Mainstreaming vs. Inclusion: What's the Difference?!

Once upon a time children with disabilities were EXCLUDED from the rest of the world. 
That's literally SO annoying. 


Then one day in the 70's, MAINSTREAMING children in schools became a thing. 

Mainstreaming: Students with disabilities are members of a Special Education class and go to the same school with typically developing peers. 
They are members of a Special Ed classroom and interact with General Education students at different times throughout the day. 

Pero, basically, what had happened was....

People felt that it wasn't enough for these students to only be allowed into General Education classes during periods or activities that they were determined "ready" for. It seemed better to have them become true members of the regular classroom with their typically developing peers. This meant that they would also have access to grade-level curriculum, just like everyone else. 

Inclusion: Students with disabilities are MEMBERS of the General Education classroom only. 
While students with IEPs may receive services outside of the classroom or paraprofessional support inside of the classroom, they are not on any class roster other than the General Education roster. 

These days, we are working on better ways to make inclusion happen successfully. 

El fin >:)