Inclusive Education means that all students attend and are welcomed by their neighborhood schools in age-appropriate, regular classes.
Students are supported to learn, contribute and participate in all aspects of the life of the school.
Inclusion: More than just ‘being there’
“In the beginning, I thought my son needed withdrawal for one-on-one or lots of aide time but now I see how those things took him away from his peers.
While there is still sometimes extra adult support in the class, there are many other ways to foster my son’s participation, learning and belonging, so he is a full and valued class member”.
Mother of John, Aged 7
Video
Inclusive Education: The right model of support
Community Resource Unit Ltd
The right model of support for a student with disability will result in them feeling like an equal, valued, and contributing part of their class. The right supports will develop their growth as an independent learner, and promote their perception and social connection amongst their typically developing peers.
This video demonstrates how Nathan’s school community implemented the right model of support for him, and how his academic confidence and friendships grew when the support was right. It is an excerpt from the CRU film "He's confident, he's happy, he's part of the class".
The Queensland Department of Education has an Inclusive Education Policy Opens in new window which defines what inclusive education is and isn’t and the process of transformation that is needed to make inclusive education possible for all students.
Video
Not all models of education are inclusive
Queensland University of Technology (QUT)
Fact Sheets
What is Inclusive Education?
Community Resource Unit Ltd. (CRU)
Download the fact sheet here (PDF) Opens PDF in a new window
What is Inclusive Education?
Children and Young People with Disability Australia (CYDA)
Download the fact sheet here (PDF) Opens PDF in a new window
Download an accessible version here (Word) Downloads the Word doc
Article
What is Inclusion? What’s not?
Kathie Snow
"It's estimated that 20 percent of adults and 10 percent of children have medical diagnoses that are categorised as disabilities. Those numbers represent the 'natural proportion' of people with disabilities in our society. An inclusive environment is one that replicates the natural proportion'.
Table
‘Is it inclusion?’ cheat sheet
Apologies for the lack of accessibility of this table.
Video
Collaborative Instruction Among Peers
Dan Habib
How should teacher aides be used in the inclusive classroom? An example from the USA.
Video
Cheers for Peers!
Shelley Moore
This video looks at the critical role of peers in a truly inclusive classroom. Shelley advocates for a move away from one-to-one adult support and towards meaningful and balanced peer connection and mutual learning.
Article
Supporting Peer Connection
Starting with Julius by Catia Malaquias and Dr Robert Jackson
This article captures the issues that arise through one-on-one use of teacher aides, and contains links for further reading if you wish to look into the research behind this.
Article
Inclusive Practices In Schools - Who Is Responsible?
Australian Teacher Aide
"The debate therefore should not be about whether schools should employ Teacher's Aides (TAs) to support students with disability... rather it should be about how schools can work with TAs to implement better inclusive practices for supporting students with disability in the classroom".
Who’s ready?
“Liam’s inclusion has never been about his development, academic abilities, speech, behaviour or “readiness”. The only criterion that any child should have to meet is being of school age.”
Mother of Liam (age seven)
Podcast
Step into Education
Department of Education
"This podcast is designed to support professional conversations about evidence-informed approaches to transition to school and early years practices, as identified in current research and literature. This is the first in a series which will focus on supporting Queensland schools to translate research into everyday practice to:
- define and understand the term ‘student voice’
- understand the importance of gathering the perspectives of children during planning and the evaluation of transition programs
- unpack ethical challenges and children’s perspectives."
Fact Sheets
What to look for – indicators of inclusion
Community Resource Unit Ltd.
"In your first contact with a prospective school, focus on assessing the school culture and the fit of the school with your vision - rather than the support that will be provided."
Resource
Signposts for school improvement - Inclusive Education
Department of Education
"Schools which embrace diversity support every student, with their many different backgrounds,
interests, needs and abilities. Here are some ways a school community can demonstrate that it
embraces diversity, consistent with the Disability Standards for Education 2005."
Video
Are you ready to really include me?
Down Syndrome Association Queensland
Video
‘Every student with disability succeeding: Oonamba State School’
Queensland Department of Education and Training
“Students are in their classrooms all the time, rather than having separate programs.” An example of a Queensland State School that has intentionally worked towards being inclusive.
Video
Amelia Makes her move
Belonging Matters
Video
The Power of Inclusive Education
Ilene Schwarz
Video
Inclusive education: a way to think differently about difference
Peter Walker
Article
The secret teacher got it wrong: A response to ‘I am all for inclusion in principle, but it doesn’t always work’.
Cátia Malaquias, The Global Observatory for Inclusion
"Neither “special education” nor “integration” in general education is inclusive and both fail when assessed for the core critical measures of inclusion: the creation of a real sense of belonging and connectedness to curriculum and peers."
