Inclusive Education
| “Inclusion is the value system which holds that all students are entitled to equitable access to learning, achievement and the pursuit of excellence in all aspects of their education. The practice of inclusion transcends the idea of physical location, and incorporates basic values that promote participation, friendship and interaction.” |
Source: B.C. Ministry of Education. Manual of Policies, Procedures, and
Guidelines for Special Education Services. |
B.C. teachers believe in inclusion and have adopted a policy that every student is entitled to an appropriate education. Students with special needs have a right to access an inclusionary public education system which prepares them for full citizenship in a democratic society.
Langley Special Education Inquiry
The Langley Teachers' Association, CUPE Local 1260 and the Langley District Parent Advisory Council, with support from the BCTF, partnered to conduct an inquiry into learning conditions for students with special needs and teaching and working conditions for special education teachers and special education assistants in School District #35.
Special Education Reviews
Port Alberni: Special Education Review: School District 70 (Alberni) 
Richmond: 2008 Richmond School District Inclusion Review
BCTF Research projects
- Teaching to Diversity: ESL, Learning Assistance, Special Education
The Teaching to Diversity: ESL, Learning Assistance, Special Education web page offers a wealth of information for teachers who are looking for ideas and support to meet the diverse learning needs of students in BC schools.
- Special education research reports
- Special Education, Learning Assistance and ESL research project in two school districts (2002–03)
Significant changes have occurred in the B.C. education system which affect educational programs offered to students with special needs, and for ESL students. These changes included increased class size and no limits on class composition, removal of high-incidence targeted funding, and removal of ratios, resulting in fewer specialist support/resource teachers. We believe that the changes have impacted many students’ learning and all teachers’ work.
The BCTF collected data in two school districts—Nanaimo and Coquitlam—
- to monitor the effects of change in special education and ESL; and
- to examine the role of the specialist support teacher (special education, learning assistance, ESL).
The information has been used to advocate for services that meet students’ needs and that make teachers’ work manageable.
Findings and reports will be published on our web site as they are completed.
- Identification, Assessment, and Programming for ESL Learners with Special/Additional Needs (five case studies)
These reports describe how individual teachers, groups of teachers, and one school district approached the inclusion of ESL students with additional needs. As the reports were written several years ago, many of these practices will have changed. Nevertheless, they are shared as examples of educators' efforts to address a variety of exceptionalities in their classes, schools, and districts.
Provincial Specialist Associations
There are six BCTF provincial specialist associations which focus professional thinking on practices and strategies to serve the needs of students who, for example, have a learning disability, are gifted, face physical challenges, or who fit within other categories of special education. They are:
BCTF reports, publications and submissions
- Inclusion of students with special needs. A note from your teachers no. 25 (Mar 31, 2008)
- Inclusion in British Columbia's public schools: always a journey, never a destination? (Nov 2005)
- The challenge of specialist support teachers – Learning Assistance, ESL, and Special Education – in multiple roles: A PSA / BCTF Research discussion paper (Mar 2004)
- Priorities and strategies for action on inclusive education: a discussion paper...in search of input and suggestions
Prepared by the Canadian Association for Community Living and the B.C. Teachers' Federation for the National Summit on Inclusive Education, November 24–26, 2004 in Ottawa.
- Teachers’ views of special education (June 2001)
Based on survey data collected in June 2001, teachers do not believe that the implementation of inclusionary policies is adequately supported to meet students’ needs. Our research report, B.C. teachers' views of special education issues, shares the perspectives of over 600 B.C. teachers from all districts
- Teachers and teacher assistants/education assistants
Roles and responsibilities of teachers and teacher assistants/education assistants: a BCTF/CUPE B.C. joint paper
Endorsed by both union executives in April 2001, the paper elaborates on the roles and responsibilities of teachers and teacher assistants/education assistants who work closely with students with special needs.
External resources
E-mail List
The bctf-diversity e-mail list is a forum for educators working with students with a diversity of needs in their classrooms. The forum encourages questions, comments, information and resource sharing related to the inclusion of these students. Go to the BCTF Public Mailing Lists page for more information or to join/leave this or other BCTF mailing lists.
Updated March 30, 2010