The truth about special education | Suzanne Carrington | TEDxYouth@GrahamSt

Summary

The speaker, a former teacher and researcher, passionately advocates for inclusive education, sharing her experiences from various schools and the detrimental effects of segregation. She contrasts the life trajectories of children with disabilities in special versus inclusive schools, emphasizing the latter's benefits for both disabled and non-disabled students. The talk concludes with a call to action for a more inclusive society, urging listeners to reflect on their social circles and language use regarding people with disabilities.

Takeaways

• 🌟 Inclusive education is crucial for all students, including those with disabilities, to have the opportunity to learn together with their peers.
• 🏫 The speaker's experiences as a teacher and researcher highlight the importance of inclusive education and the negative impacts of segregation in special schools.
• 📚 Historically, students with disabilities were often separated from their peers and placed in special schools, which limited their life opportunities and social interactions.
• 🔗 Research indicates that special education can negatively affect a child's life trajectory, separating them from their communities and potentially reducing the quality of their education.
• 🌱 Positive changes in education, such as greater equity and support for diverse groups, raise the question of why children with disabilities are still often segregated in education.
• 🌐 There is a global shift towards more inclusive educational practices, with ministries of education working to support education for all students, including those with disabilities.
• 📈 Evidence shows that inclusive educational environments provide both short-term and long-term benefits for both students with and without disabilities.
• 🛤️ The choice between an inclusive school pathway and a special school pathway can significantly affect a student's future, with inclusive education leading to greater opportunities and a more fulfilling life.
• 👥 The speaker encourages reflection on social groups and the language used to describe people with disabilities, advocating for more inclusive language and social inclusion.
• 💪 The commitment to inclusive education is a collective effort that can lead to a more socially just and inclusive society.

Q & A

Why is it important for students with disabilities to have the opportunity to attend their local schools?

It is important for students with disabilities to attend local schools because it promotes inclusive education, which has been shown to provide short-term and long-term benefits for all students, including those with disabilities. It allows for social integration, better life opportunities, and a more socially just society.

What was the experience like for students at the special school in the small rural town in 1983?

In 1983, students at the special school in a small rural town were often from poor backgrounds and had various disabilities or learning difficulties. They were selected by local authorities and removed from their local regular schools, leading to social isolation, labeling, and negative impacts on their self-esteem and life opportunities.

How did the special school in North Queensland treat students with severe disabilities?

The special school in North Queensland treated students with severe disabilities by placing them in an institution, often separating them from their families. The students were sometimes kept in dehumanizing conditions, such as cages, and exhibited self-stimulatory behaviors due to anxiety, sadness, loneliness, and boredom.

What impact did the special school environment have on the students' lives in North Queensland?

The special school environment in North Queensland had a profound negative impact on students' lives, leading to social isolation, lack of family contact, and a diminished quality of life. The institutionalization contributed to their cognitive, physical, social, and emotional difficulties.

Why did the teacher take students to their houses for lunch in London?

The teacher took students to their houses for lunch in London to provide them with an experience of a real home environment, as the students mostly lived in high-rise apartments and rarely interacted with children without disabilities.

What was the situation of special education classrooms in Australian primary and secondary schools in 1990?

In 1990, special education classrooms in Australian primary and secondary schools were often located in separate areas, such as the back corners of school grounds, with physical barriers like fences and locked gates, which further segregated students with disabilities from their peers.

What message does the physical separation of special education classrooms send to the school community?

The physical separation of special education classrooms sends a message of exclusion and fear, suggesting that students with disabilities need to be controlled and are different or dangerous, which is a harmful and outdated belief.

What are the benefits of inclusive education environments according to the research evidence presented?

Inclusive education environments provide benefits such as improved learning success, social integration, engagement in supported work, living in the community, and having a greater choice and quality of life for both students with and without disabilities.

What is the difference between the inclusive school pathway and the special school pathway for a child with a disability?

The inclusive school pathway offers a child with a disability a chance for a more successful learning experience, social engagement, and a better life with more choices, while the special school pathway may lead to sheltered employment, group home living, isolation, and a limited choice of life.

How can individuals contribute to a more inclusive society in terms of education?

Individuals can contribute to a more inclusive society by inviting students with disabilities to join social groups, using appropriate and modern language to describe people with disabilities, and advocating for inclusive education practices in their communities.

Outlines

00:00

🏫 Inclusive Education: A Commitment to Change Lives

The speaker begins by posing a question about the importance of inclusive education, emphasizing the need for students with disabilities to attend local schools alongside their peers. Drawing from personal experience as a teacher and researcher, the speaker shares insights from their time at a special school in a rural town in 1983, highlighting the negative impact of segregation and labeling on students. The narrative continues with the speaker's experiences at another special school in North Queensland, where they witnessed the profound effects of institutionalization on children's development. The speaker argues for the transformation of educational systems to embrace inclusive practices, which can significantly alter life trajectories and opportunities for students with disabilities.

