982). Elementary teachers attitudes towards mainstreming educable of mentally retarded students. Education and Traning Of The Mentally Retarded.(3), 171-177.
Roy, H. (2010, Febuary 4th). The review of special education in New Zealand. Retrieved September 7, 2010, from Scoop Independant News: http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA1002/S00160.htm
Smith, J. (2009, August 3rd). NZ Herald. Retrieved Seotember 27th, 2010, from Special education centre threatened by funding cuts: http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10588300
Semmel, M.I., Abernathy, T.V., Butera, G. & Lesar, S. (1991). Teacher perceptions of the Regular Education Initiative. Exceptional Children(58), 9-24.
Stevens, D. (2009). Kimi Ora School. Retrieved September 27th, 2010, from Kimi Ora School: http://www.kimiora.school.nz/about.html
Wolfberg, P. J., & Schuler, A. L. (1999). Fostering peer interaction, imaginative play and spontaneous language in children with autism. Child Language Teaching & Therapy , 41-52.
