A Comparative Study of Perceptions of Students Towards Inclusive Teaching Practices

Abstract

Inclusive education is a model that tends to make the classrooms welcoming for all children including SEN students. It makes space for diverse learners by using differentiated teaching methods in mainstream classrooms and promotes inclusivity. Inclusive teaching practices include inclusive teaching strategies, inclusive classroom instructions, inclusive classroom accommodations, and differentiated assessments. Nowadays, it is mandatory for mostly all schools, government and private, to follow inclusive policies however, there is hardly any data to find out how far we have come in the attainment of inclusion and quality education. Therefore, there is a need to assess the implementation of inclusive practices from the student’s point of view. This study aims to explore and compare the perspective of the students of government and private schools in Delhi toward inclusive teaching practices. Students’ feedback would provide the data to explore the actual status of general classrooms that supposedly implement inclusive teaching practices regularly in government and private schools in Delhi and in comparison, which sector, government or private school, is more actively following these inclusive practices. It would also serve as an indicator to the school authorities to invest in quality education by following and enforcing inclusive policies in a true sense. Schools should advance in-service training of general teachers to update their skills consistently to adopt inclusive teaching strategies differentiated classroom instructions and assessments and provide suitable accommodations for all students including SEN students and create an inclusive culture in the general classroom. Each step of improvement would bring a significant change in the attainment of inclusion and quality education to fulfill the sustainable development goal by 2030.