From academic research and experience, I have discovered my own philosophical stance is a pragmatist and humanist. I believe in learning through experience and understanding the world around us is ever changing concurring with Dewey’s philosophical stance, that education is a part of life which shapes society, therefore, believing we should teach children how to live in society by sharing our knowledge and experiences of the world (Mooney, 2013). Dewey believed in the social experience of learning within groups of children with different backgrounds, cultures and ethnic origins would help to build a democratic society (Cahn, 2009). Therefore, this assignment will critically reflect on the concepts of both inclusion and poverty within education.
Firstly, the assignment will address the concept of inclusion as to whether Special Educational Needs children should be educated within mainstream schools. According to Graham-Matheson (2015) inclusion is a difficult concept as it tries to provide an education entitlement for all whilst accommodating individual differences using an educational system which has an emphasis on standards and …show more content…
Pupils are provided with extra support from teaching assistants, resource support materials and are often taken out of lessons to receive catch up programs. This opposes my own philosophical stance as a pragmatist as it allows for the exclusion from peer groups and social experiences. Dewey 1897 believed children learned best by interacting with others and working cooperatively with both peers and adults (Mooney, 2013). Florian (2010) argues that learning outcomes are more effective than differentiation as every class contains a diverse community of learners which the teacher takes into account all the differences within their daily practice. According to Florian and Hawkins (2011) current research into inclusive pedagogy highlighted rich learning opportunities which provided opportunities for all learners within the classroom. Teachers that developed the strategies by which they delivered learning observed a significant impact on adopting an inclusive environment. However, according to Walkup (2011) teachers are having to deliver learning by following the National Curriculum which does not consider SEN pupils as the emphasis is on the attainment of targets as well as being rigid to the amount of learning hours given to literacy and numeracy, therefore, it could be considered as unsuited to the learning needs of