Thailand
Have you ever wondered why Integrated education is essential for a developmental society? First of all, we need to understand what integration is?
Integration can be defined as combining two or multiple objects into one.
The integration schooling method is a combination of two or more lessons into a single concept or is a teaching procedure of combining students from different backgrounds within the same school.
Integration education is also called Inclusive Education. The main aim of integrated Education is to offer equal learning opportunities to students from any background and disabilities.
The major aim of integrated Education is to empower young children, adults and kids to acquire positive changes in society.
Table of Contents
What is Integrated Education?
Children from diverse backgrounds cultures traditions and religions are taught in a single school community known as an integrated school through the use of integration education.
The idea of integration education was first introduced in the National Policy on Education (NPE) 1986.
As per the NPE, every child should have equal rights to education. Integration education also promotes equal learning opportunities for disabled children with proper needs.
In integrated education, a special focus was laid on disabled and isolated students. In normal education disabled children remain isolated and that affects them, socially, physically and mentally and creates an inferiority complex among them.
To provide them equal education and special care Integration education was introduced.
The Objective of Integrated Education
Do you know that Integrated education has created a new change for disabled and isolated students?
Integrated education has provided equal opportunities to every child irrespective of caste, tradition, background, culture, etc.
Integrated education can be also called inclusive education and is very essential for child’s holistic development. The Importance of inclusive education is very essential in promoting positive atmosphere in schools.
Here you can check what are the objectives of Integrated education.
- Uniform Rights: All students are given equal rights and opportunities through integrated education. It also seeks to give all kids regardless of background access to high-quality education. This opportunity provides the same access to education, regardless of any possible limitations.
- Proper Learning Environment: One of the main objectives of integrated education is to create a suitable learning environment. Students with special backgrounds or needs may also have the right to get quality education. This also encourages friendship amongst students irrespective of their physical status.
- Personal Development: In Integrated education, all focus is laid on childrens personal development and growth that contains every aspect of cognitive, emotional, social, and personal skills. Integrated education creates positivity among students and makes them independent, confident and, socially active and helps them to tackle real-life situations.
- Student Empowerment: Children with physical disabilities are empowered through integrated education which ensures equal educational opportunities for all students. Positive societal effects have also been facilitated by student empowerment and equal opportunity.
- Positive Curriculum: In order to satisfy students with special needs the integrated education curriculum makes use of contemporary teaching methods extra care encouragement and education. Every student should receive a program that is goal-oriented according to the curriculum.
Advantages of Integrated Education
Have you ever wondered why Integrated Education signifies important initiatives?
Integrated education is a game changer in developing the Indian education system. To develop and provide equal opportunities to every student integrated Education is a most essential stage.
Even after so many benefits, challenges of inclusive education are the major issues that create hindrances in developing education.
Here are the advantages that you can see below:
- Strengthening Communal Skills: Integrated Education is known for strengthening communal skills and social sympathy among students. This become possible by promoting equal opportunities to all childrens.
- Improves Education System: It improves the education system by providing equal education to all irrespective of any student’s background.
- Makes Unity: Integrated Education also develops unity, friendship, teamwork and collaboration among students. It also makes them diverse and emotional well-being.
- Encouragement of Special Child: Through Integrated Education children with disabilities and special needs are encouraged. This allows them to become more active and mentally strong. The NCF also states the promotion of integrated education in every school.
- Encourage Friendly Environment: A significant benefit of Integrated Education is it helps to diminish discouragement among pupils and enhance a friendly atmosphere for all. This also promotes positive changes among students.:
Types of Integrated Curriculum
An integrated curriculum has been specifically created with the goal of giving everyone equal access to education.
An advanced and flexible educational system that supports children’s growth and general development is offered by the integrated curriculum.
Like integrated curriculum, other curriculum are also there, it is essential while choosing the right curriculum for your children to promote holistic development and quality education among them.
Here you can check what type of curriculum is used in integrated education:
- Project-Based Integration: Project-based integration is an approach to skill-based learning that places an emphasis on experiential learning. Project integrations main goal is to give students skill-based instruction that enables them to solve real-world problems.
- Theme-based Integration: This integration arranges its emphasis on literature and broader ideas around a single central theme. Students find it easier to understand the concepts as a result.
This enables them to investigate environmental issues as well as social and economic ones.
- Arts Integration: Arts integration is a curriculum that is based on visual arts, dance, drama, music, arts and so on. Through this curriculum candidates are allowed to connect with the subject matter and enhance their creativity.
- Technical Integration: The main objective of technical integration is to use technology and technical systems to deliver high-quality education. Students can improve their comprehension level by using technology and computer literacy.
- Response-based Integration: Response-based integration is a special type of integration that can be called by investigative integration. It allows students to inquire and have their uncertainties clarified.
It can also be utilized by students to connect different subjects and topics. This approach further facilitates collaboration and coordination between teachers and learners.
Challenges with Integrated Education
Integrated Education is a productive strategy to provide equal education, even thus it faces a lot of challenges. Integrated education plays a vital step in developing and providing equal opportunities to every pupils.
To provide an equal education to children with disabilities or special needs, a homeschooling curriculum was introduced along with inclusive education.
Below you can check what are the challenges with Integrated education:
- Lack of Proper Training: Most teachers are not well prepared or trained to manage the wants of every student, especially disabled children. Lack of proper teacher training creates hindrances in integrated education.
- Lack of Resources: Most schools and educational institutions don’t have any proper resources or teaching materials. Due to the lack of proper materials, it becomes very tough for students to get proper preparation.
- Bullying: Bullying is one of the major reasons in school that disabled children are left out of school. Due to fear of bullying and social stigma, many disabled students resist to take admission.
- Inflexibility of Curriculum: There is no standardized curriculum for students with disabilities, and each school’s curriculum varies in its ability to meet the needs of these children. As a result, both teachers and students struggle to learn at the same pace.
For eg. Teachers find it difficult to deal with disabled children in the same classroom as special children have slow learning speeds which makes it difficult for teachers to maintain the same track with normal children and special children.
- Lack of Community Engagement: In integrated education one of the biggest problems is the lack of community involvement from educators parents and kids. It creates a challenge because most communities find it difficult to participate in the initiative.
Conclusion
Integrated education is crucial to giving every student an equal and high-quality educational experience regardless of their backgrounds or skill levels.
Childrens are benefited from integrated education in many ways, such as equal opportunities, supportive learning environments, empowerment and so on.
With lots of benefits still Integrated education faces challenges, including improper training, budget insufficiency, and bullying, etc.
As society overcomes these adversities and adapts methods of teaching, it would do well to provide children with an opportunity to succeed, and this allows to create better society.
