Following previous GEM reports on education and the other SDGs (2016), accountability (2017/8), migration and displacement (2019), the 2020 GEM Report will focus on inclusion.
Echoing the overall orientation in the SDGs to “leave no one behind”, as per its concept note, this year’s Report will take an in-depth look at inclusion and education, showing the barriers faced by the most vulnerable, and with a particular focus on people with disabilities. By analysing policies the world over it will present evidence on the different elements of education systems that can support inclusion, such as laws and policies, governance and finance, curricular and learning materials, teachers, school infrastructure, school selection and parental and community views. A range of indicators will be examined for their effectiveness in measuring inclusion in education as well.
This consultation will run for eight weeks. We invite you to suggest relevant literature, data analysis and case studies to help inform our writing, keeping the following questions in mind:
- What are the key policy solutions for each of the elements of inclusive education to ensure the achievement of SDG 4?
- How can common obstacles to the implementation of such inclusive education policies be anticipated and overcome?
- What arrangements are needed to coordinate and collaborate among government sectors, tiers of government and with other stakeholders to overcome overlapping dimensions of exclusion?
- How do education systems monitor exclusion in education (both from the aspect of individual education attainment or success and systemic factors) and how can current practices be improved?
- What channels of financing are used for inclusive education policies around the world, how are they monitored and how do they affect local practice?
The team would like to invite you to:
- Provide substantive feedback to the proposed lines of research
- Recommend interesting examples of policies and practices from around the world that highlight how inclusive education policies look like in different countries and how inclusive education is implemented in schools and classrooms
- Recommend potential areas of new research drawing on already established or previously unexplored sources of quantitative and qualitative data
The views of researchers, academics, governments, non-governmental organizations, aid donors, teachers, youth and anyone with an interest in education and development are most welcome.
Please read the concept note in English / Français / Español / Русский / 中文 / العربية and contribute to this online consultation before the end of September.
Post your contributions as comments (below) to this blog, providing web links to research reports, policy papers, evaluations, and other documents or datasets that you think would be useful for the Report team.
If you would rather email your comments, or have attachments of documents or data that you would like to share with the GEM Report team, please send them directly to gemreport@unesco.org with ‘2020 Report Consultation’ as a subject heading.
You are welcome to post your contributions in any of the 6 United Nations languages (English, French, Spanish, Arabic, Russian or Chinese).
Consultation 
Share your comments with us.
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Local education practice should be influenced by good practice from around the world. Key problems include the inclusion of refugees, immigrants, LGBT and Disabled into the school curriculum in positive ways. Disabled must include chronic illnesses and mental illness. Austerity and Government cuts play a part with UK schools which can act more like businesses rather than fullfilling a purpose of education for the next generation and therefore the inclusion of all onto an equal playing ground.
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Comment by Salman Yaqoob:
One reform should be happen for inclusion in education that is the process of financing. Financing a student is much difficult due to which students can’t approach their goal in education. For an example IELTS and TOEFL are required for addmission or scholarships but these tests are much expensive for needy students. Due to these difficulties students from developing and remote areas suffer too much. Papper work and all the procedure should be easy and there should be free language test institution for students. Scholerships are available for college or university students but what about those who have talent but they even can’t go to school. I often see a sense of capitalism in socially working institutions which is a big flaw.
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Comment by S.B.Ekanayake Ph.D
Former Basic Education Adviser
UNESCO / UNHCR Central Asia
Currently CEO Association for
Educational Research and Development in Sri Lanka
(AERDSL)
I am an avowed reader of your valuable GEM report. While congratulating on the continuous analysis of issues on education let me kindly focus on the latest challenge in education in the developing countries.
I have been associated with UNESCOs committed interest on the subject of education of the disadvantaged universally since the first International program and followed by projects and publications on the subjects in Asia under the theme on ‘Multiple Class Teaching and Education of Disadvantaged Groups’ launched in 1980 by UNESCO Bangkok.
