Mainstreaming

Paper Summary:

This paper discusses how the concept of inclusion or mainstreaming of developmentally delayed students was born in a time when education for these students was inadequate and parents and educators rallied together to attempt to offer a solution. It looks at how since that time incredible strides have been made in the field of special education and the intellectual tools to offer adequate education for special needs students outside of a mainstreaming system. It analyzes how mainstreaming has now been embraced as the norm and how funding for alternatives has to some degree decreased because it has once again become thought of as secondary to the success of the general population of students. It evaluates how mainstreaming borne of good intentions has now become not a way for disabled students to achieve success but another way for them to continue to be denied it.

From the Paper:

"The difficulty then is finding a solution that both meets the needs of the special need children and is functional within an education system that has to a large degree fully embraced the concept of inclusion. There are more proponents and few opponents to mainstreaming. Those opponents willing to speak out are often regarded as uninformed and dismissed out of hand. Most research is intended to search out success rather than failure of mainstreamed environments leaving little options for opposition. Working with educators and administrators to find a solution for the real problems associated with inclusion and to ensure that challenged students will continue to be offered alternatives is imperative. Regardless of the ideal educators and administrators will offer a hand to teachers and parents with real life problems and concerns associated with mainstreaming."

More papers on Mainstreaming:

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

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