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5
Steps to
inclusion
Theoretical background and central concepts
Inclusion
is a concept that expresses the opposite of segregation. Inclusion gives people with
disabilities equal obligations and rights, and allows them to be socially involved, active and
contributing members of the community. The inclusion process is intended to realize the potential
of personal participation for each individual in the mainstream of his/her culture. Mainstreaming is
a continuation of the idea of inclusion in education, meaning a mingling of students coming from
different groups in a heterogeneous school and a heterogeneous class. With regard to students
with disabilities, the purpose of mainstreaming is to educate these students among their peers,
children of the same age, learning in the typical education framework, so as to allow them to
develop social relationships with each other (Wolfensberger, 1972).
There are two main approaches to full inclusion in the education system:
a.
Mainstreaming at any price:
Including children with all kinds of disabilities in typical education
classes. This means the inclusion of every student in regular frameworks, taking into account
their special needs and creating all the conditions to help them achieve autonomy, functional
independence, and quality of life, according to their needs and wishes.
b.
Mainstreaming wherever possible:
Underlying this approach is the view that the system
has to provide children and students with disabilities the optimal environment for learning and
development, along the continuum between a unique framework and a fully integrated
framework. The guiding principle is an examination of each individual case, looking at the
intellectual potential and learning ability of the child, his/her independence and functioning in
everyday life, his/her personality, and his/her capability for social communication. All of these
are taken into account, together with an examination of the child's unique needs and the optimal
environment for him/her.
Mainstreaming has two main objectives:
a. The participation of children with disabilities together with children without disabilities allows them
to be socially active and accepted as equal partners in the group (Kaminsky and Shapiro, 2011).
b. "Typical" children who are engaged in activities with children with disabilities acquire habits of
assistance, openness, patience and tolerance. Coming into contact with different children