4. Child Centred Pedagogy, Creative with Reflective Teachers An Anti-Bias Curriculum 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. We were pleased to learn of the rapid development of the National Institute of Special Education (NISE), which will serve as important hub and resource for national improvement in special education. For this project, IDP will support this program by: • Assisting in the development of school-based screening and providing follow-up referrals • Supporting the training of teachers on best practices in inclusive education • Providing technical support on the creation of community mobilization messages around attendance and participation in school for children with disabilities • Supporting the provision of a package with appropriate resources for each school to assist learning, particularly for children with low vision • Leading operational research to better understand barriers to enrollment and attendance in order to improve attendance for children with disabilities. These are demonstrating how CWD can be fully included, teachers trained and curriculum adapted so they get quality education. UN OHCHR (2013) Thematic study on the right of persons with disabilities to education Report of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights A/HRC/25/29 http://www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/HRC/RegularSessions/Session25/Pages/ListReports.aspx Statements on Inclusive Education from Youth CC IS . 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. Many countries have carried out inclusive education whose impact is growing day by day, and have achieved good results. UNESCO Bangkok have produced a very useful online guide on how to go about implementing track two in mainstream schools. Results of discussions from a Soma Umenye workshop on Universal Design for Learning. 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. Ethiopia, Tanzania and Zanzibar which form a part of Tanzania, Botswana and Swaziland, there is a close associ- ation with special education which is a serious impediment to inclusive education. Will they be allowed to attend school? International Journal of Wholeschooling, 3(1), 41-56. As stakeholders move forward in promoting inclusive education and supporting emerging education systems, we must look to create a vision and goals where every child can receive an inclusive education. 2. http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0017/001778/177849e.pdf 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). This sounds like the opening line of a well-known “bar joke” in America. There is little doubt that the United States and China are two of the most powerful and progressive countries in the world today. Moving forward, we spoke about incorporating UDL across the board into his existing subject-matter communities of practice for mathematics, science, or languages, instead of creating a standalone community of practice for UDL. With net enrollment ratios for primary education 90% in 2018, access to basic education is relatively strong. When it comes to children with disabilities, as they are known internationally, the numbers in school in most developing countries, though there are no accurate figures, is likely to be less than 10% and numbers completing primary education is less than 1%. The focus is on occupational training. Inclusive education means that every child is valued, and receives a high-quality and equitable education. Surprisingly calm for a Southeast Asian capital, we caught glimpses of the mighty Mekong River, the Independence Monument, the stunning architecture of the National Museum and Royal Place, and the seemingly endless stalls and walls of Phsar Thmei (Central Market) on our daily commute. Modelling Inclusive Education (MIE) project expects to cover three districts in Coast region with 265 primary schools. If “light” disabilities only consider those children who do not need additional supports in the classroom, can education for all ever be attained? Fortunately, the 40 educators I worked with this September in Ghana feel exactly the same way. General Comment No. One struggle faced by the Ghanaian education system—and many other countries—is how to identify students with disabilities in the classroom. Nothing in the South African Policy emulates models from Europe or the wealthy countries of the North. 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. Dorothee called upon a variety of learners to answer questions, encouraged them to turn and talk in pairs, and supported struggling learners adeptly. 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. 2 Inclusive Education in Low-Income Countries The remaining chapters then focus on inclusive education approaches within schools. As we turned to walk back to the school, we noticed spotless and manicured school grounds. But this study demonstrates that although there have been moves towards inclusion such as, by the provision of statutory rights to inclusion in Spain and Portugal (joining the long standing practice in Italy), there are still many barriers including lack of adequately trained teachers, accessible buildings, peer support and challenging bullying, with much more integration than inclusion. 