05:05

🌟 Overcoming Barriers in Special Education

This paragraph delves into the speaker's experiences teaching at a special school in London and the challenges faced by students with disabilities who were isolated from their non-disabled peers. The speaker describes the limited social interactions and the negative behaviors that resulted from this segregation. The narrative then shifts to the speaker's return to Australia, where they observed the beginnings of inclusive education in primary and secondary schools. However, the speaker points out the physical and social barriers that still existed, such as special education classrooms being located in isolated areas of school grounds, sending a message of fear and exclusion. The speaker questions why, despite progress in other areas of education, children with disabilities continue to be segregated and calls for a change in attitudes and practices towards inclusive education.

10:07

🌈 The Path to Inclusive Education: Benefits and Actions

The speaker presents research evidence supporting the benefits of inclusive education, highlighting its positive impact on both students with and without disabilities. Using the metaphor of two pathways—inclusive school and special school—the speaker illustrates the vastly different life outcomes for students who have the opportunity for inclusive education versus those who do not. The speaker calls for a shift in language and mindset, advocating for the removal of outdated terms and the adoption of more inclusive language. The narrative concludes with a call to action, encouraging listeners to consider their social circles and the potential for including individuals with disabilities, and to reflect on the language used to describe them. The speaker ends with a hopeful message about the potential for a more socially just and inclusive society through the commitment to inclusive education.

Keywords

💡Inclusive Education

Inclusive education refers to the practice of providing all students with an education that is accessible, regardless of their abilities or disabilities. It emphasizes the importance of integrating students with disabilities into the general education system, promoting a diverse and supportive learning environment. In the video, the speaker passionately advocates for inclusive education, sharing experiences that highlight the negative impacts of segregating students with disabilities and the positive outcomes of inclusive practices. The video's theme revolves around the benefits of inclusive education for both students with disabilities and their peers.

💡Special School

A special school is an educational institution designed for students who have significant learning, physical, or behavioral needs that cannot be met in a regular school setting. The video discusses the historical context of special schools, where students with disabilities were often separated from their peers and placed in institutions that could be stigmatizing and isolating. The speaker contrasts this with the inclusive education model, suggesting that the latter is more conducive to a fulfilling and successful life for students with disabilities.

💡Disability

Disability in the context of the video refers to a physical or mental condition that limits a person's movements, senses, or activities. The speaker uses personal anecdotes and research to illustrate the varied experiences of students with disabilities in educational settings. The video challenges the traditional approach to educating students with disabilities, advocating for a more inclusive and integrated system that does not segregate them based on their condition.

💡Segregation

Segregation in education refers to the practice of separating students into different schools or classrooms based on certain characteristics, such as disability, race, or social class. The video script describes instances of segregation, particularly in the context of special schools and institutions, where students with disabilities were removed from their local schools and placed in separate settings. The speaker argues that segregation can have detrimental effects on students' social development and life opportunities.

💡Social Integration

Social integration in the video refers to the process of including individuals with disabilities into mainstream society, allowing them to interact and form relationships with people from diverse backgrounds. The speaker emphasizes the importance of social integration for students with disabilities, suggesting that it leads to better social skills, more opportunities for friendships, and a greater sense of belonging. The video presents social integration as a key component of inclusive education.

💡Stigma

Stigma in this context refers to the negative stereotypes and prejudices that society holds against individuals with disabilities. The video discusses how students with disabilities were labeled and ostracized, leading to a stigma that affected their self-esteem and social interactions. The speaker argues that inclusive education can help to break down these stigmas by promoting understanding and acceptance among all students.

💡Self-Stimulatory Behavior

Self-stimulatory behavior, as mentioned in the video, refers to repetitive movements or sounds that individuals with certain disabilities make to self-soothe or cope with anxiety or boredom. The speaker describes observing such behaviors in institutions, indicating that they were a response to the environment's lack of stimulation and the individuals' feelings of loneliness. The video suggests that inclusive education can provide a more varied and enriching environment, potentially reducing the need for such behaviors.

💡Institutionalization

Institutionalization in the video refers to the practice of placing individuals with disabilities in long-term care facilities or institutions, often separated from their families and communities. The speaker recounts experiences from an institution in North Queensland, highlighting the negative impacts on the children's development and well-being. The video contrasts this with the benefits of inclusive education, which emphasizes community integration and family involvement.

💡Role Models

Role models in the context of the video are individuals who serve as examples for others to follow, often providing guidance and inspiration. The speaker notes that students with disabilities in special schools may lack appropriate role models, as they are not exposed to a diverse range of peers. Inclusive education, by integrating students with disabilities into regular classrooms, can provide them with a broader set of role models, which can positively influence their behavior and aspirations.

