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Theory Into Practice
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Leslie C. Soodak
Classroom Management in
Inclusive Settings
The inclusion of children with disabilities in gen- all students remain seated and quiet until everyone
had completed their assignments. This year's inclu-
eral education classes provides an opportunity for
sive class frequently works in small groups so the
teachers to identify classroom management poli- students can be more active, involved, and support-
cies and practices that promote diversity and com- ive of each other. Changes were also made in the
munity. Community-building management strategies class rules and procedures. For example, because both
that facilitate friendships, collaboration, parent teachers felt it was unrealistic and unnecessary to
require students to stay seated, guidelines about
involvement, and address challenging behaviors in
where and for how long students can take breaks
a positive, proactive, and educative manner are were established. As in previous years, the teachers
consistent with the goals of inclusive education. In expected each student to complete his or her work;
addition, in order to develop a truly inclusive school however, this year not all students were given the
community, management policies and practices that same assignment. Similarly, all students were ex-
are inconsistent with inclusive education-such as pected to comply with the school and classroom rules,
but changes were made to ensure that all students
exclusionary discipline policies-need to be addressed were equally able to succeed.
by teachers and administrators.
Inclusive classes, such as the one just de-
scribed, are no longer exceptional. In recent years,
the number of students with learning, behavioral,
and other educational disabilities being taught in
R9 i YAN, A STUDENT WITH MULTIPLE disabilities, general
and education classes has more than tripled (U.S.
Tania, a child who has challenges in attention Department of Education, 2001). Ten years ago, less
and behavior, are full-time members of a class of 26
than one third of students with disabilities participat-
mixed-ability students in a fifth-grade class in Hu-
ed in general education classes. By 1997-1998, more
bert Elementary School. The class is taught full-time
than 75% of the 6.5 million students with disabilities
by Ms. James, a general educator, and part-time by
Ms. Olmstead, a special educator assigned to sup- were being educated in classes with their nondis-
port the children, including the two students with abled peers. The move toward inclusive education is
disabilities. Before she was assigned an inclusive supported by legislation, such as the Individuals with
class, Ms. James generally taught lessons to the en-
Disabilities Education Act Amendments (IDEA) of
tire class and required, with moderate success, that
1997, and research showing the benefits of inclusion
Leslie C. Soodak is an associate professor of educa- for children with and without disabilities (Baker,
tion at Pace University. Wang, & Walberg, 1994; Staub & Peck, 1994).
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THEORY INTO PRACTICE / Autumn 2003
Classroom Management in a Diverse Society
As the composition of students within class- 1987). What then emerged was a commitment to
es becomes ever more diverse, educational poli- full-time membership in age-appropriate, general
cies and practices need to be made more inclusive.education classes.
The purpose of this article is to identify research- Quality inclusion is not merely determined
based strategies for creating and managing a by di-student placement, but rather is based on creat
verse classroom community. The following three ing an environment that supports and includes a
questions frame the discussion of inclusive class- learners (Villa & Thousand, 2000). An inclusive
room management practices: school community must be supported by policies
and practices at the school and classroom levels.
1. How do teachers create a sense of community
In the scenario described earlier, Ryan, Tania, and
in classes comprised of students who differ in
their abilities and behaviors? the other 10- and 11-year-old children in the neigh-
borhood simply went to school to learn and be
2. How can teachers form a safe and responsive
together. However, specific policies, strategies, and
learning environment for all members of the
supports needed to be in place to ensure that all
classroom community using knowledge from
children felt welcome and that the teachers were
two traditionally discrete fields (i.e., special and
general education)? able to teach their students effectively. These prac-
3. What considerations and accommodations need tices were specifically aimed at promoting mem-
bership, friendships, and collaboration. While these
to be made at the building and district level to
terms are central to inclusive education, they also
ensure there are explicit and fair expectations
for all students? hold important meaning to general educators seek-
ing to create democratic classrooms.
In this article, strategies to enhance the overall
quality of the classroom environment are present- Promoting membership
ed before discussing positive and supportive strat- According to parents and teachers, member-
egies that may be used to address the challenging
ship refers to a child's right to belong and to have
behavior of individual students. This approach,access to the same opportunities and experiences
which is supported by research in both special ed-
as other children of the same age (Kunc, 2002). In
ucation and general education, suggests that school schools that effectively include all students, mem-
discipline issues are minimized when students feel bership is promoted by educating all children in
welcomed, safe, and supported. their neighborhood (i.e., local) schools, assigning
students to classes heterogeneously within those
Creating an Inclusive Community schools, and avoiding policies and practices that
Philosophically and pragmatically, inclusiveexclude students from programs, settings, or events.
