Mainstreaming

Paper Summary:

This paper provides an insight into mainstreaming or inclusion where disabled children are placed in normal schools with the general school population in order to improve both the academic and social experience for disabled students. It examines how the the underlying theory is that disabled children benefit from being part of the mainstream, preparing them better for what they will encounter throughout most of their lives. It shows how it is also believed they will be able to learn better in such an environment. It looks at how critics generally either believe that this is not the case and that these children will not learn as well, or that the presence of disabled children in class will somehow be disruptive and will reduce the learning potential for non-disabled children. It evaluates how programs have now been in place for some years and can be assessed as to their effectiveness.

From the Paper:

"The move toward mainstreaming has been spurred not just by educational theory and administrative decisions but by court cases as well, and the general rule that has emerged from various federal cases is that children should be placed in what are called least restrictive environments (LRE). For most children with disabilities, the LRE will be the regular education classroom, but for others, placement in a more specialized and restrictive environment will be necessary for the child to incur "some educational benefit" (Thomas and Rappaport)."

More papers on Mainstreaming:

• Essay # 69639 : "Mainstreaming"
• Essay # 28971 : "Mainstreaming"
• Argumentative Essay # 54937 : "Mainstreaming Handicapped Children"
• Analytical Essay # 49203 : "Mainstreaming and Inclusion"

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