[Children with learning disabilities and handicaps in inclusive schools or in special schools? The view of parents and professionals]

Fine motor skills and attention level of individuals with mild intellectual disability getting education in inclusive classrooms and special education schools

In this study, the difference between fine motor skills and attention levels of children with mild intellectual disabilities (MID) who get education in inclusive classrooms and special education schools and the relationship between fine motor skills and attention levels were analysed. A total of 176 children with MID between the ages of 9-14, who get education in inclusive classrooms (n = 96) and special education schools (N = 80), participated in the study. Bruininks-Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency-Second Version (BOT-2) and Bourdon Attention Tests were applied as data tools. Fine Motor Precision (FMP), Fine Motor Integration (FMI) and Attention levels of the children in inclusive classrooms were higher than those who get education at special education schools (p < .05). In all parameters of the children of inclusive classrooms and special education schools (except the parameters of FMP-6: Folding Paper and FMI-8: Copying Overlapping Pencils), there was a positive correlation between attention and fine motor skill values (p < .05). The fact that children with MID get inclusive education with typically developing peers contributes more to these individuals in terms of fine motor skills and attention parameters. However, more extensive work is needed in this field.

[International aspects of inclusion in schools]

The term inclusion (=admittance, involvement) is used almost synonymously for the concept of the joint schooling of children with and without intellectual disabilities, language disabilities, physical handicaps, or mental disorders. This article addresses the current state of inclusion in Germany as well as the international situation, such as the Salamanca Declaration of the UNESCO, the «Individuals with Disabilities Act» (IDEA) in the United States as well as European developments, particularly in Great Britain, Austria, and Russia. Even though, from a political perspective, the decision in favor of inclusion seems irreversible, there appears to be a lack an agreement on the modality and timeframe. Thus, the average percentage of students with special education needs in Germany amounts to only 28.2%. The reasons behind this situation are presently being analyzed and discussed. A question of key importance concerns the benefit for the persons concerned, since that should be the measure of the success of inclusion. This question will most likely be validly answered only for individual subgroups of disabilities. This field still requires extensive research.