Inclusive education is the most effective way to give all children a fair chance to go to school, learn and develop the skills they need to thrive. Examining teachers' concerns and attitudes to inclusive education in Ghana. Teachers in Ghana are eager to do what they can within the constraints they currently experience, and they should serve as an inspiration to the broader international community that assumptions about teacher preparedness for inclusion need to be re-examined. Despite the weakening of the presumption of inclusion in the Children and Families Act (2014), it is still there, with more than 90% of the two million disabled pupils and students attending schools and colleges, in mainstream provision. Together, we are working in collaboration with Purdue University to evaluate the United States Agency for International Development’s (USAID) multi-country study on inclusive education (MCSIE). My fears that this condition was due to a lack of use were quelled when I learned that the school had required every child to bring a backpack to school in order to conserve their materials, and that the teacher had provided special instructions to children on how to care for their books so that their younger siblings could one day use them. Under the inclusive model, ... on Education for All (1990) set the goal of Education for all. In New Brunswick Policy No 322 on inclusive education states: But, it is really the start of a really great collaborative project that spans Cambodia, Malawi, and Nepal. References . As there are few segregated schools in most countries, of which the majority are located in the capital or large cities, the result is that most students with “severe” disabilities are either sent away to residential school or most likely denied any access to formal education. Critically, Kyriazopoulou and Weber (2009) also suggest that inclusive education systems need to be measured on three levels: macro (large scale such as school jurisdiction, nations, regions), meso (schools and groups of schools along with local communities), and … In these significantly under-resourced schools, we don’t hear facilitators saying, “We don’t have resources to do inclusion.” Instead, we are seeing them do so much with so little, and do it so well. Indeed, some teachers are still struggling to master the use of foundational literacy methods using a scripted lesson plan from the project’s teachers’ guide. Our hope is that we can conduct an evaluation of these three countries and provide recommendations that not only speak to each of these three country contexts, but also be applicable to other countries who are similarly invested in inclusive education and disability rights. 6.http://worldofinclusion.com/unicef-project-educating-teachers-for-children-with-disabilities/ Track One: Education based on Principles of Equality and Child Empowerment involves foundations and inclusive values which apply and are beneficial to all groups of marginalized learners and children e.g. This section of the chapter will examine a range of issues that still confront the successful implementation of a full inclusion model. We even spent a full day planning how to implement our research country-wide with the support of the very knowledgeable and supportive Cambodian Disabled People’s Organisation (CDPO). (2007). We were happy to see that these children were in school and being supported by their teachers and principal, and yet struck by the limitations of this form of inclusion. Our week-long “inception trip” was packed full of meeting with the many project stakeholders. 5. http://worldofinclusion.com/unicef-project-educating-teachers-for-children-with-disabilities/ The path that lies ahead for these participants in applying what they learned to their real world classroom situations is tremendously challenging. Cambodia finds itself in the position of actively advancing its efforts on inclusive education, and we were eager to observe this more closely during our trip. At least 20 countries have more than doubled their teacher workforces. This sweeping agreement on the importance of inclusion should not have caught me by surprise, but it did. The purpose of the Arithmetic and Inclusive Education activity, which will be implemented from October 2019 to December 2020, is to expand the current project’s goals to include mastery of early grade arithmetic and an increase in the inclusivity of primary education. Many countries have carried out inclusive education whose impact is growing day by day, and have achieved good results. The observations of the CRPD Committee on the first 13 Country Reports also demonstrate a wide variation in practice, for example China is criticised for only integrating those with physical and mild visual impairments and for an expanding programme of special school building. Indeed, during the workshop, participants were quick to mention the neglect and abuse of children with disabilities, beliefs about disability being a curse, and even known cases of infanticide of children with disabilities in their communities. For inclusion to take place in these countries and South Africa, the special education model has to be ruptured. We also had ethical concerns about placing a label of disability on a student in an environment where this could lead to stigma, discrimination, bullying or even removal from school. f) Specific Learning Difficulty (Coloured overlays & background, Easy Read, tapes and text to talk, spell-checkers, concrete objects.) Dorothee and her head teacher are not just great examples for the case of Rwanda but for the global education community. Where could you see a woman with her own infant wrapped to her back, in a classroom without electricity, teaching a lesson that involves 40 students discussing content in small groups while the teacher actively checks for student understanding? Forty-eight students sat quietly at their benches and desks, eager and engaged to begin their Kinyarwanda lesson. The following practices must not occur: 1) Segregated, self contained programs or classes for students with learning or behavioural challenges, either in school or in community based learning opportunities.   