💡Language and Inclusion

Language and inclusion in the video refers to the importance of using person-first and inclusive language when discussing individuals with disabilities. The speaker suggests moving away from terms like 'special needs' and instead using 'disability' to promote a more inclusive and respectful dialogue. This shift in language is part of the broader push for inclusive education, which aims to treat all students with dignity and respect, regardless of their abilities.

Highlights

The importance of inclusive education for students with disabilities.

Personal experience as a teacher and researcher advocating for inclusive education.

The negative impact of labeling and segregating students with disabilities in special schools.

The life trajectories established by special education and its limitations on opportunities.

The emotional and social impact of institutionalization on children with disabilities.

The dehumanizing practices and environments in institutions for people with disabilities.

The efforts to create stimulating and fun learning environments in special classrooms.

The lack of interaction with non-disabled peers in special education settings.

The benefits of inclusive education for both disabled and non-disabled students.

The physical and social barriers that still exist in some schools for students with disabilities.

The outdated beliefs and practices that contribute to the segregation of students with disabilities.

The global shift towards more inclusive educational approaches.

Evidence presented at the Royal Commission into violence, abuse, neglect, and exploitation of people with disability.

The short-term and long-term benefits of inclusive education environments.

The significant difference in life outcomes between inclusive and special school pathways.

The call to action for individuals to promote inclusivity in their social groups.

The need to update language and terminology when discussing disability to foster inclusivity.

The collective effort required to create a more socially just and inclusive society.

