Developing an Inclusive Education System

Inclusive Education consultant and researcher Simona D’Alessio from Rome in Italy defines integration as simply placing students with disabilities into existing mainstream education systems, whereas Inclusion ensures full participation in learning and school life. Simona’s experience shows that in order to make regular schools and ordinary classrooms fully barriers to inclusivity, curricular rigidity and traditional teaching practices need to be firmly looked at

This transcript has been corrected and edited slightly for clarity.

An important step to take is to understand what the role of special schools, currently [operating] in Australia is, and of course, it’s very important to say that we need the expertise and staff knowledge [represented] in special schools in Australia today, as we need [it] in every part of the world. The only problem is that this expertise should be used to improve the capacity of the mainstream setting, rather than being something that is located in one special setting, one ‘special school.’  So special schools called [inaudible] which are [trans]formed into resource centres, that help local state schools, or the local mainstream school, to become more inclusive.

The [centres] can support the local school in different ways. They could support the school for example, by using/sharing materials–including IT–when it is needed, or special resource aides that could be shared across the school whenever those materials are needed. They can provide teacher training, they can provide training for parents–so they know what to do  when their children are at home, and they can provide support, for example, as a link, with medical services, or health services, whenever they are required. t’s very important that that doesn’t get lost.  

Another important thing is for school and learning to cooperate with other schools; school-to-school cooperation; clusters of schools working together, maybe together with the support of special schools, that have become their centre of excellence, [this] is something that we are looking into, in Italy as well, to develop a better system of inclusion.

Last updated August 24, 2018

• What’s been involved in ensuring your daughter is well included, Marion Trabe: Family Advocacy Parent. [opens external tab: You Tube] 
• Use of a teacher’s aide, Gina Wilson Burns: Family Advocacy parent. [opens external tab YouTube]