Of course, the true reason my colleagues and I had visited was to see a first grade (Primary 1) classroom implementing Universal Design for Learning (UDL) instruction, and a woman named Dorothee serving as the teacher. Going into this work, I recalled some popular international rhetoric that already overburdened teachers are not ready to take on more work for inclusion, that this is an issue which needs to wait until teachers are more prepared and supported. 3. http://ap.ohchr.org/documents/dpage_e.aspx?si=A/HRC/25/L.30 25th March 2014 When speaking about the importance of recognizing difficulty learning at an early age, one head teacher decided to reassign his own job from a teacher of Grade 4 to a teacher of Grade 2. The head teacher seems to know each of his students individually, and is actively involved in assessing them to identify struggling learners. Egyptians with disabilities, one that may serve as a model of implementation for other countries. Bangkok: UNESCO. With net enrollment ratios for primary education 90% in 2018, access to basic education is relatively strong. This said, there are many examples of teachers developing the above expertise and including children with disabilities successfully. General Comment No. Education is just one of the many sections of society to which the social model applies; and “inclusion” in education means removing the barriers in the classroom and school so that students of all ability levels are included in the same lesson. Inclusive education in developing countries: a closer look at its implementation in the last 10 years . Around the world we have much to campaign for in terms of developing inclusive education for all disabled learners. One teacher, who was teaching a language arts lesson, was like an actor on the Broadway stage. Successful implementation strategies 6. 4. http://www.app.collinsindicate.com/uis-atlas-teachers/en-us Each morning our day started with cramming into a tuk-tuk and weaving through the traffic and sights of Phnom Penh. Trends in the prevalence of developmental disabilities in U.S. children, 1997-2008. Inclusive education means that every child is valued, and receives a high-quality and equitable education. Inclusion for children with disabilities cannot wait. The big question remains “how” to do this in a way that honors the local disability community, their families, and all of the numerous partners involved. However, the approaches and specific interventions of the activities vary. UNESCO, along with other UN agencies, a number of international organisations have been working towards achieving the goal of inclusion adding to the efforts made at the country level. Over the course of a week-long workshop with them discussing Universal Design for Learning (UDL) and Response to Intervention (RTI) strategies to introduce in first grade classes, they made it very clear that this is an issue they are motivated and prepared to take on in their own communities. To provide classroom support for small group instruction, one realistic solution appeared to be the use of national service personnel in local communities, who are post-tertiary graduates required to serve their country for one year. In M. Kauffman, D. P. Hallahan, & P. C. Pullen (Eds. In December2013 a Report-‘Thematic Study on the Rights of persons with disabilities to education’ from the UN Human Rights Council made clear inclusion and inclusive education is one of the key provisions of … A number of people spoke aloud to say they previously used to shout at, punish, or exclude children with disabilities in their teaching. Boyle, C. A., Boulet, S. B., Schieve, L. A., Cohen, R. A., Blumberg, S. J., Yeargin-Allsopp, M., Visser, S. & Kagan, M. D. (2009). The reason for this decision is that we felt we could not rule out other external factors, such as hunger and unstable living situations, that might be impacting learning. Policy Guidelines on Inclusion in Education. International Journal of Wholeschooling, 3(1), 41-56. If they do get training, it is based on a special education needs model, where the focus is on separating the child from their peers to segregated classes and schools and focussing on what they cannot do from a ‘medical model’. Global Monitoring Report 2013/14 UNESCO For a developing country like India, education is the topmost aspect of growth. The prospects for the coming period could change the few examples of inclusive practice into the norm, but there are two obstacles. The students we had the opportunity to meet typically had conditions that did not impact learning, such as a student with dwarfism, a student with a mobility disabilities impacting only one arm, a student with a skin condition, a student with a cleft pallet and one child who “had trouble memorizing and performing.” Although not all teachers received training on inclusion, many had naturally considered how to modify learning for the children who needed help, such as repeating information several times, being more patient and trying to stop other children from bullying these children perceived as different. Not only are these emerging practices models for Ghana, they can serve as models for Western countries that have schools that are similarly under-resourced. Jyvaskyla, Finland: Miilo Maki Institute. 