Inclusive Education

Classes at the university are going well.  My students are interested and engaged, which is not just helpful, but also refreshing.  I try to ask as many questions as possible and encourage them to express their ideas freely.  I want to avoid droning endlessly on.  I want to stimulate intellectual discussion, not discourage it.  On that note, I have found that all of my students are open to the concept of educational inclusion students with disabilities and most of them actively support it.  Recently, we have been discussing strategies and interventions to help students with disabilities successfully learn in general education classrooms.  As my one of my colleagues in Luhansk has often said, merely placing deaf students in university classrooms is not enough, we must take appropriate measures to make certain they will succeed.  They can succeed, but professors and administrators must take the necessary steps to provide the students with appropriate academic supports and provide complete access to the curriculum.  The same is true of students in elementary and high schools.

Looking at their essays, I am pleased that my students have been thoughtfully articulating strategies for successfully integrating students into general education classrooms and facilitating their learning.  This is just a first step, however.  As inclusive education is rarely practiced in Ukraine, implementing inclusion will be a significant challenge, especially since so many teachers, parents and administrators have not embraced the concept, but if Ukraine is to be a truly open, accepting and democratic society, it must provide equal access to education for all students.  This is critical, as inclusive education is a necessary prerequisite for a fully inclusive society.