The Journey to Inclusion
We still have ways to go to implement inclusion in schools but the benefits we will reap as a nation and society makes the long road ahead worth it
For as long as we can remember, segregation has been a normal practice in schools in Malaysia. Students were often segregated based on grades—high achievers were placed in the ‘first’ class and low performers in the ‘last’—and there were students separated from mainstream schools to attend special school or none at all because of their disabilities. The general rationale behind segregation is, it helps to better provide for the unique needs of students whether it’s extra attention for the low performers or special teaching method and facilities for students with disabilities.
Somewhere along the way, integration was introduced and implemented in a small scale, mainly to address the inequalities in education that students with disabilities were receiving, providing them little to no prospects in terms of career or independence in life. So students with certain disabilities were accepted in regular schools under the Special Education Integration Programme. Persons with Disabilities Act was also enacted in 2008 and states that “Persons with disabilities shall not be excluded from the general education system on the basis of disabilities, and children with disabilities shall not be excluded from pre-school, primary, secondary and higher education, on equal basis with persons or children without disabilities”.
Still, with these students doing most of their learning in a special class and spending just some time with their ‘normal’ peers, for example in art or music class or physical activities class, in most cases there was only partial inclusion. Again, the rationale was that special classes tailored for students with disabilities, equipped with special teaching and learning facilities will create a conducive learning environment for their academic development. Additionally, not all disabilities, like those who are visually or hearing impaired, were accepted under the programme (persons with disabilities are defined as those who have long-term physical, mental, intellectual, or sensory impairments).
More often than not, segregation only impedes the progress of students with disabilities. Being isolated from their so-called ‘normal’ peers not only affects them emotionally (by making them feel dejected or not good enough), which often upsets their overall performance. It also fails to challenge them to achieve milestones that are customarily deemed unattainable by them. Extensive evidence from inclusive classroom settings
have shown learning side by side with ‘normal’ students as opposed to just with other students with special needs encourages these extraordinary achievements. A primary contributor to segregation in schools is that student performance has generally been graded based on their ability to perform at a certain grade level or to ‘keep up’ with other students. This is where inclusive education stands out and has been proven effective in truly providing students of all abilities equal opportunity to achieve their full potential. “Inclusive education is not about children with special needs fitting in or meeting mainstream standards but about the education system adapting to include them. It’s about providing individualised support in the classroom to enable them access to the same curriculum—with accommodation and modification to their needs—as their peers,” explains Dato’ Dr Amar-singh HSS, advisor to the National Early Childhood Intervention Council.
Obviously, for inclusive education to be successful, a classroom requires more than one teacher and not to mention other specialised help that students with disabilities may require, such as speech and language therapists, behaviour therapist, occupational therapist and psychologists. And this is where Malaysia faces one of the biggest challenges in implementing inclusive education. There is not only a serious shortage of qualified and experienced special education teachers, but also specialised therapists. “We need to give greater recognition and status enhancement to the teaching profession to encourage more Malaysians to pursue a career in education,” suggests Dr Amar. Besides resources, there also needs to be policy changes, physical structures to be put in place, transformation of the education framework and for society at large to embrace the idea.
A major obstacle is that Malaysians widely believe that it will be disruptive to have children with disabilities in the same school as ‘normal’ children. “There is extensive evidence that inclusion doesn’t just benefit children with disabilities but also those without disabilities, from promoting acceptance and appreciation of other’s differences to improvement in academic, social and emotional development for students without disabilities too,” says Dr Amar. He says we can base that on evidence from countries that successfully implemented inclusive education and seen the short-term and longterm benefits. The best model for inclusive education is Finland, which has the highest rate of inclusion in the world. “They leave no child behind, they have no special schools and classrooms, just regular classrooms. Of course, they have been on this journey for decades now, from the 1960s. As a result, they’ve revolutionised their education system. Even their classrooms are arranged so differently, not theatre-styled. Students are grouped according to their abilities and needs while the teacher moves around to support them.”
One important consideration on why inclusive education is vital is the social and economic implications if we don’t address the educational needs of children with disabilities. About 10 per cent of children in Malaysia have special needs (the actual rate is likely higher), which amounts to 473,426 children who are at risk of being disenfranchised from society when they grow up, and lack the skills and means to live independent lives and contribute to society.
Considering that Malaysia is only at the start of this journey, Dr Amar says he knows that currently we will still need some special education classes.
“I’m not a purist, I’m a realist. Some children are significantly physically disabled and we need to have a safe and suitable space for them, which mainstream schools are not equipped with for now. We have a lot of work to do but I’m prepared for the journey.”