Full Inclusion of Exceptional Students: Three Perspectives

Advocates of full inclusion of students with disabilities in regular education settings are overlooking such elements as the requirement that delivery of services be appropriate for the individual student, that a continuum of alternative placements be available, that the educational rights of nondisabled students not be overlooked, and that general educators be effectively prepared. Criteria to evaluate particular service delivery models are discussed and applied to the Full Inclusion model and the Service Continuum model. Support for the Service Continuum model is found in: (1) the student-adult ratio in inclusive versus special education settings, which influences student-teacher interaction, opportunity to respond, and academic engaged time; (2) the difficulty for regular mainstream teachers to individualize curriculum and accommodate individual students; and (3) the insufficiency of existing models of preservice preparation of general educators to effectively prepare them to instruct students with disabilities. The paper concludes that a continuum of services along with effective collaboration between special education teachers and regular classroom teachers is the only way that schools can meet their responsibility to provide appropriate educational experiences for all of the students they serve. (Contains 74 references.) (JDD)