Transcripts

hi everyone

take a look at this photo

you can see a group of diverse school

students all sitting together at a

school assembly

do you think it is important for all

students

to have the opportunity to go to their

local school with their peers

including students who have a disability

do you think it's important that they

have the opportunity to go to school

altogether

i'm going to share with you my

experience of being a teacher and a

researcher that will show you why it is

so important that we all commit to this

idea of inclusive education

today we're going to think about how

schools can change people's lives

in 1983 i became a teacher at a special

school it was a new special school

there are about 25 children at the

school between the ages of 5 and 17

years of age and it was in a small rural

town

some of the children had a disability

some of the children had a learning

difficulty or a behaviour difficulty

but most of the children all came from

poor family backgrounds

in 1983 when the school opened the

students were selected to go to the

school by the local school principals

the guidance officers and the

councillors and they were removed from

their local school their local regular

school and placed in the special school

away from their friends and siblings

in a small country town

students who went to the special school

were labeled

and

ostracized

they were called retards

all of a sudden they were seen as

mentally and physically inadequate

can you imagine what sort of impact

this had on their young lives

research tells us that special education

establishes life trajectories that may

limit life opportunities

may separate children from their

siblings

neighborhoods and communities

and may impact on the nature and the

quality of the education that they

engage in

in 1985 i became a teacher at a special

school that was attached to an

institution for people with disabilities

in north queensland

the school had children between the ages

of about three years of age right

through to young adults

and most of the students had significant

and severe disabilities

many of the students were wards of the

state

so when they were born

their parents were encouraged to give

them up and forget about them and place

them in the institution

and the children became the

responsibility of the government it was

the government's responsibility to look

after their welfare

some of the children at the school that

i taught at saw their parents

occasionally

but most of the students never saw their

families

can you imagine the impact that this had

on their la on their lives

in the morning

the children

finished their breakfast in the

institution and then they were placed in

wheelchairs in the institution and

waited for us teachers to go and collect

them and bring them down to the school

the school was in the same grounds

as the institution

some mornings when we arrived there was

a bed sitting in the garden in the sun

and that meant that one of the people in

the institution had passed away

overnight

and sometimes that person was one of our

students

the children and young people slept in

dormitories in cots that looked a little

bit like the ones in this photograph

most of the students or most of the

people in the institution had

self-stimulatory behavior

they rocked and banged their heads and

made lots of self-stimulatory noises

repetitive noises and that was due to

anxiety

and being sad and lonely and being bored

or sometimes they just copied each other

in the institution

so in an institution self-stimulatory

behavior was normal

i remember a cage

much like the timber cage in this

photograph

and the cage was at the entrance to the

institution and children were locked in

the cage with not very much stimulation

this was really cruel and dehumanizing

the children all had cognitive physical

and social and emotional difficulties

and their development was clearly

impacted by living a life in the

institution

this was only 35 years ago

can you

imagine can you you know even imagine

that that happened only 35 years ago

this is a photograph of me as a teacher

with one of my other teaching colleagues

and with one of the teacher aides and

the photograph is taken in one of the

special classrooms in the special school

that was attached to the institution

we worked really hard to make sure our

classroom environments were really fun

and stimulating

and we taught academic skills and social

skills and living skills

we had lots of dress-up days at school

and this is what's happening in that

photograph

we took the students on lots of

excursions to get them away from the

school and to give them an experience

away from the institution

sometimes we took the children to our

houses for lunch

so that they could experience what a

real home was like

in 1989

i moved to london and i became a teacher

at a special school there

i had the early childhood class

and these children lived at home with

their parents in high-rise apartment

buildings in london

and the children traveled to school to

the special school every day on a

special school bus

so they hardly ever saw

children who didn't have a disability

so the children in my classroom had lots

of inappropriate behaviors and they all

copied each other

because they didn't have other role

models to follow

they all had delayed language and they

had social difficulties and behavior

difficulties

can you imagine what their

life and their learning and development

would have been like if they'd had an

opportunity to go to an inclusive school

their lives would have been very

different

children with special

children with disabilities

usually go to special education schools

because it was thought that that was the

best place for them

but there's no research evidence

to support that belief

in 1990 i re i

returned to australia

and inclusion of children with

disabilities had really begun in primary

and secondary schools

the photograph that you can see here is

a photograph of some special education

classrooms in a secondary school

environment

but the classrooms are situated right in

the back corner

of the school grounds

so the students with disabilities

are still separated from their peers and

they spend most of the day learning and

social socializing with people who have

disability rather than you know with

peers who don't have a disability can

you see that there's a big

fence around the special classrooms

what sort of message do you think that

sends to the school community

what sort of message

does it mean that people are frightened

of them

they need to be locked up

so once you get through the big high

fence the students with disabilities

have to go through

this a locked gate

and then through self-locking doors to

get into their classroom

so what sort of message does that send

about people with disabilities

does it send a message as i said just

before that they need to be controlled

and locked up

do you know that they are the same ideas

and beliefs that people had about people

with disability as in the eighteen

hundreds

so more recently we've seen lots of

positive changes in education we've seen

greater equity

and uh thinking about you know what we

need to do in terms of education for

girls and to support children who come

from different racial and cultural

backgrounds

my question is why are we still

segregating

children with disabilities in education

this photograph is taken of a student

who had a disability in a secondary

school

he used to go to classes at the special

education unit so seu in the photograph

stands for special education unit

and when he took this photograph he gave

the photograph the caption

which said

if the doors were left open it would

attract more people to come into the

special education unit

but the doors are closed which makes

people feel afraid of the different

people inside

around the world ministries of education

have been working really hard

to develop a more inclusive approach to

education

that really has a focus on supporting

education for all students

including students who have a disability

in 2019

i was asked to give research evidence

about the benefits of inclusive

education at the royal commission into

violence abuse neglect and exploitation

of people with disability

there is clear and consistent evidence

from around the world

that tells us that inclusive educational

environments provide short-term

and long-term benefits

not only just for people who have

disability or students who have

disability but also for students who

don't have a disability

take a look at this image you can see

that there are two pathways

an inclusive school pathway and a

special school pathway

if we take the example of a little boy

who has a disability and he has the

opportunity to go to an inclusive school

he has a really great chance of being

successful in his learning and

developing friends

he is more likely to engage in real and

supported work live at home in the

community and have relationships with

his friends

and social networks

he has a greater chance of having

choices and having a good life and a

bigger life

if we take another example of a little

boy who has a disability and he goes to

a special school

he receives a special education program

away from his peers and away from his

siblings

he is more likely to end up in sheltered

employment or not be working

be living in a group home and may become

increasingly isolated and have limited

choices so he is more likely to have a

smaller life

so my question is

which path should we choose

if i think back to the young woman who

was sitting on the fence

in the small rural town

who was just about to begin her teaching

career

i didn't realize how passionate she

would become about moving away from a

special education approach for children

with disabilities

if you have a look at these photographs

you can see that there's young people in

the photographs who have disabilities

and they've been through inclusive

schools

and they're just hanging out with their

friends doing regular things you know in

in their social world like everybody

else

if you had the opportunity to join

a more inclusive social group just think

how could help you to become a more

caring and kind person

so this big idea of inclusive education

is going to take some time

but my question to you is what can you

do now

think about your own social groups

who's in

who's out

and why

is there a possibility that you can

invite someone with a disability to join

your social world

i want us also to think about the

language that we use

to to describe people with disability

we need to move away from using

old-fashioned language like students

with special needs

we need to move to using language like

just students with disability and drop

the whole special

that's a really outdated piece of

language that we just need to get rid of

it takes us away from being inclusive

so i hope today i've convinced you about

why

we all need to commit to inclusive

education and and the benef benefits of

inclusive education for all people

and i really hope together that we can

really can make a difference for a more

socially just and inclusive society

thank you for listening

[Applause]

you