Article
Ten Myths about Inclusive Education
Inclusive Education Planning
“Pervasive myths about inclusive practice and people with disability have been absorbed into education, creating barriers to inclusion through stereotypical views of students with disability.”
Article
Inclusive education means all children are included in every way
Kathy Cologon, The Conversation
"There seems to be a lot of confusion and misinformation about what inclusion actually means. Inclusive education involves the full inclusion of all children. No children are segregated.
Supports for inclusion are embedded within everyday practices. If aides are employed they circulate around the classroom, or spend time assisting the teacher and making adaptations to materials, rather than being off in a corner with one particular child."
History of Advocacy for Inclusion
Video
Major Milestones: key dates in the history of inclusion
The Global Observatory for Inclusion
“Since the late 1800s, key events have led to advances in education. These events have prompted governments and education systems to move from exclusion to special education, from segregation to integration, and from integration to inclusion. Here is a summary of some of these events.”
Click here to learn more and watch the video Opens in new window
Video
Inclusive Education – key dates in history
Queensland University of Technology (QUT)
Article
The Fight for the Human Right to Inclusive Education: Conceptualisation of Inclusion, Implementation Challenges and the Journey from Theory to Practice
Cátia Malaquias
"Around the world and across cultures and societies, 1.3 billion people with disabilities remain among the most marginalised. This is true for people with disabilities in both developing and developed countries and explains the particular significance of the concept of “inclusion” in the global movement for the rights of people with disabilities."
Article
Championing Inclusion: A reflection
Carol Ann Tomlinson
“We live in a time when diversity is a hallmark of society – a time when one of our greatest challenges is shedding centuries-old suspicions of ‘the other’. Schools in which we determine that some students are smart and others are not, in which class assignments effectively create a caste system…reinforce divisions beyond the schoolhouse door that diminish us all.”
Download the article here (PDF). Apologies for the lack of accessibility of this article.
Video
Disabling Segregation
Dan Habib
Key resources: Australian and International
Australian Resources
Article
Thinking about inclusion: Following the natural paths of childhood.
Dr Bob Jackson
"We still have much to learn on the mechanics of inclusion for all students in all situations, but it is now clear from examples around the world in high school and over 20 years of successful inclusion at a university level that if the will is there, the way is there also."
Website
Inclusive Education Toolkit for Parents
All Means All
This Inclusion Toolkit for Parents has been written with leading inclusive education experts to guide parents in supporting their child’s inclusive education journey.
Websites
Useful Australian websites:
- Family Advocacy - School years Opens in new windowA useful collection of resources for parents, by an advocacy organisation that supports NSW families to promote and defend the rights of their children to be included in the regular classroom.
- School Inclusion – from Theory to Practice Opens in new windowA blog and a wealth of resources published by a Queensland-based Educator committed to advancing the realisation of inclusive schooling within the Australian context.
International Resources
Video
Five Moore Minutes
Shelley Moore
Five Moore Minutes is a website with practical videos dedicated to empowering schools and classrooms to support all Learners! Created by Shelley Moore, this website is designed with teachers in mind.
Website
Broadreach Training
Broadreach Training and Resources is the website of Emma Van der Klift and Norman Kunc. It contains extensive resources including videos, online courses, articles and presentations on disability, inclusion, inclusive education, collaborative behaviour support, friendship and rethinking disability.
Video
Inclusive Education: From Political Correctness Towards Social Justice
Norman Kunc
Video
Inclusion Alberta: Inclusive Post-Secondary Education
In a program initiated by families in 1987, Inclusion Alberta facilitates inclusive education opportunities to students with developmental disabilities at 14 universities and colleges.
Students with developmental disabilities take part in the same learning activities as their peers such as assignments, practicums, exams, study groups, as well the extracurricular clubs, societies and social groups university life is famous for.
Websites
Useful International websites:
- The Inclusive Class Opens in new window A blog by Nicole Eredics, an educator who advocates for the inclusion of students with disabilities in the general education classroom. This site is designed to provide information and tips on how to include ALL learners in a classroom
- Paula Kluth Opens in new window Paula’s website is dedicated to promoting inclusive schooling and exploring positive ways of supporting students with autism and other disabilities. She is the author of the very popular “You’re Going to Love this Kid: Teaching Students with Autism in the Inclusive Classroom”, now in its 2nd edition.
- Inclusive Schooling Opens in new window This website by Dr Julie Causton is for educators, administrators and parents who seek to create more inclusive schools.
This project is proudly supported by the Queensland Government through the Department of Education.
The Department of Education website outlines its commitment to Inclusive education through its inclusive education policy.