Currently. as part of research program of the ‘Association for Educational Research and Development Sri Lanka’ (AERDSL) had launched two programs on the theme related to the ‘Concept of Indicators on Educational Equity’. Firstly, a research on ‘ Education of Disadvantaged Communities'(EDC – attached seperately) followed by a Pilot study and secondly (on going) developing an exemplar program for Disadvantaged Groups ((EPDG) on developing a model for EDC based on rural small schools.
The activities involved in the new project are a) use the findings of the earlier EDC study b) study of the rural communities, structures,resources and challenges c) support rural social economic programs collaborating with departments and NGOs d) view educational development as critical input to rural upliftment e) adopt a holistic and collaborative approach with in a capacity development framework.
In this endevour, AERDSL is also mindful of the the four pillars of education in the new paradigm.
Furthermore, the emphasis of the GEM report on the the importance of the concept of ‘inclusive education and its realities ‘ will undoubtedly will guide our thinking.
AERDSL would be greatly appreciate your guidance on this micro experiment.
Publication ‘Education of the Poor and Powerless in Disadvantaged Areas’ : http://www.island.lk/index.php?page_cat=article-details&page=article-details&code_title=92575
AERDSL website -http.//aerdsl.tumblr.com
my web-sbekanayake.blogspot.com
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Standards based grading is a powerful tool to use in creating an inclusive educational environment. Teachers and students can track progress in mastering knowledge and skills rather than being assessed by a percentage. https://www.marzanoresearch.com/
In addition, lesson planning using Universal Design for Learning strategies gives teachers a way to integrate multiple means of action, expression and representation for students to access information and show evidence of their learning. http://www.cast.org/our-work/about-udl.html
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From Caroline kamakil
Greetings from Nairobi, Kenya.
I am a social worker based in Nairobi.
I would like to highlight two challenges that hinder inclusive education
Physical barriers. Most of the school in Kenya are not easily accessible by learners with disability. The advantage, most of the public schools have big space and land that would enable renovation in the future.
The attitude, knowledge and practice of teachers and actors both in school and in implementing agencies needs to be enhanced. There needs to be activities and programs that would enhance the knowledge and practice of significant people working with children in the education sector.
Accessibility due to distance. In hard to reach areas, children walk long distance to school. When I worked in North eastern Kenya, I realised most of the school are far away from villages. This is a challenge to children without disability and is a greater challenge to children with disability.
Regards,
Carol Kamakil
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This is a much needed and timely undertaking. It would be helpful to consider how learners with disabilities are identified – there is a need to change the focus away from the identification of different types of physical impairments to ensure the identification of learning needs and removing any barriers to learning. Also consideration could be given to how countries are developing inclusivity across the education system including teacher education, school supervision and inspection, school facilities and materials, curriculum development, pedagogy and accountability mechanisms for example to ensure an inclusive culture throughout.
We have produced the following studies in collaboration with UNICEF ESARO:
Click to access r-disabilities-rwanda-report.pdf
https://www.educationdevelopmenttrust.com/en-GB/our-research/our-research-library/2016/r-disabilities-comoros
https://www.educationdevelopmenttrust.com/en-GB/our-research/our-research-library/2016/r-disabilities-madagascar
https://www.educationdevelopmenttrust.com/en-GB/our-research/our-research-library/2016/r-regional-study-right-to-education-disabilities
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Dear GEM Report Team:
Congratulations for this new global monitoring report. I’m Professor at the University of Murcia (Spain). My work is focused on inclusion, school improvement and networking in education. I think that the following references would be useful for the report. In my opinion, some important ideas in the field of inclusion currently are:
– The journey to inclusion metaphor (http://revistas.pedagogica.edu.co/index.php/RCE/article/view/8100).
– Guiding schools on their journey towards inclusion (https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13603116.2018.1450900).
– Promoting networking experiences between schools and communities to increase inclusive education (https://recyt.fecyt.es/index.php/profesorado/article/view/66869).
– And, the analyses of instruments for inclusion (http://revistas.ucm.es/index.php/RCED/article/view/51343).
