EDUC90929 Chap.9 Inclusive Education and Models of Disability
Inclusive Education and Models of Disability
The Week 4 materials emphasise that inclusive education has no single universally agreed definition and is shaped by time, place, culture and political economy. Its core concern is full and effective participation, which requires more than physical placement: access, attendance, achievement and progression all matter. Exclusion denies education, segregation separates, integration asks the learner to fit standardised requirements and inclusion reforms content, teaching, structures and strategies.
The CRPD came into force in Australia in 2008 and the Optional Protocol is dated 2009 in the subject deck. A rights-based analysis asks about dignity, non-discrimination, difference, accessibility and full participation, then tests implementation. The Week 4 language rule from People With Disability Australia is explicit: “follow the lead of the person or group you are talking about. It's okay to ask.” Person-first and identity-first preferences vary; correct wording does not replace consultation about design and participation.
Reasonable adjustment links a particular barrier with same-basis participation. The lecture defines an adjustment as a measure or action that assists a student with disability to participate in education and training on the same basis as other students, then asks whether the adjustment achieves that purpose while considering learning needs and affected interests. Approval is not completion: consultation, timely implementation and review of effect matter.
The NDIS responds to lifetime financial risk and a support system described as underfunded, unfair, fragmented and inefficient. The lecture names four issues—quality and adequacy, funding, complexity and workforce. On segregated schooling, the Disability Royal Commission recorded a 3–3 split: three commissioners with close disability experience supported phasing out special schools, while three without that experience supported a dual track with more interaction. Attribute both positions. Poed et al. (2022), Graham and Sweller (2011), Munkhaugen et al. (2019), and Slee and Tait (2022) provide distinct issue and normative routes.
What this chapter covers
- 01Contested definitions of inclusive education
- 02CRPD and the right to inclusive education
- 03Exclusion, segregation, integration and inclusion
- 04Medical and social models of disability
- 05Access, attendance, achievement, progression and participation
Placement is not yet inclusion
- 2Distinguish enrolment and placement from participation and belonging.
- 3Identify physical, communication, curricular, attitudinal and social barriers.
- 3Examine adjustments, resourcing, staff capability and system responsibility.
- 2Specify evidence across access, attendance, achievement, progression and the learner's own perspective.
Key terms
- Inclusive education
- An approach oriented toward full and effective participation in education through changes to systems, environments and practices.
- Segregation
- Education in settings separated from the mainstream on the basis of disability or another attributed difference.
- Integration
- Placement in a mainstream setting where the learner is expected to adapt to existing structures and practices.
- Medical model of disability
- A frame that locates disability primarily in individual impairment and treatment or adjustment of the person.
- Social model of disability
- A frame that locates disabling effects in social, institutional, environmental and attitudinal barriers.
Inclusive Education and Models of Disability FAQ
Is mainstream placement sufficient for inclusion?
No. Placement can coexist with exclusion from learning, relationships, decision-making or progression. Participation and system change must be examined.
Why does the definition of inclusion need context?
The materials treat inclusion as historically and politically contested, so its institutional meaning and implementation vary by place and system.
What evidence should an inclusion claim use?
Use evidence across access, attendance, achievement and progression, together with barriers, adjustments and the voices and preferences of people with disability.
What are the four NDIS issues named in the lecture?
Quality and adequacy of support services, funding, complexity and workforce. Keep them separate from the original rationale, which concerns pooling the risk and lifetime cost of significant disability and replacing an underfunded, unfair, fragmented and inefficient support system. A funded plan may establish formal entitlement while provider availability, geography and administrative complexity still constrain practical choice.
What did the Disability Royal Commission recommend about special schools?
There was no single recommendation. Three commissioners with close experience of disability recommended phasing out special schools and linked segregation with devaluation. Three commissioners without that experience recommended retaining a dual-track system while increasing interaction between special and mainstream schools. Analyse the competing rights, safety, support, choice and system-capacity assumptions and attribute the 3–3 split.
Assessment move
Build a continuum for each case, then justify its position with evidence rather than the institution's label. Audit barriers across physical design, communication, curriculum, assessment, attitudes and relationships. Add a reasonable-adjustment ledger: activity, barrier, consultation, proposed change, same-basis participation and review. Use the PWDA language rule by asking and following the person or group's lead. Separate CRPD rights, Australian strategy commitments, NDIS support design and institutional implementation rather than treating them as one policy. For the segregation debate, write both sides of the 3–3 Commission split before evaluating assumptions. Match Poed to gatekeeping, Graham and Sweller to inclusion/exclusion distribution, Munkhaugen to school-refusal evidence and Slee and Tait to the ethics and meaning of inclusion. Finish by checking whose perspective defines success and whether policy transforms the system or only relocates the learner.
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