According to Inclusive Education advocate Norman Kunc, “when inclusive education is fully embraced, we abandon the idea that children have to become ‘normal’ in order to contribute to the world” and that we begin to look beyond typical ways of becoming valued members of the community, and in doing so, begin to realise the achievable goal of providing all children with an authentic sense of belonging.
The Principles of Inclusion were developed on behalf of the Minister for Education by the Ministerial Advisory Committee: Children and Students with Disability in order to change the traditional way of dealing with children with special needs.
Purpose of the Inclusive Education Principles
- promote equity, access, opportunity and the rights of children and students with disability in education and care
- contribute to reducing discrimination against children and students with disability where they are treated less fairly than their peers
- provide early childhood education and care centres (early childhood) and schools with broad and consistent criteria for inclusion so that they assess their progress towards inclusion
- provide early childhood and school sectors with broad and consistent criteria to assess their progress towards inclusion.
Theory and Practice of Inclusive Education
The document explains each Principle, and carefully provides methods on how they can be executed in classrooms as well as suggests how a principle could work in any setting.
The suggestions should be applied within the context and circumstances of each early childhood centre and school while adhering to requisite legislation, education sector guidelines and mandated standards. There may be other indicators not mentioned here that are particular to a site or sector.
Principles of Inclusive Education
- All children and students who experience disability have the right to access and participate in education.
- All children and students who experience disability have the ability to learn and the right to exercise their voice, choice and control in managing their own educational experiences.
- All children and students who experience disability have the right to develop to their fullest potential and to be active, valued citizens in the community.
- Teachers, early childhood education and care centre and school communities and the parents/carers/advocates of children and students who experience disability have the responsibility for taking action for inclusive behaviour in their education and care setting.
- All children and students who experience disability have the right to an appropriate and adequate allocation of resources to enable their right to access and participate meaningfully in education.
- All children and students who experience disability, their parents/carers/advocates, teachers and members of the early childhood education and care centre and school communities have the right to be safe – physically, emotionally, culturally and socially and to be treated respectfully.
- All children and students who experience disability, their parents/carers/advocates, teachers and members of the school community have the responsibility to operate within the legal framework provided by the United Kingdom.