Introduction

Education in this modern community has become part and parcel of necessities. As a result, another important and learning scheme has been introduced that incorporates all the typical kinds of people in the society. The scheme seeks to implement different assumptions and details that are associated with both student who are not disabled and the disabled ones. This trend is has often been referred to inclusive education. Therefore, in the different parts of the world, different nations have developed policies that include disabled students into the education systems without prejudice. Many have compared the need of education as a tool that is essential and necessary in promoting the commonality in the society. Thus, inclusiveness has developed an aura of peace, commonality and sharing the education resources and working sectors. Although this has been implemented, there are different issues and challenges that have risen due to the inclusive scheme. Many schools over time have even been forced to abolish the scheme of putting the disabled and other students in similar educational environments.  Therefore, it is important and necessary to measure and devise the different challenges that are experienced or facing disabled students in inclusive learning.

Physical disability

This is another form of disability that can either be caused biologically of physically through accidents or lack of necessary nutrients in the body. Physical challenges are often associated with different issues that affect the normal functioning of body part such as legs, hands and more others. Therefore, in the common community, different physically disabled students have faced different challenges in their daily lives, especially during their schooling sessions, going or travelling from one place to another among many others (Foreman, 2011, pg 45). As a result, physical disabilities can affect different people especially students to undergo different phases and transitions in their lives. More importantly, these many challenges may be faced or shared by their colleagues in schools or education centers. Thus, in this research, the challenges in inclusive education will focus on the physically challenged students and what they face during their learning sessions. More so, it will try to cover and elaborate further on difference aspects that have been developed in order to curb some of these many challenges in the communities and various societies.

Challenges Experienced by Physically Disabled Students

Education and learning institutions are based on the perspective of sharing and belonging. The system is important in shaping different students and intellectual for the community, but when faced with a disability, one can sometimes loss or gain something. From this context, different students may be faced by certain aspects of their lives that they do not understand at all or they have to live with forever (Harrison, 2011, pg 49). Therefore, through proper consultations and guidance, different disabled students strive in the community education, but they are faced by different issues which include;

• Social Barriers

Physically disabled students are often socially inclined due to various issues and challenges they undergo in their daily lives. They are most and often faced by persecution and intimidation from their colleagues and friends; hence resulting in solitude and inability to participate in any community based activities. The same can be applied to their inability to either use their legs or any body parts of they are wheeled from one place to another. The power of socialization will develop a person’s psychological, mental and behavioral development, but if one does not often associate with people, she/he will lack the ability to enjoy life and make friends. More importantly, through the many activities that students and teachers are often involved in, physically disabled students often revolt to their loneliness (Foreman, 2011, pg 85). The resulting action is the development of a socially inclined person, whose ability is to utilize his/her lone time, either watching or assuming others. In further cases of socially inclination, it has resulted into many of the students committing suicide due to their inability of fitting into the community or more active environments. This has affected many disabled students in education centers, resulting in poor performance and inadequacy in the professionalism sectors.

• Poor Teaching Practices

Although the inclusive education has been used in the modern community and society, the perspective of using different techniques of teaching has often had mostly negative effects on disabled students. There are different learning schemes that many teachers use based on a common curriculum, but the inclusion of disabled students has often led to comprising situations. Teachers often base their teaching in a similar manner through developing and creating a situation that is important and suitable for the majority. This situation puts any disabled person at a disadvantage; hence poor communication and attention from teachers and curriculum applied. Thus, disabled students face difficult situations in the context of teachers’ teaching techniques and curriculum. The inclusion is necessary for different students and supports the majority, but if it is applied wisely and equally, then even the disabled students can get a chance of excelling in their studies (Harrison, 2011, pg 89). Thus, the flexibility that is needed for the disabled students affects their ability to learn and retrieve the much needed support and information from teachers.

• Untrained and Attitudinal Teachers

Teachers are often the entities that emphasis the need and ability of developing, instruction, directing and presenting facts of knowledge and guidance for students. But, sometimes, if a teacher is untrained to handle the responsibilities of learning, teaching and guiding inclusive students, the result is rejection from students. More so, there are some teachers who lack the idea and concept of teaching and instructing disabled students. Thus, this is a disadvantage for many students who are disabled, but seeking the knowledge through their teachers or instructors’ guidance (Woodstock. et. al, 2013, pg 24). Thus, it is essential for teachers to have the positive attitude to support students. The negativity that most teachers show to their students affects not only their learning, but the perspective of their lives from cognitive learning and presenting different ideas such as conforming into the community. The negative attitude that teachers present or show is necessary in supporting different instances of teacher –student relationships. For example, teachers are supposed to be the role models for other students and colleagues, if they develop negative attitudes towards the physically disabled students, then the whole schooling society will perceive them negatively.