Best wishes
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Posting on behalf of Olga Bialostocka
Senior Research Specialist: Sustainable Development, Human Sciences Research Council
Good day,
In response to the call for inputs to the 2020 GEM Report, please find attached three policy briefs dealing with different sociocultural dimensions of exclusion in the Namibian education setting. The main policy interrogated is the Namibian Sector Policy on Inclusive Education. The attached journal articles give a background to the empirical study that further informed the policy briefs. Recommendations included tackle the questions of: key policy solutions for inclusive education in pluralistic societies, and obstacles to the implementation of inclusive education policies as well as suggestions of the ways to overcome these challenges.
In brief:
The Namibian Sector Policy on Inclusive Education seems to consider primarily marginalisation of learners ‘from education’ – based mostly on their economic background. Marginalisation ‘within education’ – othering based on sociocultural factors such as gender, sexuality, or religion –which is usually grounded in normative assumptions and power relations functioning in the society, seems neglected in the document. Focusing on this type of marginalisation, the attached policy briefs examine the degree to which the school programme and its implementation have been adapted to the country’s multicultural context in order to make education relevant and inclusive.
The study was positioned within the concept of dialogic learning as an approach to multiculturalism that can enhance tolerance among people and produce a society united through deeper understanding of and respect for difference. Used as an educational tool, dialogic learning can assist in contextualising education and transforming pedagogy to be more critical of existing master narratives. Within this framework, the study focused on the mutuality inscribed in the African principle of Ubuntu and the corresponding I–Thou model of human relations proposed by Buber. Juxtaposing Ubuntu with Freire’s concept of ‘conscientização’ and liberating education, the study advanced the idea of a non-consensual approach to coping with diversity, which acknowledges the communitarian nature of African societies.
The papers attached give a background to the empirical study done in Namibia and the briefs highlight challenges and offer policy recommendations with regard to making primary education in the country more inclusive. The publications comprise findings from several research studies on education in Namibia undertaken by the author. These include data from a qualitative localized study on multicultural education conducted in primary schools in the Kunene region, which was designed to understand people’s lived experiences in relation to multiculturalism in the educational setting. Findings from this study led to the conceptualisation of an exploratory research on culturally relevant teaching, which was conducted among the personnel of the Faculty of Education at the University of Namibia and the curriculum developers working for the National Institute of Educational Development. Secondary data and literature on culture sensitive education, and in particular sexuality education, in Namibia complemented the research.
The briefs contend that the Sector Policy on Inclusive Education should look at varied intersecting categories of difference that can be used for othering in the school environment in order to be more comprehensive. In addition to focusing on the groups of children who face difficulties in accessing mainstream education as a result of economic situation or special needs, the Policy should consider learners whose marginalisation at school has sources in more subtle sociocultural factors. The briefs further demonstrate the challenges of teachers being caught between the culture of the surrounding communities and their own to highlight the importance of developing cultural competence among future educators that would enable them to work with diversity in a well-informed and non-judgmental way, free of cultural bias. Finally, they recommend contextualising educational methods by taking into consideration cultural norms and values of the communities among which the teachers work to better respond to the needs of the Namibian pluralistic society. In terms of sexuality education, it could mean refurbishing existing cultural traditions in order to employ culture to the advantage of education.
Publications :
Bialostocka O (2017) Dialogic education as an approach to multiculturalism for social cohesion in Namibia, Globalisation, Societies and Education 15/2: 271-281; http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14767724.2016.1169515
Bialostocka O (2017) Culturally congruent sexuality education for Namibia, AISA Brief 126; http://www.ai.org.za/wp-content/uploads/downloads/2017/04/Policy-Brief-126-002.pdf
Bialostocka O (2016) Education for peace and social cohesion in a multicultural society. Observations from the Kunene Region, Namibia. In: SB Maphosa, A Keasley (eds), Peace Education for Violence Prevention in Fragile African Societies: what’s Going to Make a Difference, Pretoria: AISA Press
Bialostocka O (2016) How inclusive is Namibia’s inclusive education policy?, HSRC Brief; http://www.hsrc.ac.za/uploads/pageContent/7503/HSRC%20Policy%20Brief%2017%20-%20Inclusive%20education%20policy_PRESS.pdf.
