Inclusion: Students with Disabilities

Inclusion is the process of educating students with disabilities with their nondisabled peers and bringing special education services and support to them in the general education classroom, as opposed to removing them from the general education environment and placing them in a special education classroom for instruction. The topic of inclusion has had its share of controversy. Some have argued that inclusion is a type of service “delivery model,” while others have suggested that it is a “frame of mind” (Kilanowski-Press, Foote, & Rinaldo, 2010, p. 45) or “belief system” (Friend & Pope, 2005, p. 57).

Additionally, there has been some confusion and debate over the definition of inclusion. Some have interchanged the terms inclusion and mainstreaming. However, mainstreaming is often considered to be the process of educating students with disabilities in some general education courses without much thought given to extra support that the students may need. In the earlier days of special education, mainstreaming typically occurred in nonacademic classes.