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Advantages and Disadvantages of Mainstreaming Special Education Students
Advantages of Mainstreaming Special Education Students
Benefits to students with disabilities
The broad curriculum is seen to be more accessible to children with disabilities when they are educated alongside their classmates who are not impaired. According to studies, mainstreamed students with impairments have:
Higher academic achievement: Exclusion tactics have been demonstrated to be less effective academically than mainstreaming. For instance, the National Research Center on Learning Disabilities showed that, despite not making a distinction between students participating in mainstreaming, inclusive, or segregated programmes, graduation rates for all students with disabilities in the U.S. increased by 14% from 1984 to 1997. It has been demonstrated that providing students with direct teaching in a resource room improves their academic performance and, as a result, their ability to apply their learning in a general education context. Both part-time and full-time placement in the regular classroom has been found to increase academic success in kids with modest academic impairments, as well as to improve their long-term conduct when compared to full-time placement in a special education class or 7 special schools.
Higher self-esteem: By participating in a regular-paced educational environment, individuals with impairments have demonstrated traits of increased self-efficacy and confidence.
Better social skills: Any type of inclusion strategy, including mainstreaming, enables students with disabilities to pick up social skills via observation, develop a deeper comprehension of their environment, and integrate into the “normal” population. Other kids gain as well from mainstreaming. It helps kids with impairments and their peers communicate with one another. All students become more aware that these students may require more help if they are engaged in class activities.
Benefits to non-disabled students
Many individuals think that educating impaired students alongside non-disabled children fosters an environment of tolerance and understanding that better equips students of all abilities to thrive in the world outside of the classroom. Participating in an inclusive physical education programme led to improvements in self-concept, tolerance, self-worth, and an improved understanding of other people among students without impairments. The inclusion programme, according to the pupils, was crucial for preparing them to deal with impairment in their own life. Contact theory is frequently used to explain the benefits of inclusion. According to contact theory, contact between people who have different viewpoints regularly that are important and enjoyable likely to result in a shift in attitude.
Disadvantages of Mainstreaming Special Education Students
There are drawbacks to the system even if mainstreaming in education has been proved to have advantages.
Tradeoff with non-disabled students’ academic education
The fact that a mainstreamed kid may need substantially more attention from the teacher than non-disabled children in a typical class is one potentially major drawback to mainstreaming. As a result, the demands of a single student with special needs may require more time and attention than the needs of the rest of the class. The impact a mainstreamed student has on the entire class is greatly influenced by the specific disability in issue and the support options available. The costs involved with educating this child will increase, but in many situations, this issue may be resolved by including an assistant in the classroom to help the special needs student.
Harm to academic education of students with disabilities
Parents worry that general education teachers are ill-equipped to handle kids with special needs in a general education classroom. However, these issues may typically be resolved with professional training and supported assistance. According to some studies, teachers who are unaware of the accommodations needed for students with special needs are also less likely to accept these kids into their classes. This may cause disabled pupils to regress as well as lower overall classroom efficiency.
Social issues
Those who are mainstreamed for only specific classes or periods may feel outcasts or socially rejected by their peers in comparison to fully integrated individuals with disabilities. They could end up as the targets of bullying. The extra assistance they get in a typical classroom, such as a writing tutor or a behaviour support assistant, may make mainstreamed kids uncomfortable. Some disabled students can feel better at ease in a setting where the majority of pupils are working at the same level or receiving the same assistance. Students with autism spectrum disorders are more likely than non-autistic peers to be the subject of bullying in the United States, especially if their educational programme places them in regular contact with non-autistic students.
