Essay

Laura Camila Gómez Salamanca

Pontificia Universidad Javeriana

Inclusion as a big step towards a better education 

      The world is changing day by day in a disproportionate way. The global population has grown, climate change is now a major problem, women have won a bigger participation in the world, and we are more into a technology era than we were before. As a result, we have had to adapt to a set of social changes in order to be part of society. However, along with the changes, we can also find difficult challenges that could take some time to overcome. One of these has been found in an essential social aspect: Education. Nowadays, different educational institutions are trying to change according to their students’ needs; nevertheless, even when some of them have done their best, the majority of these establishments still do not know how to incorporate inclusive education in their study plans, so in the courses neither. As a consequence, the lack of inclusive education in universities and schools has brought about different social issues, and neither the citizens, nor the government know how to fix this problem. Nonetheless, there are some solutions that could contribute to foster inclusive education in educational institutions.

      To begin with, parents should be one with schools. Communication is probably one of the keys to success in social relations because it could help us to solve problems in an easier way, and to understand other people’s feelings, beliefs and thoughts. As it is important in certain social dimensions like friendships or love relationships, communication is also vital between two big institutions like an educational establishment and a family. Then, if schools and parents decide to work as a team and share the knowledge that each one of them has about the students, they will be able to create a stronger partnership in favor of them. As Gooch (2018) affirms, parents have spent part of their life with their children, so it is expected that they are aware of the lifestyle, interests, favorite activities and social development. On the other hand, teachers own knowledge not just about students’ academic development, but also about their academic system. To create this relation and make it real, institutions can create different spaces along with the parents that could be developed during the whole year of study, or they can keep the parents informed about the decisions they would make to implement changes in order to know if they agree or disagree, and at the same time, be informed about new ideas. Taking this into account, it is important to remind parents and schools that they play for the same team, and hence both have to be part of the solution. By doing so, introducing educational programs related to inclusive education might be an easier task.

      Second, school environments should be transformed. Healthy and friendly environments for children are an important aspect to take into account when triggering students’ motivation in class. Moreover, it has been demonstrated that an approachable school climate offers a suitable well-development for the pupil and the appropriate learnings that are needed for a fruitful coexistence in a democratic society (Cohen, McCabe, Michelli & Pickeral, 2009). When an educational establishment does not offer to its students a proper atmosphere, their performance may be not as good as it should be. In fact, some studies like the one called SERCE, led by UNESCO United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (2008), states that school environment is a very important aspect to take into account when evaluating students’ academic performance. Although this could sound like an expensive project to implement, this is not about literally rebuilding these places, but transforming the classroom step by step with colorful elements, signs for blind and deaf students, proper elements for the learner to be comfortable, and much more. Then, if pedagogical institutions start to change and create different spaces which promote healthy and friendly environments, both students and teachers would be benefit because formers will probably be more willing to learn and will respond to teacher instructions more easily.

      Last but not least, teachers must be trained on inclusive education. An academic establishment could have an excellent partnership with parents, or it could have appropriate spaces for pupils. However, if teachers are not sufficiently trained in inclusive education, they would not be able to implement it in classes in an accurate way. As Blanco (2005) explains if we want educators to be inclusive and also able to educate in and for diversity it is necessary that important changes occur in their own education. Educational institutions cannot pretend that every teacher should already know this topic; nevertheless, to transform this in to reality there are some solutions that can be implemented. As an example, the government and the Ministry of Education can introduce in universities a subject that teaches each professor about inclusive education; furthermore, schools could create different educational spaces for teacher training as workshops or extracurricular activities. By doing this, educators will be able to use this knowledge in a positive way in their classrooms by implementing inclusive education in an accurate way whenever it is needed.

      On the whole, even if the lack of inclusive education seems hard to overcome in a near future, there are some solutions that can be taken into account to foster this element in institutions. First, parents and educational institutions should work as a team with the same goal in mind: to communicate each other in favor of children improvement. Another solution is the transformation of school environment into a more comfortable one for students’ learning. Finally, if we want inclusive education to be implemented, teachers must be trained in this topic. By implementing these solutions, we could upgrade the quality of the current education system. I am aware that these strategies can represent a difficult challenge to achieve; nevertheless, just by giving the first step of this long journey we would have started a new era where the education will be a right and not a privilege. So, what are you waiting for to set up on this trip to improve education?


References

Blanco, R. (2005). Los docentes y el desarrollo de escuelas inclusivas [Theachers and the development of inclusive schools]. Revista prelac, 1, 176-177.

Cohen, J., McCabe, E., Michelli, N, & Pickeral, T. (2009). School Climate: Research, policy, practice, and teacher education. Teachers collage record, 111(1), 181-182. Retrieved from http://www.ijvs.org/files/Publications/School-Climate.pdf+&cd=1&hl=es&ct=clnk&gl=co.

Gooch, C. (2018). Teamwork: Parents and Teachers Working Together. Aspire Hospital. Retrieved from http://www.aspirehealthcorp.com/2016/08/teamwork-parents-and-teachers-working-together/.

UNESCO, United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization. (2008). Los aprendizajes de los estudiantes de América Latina y el Caribe. (Primer reporte del Segundo Estudio Regional Comparativo y Educativo, SERCE).