• Physical Barriers

Education centers are supposed to have the necessary materials and facilities that are essential in supporting and developing the physicality of the education centers. These facilities may sometimes hinder the progressive development of different disabled students. In the inclusion education, most facilities are able to support physically fit students unlike the disabled ones.   This has been a challenge in many different nations and regions in the world. For example, most schools that are situated in local or rural areas, lack the necessary services and facilities that can support disabled students and teachers. The inability to access these regions has left many students who are disabled but eager to learn school-less (Mitchell, 2014, pg 85). Another is the education centers’ buildings such as sanitation areas, break rooms, lunch and dining areas, more importantly, libraries. Although most schools and institutions may support inclusive education, these essential regions and building are not designed to meet the needs and development of the disabled students, thus hindering their development from one region to another. As a result, physical barriers present the physical challenges associated with different disabled students, from accessing social amenities and meeting with other student activities such as sports or recreation services. Therefore, this is a major weakness and challenge that is facing many physically disabled students.

• Poor and Inequality Services

Disabled students have the right to attending different sessions that are necessary and essential in molding character, behaviors and values. The same can be said about the overall development of education and learning centers. The locality and inadequacy of services such as consultations, counseling, monitoring and assessing students, may fall short of disabled students. As a discussed earlier, prejudice may result in developing negative attitudes from both teachers and fellow students. Therefore, if schools lack the necessary support from management, administration and professional support, disabled students are the one who suffer most (Harrison, 2011, pg 99). For physically challenged students, counseling is important and necessary in developing them psychologically sound and fit, but if they are persecuted, they need someone to speak and share their fears. The shortage of counseling experts in different schools has resulted in poor performance, drop outs and psychological torture of different disabled students in education centers and homes. Sometimes families and homes present another challenge during their education sessions. Physically disabled students require the guidance from their families and other people while moving from one place to another. Thus, the lack of these services has resulted in lack of counseling and support from education centers.

• Bullying

The inclusion education offers different entities such as the disabled students sharing different facilities with other students. This may result in different aspects that draw criticism from other fellow students. In the long run a systematic system of abusing different disabled students may develop. Based on the new policies such as in Australia, many different schools are often given the facilities and support necessary to help any disabled student in their institutions. Therefore, the ability to treat the disabled students with dignity may result in chaos from other students who demand fair treatment too. This is an action that has been reported by almost different schools in the region. Hence, it has become a challenge that is facing and hindering the proper and efficient schooling of different physically disabled students in the regions (Foreman, 2011, pg 105). Bullying has then become more diverse, although different schools and regulatory bodies have tried to develop various strategies of curbing and assimilating bullying of any form in schools. Bullying may result from intimidation, solitude and lack of activity, which is often an indication of disability from other students. Therefore, bullying is affecting the modern society, while diminishing the learning strategies and measures that have been established, to guide, educate and assess physically disabled students. Curbing bullying is important, but the real motivation is the development of policies and strategies that can support the moral development of the community.

• Lack of Financial Support and Poverty

Different leaders and governments have taken the initiative of developing different scholarships for disabled students in the community. But, sometimes these many grants and scholarships do not meet the requirements and needs of many students. Consequently, various institutions may offer support in form of supplying facilities and other entities for the disabled students in the inclusion education. Therefore, although this may solve their intimate and current problems, the future is based on the ability of these suppliers to offer essential services and continuous support. But, this is a dynamic world that results in different activities and processes (Mitchell, 2014, pg 123). The supply and support, therefore, becomes challenged or stops completely; thus, it becomes a challenge for many disabled children to undertake their studies without their supportive grants and financial grants. For example, different humanitarian bodies can supply free wheelchairs and walking gears for the physically disabled children in the community, but if the support and resources run out, the disabled students suffer from insufficient help and continuation of their learning.

• Poor Student Assessment Techniques and Practices

Evaluation is an important part of the teaching and learning process. The aim of student assessment is to maintain the students’ education. Therefore, teachers use evaluation and assessment to measure the progress and the flexibility of their teaching schemes, practices and methods. Furthermore, if the processes of evaluation are done during assessments, it helps teachers and parents to guide their students appropriately. This has often resulted in problematic analysis and evaluation techniques that develop biased results in the educations sector. Therefore, this will also provide a poor insight into the development and capacity of any disabled student in learning process. Therefore the importance of equality in the assessment and evaluation methods and criterion is to determine improvement among students and who may require extra support through monitoring and supervision. Therefore, this has lowered and reduced education standards and ability to maintain knowledge (Harrison, 2011, pg 49). Therefore, there is need of developing assessment techniques that are suitable both t the disabled and other students in education sector through inclusive learning.

