Inclusion in action: One school's response

Abstract

The Monkland Integration Program (MIP) was designed to provide appropriate education for students of primary school age with various disabilities through a regular class program (Penn, Stephens & Quadrio, 1992). The group would progress through the school with their peers thus affording parents with a possible seven year placement at one school. The specialist teacher would be chiefly responsible for monitoring each placement, recommending modifications as necessary. Commonwealth funding would support the program both financially and through the allocation of an aide primarily for the group. Monkland's School Development Plan would incorporate the needs of this group also.The paper by Penn et al. (1992) looked at the planning and implementation of the project from the organisational perspective, while this paper provides a report from the classroom teacher's perspective.A ceiling for the total group was set at eight members with an option to use those places as full or part-time positions. This opened the program at Monkland to parents with children in other settings as an opportunity for social involvement with age-peers.Four children arrived to begin school initially in Term one of 1991. They were enrolled to join a Year One/Two class with a population reflecting any other class yet containing some children particularly particularly recognised as good role models and some with learning difficulties. (Class total was 25 full-time pupils.) The class was staffed at this time by two teachers (one regular teacher and one specialist teacher), and fifteen hours/ week aide time.