Bialostocka O (2015) ‘I believe in one God’ or the issue of teaching religion in Namibia, AISA Brief 116; http://www.hsrc.ac.za/uploads/pageContent/6868/2015AISA-IbelieveinoneGOD.pdf.
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Posting on behalf of Carlos Arroyave
Inclusive education is directly related with universalization. Thus, the more relevant challenge today is related with education for all. Education for rich but for poor people, too. In other words, we are talking about elites. High quality and recognition institutions on one hand, and the rest on the other one. Inclusion should be associated with universalization of high quality. That means no elite institutions. No elites of teachers. No elites of students. No elites of citizens. Inclusion means democracy. How is the effect of rankings on elitization? How bad is the effect of rankings on inclusiveness? To study the impact of rankings on inclusiveness could be a matter of fact. In principle, rankings are a gigant invisible barrier for inclusion and equity.
“Leave no one behind” means all at the very front. Equal opportunities for everybody.
A simple example of social stratification consolidated by the higher education system can be found in a Latin American familiar situation: An Industrial Engineer from the top elite private university is prepared to be the manager of the company, the Industrial Engineer from the top elite public university is educated to be the manager of the plant, and the Industrial Enginner from the less reputation university is prepared to be the plant engineer.
On the other hand, rankings are pushing policies in many countries, to look for the positioning of “at least” one o their universities in the Shanghai Ranking (that means economic resources extremely concentrated on very few institutions, usually at the capital cities). Efforts are concentrated on one or only few universities, increase elitization quickly and exclusion increase, too.
Consequently, I suggest to evaluate the impact on equity and inclusion generated by the rankings globally promoted with intensity along the current century.
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Stories of how inclusion is working: Inclusive schooling for pupils with severe or multiple disabilities in Styria/Austria
Successful and inclusive settings for pupils with severe or multiple disabilities are one the most immediate challenges in inclusive school development. In 2016/17 and 2017/18, three school locations were accompanied by a research team to find out, what makes inclusion for pupils with severe or multiple disabilities work, which influencing factors can be identified and what can others learn from these case studies. The research is based on 34 structured guideline interviews, conducted with teachers, parents, school leaders as well as mayors for example. Findings demonstrate the importance of actions on three levels: 1) structural, 2) educational-practical and 3) personal. Remarkable impressive, in none of the cases inclusion itself had triggered discussion. Discussion and considerations focus on “how to” realise inclusive schooling for pupils with severe or multiple disabilities in general education. Therefor these three case studies, carried out in the province of Styria in the south of Austria, represent rare stories of how inclusion is working in education.
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Dear GEM-Team!
Austria represents a model of inclusive development focusing education. Outgoing from the UN-Convention and the ratification, Austria implemented international law into national law, carried out action plans on a nationwide as well as on a regional level and is currently implementing a radical changed teachers education as well as a new teaching profession law. After formal endorsement of inclusive education by Austrian school laws in 1993, 20 years later the rate of children in inclusive education, independent of the degree of their impairment, is around 80% in the federal states Burgenland, Styria, and Carinthia. Starting in 2015/2016, students no longer achieve a degree leading to teaching at one of the school-types like schools for special needs, primary schools, secondary schools (etc.), but to teaching pupils age 6–10 (primary education), or to teaching older pupils (secondary education). Another consequence of this profound change is that students no longer have the option of becoming special education teachers as historically defined. The termination of this professional qualification was supported by the strong movement towards the inclusion of pupils with special needs, and by Austria’s ratification of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UN 2006) in 2008. The idea of inclusive education as postulated in the Salamanca Statement (UNESCO 1994) is going to be realised now in teacher education for primary and secondary schools, and separation-oriented beliefs will become exclusion criteria for enrolment in teacher training. On the basis of the new general age-related teacher education, student teachers will be able to choose a focus of inclusive education at both bachelor’s and master’s level. The Master’s degree in inclusive education leads to professionalisation in team-teaching in elementary and secondary schools, plus – according to the chosen option – to specialisation in selected special needs focusing on schooling support associated with, for example, the consequences of intellectual, motor, and/or sensory impairments, communication disorders, or autism-spectrum disorders.
