Complete 10 page APA formatted essay: Mainstreaming VS Inclusion: An Educational Dilemma.Some argue that as an outcome of the movement for inclusive education, students with MMR receive a curriculum f

Complete 10 page APA formatted essay: Mainstreaming VS Inclusion: An Educational Dilemma.

Some argue that as an outcome of the movement for inclusive education, students with MMR receive a curriculum for general education and suspect its effectiveness and appropriateness.

Moreover, this kind of study is important to educational research and classroom practice due to the fact that in spite of the more rigorous definition of the classification of MMR since its alteration in 1973,

the educational programming and curriculum have been unsuccessful in adapting themselves to the needs of the new Educable Mentally Retarded (EMR) population. The modification in 1973 reduced the “high end of the IQ range from 80 to 68 or 70, depending on the intelligence test, for the definition of the educable mental retardation and also added the necessity of a significant discrepancy in two areas of adaptive functioning” (Bouck, 2004, 367).

One of the earliest formal definitions of mental retardation highlighted the idea that, “a person’s incomplete mental development contributed to a situation where the individual was, “incapable of adapting himself to the normal environment of his fellows” (Tredgold, 1937, p.4). In 1905, the Binet and Simon mental test was introduced. This test allowed for differentiation of severities of mental retardation from mild to severe. In the past identification and testing was done primarily by doctors and psychologists (Patton, Polloway & Smith, 2000).

Nevertheless, the public opinions about educating the mentally handicapped have gone through many stages through the centuries. In the late 1700’s people were very optimistic about the trainability of these students. However, the late 1800’s brought a climate of pessimism and was followed by backlash into the early 20th century (Patton, Polloway, & Smith, 2000). Likewise, it has been documented that “in the United States, special classes for students with mental retardation can