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. h) Mental Health and Behaviour (Counselling and personal support, differentiated behaviour policy, empathy, quiet chill-out space, circles of friends, collaborative learning and structured day.) IDP will leverage this unique opportunity to derive lessons about what works to sustainably advance teaching and learning outcomes for children with disabilities in varying contexts. Another teacher, teaching a math lesson on number lines, had his 50 students moving in and out of small groups, working with recycled bottle caps and plastic straws for manipulatives, and was hopping alongside his students on a number line he drew on the floor to show concepts of single-digit subtraction. These are the types of problems that will not be resolved today or tomorrow, yet these teachers understand the ethos that inclusion cannot wait. Paris: UNESCO. Knowing which students need additional supports and knowing which students may have vision and hearing challenges is different than labeling students with various diagnosis such as autism versus intellectual disability, dyslexia versus dysgraphia, etc. Inclusive education is built around the goals and ideologies of the social model. At least 20 countries have more than doubled their teacher workforces. 2. Differentiation & Flexible Curriculum and Assessment 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). 12. http://www.unicef.org/disabilities/files/Take_Us_Seriously.pdf It cannot wait for systems to be perfect, for schools to be well-resourced, for specialist support staff to be available to each child. One teacher spoke of having only a single mathematics textbook for a class of 48 students, asking how she was supposed to provide inclusive instruction when children couldn’t even see the books. To further advance the global evidence base, IDP will also produce targeted policy briefs and how-to-guides following the evaluation and will share these and the evaluation results via USAID’s Office of Education website—Education Links—and at global conferences, through journal publications, and through other means. Yet, this practice continues worldwide and is often reinforced by both donors, implementing partners and NGOs. Action on Disability and Development International (ADD), have taken on overall responsibility for design, fundraising, implementation, coordination, monitoring, evaluation and dissemination with the MOEVT. What instructional models worked best to improve classroom instruction and reading outcomes among learners with disabilities? Further, the research has consistently found that academic and social outcomes for children in fully inclusive settings are without exception better than in the segregated 153–194. aims for inclusive education across countries internally, but especially across European countries (Ainscow & Booth, 1998), the systems of educational provision for inclusion in all countries are also individual. Identifying students as having a disability or qualifying for special education services can be a challenge in any setting, but is even more difficult in low-resource settings. Under the inclusive model, ... on Education for All (1990) set the goal of Education for all. The Convention for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) is an international treaty that promotes the rights of all individuals with disabilities. New York, NY: Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group. 1. http://www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/HRC/RegularSessions/Session25/Documents/A-HRC-25-29_en.doc We will also introduce Universal Design for Learning (UDL) as a classroom instruction approach; we hope that differentiation and embracing diverse learning styles in the classroom will benefit students with and without disabilities. 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 … The Global Campaign for Education in the UK is focusing on getting the 40% of out-of- school children who are disabled, into school. http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0017/001778/177849e.pdf As the year progresses, I look forward to being continuously impressed with the successes that will unfold in these communities, as more and more children with disabilities are engaged as active participants in their own education. Are disability labels needed before teachers can support children to learn? 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’. 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 . 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 . 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 … I knew coming in that large class sizes, limited resources, and attitudinal beliefs about disability pose challenges for the inclusion of all children in their education. d) Physical Impairment (Accessible infrastructure, toilets and washrooms, furniture adjustments, equipment, prosthesis, use of personal assistance, diet, transport, medication.) A number of people spoke aloud to say they previously used to shout at, punish, or exclude children with disabilities in their teaching. This process can be progressively realized as stated within the CRPD but there must exist a policy framework, as well as efforts to move from a segregated towards an inclusive education system. UNESCO (2009). ), Handbook of Special Education. Educators went above and beyond in their openness to both personal reflection and future change. Inclusive education is no longer a privilege, it is the need of the hour. One of these trends being reinforced by many countries worldwide is to develop inclusive education policies that allow for students that are perceived to have “light” or “mild” disabilities to attend inclusive schools, but all other students with disabilities are required to attend a segregated school. All 13 countries are urged to do more and reminded that the duty of making reasonable accommodations in education for disabled people is not a progressively realised right, but must be implemented from the point of ratification. After having received only four days’ training with our pilot program, Dorothee – who was already an experienced teacher - implemented the principles of UDL like a seasoned expert. In M. Kauffman, D. P. Hallahan, & P. C. Pullen (Eds. This follows the publication of a series of useful publication . 