I remember my Year 8 science teacher said she couldn’t wear my Microphone because it put holes in her clothes. I couldn’t do anything about it … she was the teacher—I was the student. For the record—I failed Year 8 science—and it had nothing to do with my ability because in Year 9 science, I had a teacher who wore the Mic and I topped the class.
*****
Equal access to educational opportunities is considered a fundamental right, according to the Australian constitution. However, it is clear that when it comes to delivery of such educational opportunities to disabled people, real educational opportunities are hard to come by … [The] lack of appropriate funding, classroom support and specialised equipment are enormous barriers to educational opportunities
Education determines more than a child’s economic future—it is also critical to a child’s social and emotional development, to establishing a sense of identity and sense of place in the world. Education represents an important opportunity to imagine and create an alternative future for individuals—and unfortunately many young people with disabilities appear to be missing out on that chance. More than 29 per cent of submissions said that, far from ensuring young people with disabilities have every opportunity to realise their potential, the education system acts as a barrier to greater achievement and independence in their lives.
As a number of submissions noted, true inclusion is about more than location—it is about achieving the same quality of education. Yet all indicators suggest that for young people with disabilities this has yet to be achieved. Despite education standards drafted under the Disability Discrimination Act, the education system continues to fail to respond to the needs of students with disabilities and, as a result, these students continue to lag behind on a range of attainment indicators. As a number of submissions argued, these results are not a reflection of a lack of ability of students but of the failure of the system to meet their individual needs. And as at least one submission noted, there is no way to measure the social and economic cost of failing to ensure young people with disabilities have every opportunity to learn. Failing to provide them with an appropriate education limits their potential to lead productive, independent adult lives.
The majority of submissions strongly argued that the current system has little or no capacity to meet the learning needs of students with disabilities and lacks the resources to ensure their full participation in classrooms and schools. The frustration of parents is captured in the following submission.
I am the mother and primary carer of our 13-year-old son, B who has a diagnosis of Aspergers Syndrome. B has complex care needs. B is at home full-time as we have been unable to enrol him in a school-based setting. A great part of my day involves teaching B. Part of the care I provide involves managing challenging behaviour. Many of B’s self-strategising mechanisms have been removed from him. When in early primary school years B would hide under tables (fright response) ... he was punished by teachers for this behaviour.
Our experience has found that an education professional’s inability to act appropriately to behavioural responses in children with special needs stems from a lack of knowledge of the needs of those with a disability and/or attitudinal beliefs. We are often judged as having poor parenting skills, our son judged as a badly behaved child. We have even been accused through innuendo and inference by school staff of abusing our son, despite him having a formal diagnosis of an ASD [Autism Spectrum Disorder]. These are individuals to whom we entrust the care and wellbeing of our children for a large part of the day. If those who should know better are judgemental … how can we ask wider society to act differently?
Fundamentally, B is home due to systemic issues. In short the system has failed and continues to fail our son. [We are unable] to transfer our son’s $17,500 per annum integration funding package from his Government Secondary School setting to his Government Distance Education School. The system and society assume that we are willing to accept second best or the bare minimum. This is not the case. I want the best possible outcomes for my children. As a carer, I need this to be recognised though the provision of appropriate supports and programs.
A mandatory and extensive professional development program for education professionals needs to be set in place for practicing teachers. A mandatory component on disability must be introduced to all teacher training programs.
Most submissions said that there is a pressing need to provide more extensive resources to ensure the learning needs of children with disabilities are met. Many submissions passionately argued that a lack of adequate funding in mainstream schools forces parents to seek alternatives. Lack of support for inclusion, for example, may drive parents into choosing specialist settings despite their desire for their child to attend local schools.
Whilst government policy talks about the choice of regular class, support class or special school, students with a significant disability are usually forced to attend a special school even where inclusion is the expressed wish of the parent.
Other submissions argued that the inflexibility and lack of portability of funding has narrowed their choices. Many parents said, for example, that the lack of assistance and support in independent and faith-based settings has constrained their ability to choose these school settings for their children.
Greater resources are required to ensure a child’s full participation not only in the classroom but in all aspects of school life, including excursions and sporting and cultural activities. One consultation participant recounted the story of a family who was told that their child would not be able to attend school excursions because the school was not willing to hire a bus with wheelchair access.
But problems with the system clearly go beyond a lack of resources. A number of submissions argued that there seems to be a systemic lack of commitment to inclusion and a widespread lack of understanding of its benefits. This lack of commitment translates not only to a lack of resources, but also to a lack of attention to teacher training and professional development. Parents were frustrated that too few teachers appear to be well equipped to deal with the full range of learning needs in their classrooms. As one noted,
>My daughter’s two physical ed teachers ignore her totally, [and] as a consequence, I have withdrawn her from these classes. She was sad and bored with being taken around the block or playing ball with an aide. The teachers were not made accountable for this in any way.
