Equity as a Basis for Inclusive Educational Systems Change

Abstract

Inclusion of students with "disabilities" in public systems of general education has been a global initiative since the Salamanca Statement and Framework for Action by the UN General Assembly in 1994. Despite global and national policy efforts the practice has been sporadic and elusive. Framing education as categorical, specialized service delivery to discrete populations makes inclusion an unsolvable problem. The advent of multi-tiered systems of support (MTSS) coupled with universal design for learning (UDL) practices delivered in whole-school rather than classroom-based formats poses a pathway out of the conundrum by framing public education as a system of equitable distribution of resources such as services and supports based on measured and monitored need on the part of all students. Potentially supportive research literature is reviewed. Key Words: EQUITY; INCLUSION; MULTI-TIERED SYSTEM OF SUPPORT; SYSTEMS CHANGE, UNIVERSAL DESIGN FOR LEARNINGSWIFT Center produced the data for this paper under U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs Grant No. H326Y120005. OSEP Project Officers Grace Zamora Durán and Tina Diamond served as the project officers. The views expressed herein do not necessarily represent the positions or policies of the Department of Education. No official endorsement by the U.S. Department of Education of any product, commodity, service or enterprise mentioned in this publication is intended or should be inferred. EQUITY-BASED INCLUSIVE SYSTEMS CHANGE 1 Equity as a Basis for Inclusive Education Systems ChangeRittel and Webber (1973) wrote "The search for scientific bases for confronting problems of social policy is bound to fail, because of the nature of these problems. They are 'wicked' problems, whereas science has developed to deal with 'tame problems'" (p. 155). The social professions (e.g., education) have evolved as conduits for application of scientific knowledge from their respective disciplines (e.g., psychology). As such, they assume responsibility for planning functions and guidance in formulation of social policy. Yet the relationship of knowledge production (science) to applications (profession) breaks down in the face of wicked problems. A problem is wicked, in Rittel and Webber's terms, when its solution is bound up in its formulation and the context of the problem militates against its formulation. Within different professional groupings are people with different values, epistemological preferences, and so on, and solutions for social policy problems become caught up in the conflicts among them.Knowledge production proceeds apace in support of all solutions until one prevails. New solutions to old wicked problems may result in the overthrow of prevalent paradigms (Kuhn, 1970;Skrtic, 1993)."Inclusion" of students with "disabilities" in general education arrangements fits the definition of a wicked problem. The significance of this problem rests in the current values underpinning a large slice of international social policy in education, whic...

An amalgam of ideals – images of inclusion in the Salamanca Statement

“…The meaning of inclusive education in organisational practice is therefore subject to prioritisation among governmental actors, policy-makers, researchers, practitioners, families and pupils. Any interpretation of inclusion sets constraints on what is seen as possible, plausible and preferable the within the national and local organisational framework and practice (Bacchi 1999) and hence boundaries on the possibilities for innovative inclusive practice (Hunt 2011;Sailor 2017). As different countries have different prerequisites to implement inclusive ideals it becomes important to study comparatively whether, and how, such ideals are expressed in national education policies and educational organisation.…”

Achievement of Students With IEPs and Associated Relationships With an Inclusive MTSS Framework

“…A more recent inclusion narrative is shifting away from physical classroom placement considerations and toward equitable distribution of available supports and services for all students within whole school applications of tiered instructional options (i.e., MTSS, including PBIS and RTI; Kozleski & Huber, 2012; Kozleski & Waitoller, 2010; Sailor, 2017). The outcomes of students with disabilities (including students considered at risk) in schools implementing MTSS have been investigated and reported through a number of studies.…”

“…Our study addressed the extent to which implementing a multicomponent intervention for inclusive educational practices within a tiered instructional framework was related to educational outcomes for students with disabilities. Our theoretical model postulated that an equity-based operationalization of inclusion, derived from the work of Kozleski et al (2004), would reveal better results than traditional place-based service delivery wherein students in special education with more extensive needs for extra supports are moved from self-contained settings to full participation in general education classrooms (Sailor, 2017). Furthermore, the theoretical model postulated that a tiered, whole school, instructional delivery approach, that is, a multitiered system of support (MTSS) could, if implemented with fidelity, serve as a driver for inclusion.…”

Reflection on the Dangers of ‘cultural racism’ in Intercultural Education

“…Parallel to intercultural education, a movement towards inclusion in education has developed. This effort is mostly geared towards the inclusion, in 'regular' educational tracks, of people suffering from a variety of physical and cognitive 'disabilities'; believing their inclusion will not only benefit their own intellectual development and educational achievements but also benefit those who welcome them into their midst (Sailor, 2017;Spaulding & Pratt, 2015). Last, there are a variety of other inclusion initiatives related to lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) sexual orientations and gender identities, also considered traditionally within the realm of debilitating differences, to include these differences and have them acknowledged within the regular educational systems (Flores, 2012;Tayler & Price, 2016).…”