Review of Journal Article on Intellectual Disabilities (ID)

Today I would like to review a journal article regarding children with intellectual disabilities (ID) and their impact in general education classrooms.  This article specifically looks at the academic performance of children with and without inclusion of a child with intellectual disabilities.  The article contains a lot of previously noted research regarding academic outcomes, much of which is limited and is varied in description.  The outcomes of previous studies indicate that there is predominately no negative effects to the academic achievements of general education students without disabilities when they are educated in the same classroom with a child with intellectual disabilities. 

The research that this article is citing was done in Switzerland; “one of the least inclusive countries in Western Europe (EADSNE ,2010)” (Dessemontet & Bless, 2013, p.23).  They used two groups of student pairs; 202 students from the second and third grades in each group, half boys/half girls, and classroom size of 18-23 students.  The noted difference was that one of these groups of 202 students contained one student per classroom who was identified with mild to moderate intellectual disability.  No students with multiple or physical disabilities were allowed in the control groups.  Pre- and post- academic testing was done in the areas of literacy and math, and indications of low-, normal-, and high-achievers were identified.  The research also accounted for social and economic similarities and differences within the groups.  Each of the children identified with ID spent at least 70% of their school day in the general education classroom.

The findings of the research by Dessemontet & Bless ( 2013) “indicate that there was no statistically significant difference between the progress of low-, average-, and high-achieving pupils in classrooms with or without inclusion (p.27).  These results seem to support previous research done, indicating that inclusion does not necessarily have a negative effect on the academic performance of classmates without disabilities.  Therefore, supporting inclusion for students with mild to moderate ID in the general education classroom.

 However, the researchers admit that several variables should be noted about this situation.  The quality of the teachers, the number of students with other disabilities other an ID were neither indicated nor followed, there was only one child with ID per classroom, and these studies were all conducted at the primary level.  It is hard to say what type of outcomes you may have if some of these conditions were to change; such as, more severe ID students or students with physical disabilities, a higher number of inclusion students per classroom, limited or poor quality instructors or paraprofessionals, or behavioral disorders.  Since the variables were closely controlled for this study, it is difficult to say what other research may find if you were to broaden the scope. 

There is also limited research in the secondary education setting.  As students age, the expectations of the students become more complex and independent.  It is unclear whether students with multiple disabilities, or more severe ID, would affect the academic performance of their peers in these settings.  I’m also curious about the impact that behavior would have across the school years. 

The article spoke briefly of the negative effects that general education students without disabilities had when they were grouped with peers with disabilities.  There was a negative outcome for non-disabled students when placed in a more cooperative learning setting where students with disabilities were included.  Also, the influence of support within the classroom and school were noted briefly.  General education classroom teachers who collaborated often with special educators, and who were given quality and quantity in support were much more successful.

This was a very thorough article.  It was well explained and thought out.  The research and finding could be a bit cumbersome to get through, but the background, methods, results and conclusions were complete.  The article also did a great job in identifying the limitations within the article.  It did not account for all situations that arise within the classroom, as described above, but were quick to note such things.  Much more research needs to be done to find out the impact of inclusion on all types of students, but variables are difficult to predict and control.

References

Sermier Dessemontet, R., & Bless, G. (2013). The impact of including children with intellectual disability in general education classrooms on the academic achievement of their low-, average-, and high-achieving peers. Journal of Intellectual & Developmental Disability, 38(1), 23-30. 

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