One aide refuses to turn my daughter’s communication device on saying they do not have the time.
The ‘integration/inclusion co-ordinator’ position needs to be a senior teaching and school leadership role taken by someone who understands the curriculum and meeting a diverse range of learning needs.
One submission argued that fundamental systemic change will only be achieved when there is a shift in school culture and a change to teacher training as well as an increase in resources. This submission argued,
A shift in school culture to a focus on individual learning needs and investment in the development of innovative teaching strategies will ensure all students are provided with the opportunity and means of learning. There is also a need to promote the benefits of inclusive education not only to schools but also the broader community so that teachers, principals and parents have their concerns addressed and fully understand the advantages to all students.
Submissions noted that almost every report on the issue of inclusive education in Australia has stressed the need for systematic strengthening of teacher education and professional development. Skills development is the single most cost-effective method of improving outcomes for students with disabilities, and yet this area continues to be neglected. Submissions identified lack of teacher training as one of the reasons so many schools are reluctant to include children with disabilities in their classrooms. If teachers feel their training has not adequately prepared them for the many challenges of the classroom, and that little additional assistance is available to support them, they will be less likely to embrace the concept of inclusion. And as the respondent below notes, frustration with the system is not confined to parents.
As a classroom teacher I enjoy having students with a disability in my mainstream classroom as I see them as children first. However, it is extremely frustrating and discouraging to see a child needing a particular intervention or program and being unable to provide it properly because there is no one there to give the child the extra support they need.
A number of submissions also highlighted the failure of the system to adequately prepare students for post-school life. Being regularly engaged in meaningful activity such as employment, vocational training or higher education is key to moving towards an independent adult life. Low participation rates in higher education, training and employment would suggest that few young people with disabilities are able to access the support required to successfully make this transition. Most submissions in this area noted the absence of comprehensive individualised planning that would allow young people to make meaningful choices about their lives after school. Parents reported confusion about the range of options and support available, and the difficulty in negotiating eligibility requirements and processes. They reported frustration at being forced to cobble together solutions when gaps became all too obvious. Other submissions noted that for young people with significant or complex support needs, there appear to be few satisfactory post-school alternatives.
Families consistently reported that their children had slipped through the cracks of the system after formal schooling ended. As one respondent noted,
Inclusion is at least philosophically supported in the education system in this state but when the young adults leave the school there is simply no expectation that they will follow a path that might assist development or lead to a meaningful job or way of life.
Another expressed frustration at the complexity and inconsistency of the support system.
Because she is now 16-years-old I have had the disability allowance discontinued even though she is still at school for another two years! She is unable to take out private health insurance because she is too young … but she doesn’t meet the criteria for a pension.
Similar frustration was expressed by the family of a young person with muscular dystrophy.
Because he was over 16 the Child Disability Allowance was stopped. J was an ‘adult’ for Centrelink and employment purposes, a ‘child’ by law and for private health insurance—the list goes on. J can work over 15 hours per week—so no Disability Pension; no Youth Allowance because his parents’ combined income was over the ‘magic’ number. He had to fight lots of red tape to receive the Mobility Allowance, his only source of income for a very long time. This was a very traumatic time for J as he wanted to become independent and at least work part time ‘like the others’. It would have been better if J had automatically received either the Disability Pension or Youth Allowance/Mobility Allowance and access to services immediately from leaving Year 12.
Proposed solutions
Almost all submissions identified the need for greater funding for truly inclusive education to be achieved. They argued that adequate funding should be provided regardless of the choice of school setting.
All children and young people are entitled to an adequate level of government funding to improve their access to education regardless of the pre-school, school or school sector they attend.
Beyond greater resourcing, most submissions also strongly supported improved teacher training and more targeted professional development. Both undergraduate training for new teachers and professional development for existing teachers should draw on national and international research on best practice as well as capturing innovative and successful strategies in schools around the country. A number of submissions also noted the need for more research into effective strategies and programs and the creation of national benchmarks and standards. Both would provide a solid foundation for more extensive teacher education.
Most submissions that addressed the transition of students to post-school options focused on the pressing need for comprehensive individualised planning. These submissions noted that planning must be strategic and timely in order to be truly effective. For particularly vulnerable students, advanced planning was seen as crucial. One submission suggested, for example, that students with disabilities should begin work experience during the early years of high school, with the amount of time spent at work increasing as they move through their secondary schooling. Another submission suggested creating a targeted university program similar to Abstudy to increase participation rates in higher education.