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The summary is made by Anna and Polina, so I ask to refer to both of us in your comments!
 * Heterogeneity in the Classroom - Inclusion **

“The idea of belonging and membership, being part of a community, is a basic human need. It’s one of the principles of our democratic society. We all have the same needs, we want to be loved, we want to have friends, we want to feel that we are making a contribution in our families, in our communities….We learn about understanding what someone’s interests and point of view are by interacting with them. To include everyone is to open up those possibilities for learning and appreciating our humanity.” Dr. Joseph Petner, Educator.

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 At the session, the issue of inclusion (mainstream education) was proposed for consideration and discussion within the framework of the topic of heterogeneity.  Inclusion is the approach which is opposite to tracking/ streaming. It is the approach to teaching which presupposes bringing all the students to the mainstream class regardless of their abilities. Students with different intellectual capacities, physical health and emotional maturity are put under one roof and study together.

 The Law of Inclusion was passed in Israeli Knesset in 2002. The law propels two major points: - a student can choose to study in a special class. But every child has the right to attend a regular class in a regular school if he/she wishes to do so  - if a child has the right for special help the money which is allocated for his/her aid goes with him/her wherever he/she studies. That is the budget belongs to the child with special needs and not to the educational institution which was the case in the past.

 Students with special needs very often attend regular classes being accompanied by assistants. These personnel are mostly not trained enough in terms of helping out the students with their studies. However, assistants very frequently aid and direct their wards how to behave in everyday situations.

 Research shows that inclusion has benefits for all the children studying together: those with special needs and without them. The first advantage of inclusion approach is that students become more tolerant and accepting. It allows preventing friction and overly competitive atmosphere. It teaches to understand better people who are different. Inclusion has an overall positive effect on social skills, ethical values and ability to empathize with other people.

 According to the research carried out by Jordan and Stanovich teachers tend to perceive inclusion approach differently. The distinctions in their concepts and views provided the emerge of pathognomonic -interventionist orientation in teaching . Class instructors who support pathognomonic approach believe that students’ disabilities are stable and cannot be improved no matter what is done. In their view, children with different kinds of impairments should be separated and learn in special classes. Also, these teachers develop a particular teaching style: they interact less with disabled students and children with special needs. Moreover, their manner of talking and relating to the class can be defined as highly managerial- i.e. they mostly dictate to their students what to do.

 In their turn, interventionists believe that if they teach well than the disability can be improved. They condemn that children with disabilities of all types can and should be integrated into regular classes. They interact more with pupils with learning disabilities and they talk to the overall class population in an academic manner. The researchers also discovered that teachers' personal history and personal experiences determine what type of behavior teachers develop in an inclusive classroom.

 The researchers in the field have been trying to make efforts to improve instruction for disabled students and to raise their learning achievements. As a result, Universal Design Approach emerged as a new educational concept. It came from a disabled architect Ronald Mace and was further integrated in every sphere of our life including education and its practices. The key issues of this approach include flexibility and adaptation to each student’s unique needs and attributes .  Children with disabilities are perceived a norm; they are not spaced out and put apart by means of adapting their surroundings to their disabilities. Universal Design for education seeks to ensure that all students have the option of learning from instructional materials and practices that suit their abilities and learning styles in settings and facilities that can accommodate their various needs.

 Key principles and concepts for differentiated instruction primarily focus to support recognition, strategic and affective learning of divert students, to provide them with “fair education”, which “//doesn’t mean giving every child the same thing, it means giving every child what they need (Rick Lavoie).//