Furthermore, starting in 2015 students with disability are enrolled in all teacher training programs.
In 2015, the Austrian ministry of education declared the three federal states Styria, Tyrol and Carinthia to become comprehensive model regions for inclusive education. Our institute und its teams are enrolled in scientific accompanying research on these topics. Further on we are promoting the factor of participation in inclusive educational settings like using the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health as a common language for parents, pupils, teachers, assistants as well as other professions networking und cooperating in school.
References:
in English: Gonda Pickl, Andrea Holzinger & Silvia Kopp-Sixt (2015): The special education teacher between the priorities of inclusion and specialisation, International Journal of Inclusive Education, DOI: 10.1080/13603116.2015.1115559
We look forward on the report!
Silvia Kopp-Sixt
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Here you can find an analyse about the develompent of inclusive education in Austria: Feyerer, E. & Altrichter, H.: Die Entwicklung eines inklusiven Schulsystems. Analyse von aktuellen Reformbestrebungen aus Governance-Perspektive. In: E. Feyerer, W. Prammer, E. Prammer-Semmler, Ch. Kladnik, M. Leibetseder & R. Wimberger (Hrsg.): System. Wandel. Entwicklung. Akteurinnen und Akteure inklusiver Prozesse im Spannungsfeld von Institution, Profession und Person. Bad Heilbrunn: Klinkhardt, 2018, S. 74 – 92 (ISBN 978-3-7815-2225-1)
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I’m pleased to read that the definition of inclusion will include exclusion based on race, ethnicity, as well as other factors but strongly agree that there needs to be an emphasis on inclusive education for children with disabilities. Suggest to look deeper into 1) what is a disability and how do policies support the inclusion of children with different types of disabilities. 2) Support needed for caregivers; in a recent trip to Sri Lanka, a woman told me how she sat outside her son’s classroom for three years to move him every time he needed to be physically moved because he could not walk. She left her job to do this but faced several other challenges to ensure he was accepted in school by teachers, parents, and peers. 3) As well as how organizations, institutions, etc. have worked together to influence policies through task forces (National Advocacy Alliance on Inclusion in Belarus for example)
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Sorry late response.. recently read the report and was very impressed! I do believe we need additional research to better understand the practical side to inclusion. For example:
1. Who makes what decision and when about referral and placement of students with disabilities in special education and inclusive settings ?
2.What reasons contributed to the decision to refer and place a student in an inclusive environment?
3.What data are used to make decision’s about progress in special education ?
4.How influential are school personnel, parents, administration in looking at student’s performance in general education and/or special education?
5.Which empirical studies are related to the implementation of Inclusive Practices?
6.How does a teacher select inclusive interventions ? Who determines which services/programs are effective and under what conditions in terms of personnel, frequency, intensity and duration?
7.If students do not benefit from inclusive instruction in general education, what is learned from the intervention or service that will increase the chance that the student will benefit from special education?
8.Other than inclusion being a general education classroom, who and based on what criteria is a particular class placement the least restrictive for an individual student with disabilities ?
9.What are the defining objective characteristics of a classroom and determined by whom that renders it least restrictive for an individual student?
great work!
best,
mark alter
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As teachers, we have to make all students feel welcomed, appropriately challenged, and supported in their efforts.
There is also a definite need for teachers to be supported in implementing an inclusive classroom, teachers need an understanding of best practices in teaching and of adapted instruction for teaching. These are methods that are varied and that support many learner’s needs. They include multiple ways of representing content to students and for students to represent learning back, such as images, modeling, technology and so on.
Training and support for both teachers and students allow implementing inclusive education with ease and success.
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Inclusive education implies that young people and children with disabilities and all the others learn together. Thus, education must adapt to the requirements of all students. That is why teaching from an inclusive perspective requires specific competences that all teachers must have.
