Inclusion and the curriculum

Accessing the formal curriculum

The New Zealand Curriculum applies to ‘all students … irrespective of their gender, sexuality, ethnicity, belief, ability or disability, social or cultural background, or geographical location’ (page 6). 

Like The New Zealand Curriculum,Te Marautanga o Aotearoa aims to provide young New Zealanders with the tools they need to lead fulfilling lives as active members of their communities:

Through the school working together with its community, whānau, hapū, and iwi, graduates of Māori-medium schools will achieve … their full potential … [the] confidence to pursue their own lifelong learning pathways … [be able to] participate positively in the community … [and live] successful and fulfilling lives.

Pages 2 and 3 of online English version, page 8 of printed te reo version

With the appropriate support, many students with ASD will be able to progress through the curriculum at similar rates to their peers. However, the ways they access the curriculum may look different.

In their early years at school, some students may benefit from also working within Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum. The ecological perspective of Te Whāriki creates rich possibilities for curricula that attend to individual learners’ particular strengths, needs, and interests while extending their learning across all the settings they experience.

Some students’ school learning may always take place within levels 1 or 2 of the school curriculum. Whatever the level at which a student is working, they have the right to experience success and for that success to be noticed and celebrated.

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD): A Resource for Educators (Ministry of Education, 2011a) is an excellent starting point for schools that are thinking about how to include students with ASD in their curriculum. It identifies evidence-based cross-curricular teaching and learning strategies that are linked to the key competencies.

Section 3.2 (pages 95–124) of the New Zealand Autism Spectrum Disorder Guideline looks at how ASD affects curriculum learning for children and young people in the early childhood and school years. It provides recommendations on how to facilitate:

• communication and literacy skills
• social development
• sensori-motor development
• cognitive skills
• self-management skills.

Framing curriculum around inclusive values

In the 2011 edition of the Index for Inclusion, Booth and Ainscow call for schools to develop twenty-first century curricula that connect the knowledge associated with traditional disciplines with the real lives and concerns of students as they deal with the present and prepare for the future. They call this a ‘global, rights-based curriculum’. They suggest that it would address common concerns of people everywhere, including: 

• food and water
• clothing and housing
• transport
• health and relationships
• the environment and energy
• communication and communication technology
• literature, arts and music
• work and activity
• ethics, power, and government.

As schools in New Zealand have implemented The New Zealand Curriculum and its partner document, Te Marautanga o Aotearoa, many have created just the kinds of innovative, future-focused curricula outlined in the Index for Inclusion. They have selected content, resources, and activities that connect to students’ lives.

For a discussion of the importance of making these connections, and of how this can be done, see the chapter on Connections in Effective Pedagogy in Social Sciences/Tikanga ā Iwi BES (Aitken & Sinnema, 2008). 

For students with ASD, those connections might be with their ‘fascinations’. Paula Kluth discusses the possibilities in her article “ Thank You, Bob Barker!” Using Passions, Strengths, and Areas of Special Interest to Support Students on the Spectrum”.

The curriculum principle of inclusion is closely connected to that of high expectations. For students with ASD, as with all students, the expectations of those around them have a critical impact on their ability to achieve the outcomes that are valued for them (Alton-Lee, 2003).

Educators must be constantly scouting for student talents and seeking situations that highlight the abilities and support the needs of diverse learners. Teachers of students with autism must believe that students are competent, and then they must “set the stage” for students to perform competently.

Kluth, 2010, page 48

The following questions can help in this search:

• Who is this student?
• Under what circumstances does this student thrive?
• What gifts, skills, and/or abilities does this student have?
• What is this student’s awareness of him- or herself as a learner?
• What effort or potential does this student bring to the classroom?
• How can I help this student find success?
• What prevents me from seeing and/or helps me to see this student’s competence?
• How does this student learn?
• What does this student value?
• How and what can I learn from this student?

Kluth, 2010, page 49

Curriculum Update 22 supports schools to explore and enact the principle of high expectations.

Teachers make the curriculum accessible by designing and shaping it to be meaningful and beneficial to the needs, interests and talents of particular groups and individuals.

Collaboration for Success: Individual Education Plans (Ministry of Education, 2011) describes the role of ‘adaptations’ and ‘differentiations’ in making the curriculum accessible to all students, including those with disabilities: 

Adaptations are changes to the school and classroom environment, teaching and learning materials, and associated teaching strategies. These changes support students to access and respond to the school and classroom curriculum.

Differentiations are changes to the content of the school and classroom curriculum and expected responses to it. These changes support students to experience success.

Page 12

The sections Pedagogy for inclusion and Practical considerations discuss specific teaching strategies for including learners with ASD. The table below suggests possible adaptations for students with special education needs in relation to three other aspects of curriculum design and implementation.

You will notice that many of the suggestions are of equal value for other students. For example, all students benefit when they are helped to make connections between their learning in different areas of the curriculum.

Adapted from Collaboration for Success: Individual Education Plans, pages 12–13. © Crown 2011

In a review of international trends in the education of students with special education needs, New Zealand researcher David Mitchell (July 2010) [1] describes Clayton et al.’s (2006) four-step process for enabling students with cognitive difficulties to access the curriculum:

[1] The quote has been slightly modified to make it more relevant to New Zealand schools.

Step 1 involves identifying … what is the most basic concept or critical function that the [curriculum requires].

The second step is to define the learning outcome of instruction in a particular unit for all students and then consider the ways in which the complexity of what is required may be adjusted for students with … cognitive disabilities [or learning difficulties].

Step 3 involves identifying the instructional activities, ensuring that students with … cognitive disabilities [or learning difficulties] have equitable access to instruction and the curriculum provided to other students.

The final step requires the targeting of specific objectives from the IEP for instruction within the unit. Clayton et al. noted that in addition to grade-level curriculum standards, students with … cognitive disabilities [or learning difficulties] often need instruction in such areas as basic communication, motor skills, and social skills. They argued that ‘by embedding these skills within the context of general education activities, the teacher gives students access to the curriculum … while still providing ongoing instruction on those essential basic skills’ (p.25).

Chapter 8, section 8.3

You may find these four steps useful for adapting the curriculum in your school to meet the needs of students with ASD and others with cognitive or learning difficulties. The trainer’s packet developed by Clayton could also be helpful in implementing this process with teachers at your school. 

In inclusive classrooms, teachers adapt instruction for all learners. Several of the readings on Paula Kluth’s website are focused on differentiating instruction in inclusive classrooms. 

• What strategies do our school leaders use to adapt the school environment and curriculum to meet the needs and build upon the strengths of all our students, including those with ASD? Think about school plays, camps, noho marae …
• What do we know about our students with ASD?
• What do we define as ‘curriculum’ for our students?