11. Jyvaskyla, Finland: Miilo Maki Institute. An American professor, a Cambodian lecturer/self-advocate with a disability, and an American project manager/doctoral student huddle together in a tuk-tuk for a week’s worth of meetings. Each morning our day started with cramming into a tuk-tuk and weaving through the traffic and sights of Phnom Penh.   In fact, the more I learned about the school, the more I came to appreciate the role that community involvement and school leadership has played in its success. Aro, T., & Ahonen, T. USAID and its partners will use this information to inform adaptations to its activities in Cambodia, Malawi, and Nepal but also to plan for new inclusive education programming globally. To top it off, the teacher also had a National Service (NS) person filming her lesson so it can be used to share best practices in UDL and inclusive education to other teachers in Ghana and beyond! Notes c) DeafBlind-Language (Use of interpreters, tactile environment, aids and appliances, orientation.) Put simply, with video documentation of this lesson, we now have clear evidence that UDL-informed inclusive lessons can be delivered in classrooms with minimal resources. Collaborative Learning – Peer Support That is 24million out of 57 million children still out of school. Teaching Children with Disabilities in Inclusive Settings. REB and Soma Umenye are piloting a UDL approach to Kinyarwanda instruction throughout the 2020 schoolyear, providing training and support to 25 schools (P1 teachers and head teachers) in Gicumbi District. 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. They should be recognized as the experts that they are, and help skeptics to remember what great potential exists in this world. Track Two: Education accommodating the different impairment specific needs of children with disabilities or special needs. 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. Introduction For over 40 years, the body of relevant research into education of students with disability has overwhelmingly established inclusive education as producing superior social and academic outcomes for all students. In late November/early December of 2019, USAID Soma Umenye and Inclusive Development Partners (IDP) held a workshop in Rwanda with key education stakeholders including representatives from the Ministry of Education (MINEDUC), the Rwanda Education Board (REB), University of Rwanda College of Education, teachers, district supervisors, and Kinyarwanda specialists to co-develop a Universal Design for Learning (UDL) framework for Rwanda in support of the country’s goal to strengthen quality inclusive education. Education for all. The Rwandan team also felt this was more realistic in Rwanda as not only is there a lack of identification services but also teachers with large class sizes might have difficulty adapting their instruction for particular students with particular disabilities. We also decided to not link these interventions with labeling of students with disability, but instead to merely indicate that a student is having challenges learning. Dr. Brent Elder is an assistant professor in the Interdisciplinary and Inclusive Education Department at Rowan University in New Jersey, USA, and founding member of the disability rights NGO, Tangata Group. Send All My Friends to School (www.sendmyfriend.org) has a free pack for schools, to work with pupils in KS1, 2 and 3 pupils this term on raising their awareness of this important issue. The activities in Cambodia, Malawi, and Nepal represent USAID’s most concerted effort to date to build systems to ensure students with disabilities have access to quality education. Also, it is extremely important that all students receive universal and regular vision and hearing screenings, as this knowledge is needed for referral to basic health services, and can also help teachers to modify the classroom environment to support students with vision or hearing challenges. What was most powerful about watching these master teachers work their magic was that they embody the resourcefulness, resilience, and creativity these teachers have developed over time out of necessity.   The head teacher has also invented his own strategy for supporting struggling learners. The book covers the diverse elements in implementing an inclusive education strategy from the introduc-tion of the process through to evaluation, consolidation and extension within the education system. Cross-National Differences in Special Education. Of all three of the project countries, Cambodia was the first to begin. This said, there are many examples of teachers developing the above expertise and including children with disabilities successfully. This sweeping agreement on the importance of inclusion should not have caught me by surprise, but it did. and Inclusive Education (the Agency), will contribute towards addressing the ‘knowledge gap’ (identified by the UNESCO -IBE expert meeting in 2014) on empowering inclusive teachers to address the diversity of learners by de fining inclusive practices and inclusive teaching approaches and empowering teachers through training and support. In our recent trip to Ghana in February, 2019, we held a series of focus groups with teachers. In countries like Ghana, where there are compounding factors including stigma, poor understanding of disability, and limited resourcing for services, identification must be addressed carefully and thoughtfully. 8. 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.