Examining middle school inclusion classrooms through the lens of Learner-Centered Principles

Theory Into Practice, Spring, 2003 by Ilda Carreiro King

This article provides an interesting set of ideas for applying the Learner-Centered Psychological Principles (LCPs) in the context of meeting the needs of special education students in inclusion classrooms. It examines the perceptions of middle school students--with and without special needs in learner-centered, inclusion classrooms--regarding teacher practices that are known to enhance student learning and motivation for all learners. It also describes firsthand examples of how educators can apply knowledge of learner-centeredness as a guide to instructional decision making, especially in inclusion classrooms.

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THERE IS A LARGE POPULATION of students who would benefit from general education classrooms that utilize learner-centered principles. Evidence of this trend is seen in the dramatic increase in the number of students served through special education identification within inclusion classrooms. In the 1994-1995 school year, 44.8% of disabled persons aged 6-21 received educational services within the regular education classroom, with both general and special educators sharing responsibility for their successful inclusion into the academic and social life of those classrooms (National Center for Educational Statistics, 1997). More recently, 70% of students with disabilities received special education and related services in a general education classroom (U.S. Department of Education, 2000). With the push for placing special needs students in inclusion classrooms, it is reasonable to assume a need to understand contextually relevant teacher practices that benefit a diverse population of students.

The Learner-Centered Psychological Principles (LCPs) (APA Work Group of the Board of Educational Affairs, 1997) have emerged as a framework for improving teacher practices that would enhance student learning and motivation using the most current knowledge in the field. Among those practices that most influence student success are attention to individual developmental differences, appreciation of student voice while setting appropriate challenges, directly teaching higher order thinking skills, and creating positive interpersonal relationships.

Paradoxically, I often see inclusion teachers who seemingly embrace learner-centered practices, but whose special needs students are passive learners who make little or no measurable skill gains from year to year. Yet, it has been noted that there is little research that explicitly examines special needs students in the context of inclusion classrooms that adopt innovative methods intended to benefit diverse learners (see Speece & Keogh, 1996). Having served as a reading diagnostician, a tutor for the learning disabled, a classroom teacher, researcher, and professional development provider, I am in a unique position--bridging theory and practice from the individual learner to the systemic--to examine the ecology of a classroom that might yield suggestions to improve teaching and learning.

One area that can yield significant insight into determining program effectiveness is student perceptions of teacher practices (Vaughn & Schumm, 1996; Whinnery, King, Evans, & Gable, 1995). While there is much data about student perceptions of learner-centered practices (McCombs, 2001), there is little data contrasting the perceptions of students with and without special needs within the same inclusion classrooms. Results from previous investigations regarding reform practices were reported from the perspectives of students as one group with no control for type of classroom.

The goals of this article are twofold and interdependent. The first is to examine the perceptions of middle school students--with and without special needs in learner-centered, inclusion classrooms--regarding teacher practices that are known to enhance student learning and motivation for all learners. The second goal is to encourage educators to become reflective practitioners who deepen their knowledge of learner-centeredness as a guide to instructional decision making, especially in inclusion classrooms.

Defining Inclusion

Inclusive education means that all students in a school--regardless of their strengths, weaknesses, or disabilities in any area--become part of the school community. They are included in the feeling of belonging among other students, teachers, and support staff. Inclusion, as operationally defined by York (1994), involves students' attending the same schools as siblings and neighbors, being members in general education classrooms with chronological age-appropriate classmates, having individualized and relevant learning objectives, and being provided with the support necessary to learn (e.g., special education and related services). Proponents of inclusion (Villa & Thousand, 1995) stress that inclusion is an attitude--a value and a belief system.

Schools often differ in their approach to inclusion. Because of limited resources, many schools designate certain general education classrooms as inclusion classrooms. In these classrooms, specialized supports are made available for maximizing student learning in the context of seemingly more diverse needs. The creation of this midway point between full membership in general education (mainstreaming) and pull-out services satisfies a central tenet of being identified as having a disability: the student has failed to succeed in general education settings and needs specialized learning practices in order to make educational progress. Classroom teachers are expected to continue to use the existing curriculum. However, they should implement more effective delivery techniques and change instructional strategies, grouping practices, pacing, and assessment--not only to accommodate students' individual needs but also to alter the conditions that led to the referral of students to special education in the first place.