Measures for Curbing the Challenges Identified through Evidence-Based Practice

Australian government and other bodies from different parts of the world have established different strategies and policies that are essential in developing inclusive education in the community. These many policies are essential in offering support and above all developing a society that is based on support and complimentary organizations. Through different strategies, these institutions have pointed out the necessity and rights of every student in the community to access education and its activities (Woodstock. et. al, 2013, pg 84). One such body is the Convention on the Rights of a Child. This body has articulated the importance of developing resources and the right of any child either disabled or not to access education in the community.  Therefore, there are different activities that have been developed by different bodies in the country, to curb the challenges facing physically disabled students in the country. These strategies include;

1. Training Teachers

Through the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers, different policies and clauses have been developed that include the essentials and qualities that teachers need. These policies have been implemented in governmental and private institutions on guiding teachers about how to overcome the challenges facing disabled students. The most important is training about the qualities and perspective of supporting different students and their approach to learning. Therefore, it is important and essential for teachers to develop positive attitudes and implement positive assessment criterion for both disabled and inclusive education in the community. More importantly, it is developing a better practice through counseling and directing their students positively and morally; therefore, teachers present another system that can support inclusive.

1. Curriculum Development

The revision in Australian Curriculum Act of 2005 has increased and laid the foundation that will be implemented in every institution in the community. The focus is based on developing an effective means of teaching and supporting every student in the community (Mitchell, 2014, pg 178). There are different entities and resources that are necessary in supporting the educational benefits of a curriculum. The curriculum is based on inclusive education that supports also disabled students in the education centers. Through the act and various development issues, the community has implemented many acts that are essential in supporting difference studies that focus on the development and support of the disabled communities, who seek education, leadership, guidance and counseling.

1. Physical Barriers Examination and Re-designing

The Convection on the Rights for Persons with a Disability (CRPD) 2008 act, determined the policy of examining every institution in the region that offered different education and learning aspects. These acts were determined to offer support to different institutions that faced physical barriers in their society. The most important element that the policy implemented was the development of facilities that were able to support physically challenged students, (Mitchell, 2014, pg 205). They also pointed the design of various labeling and categorization of these different facilities. For example, in washroom areas, there were indications of the disabled areas separated from the general regions.  These indicated the development of different facilities to curb physical challenges.

1. Financial Support

The community through the National Disability Agency (NDA) (Foreman, 2011, pg 190), offered different resources to the community that supported different students who are disabled. These support mechanisms increased the number of different students who were disabled through offering scholarships, grants and resources for learning. More importantly, the different national agencies in the nation, offered essential resources, such as facilities to use, financial property for establishing housing and learning centers for disabled students. As a result, these are some of the support systems that was offered and developed by the community of the disabled community. More importantly, it increased the treatment and reduced discrimination in the schools.

1. Paraprofessional Support

The National Standard for Disability (NSD) has offered different financial support to different entities across the nation to increase the improvement and offering of necessary support to the community (Harrison, 2011, pg 49). More importantly, there is need of curbing and supporting the educational centers through the introduction of learning assistants, counseling assistants, technical, physical, mental, emotional, Para-educators, special need teachers and other tutors to support the learning societies. These funds have been injected into the financial mainstream of employing different special trained teachers who can support inclusive learning, in private, public and government institutions.

1. Inclusive Support Culture

There commonality and the approach that is needed in order to implement the inclusive education are bound through culture, practice and adoption methods. The Disability Standards of Australia have developed the national cultural day of hosting different cultures based on integrating and identifying the necessary entities and support needed in developing an education system that support disabled students (Tait, 2000, pg 67).The foundation of this support system is encouraged and based on developing proper learning and teaching services that support the complimentary learning and teaching issues.

Conclusion

Physical disability can be assimilated into the modern community through developing different aspects of inclusive education. The inclusive education has been on the forefront of supporting different entities in the community such as learning, teaching and counseling activities. More importantly, the Australian and other governments across the world such as United Kingdom, Canada and USA, have all developed different strategies that have implemented the development of inclusive education in their societies. As indicated the challenges that affect physical disability lie in the teaching curriculum, techniques, instructors, physical barriers and inadequate resources. Therefore, these challenges can be curbed through the development and support of different systems. More importantly, the society is based on a system that has identified them as human beings and the right for education. As a result, these entities and foundations are many and supported through the creation of policies, redesigning the facilities in the community and education centers, offering resources through grants and finally supporting the inclusive education systems.