9. http://www2.unescobkk.org/elib/publications/243_244/Teaching_children.pdf OVERVIEW: USAID is partnering with Inclusive Development Partners (IDP) through the Long-Term Assistance and Services for Research (LASER) mechanism led by Purdue University to conduct a three-year, $3.585 million evaluation of three new USAID inclusive education activities in Cambodia, Malawi, and Nepal. Although the Ministry of Education has committed to educating all children in Ghana, it continues to struggle with developing and implementing a system that can support students equitably. Our trip to Cambodia began the first major effort by USAID to investigate what works to improve the quality of education for learners with disabilities. UNESCO (2009). Over the course of our week in Cambodia, the three of us played connect-the-dots between meetings with various partners implementing various aspects related to inclusive education in Cambodia. Article 24 commits State parties to developing an inclusive education system, where disability should not prevent people from successfully participating in the mainstream education system. The practical state of inclusive education in many countries differs widely, between and even within schools. What worked well/poorly in the process of setting up an efficient, effective, and sustainable system to focus on improving the quality of education for learners with disabilities? The Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights have issued guidance to countries that they must consider disabled children when reporting on progress in establishing human rights .   Critiques of applying UDL in low-resource environments sometime center around fears that already overburdened teachers cannot manage to add another skillset to their sometimes limited repertoire. These are the types of problems that will not be resolved today or tomorrow, yet these teachers understand the ethos that inclusion cannot wait. New York, NY: Pearson. One of the most exciting aspects of the training was witnessing the creative strategies educators considered for how to apply these principles practically in their communities. OVERVIEW OF THE ACTIVITIES: The objective of each of the three country activities is virtually the same: to improve early grade reading and learning outcomes of learners with disabilities in early primary grades. With universal primary education high on the political agenda, countries have made great efforts to boost the supply of teachers, by 16% globally since 1999 . One of the discussions that dominated a few days of the workshop was the debate related to the need to identify students with a particular disability before teachers are able to provide them with effective classroom supports. cause for concern, and yet on the other end inclusive education is about the transformation of the education system. In a landscape filled with international donors, non-government organizations, and government stakeholders providing inputs and developing projects to advance inclusion, there remains little coordination between stakeholders, and limited preparedness from teachers to accommodate the diverse needs of students in their classroom (Hayes & Bulat, 2018). 12. http://www.unicef.org/disabilities/files/Take_Us_Seriously.pdf The teachers expressed concern that many of these students may be hungry or feeling insecure at home, and that living with grandparents instead of parents may be impacting their ability to focus and learn at school. As we turned to walk back to the school, we noticed spotless and manicured school grounds. ), Handbook of Special Education. Meeting with UNICEF, Cambodia and Deaf Development Programme (DDP), for example, also helped us to conceptualize the numerous inputs and investments into special and inclusive education across the country. We found similar results outside of Accra. However, as demonstrated by my recent work for UNICEF on preparing teachers for children with disabilities (CWD), most teachers in developing countries get no training on including children with disabilities. Policy and practice relating to inclusion in a country is a result of developments in legislation as well as understandings and conceptions of teaching and learning. In partnership with research teams in Australia and seven countries (Austria, Bangladesh, India, New Zealand, Italy, Canada and Spain), researchers from Monash University are conducting a study to identify how teachers are responding to the challenges to inclusive education … As these Reports point out implementing full inclusive education is a matter of political will and where that consensus has been built as in New Brunswick Province, Canada it can happen. As we entered Dorothee’s humble classroom, we noticed it was clean and organized, with well-maintained print-rich materials adorned on all four walls (each wall showing materials from a different subject). In the north, there was one superstar teacher who has been a volunteer teacher, meaning not on the Ghana Education Service payroll, for 15 years, and delivered an inclusive lesson packed with UDL principles, that would have impressed even the most seasoned inclusive educator with tons of resources at their fingertips. 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