In our country, although there are attempts to achieve inclusion, many obstacles still arise: insufficient number of specialized teachers, lack of educational resources tailored to the specifics of children with special needs, the difficulty of teachers to teach in a different way (for Olympic students, for students of a high or medium level and for pupils with special needs) at the same time / moment, especially as the number of pupils in a class is high (25-30) etc.
Thus, I think that students with disabilities can be better educated in special schools because a larger number of people can look after them and educate them with more attention; more effective instructional and educational methods can be used; children have access to medical and therapeutic services.
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I am Josephine Akiru working with Link Community Development previously worked with an inclusion project for learners with complex disabilities in Uganda.
I would like to suggest the following for this report
Accessibility needs to be broaden to include accessibility to information – this is a huge factor that hinders meaningful inclusion of learners especially those with visual impairment (braille) , hearing impairment (sign language interpreters), deafblind(tactile language).
Curricula and learning Materials- Could also be broaden to look into provision of accessible learning materials to include subject based sign language for the those with hearing impairment, in addition to braille textbooks/learning materials.
Special Needs – I would like to suggest that the terminology special needs which in the report relates to special learning needs- be captured as so
Recommend interesting examples of practices: I would like to recommend the 2-Step model of inclusion for learners with complex disabilities that has been piloted by Sense International in its different program Countries to include Uganda.
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This contribution speaks to the following 2 questions:
1. What are the key policy solutions for each of the elements of inclusive education to ensure the achievement of SDG 4?
2. How can common obstacles to the implementation of such inclusive education policies be anticipated and overcome?
The PIRLS 2016 results revealed that 8 in 10 Grade 4 children in South Africa cannot read for meaning in any language. This finding highlights the urgency of giving attention to inclusion in learning. This underpins comments by Dr Sheldon Shaeffer that many children in schools are not learning because of (a combination of) systemic, pedagogical, extrinsic or intrinsic barriers. For an education system to be inclusive, it should adapt to children rather than the reverse. This relates to attitudes of teachers and school leaders valuing learner diversity in their classrooms. If such values are missing, the chances that a school is inclusive, and teachers apply an inclusive pedagogy in their classrooms decline.
The status of inclusive education in South Africa
The Department of Basic Education (DBE) in South Africa responds to these inclusive education challenges in White Paper 6 (2001). One of the measures is the conversion of 500 primary schools to full-service or inclusive schools. This resulted in the development of Guidelines for full-service schools (2010), arguing that “ordinary schools with an inclusive orientation are the most effective means of combating discriminatory attitudes, creating welcoming communities, building an inclusive society and achieving education for all”. Such full-service schools are also expected to play a role in supporting their neighbouring schools by acting as resource centres. The pressure on these full-service schools is high and for them to be fully functional, adequate professional development is crucial.
Another outcome of White Paper 6 is the development of a national Policy on Screening, Identification, Assessment and Support (SIAS) (2014). This Policy appeals for the establishment of adequate support systems for schools to address barriers to learning, by creating additional support structures at the level of the school and district. SIAS underpins the principle of education systems that adapt to children, rather than children adapting to the system, reducing push-outs.
The journey towards an inclusive education system requires adequate pre- and in-service teacher professional development. The Integrated Strategic Planning Framework for Teacher Education and Development (ISPFTED) (2011-2025) provides a framework to improve access to and quality of professional development. One of the methods put forward is collaborative learning in Professional Learning Communities (PLCs), which resulted in the development of a national PLC guideline (2015). PLCs have a high potential to take teachers out of isolation, for teachers to drive their own professional development and to stimulate reflective practice by teachers to enhance their teaching.
Such teacher training and professional development should increase agency for inclusion and equip teachers with strategies that work in a system experiencing immense challenges. For instance, how to be inclusive in a classroom with children with multiple home languages, in a multi-grade classroom or a classroom of over 50 learners?
