A significant result of inclusive education as a vital part of the Australian vision of education is the development of a society based on free and equal access for all students, including those with special needs. Even though the idea of actively implementing reasonable adjustments to help these students is an intricate and multi-dimensional task, it discusses the medium and large-scale, historical, and governmental factors shaping the provision of reasonable adjustments at a school in Australia, using pseudonyms of the school to ensure its identity is not misrepresented.
Context and Purpose of the Paper
This paper aims to execute a comprehensive situation analysis within the Australian schools’ context, as comprehensively as possible, by which various factors explaining the difficulty of enacting reasonable adjustments for students with extra needs will be exposed. Via the channel of insightful historical and government policies as well as their related legislations, coupled with particular contextual factors like the size of the school, this assessment aims to illustrate all the obstacles that hinder influence on the issue of inclusiveness (Boyle & Anderson, 2020). Secondly, this paper suggests specific measures that can substantially improve the curriculum, learning environment, and assessment where these barriers are minimized, and students with extra needs will engage with the curriculum just like their counterparts.
Background of the School
The school on whose position this paper intends to reflect, namely Sunnyside Primary School, is a suburbia-based institution in Queensland, Australia. The Sunny Slope Primary School is located within the Queensland state education system and caters to diverse learners from different sections of society. The school applies the ideologies of acceptance and puts efforts into ensuring that every student, regardless of their type of disability, learning incapability, or behavioral-related difficulty, is well catered for. Nevertheless, similar to many educational facilities, the Sunnyside Primary encompasses a system of inclusive policies, which sometimes just become complicated in the practical implementation conversion, with the need to have a more in-depth and cautious analysis of the contributing elements to the provision of reasonable adjustments (ACD, 2019).
Historical Factors
Historically, Australia has made significant progress in inclusive education, which aims to give all children equal learning opportunities. Nevertheless, the rise of explicitness toward inclusive practice has yet to see similar progress in all institutions, and some of the schools may face difficulty in full implementation (Boyle & Anderson, 2020). At the Sunnyside Primary School, historical stands against inclusion had different opinions because some educations delivered cautiousness or worries about amending students with extra needs. These attitudes might lead to various barriers, such as a reign of power by certain persons who resist improving inclusive practices in the field (Nikula et al., 2021). For example, some teachers have received limited training or professional growth in inclusive pedagogies (ACD, 2019). They might need more confidence or understanding of how to respond to students with various needs within the classroom. That is also coupled with the past failures of implementation of inclusion initiatives by the staff, which has led to doubt or resistance concerning the effort to chart out a deliberate plan to accommodate students with diverse needs (Pak et al., 2020).
Governmental Factors
The federal government’s backing for inclusive education is unmistakable; legislations like the Disability Discrimination Act (1992) and Disability Standards for Education (2005) are omnipotent, challenging educational institutes to give adequate support to students with special needs (Pak et al., 2020). However, it is only sometimes possible to transform regulatory regimes and existing capacities into actionable policies. Sunnyside Primary School, as the legal obligations regarding reasonable adjustments are considered, more than the availability of resources and finance may be needed to implement these adjustments effectively (Mendoza & Heymann, 2022). That is a government mandate to be followed; hence, it determines the affordability and quality standards for special needs students. That’s only part because the budget deficit restricts the school from hiring extra support team members or investing in the resources that are assistive as well as specialized technologies that can favor the inclusion of students with all kinds of necessities (ACD, 2019). Additionally, the government’s regulatory and reporting red tape could end up as administrative hurdles that take the schools’ attention off the significant developmental issues (Nikula et al., 2021).
Structural Factors
The structural components of the school environment, like facilities, resources, and staff, are apt to mediate or blockade the society of appropriate accommodations. Like every other educational institution, Sunnyside Primary School has to grapple with an array of challenges, including a scarcity of resources and support staff. As a result, visualize a student named Emily, who is an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) patient and may need individualized learning plans (ILP) (ACD, 2019). Even with that, the school’s capacity for personal delivery can hinder the procedures of standard adjustments in this case. Furthermore, physical infrastructure inaccessibility issues, such as buildings or classrooms with no room for the specialized equipment or accommodations necessary (Mendoza & Heymann, 2022), make creating an inclusive education challenging. Moreover, evaluation for the staff, or a high rate of staff turnover, becomes another obstacle in the school’s ability to consistently support its students with special needs, given that it is crucial for inclusion to have continuity of care and familiarity with individual students’ needs (ACD, 2019).
Contextual Factors
Among specific contextual factors within Sunnyside Primary School, there is a range of reasonable adjustments for students with additional needs. Take, for example, the school’s Executive and their culture shape. These two things can affect how much emphasis inclusive practices are given and how much financial resources are distributed. Similarly, the community from where learners come, and community engagement is also very critical in the school’s efforts to address diverse learners’ needs ((ACD, 2019), (CESE, 2023)). Similarly, with the help of attentive and devoted staff and the possibility for Emily to be enrolled in a supportive schooling environment, she would feel much better in such a setting. She would also open the possibility of integrating into mainstream classrooms (Mendoza & Heymann, 2022). In addition to that, the socioeconomic standing of the school community can be another factor that may limit some student’s access to vital external support facilities, such as those that are managed by allied health professionals or other community-based organizations that are well-equipped to take care of individuals with disabilities (Boyle & Anderson, 2020). Cultural considerations could be another factor that creates a bias towards disabled people and inclusive school policy within the community (Pak et al., 2020). Some cultural groups may hold stigmas or prejudices against disabled people, which makes it hard for the school to create an environment that tolerates all the students.
