Fostering Inclusion: Non-Abandonment and Reframing Strategies for Educators

Abstract

Course name Instructor’s name Assignment due date Non-Abandonment and Reframing Summary of the Analytic Framework from the Text Non-Abandonment Non-abandonment is the conscious choice educators have to make to facilitate inclusion by connecting with all their students regardless of needs and difficult behaviors. Students at risk of social exclusion have experienced challenges resulting from lack of connection to their family members and the society. As a defense mechanism to their difficult behavior, teachers are likely to display similar levels of abandonment to such children and deny them opportunities to participate in classroom activities. Through the concepts of containing and holding, teachers play the caregiving role of accommodating the mental challenges facing the students and offering a safe environment for them to explore their difficulties (Razer & Friedman, 2017). To achieve inclusion through non-abandonment, educators have to make the conscious decision to cope with their frustrations with students in need of support. It is their responsibility to make the decision to accommodate students with difficult behaviors while setting limits to maintain discipline in the classroom. School programs and instruction strategies play a major role in defining how teachers are effective at supporting children. Involving educators in programs targeting excluded students increases their capacity to meet the learners in need. Reframing Reframing is the skill that teachers use in inclusive education where they change the cognitive structures that define the exclusion of students. The two frames of helplessness and false identity demonstrate how educators fail to assist excluded students in their classrooms. Reframing is the process of creating changes in the perspective through which teachers view difficult behavior and the potential approaches they could use to promote inclusive education. The concept of reframing demonstrates that teachers are unable to deal with the issues affecting students or offer meaningful support if they do not change their approach towards the problems in their school (Razer & Friedman, 2017). It ensures that teachers change both their way of thinking about a problem and their feelings towards issues affecting the students. Reframing is an important skill and a necessary stage towards shifting from excluded instruction towards inclusive education. The Reframing Process The reframing process follows seven steps through which educators develop a different and more effective approach to solving exclusion. The first step is presenting the problem in a manner that reveals the framing of key issues. In the second step, the teachers collect data to clarify facts on issues, resources available, and potential approaches to the problem. The third stage is naming the frame by determining how it affects the stakeholders and its implications on education (Razer & Friedman, 2017). Fourth, they widen the frame by determining the potential for missing information. In the fifth step, the challenge the frame by determining how new information changes the dynamics of the problem. The sixth step is formulating a new frame that offers an alternative approach to examining the problem and defining issues more logically. The last step is to implement the new frame to facilitate testing and application to the school. Summary of the Analytic Framework from the Video Restorative Classroom Practices Restorative classroom practices require teachers to intervene in conflicts among students to create a safe environment for all learners. They should not assume that, like adults, students understand the causes of interpersonal conflicts and could resolve issues among themselves. Instances of exclusion occur when students feel that they are unsafe and unable to form relationships with their peers (Spokane Public Schools, 2017). Through their interventions, educators assist students determine causes of conflicts and their actions that affect other people. The restorative classroom practice involves teachers supervising meetings among students where the learners explore issues and conflicts among themselves. The practice helps students see different sides of problems and how they affect their peers leading to a conclusive resolution. While punishment contributes to corrective measures in the classroom, the educators facilitate the engagement of students to show them the reason they are being punished. Application of Analytic Frameworks Case Study 1 Summary: Working with Early Years with ASD (Case 2) The case study involves Jarrod who is an eight-year-old year and has Asperger’s, a part of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). He was playing an imaginative game with peers where he pretended to be a T-rex and other students were his play. The other students reported that Jarrod had bit Cameroon and the yard teacher saw that Jarrod was in too much distress to participate in restorative conversation (Burnett et al., 2015). After allowing Jarrod to calm down, she asked him to repeat the story and explained the rules of the school and how they affected how students could play the game. After making sure he understood the situation, the teacher and Jarrod went to apologize the Cameron and explain what the student had learnt about school rules. Examples of Non-Abandonment An example of non-abandonment is when the teacher allowed Jarrod to calm down until he was able to explain the incident from his perspective. The student has ASD, a condition that affected his ability to participate in restorative conversation immediately after the incident. He was confused about the reaction of other students to his actions and required time before the teacher could intervene and achieve a solution. Examples of Reframing Reframing occurred when the teacher began examining...