Social Inequalities and Schooling: Inclusion Vs. Full Inclusion

Benefits of Inclusion:

There are social benefits for students with disabilities who are integrated into general education classrooms. These students can make new friends, develop social skills, and have an overall greater self-confidence.
Inclusion helps all students realize that each person is different and that everyone has their own strengths and weaknesses.
Peer teaching and cooperative learning, which would ideally be implemented, would benefit each student equally by giving them a sense of empowerment.

Disadvantages of Inclusion:

Some of the resources that included students would be benefiting from might hinder the non-included students' ability to learn
Many people and children are "afraid" of things they are not familiar with and do not know how to react towards someone who, for instance, has a learning disability. This fear could result in alienation and bullying in extreme cases.
Time is precious. There may not be enough time in the day or a class period to educate each individual student to the level he or she requires.
Pulling out students from the classroom is required when teaching in inclusive settings. This pulling out could have adverse effects on included students.

Advantages of Full Inclusion:

Students who are included would benefit greatly from learning the necessary curriculum needed to pass all twelve grades of primary school and moving into the work force.
According to one study, "results indicated that students who have been placed in heterogeneously grouped programs showed significantly more improvement than those who were grouped by ability levels" (Peterson, 1989 as cited in Aldridge & Goldman p. 156").
Again, socialization is greatly improved for all students in an included classroom.
"Students without disabilities gain skills and insights that are beneficial to them, such as developing increased tolerance and appreciating human differences (Willis, 1994 as cited in Aldridge & Goldman p. 157).

Disadvantages of Full Inclusion:

Teachers are afraid of teaching in inclusive settings because many of them do not feel that they have the necessary training to teach students with disabilities.
Again, pulling students out of the classroom could have negative effects on their self-esteem.

For more information on inclusion, visit these sites:

Social Inequalities and Schooling