Inclusive Education is ‘Team-teaching’ Dr.K.Govindaraju

Inclusive Education is ‘Team-teaching’, said Dr.K.Govindaraju, Chairman, South Zone Board of Continuing Education while addressing special educators in Trichy. Dr.K.Govindaraju was addressing a workshop for Special educators those work in Inclusive Education under SSA in Trichy those are working in inclusive education namely IED under SSA.Dr.K.Govindaraju further said ‘Inclusive Education requires Team-teaching, teaming, co-teaching skills and an organizational and instructional arrangement in which two or more teachers work in the same classroom in an inclusive class room. Team teaching requires teachers to share, cooperate, and agree on methods of instruction. These teachers must assume responsibility for all the teaching functions described above but also agree about materials, discipline, evaluation, supervision of classroom aides, and other matters. Inclusive Education is ‘team work’ – a responsibility shared by the whole school in which the class room teacher assumes the role of the co-ordinator in providing educational services. This team work along with the parents, peers and professional enhances the Children with Special Needs (CWSN)  functioning level to their optimum level in a Inclusive set up’s. The challenge ahead of us is facilitating a co-ordinated effort of the team support and sustain those available supportive services within the class room set up’s. A few teachers are not prepared to facilitate such extensive collaboration and most schools are not structured to participate to the extent necessary, schools tend to produce standard products and standard services, so deviations from the norm to engage in team teaching can be problematic at first’. Inclusive Education is a flexible and individual support system for children with special educational needs. Inclusion is not integration of disabled children from where they are, to a regular school but providing more options for all CWSN’s a structuring school where all children can learn including disabled children. Inclusive Education recognizes values and respects differences in learning among children. It ensures equal access to education to all children using instructional material to meet the needs of all CWSN by regular class room teachers. In Inclusive Education the CWSN are part of the whole school system and their needs are met in the General School System.

The chairman also spoke that ‘Disability Management involves a comprehensive addresser of various issues such as Prevention, Early Identification and Early Interventions services with Multi disciplinary team in making Inclusion a meaningful process in including Children with Special Needs (CWSN) in general school system. This team work along with the parents, peers and professional enhances the CWSN functioning level to their optimum level in a Inclusive set up’s. The challenge ahead of us is facilitating a co-ordinated effort of the team support and sustain those available supportive services within the class room set up’s. Disability Management involves a comprehensive addresser of various issues such as Prevention, Early Identification and Early Interventions services with Multi disciplinary team in making Inclusion a meaningful process in including CWSN in general school system. The children functioning in the areas including motor, sensory, cognition, communication, socialization and recreational area are carried out through formal and informal methods of assessments. This can be done by observations, interviews with parents, using questionnaire, home visits of the child performances etc... This base line will provide the school teacher a platform for assessing the level and the needs of the child in the areas of Communication, ADL’s, Socialization, Academic and Recreational. The outcome of the Workshop should address the needs of the regular class teacher and capacity building them towards effective management of CWSN in an Inclusive class set up’s, as an integral component of the overall effective management of CWSN in regular class room set up’s by the regular classroom teacher in providing appropriate education support services to CWSN’s’, Dr.K.Govindaraju added. Mrs.P.Chitra, Project Director, in her presidential address said’ As per the human rights, every child has the right to equal participation and the right to be educated as a regular school. Education is a right, it is not a privilege. Every child should be able to attend school in his own neighborhood school where his amblings may attend. There is an urgent need to train our special educators and also regular teachers to suit the inclusive nature of our Schools’. Earlier IED coordinator of SEVAI, Dr.R.Deivakumar welcomed the participants and Special Educator Pradeepa Rose proposed vote of thanks.EtNS.