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Overview of Mainstreaming

This paper will first provide an overview of mainstreaming and will deal with some of the basic arguments both for and against the process. Using this same approach, the paper will then turn to an examination of the issue of mainstreaming for very young children, elementary school children, middle school children, and the transition period between school and adulthood. Finally, the paper will conclude with a summation of the pro and con approaches to mainstreaming, particularly considering academic achievement and self-concept.

Two forces in contemporary education, among others, have led to the somewhat divisive argument focusing on whether to mainstream exceptional children or to provide for their needs in more traditional settings within the regular classroom. Sharply escalating educational costs have led to controversy and concern over accountability in education, as well as the idea that the best possible answers for exceptional children lie in including them in regular classes, ultimately preparing them for the pragmatic world.

In fact, one of the clearest indications derived from the research on the subject is that mainstreaming means different things to different people. To some it is similar to the stillaccepted practice of integrating children from self-contained special classes into regular classes on a part-time basis. To others, mainstreaming is the elimination of all specialized groupings on the basis of disability or exception. In fact, a single definition of mainstreaming has yet to receive any sort of widespread academic approval necessary for acceptance by professionals dealing with exceptional children (Morgenthau, 1990-91; Sherborne, 1989).

One of the most controversial, and basic, issues surrounding mainstreaming deals with the classification of students. One author summarizes the problem:

The classification of human beings, however, involves more than simple perception, and it is far more seri...

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Overview of Mainstreaming. (1969, December 31). In LotsofEssays.com. Retrieved 22:33, March 28, 2024, from https://www.lotsofessays.com/viewpaper/1705169.html