education is primarily about belonging, member- One revealing indicator of a school's com-
ship, and acceptance. Historically, the inclusivemitment to inclusion is whether there are condi-
school movement grew out of a parent-initiated tions placed on a child's participation in general
effort that focused on the rights of children with education classes. Classroom community is under-
disabilities to participate with their nondisabled mined when membership is made conditional on
peers (Turnbull & Turnbull, 2001). Parents be- the student's behavioral or academic readiness
lieved, and educators supported the notion, that (Soodak & Erwin, 2000). When students are re-
separating children on any characteristic, such as quired to earn their way into a class or school,
ability or race, inherently leads to an inferior edu-teachers and students are given the message tha
cation for those who are "tracked" out of the main- the child is not a full and rightful member of the
stream. In addition, efforts to allow part-time
class, which is likely to decrease teachers' expec
involvement in targeted subject areas (usually non-
tations for success and their willingness to assume
academic) based on student "readiness" to partici-responsibility for student learning. There is a sub-
pate, as in the case of mainstreaming, resulted stantial
in body of research demonstrating that sort-
less than favorable outcomes (Gartner & Lipsky,
ing, grouping, and categorizing children reduce
328
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Soodak
Inclusive Classroom Management
329
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THEORY INTO PRACTICE / Autumn 2003
Classroom Management in a Diverse Society
child might speak offensively to an adult, threaten so a plan for altering the environmental conditions
a classmate, or hit another student. What is impor- can be developed (Knostner & Kincaid, 1999).
tant at schools like Hubert Elementary School, and Positive behavior supports were used in the
other inclusive schools, is that interventions used fifth-grade class taught by Ms. James and Ms. Olm-
stead to help Tania find appropriate ways to ex-
to address student behavior reflect the values of
inclusiveness by being equitable and supportivepress
to her anger. Tania was frequently becoming
all learners. The teachers at Hubert Elementaryupset and was occasionally verbally aggressive to
School are mindful of the messages sent by her peers when transitions occurred, particularly
their
responses to challenging behavior. They choose not small groups were formed. The teachers ar-
when
to punish or suspend students-actions theyrangedfeel to meet with the child study team to dis-
cuss possible reasons for her behavior. A functional
demean and exclude children. Instead they use pos-
itive interventions that focus on supporting theassessment
chil- of the behavior led to the hypothesis
dren by making changes in the school environmentthat Tania was feeling frustrated by not knowing
what was going to be required of her during group
(such as changing seating arrangements, schedules,
work and constrained by the tight class schedule.
and patterns of supervision) and teaching students
new or alternate behaviors. The supports that were found to help Tania includ-
ed having the teachers say the directions aloud be-
Positive and supportive behavioral strategies fore students changed seats, having a friend
One promising approach to educating chil- accompany her to her group, and teaching Tania to
dren whose behavior impedes their own learning ask to speak individually with a teacher when she
or the learning of others in a respectful and inclu-
was feeling angry or upset. Also, to help Tania
sive manner is called positive behavioral support.
feel more in control of her day, efforts were made
Positive behavioral supports, which were intro- to offer her reasonable choices whenever possible.
duced into special education in the most recent
revision of IDEA (1997), refer to the use of be- Responding to misbehavior while
havioral interventions and teaching strategiessupport
to planning
achieve important and meaningful behavior change. Because classrooms are dynamic places,
Positive behavioral supports are based on the be-teachers need to respond to situations as they oc-
cur, as well as take the time needed to design and
lief that problem behaviors are context-related and
purposeful, and interventions should reflect implement
an a plan to support change. When stu-
understanding of and respect for the student. Thedents misbehave, particularly when the behavior
disrupts learning or threatens the well-being or safe-
intent is to be preventative, proactive, and educative
(Koegel, Koegel, & Dunlap, 1996). Positive be- ty of others, teachers may need to respond with
havioral supports are an alternative to punishment immediacy to restore order, preserve dignity, and
and other traditional methods of behavior modifi- provide guidance. The goal is to manage the prob-
cation, which do not necessarily teach positive lem be- behavior without losing sight of how the be-
haviors or create a climate of civility. Although havior connects to the individuals' history and the
teachers can and should use traditional methods to context. There are well-supported recommendations
strengthen students' positive behaviors by "catching
to consider when responding to student misbehav-
them being good," behavioral supports proactively ior. First, try to diffuse and redirect behavior. For
modify contexts and teach students to use appropri-example, give choices about what a student may
do to make amends for the misbehavior. The choices
ate behaviors so the stage is set for them to do well.
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Soodak
Inclusive Classroom Management
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THEORY INTO PRACTICE / Autumn 2003
Classroom Management in a Diverse Society
Although mechanisms for preventing inequi- practices are consistent with what is in the best
ties have been set up, these procedures do not nec- interest of all children.
essarily protect students or help them to receive
the services and supports they need to succeed. It References
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liS
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