Adjustments for Emily
Curriculum Adjustment
A modification for Emily would be using differentiated instruction strategies supported by technology. Teachers can make plans and materials more targeted to follow Emily’s learning style and pace by adapting the teaching style and approach to enable her to catch up with the curriculum at a suitable level (Queensland Government, 2021). For instance, you can help Emily work on her ideas and strengths instead of producing standard assignments. Thus, she will understand the fundamental material better. Besides the multisensory teaching activities that may be added to the program to help support her special sensory issues, these would also assist Emily in her understanding of the academic subject matter (ACD, 2019).
Environment Adjustment
The socialized environment that enables senses is another benefit for Emily. Sunnyside Primary may create calm places mixed with sensory break zones while supplying calming resources and sensory tools to help Emily during overstimulation and sensory overloads. Another favorable factor would be the incorporation of adjustable seating accessories such as bean bags, sofas, and cushion chairs, which enable Emily to take advantage of seat types that facilitate accomplishing her tasks (CESE, 2023). Furthermore, promoting a class atmosphere that is warm and inclusive in which the diversity that the students bring in is celebrated, and student empathy and understanding are encouraged can create a robust social environment for Emily, leading to a situation where she will not likely be a victim of bullying or social isolation (Mendoza & Heymann, 2022).
Assessment Adjustment
From the assessment perspective, Emily enjoys more time extensions or mid-assessment breaks. That helps her to be less stressed and anxious, so she demonstrates her understanding and abilities appropriately. Furthermore, to paraphrase, there is a need to adapt the criteria for assessment in line with the goals and policy for individualized learning program (ILP) (Boyle & Anderson, 2020) for Emily to properly assess based on her performance and attempts as opposed to the conventional standardized measures which may not be an accurate representation of her capabilities (Queensland Government, 2021). Additionally, applying alternatives like verbal presentations and projective work techniques that foster her strengths in analysis and expression can lead to a more authentic, respected means of assessment that would reflect her abilities and not the ones that somebody predetermines, whoever she is (ACD, 2019).
Conclusion
Finally, some adaptations within Sunnyside Primary School result from the intricate relationships between the history, the government, the structures, and the context. Although Australia’s portfolios on inclusive education are entirely satisfactory, the guarantee of practical implementation of policies still needs to be made more explicit. Historical views on inclusion, limited governmental funds, structural impediments inside the learning environment, and certain contextual circumstances create hurdles in the path of students like Emily that hamper their efforts to receive adequate help (CESE, 2023). Sunnyside Primary School will face a myriad of challenges as it works to become a more inclusive school.
The identification and addressing of these challenges are, however, a step in the right direction toward creating a more welcoming and supportive learning environment for all students. Customizing teaching and learning settings by specific features, an advanced path Emily took, is one of the most essential moves to individualize. Besides the favorable partnership among diverse stakeholders and implanting an understanding culture of hope and empathy, this culture has a crucial role in paving the way over these hurdles (Mendoza & Heymann, 2022). Last but not least, the allocation of learning approaches, which are inclusive education practices and availing chances for all the children to achieve their learning potential no matter their abilities, is the best way for Sunnyside Primary School to live up to its pledge of providing quality education which meets the diverse needs of the children population.
References
ACD. (2019, November 13). Reasonable adjustments. Association for Children with Disability. https://www.acd.org.au/reasonable-adjustments/
Boyle, C., & Anderson, J. (2020). The Justification for Inclusive Education in Australia. Prospects, 49(3), 203–217. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11125-020-09494-x
CESE. (2023, February 28). Best practices – creating a positive learning environment. Education.nsw.gov.au. https://education.nsw.gov.au/about-us/education-data-and-research/cese/publications/practical-guides-for-educators/best-practices-creating-a-positive-learning-environment
Inclusion. (2022, August 22). The Disability Standards for Education II: Making reasonable adjustments | inclusion. Www.inclusioned.edu.au. https://www.inclusioned.edu.au/practices/disability-standards-adjustments
Mendoza, M., & Heymann, J. (2022). Implementation of Inclusive Education: A Systematic Review of Studies of Inclusive Education Interventions in Low- and Lower-Middle-Income Countries. International Journal of Disability, Development, and Education, 1–18. https://doi.org/10.1080/1034912x.2022.2095359
Nikula, E., Pihlaja, P., & Tapio, P. (2021). Visions of an inclusive school – Preferred futures by special education teacher students. International Journal of Inclusive Education, 1–15. https://doi.org/10.1080/13603116.2021.1956603
Pak, K., Polikoff, M. S., Desimone, L. M., & Saldívar García, E. (2020). The Adaptive Challenges of Curriculum Implementation: Insights for Educational Leaders Driving Standards-Based Reform. AERA Open, 6(2), 233285842093282. https://doi.org/10.1177/2332858420932828
Queensland Government. (2021). Inclusive Education. Queensland Government. https://education.qld.gov.au/students/inclusive-education
write