Disability and Inclusion

Today we got the opportunity to look further into inclusion and disability. An interesting part of the lecture was when we learned about the universal design, this started off as an architecture term, where the design of buildings would be structured around everyones ability to use them. These designs could include ramps instead of stairs because everyone is able to use a ramp whereas not everyone is able to use the stairs. This design allows everyone to use the structure without feeling left out, therefore promoting the feeling of inclusion.

Last week I mentioned that I was looking at Allport’s Scale, and this week I got to apply this scale to real life situations of discrimination of disability. I found this really interesting and valuable as I could apply the scale to real life situations to allow me to understand the steps of the scale in more detail and form that information into a table.

This lecture was really interesting today, and I found the seminar particularly useful because we had to read situations and identify whether discrimination was taking place – all of the situations were to do with children in a school environment and how the teacher felt with it. With the situations we worked together, in groups, to find out whether the teacher was discriminating against them because of their disability and then we found ways to accommodate the children to make them feel included in the situation. This was very useful as as a future teacher all children need to feel included in every situation, following the Scottish curriculum’s GIRFEC policy (getting it right for every child). As a teacher, every child, no matter whether they have a disability or not, should have the same opportunity as every other child in the class.

Inclusion and Equality

I found today’s lecture on inclusion and equality really interesting, as I was learning about the differences between them. It was fascinating to see that they had two different meanings as equality is about the fairness of things and inclusion is making sure that everyone is involved.

I got the opportunity to look deeper into Peggy McIntosh – a woman who studied and wrote a paper regarding “white privilege”. Peggy McIntosh studied privilege, especially “White Privilege and Male Privilege”. She described her understanding of ‘White Privilege” in her book “White privilege and male privilege: a personal account of coming to see correspondences through work in women’s studies”. Also “unacknowledged male privilege” – where white men receive unearned advantages because they are white males. She listed resources that she has in her ‘invisible backpack’ which gave her an advantage over other people who do not have them. I then looked further into her privileges she lists that she was entitled to as white woman. This was interesting to look at as I could look at some of these privileges and could relate to them myself.

I also found it interesting to learn about Allport’s scale of prejudice and discrimination as I could look at the scale and relate it to situations which happened in history and in today’s society. We were also looking at the PCS analysis (personal/psychological level, cultural level, structural level) which gives us a deeper understanding into how people operate at different levels in society. This PCS analysis is an area of today I think I can develop as I don’t fully grasp the concept yet. However, with further reading, I believe that I will develop this concept and hopefully use it in the exam as it seems interesting.

Equality and inclusion are key principles which I will need to adhere to as a future primary teacher. I will need to make sure that my classroom is one which supports all the needs of learners no matter of their sex, race or disability. Equality and inclusion are the foundations for the Scottish governments principle of GIRFEC – “getting it right for every child”. Every child deserves the same opportunities and access to support no matter what. Every child should feel included in a classroom and as a future teacher I will aspire to make every child feel important in my classroom and adapt my learning styles to what the children require at their own pace and level. This will mean that it is fair for every child in my class and hopefully allow all of them to feel included.