The truth about special education | Suzanne Carrington | TEDxYouth@GrahamSt
Summary
TLDRThe 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
🏫 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.
🌟 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.
🌈 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.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Inclusive Education
💡Special School
💡Disability
💡Segregation
💡Social Integration
💡Stigma
💡Self-Stimulatory Behavior
💡Institutionalization
💡Role Models
💡Language and Inclusion
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
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