This essay is an argument on why special needs students should be mainstreamed in regular education. The essay consists of 5 paragraphs, the introduction with thesisstatement, the first pro body paragraph, the second pro body paragraph, the con body paragraph containing the rebuttal and a concludin...
, Learners with special needs should (not) be mainstreamed in
general education because...
The sky is the limit. This expression is used to say that there are no limits and that anything is
possible if you work hard. Today’s society is completely structured based on this way of
thinking and therefore shaped to facilitate the unlimited citizen. However, if you have
defects, it becomes a totally different story. Many people with disabilities face barriers to
access education and jobs and to participate fully in society. Because of the rigid way the
community has been structured since the beginning of recorded history, they often feel
marginalized, isolated, and neglected. Even today, a large percentage of countries prevent
students with disabilities from being taught in the same classroom as non-disabled students.
These governments believe that placement in an alternative setting creates a more effective
learning environment for the disabled learners and consequently prevents the necessity for
regular education to adapt. In recent years, more attention has been paid to changing
discriminatory attitudes and the equality of opportunity. This attention to various problem
areas resulted in an increased call for inclusive education. By admitting special needs
students to regular education, a start can be made with this inclusiveness among young
people with a functional disability. The mainstreaming of special needs students is necessary
as it will positively affect the individual development of the special needs student and will
provide respect, role models and opportunities for growth for all students, even though
some believe that it will put too much pressure on teachers due to the lack of skills and
insufficient support.
Whilst there are several reasons why students with special needs should be mainstreamed,
arguably the most pertinent is that in mainstream education they learn different behaviors
and improved social skills. Students that attend special schools often feel ashamed and like a
failure because they cannot go to a regular school. This low self-esteem prohibits them from
socializing with students of the same age. And because the special schools are often located
at a distance from their neighborhood, these students do not regularly interact with local
children. Therefore, their world becomes very small, with an emphasis on their limitations.
Because of this limited world, the students are not challenged to develop like an individual in
a regular environment that consists of complex social interactions, resulting in difficult and
sometimes antisocial or even withdrawn behavior. This lack of growth due to isolation
hinders valuable participation in society when they reach adulthood. According to an
educational study by Ruijs & Peetsma, professors at the University of Amsterdam, students
in inclusive education score better on social-emotional measures than students in special
education settings. For example, these mainstreamed students have a greater number of
friends, which results in higher self-esteem and thus better behavior. Participation in a
socializing environment results in individual growth, through adjusting social skills and
following examples of role models (Ruijs & Peetsma, 2009). This shows us that
mainstreaming has a positive effect on reducing problem behavior and improving the quality
of social interaction.
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