Good practices to support teacher development and policy implementation for inclusive education
Pre-service
Most South African universities address inclusive education in a standalone rather theoretic module rather than addressing it in all (major) subjects. Through engagement with novice teachers, they have come to realise that this is not preparing them adequately to include all learners in learning and that a link with the contextual challenges on the ground is missing. This issue is being addressed in an EU-funded VVOB-led consortium with Inclusive Education South Africa (IESA) and three universities: North West University, University of Free State and the University of Witwatersrand. For instance, the University of Witwatersrand has infused aspects of inclusive pedagogy in their subject methodologies. The outcomes of their subject methodologies address differentiation in instruction and assessment. Next to subject content knowledge, teachers learn in their training how to teach the respective subjects inclusively.
In-service
Create an effective support system to schools
The education system in South Africa is experiencing a number of systemic challenges in its journey to become more inclusive. Expertise within the education department is scattered over different units. VVOB supports the department with cross-sectional collaboration between units to provide an inclusive lens in the support to schools to address learner diversity. When expertise from different units is combined, their impact increases. For instance, in KwaZulu-Natal province, VVOB is working with multi-disciplinary training teams with members coming from Curriculum, Teacher Development, Circuit Management, Inclusive Education, unions and schools. This multi-disciplinary set up appears to be fruitful for the implementation of SIAS and to provide holistic support to schools who experience diverse challenges when addressing their learner diversity.
As part of its support to the department, VVOB nurtures the supportive role of departmental officials to schools for inclusive education. Support to schools can increase the (perceived) self-efficacy of teachers and put ownership of professional development with them. This supportive role of the department requires a partial shift in their role from content experts to facilitators of collaborative and enquiry-based learning.
Stimulate school-based interventions
Research and our own data is confirming the shortfalls of out-of-school interventions, such as workshops, to empower teachers in their inclusive pedagogy. Teachers argue that workshops provide insufficient practical examples for them to be able to apply what they have learned in their practice. This is compounded by the fact that workshops are often organised as once-off events without follow-up support.
To stimulate school-based interventions, VVOB and IESA, partnering in the above-mentioned consortium, are supporting two school-based pilots for inclusive education, one on induction of novice teachers and one on Professional Learning Communities.
Inclusive Education South Africa (IESA) is leading the implementation of an induction pilot in 3 provinces with over 60 teachers. The induction provides a critical link between the Initial Teacher Education and teaching practice of novice teachers. It supports teachers with the practical implementation of SIAS and other policies on inclusive practices, such as the development of differentiated lessons plans, assessment and learning materials. The strength of the project lies in the mentorship component. A school-based mentor is assigned to every novice teacher who supports the teacher for a full year. This creates support for the teacher within the school enabling a strong link between professional development and concrete inclusive practice challenges.
In a second project, VVOB is piloting 12 Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) in 3 provinces to improve inclusive teaching practices. These PLCs nurture peer-learning between teachers from full-service, mainstream and special schools. In these PLCs, teachers are empowered to drive their own learning in a reflective and collaborative setting. And again, there is a powerful link with their actual teaching practice. An evaluation of the pilot is underway, but first results already indicate that teachers appreciate the practical input of other teachers in the PLCs and the diversity in the composition of the group in terms of expertise and knowledge. Teachers reveal that in a workshop setting a facilitator is talking at you, whereas a PLC allows for active discussions and sharing.
Conclusion
When talking about inclusion and education, one must acknowledge the wide variety of barriers learners in school are experiencing. These barriers could relate to disabilities, but also to challenges such as large classes, multi-grading, ineffective teaching strategies or poverty. In South Africa, the Department of Basic Education has set out a number of policies and guidelines to ensure children can fully participate in meaningful learning processes. But this sets high expectations for teachers who need effective training and professional development. VVOB, together with its partners, is implementing a number of pre-service and in-service professional development projects to effectively strengthen inclusive practices. Appropriate induction of novice teachers and continuous professional development through Professional Learning Communities are two effective ways to strengthen inclusive teaching practices.
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Comment by bildungsserver.de/bww_index_e.htmlx
cohen@dipf.de:
Maybe our webdossier on “Inclusion in an International Perspective” (http://www.bildungsserver.de/Inclusion-in-an-International-Perspective-Introduction-7010_eng.html) might provide some valuable information resources. It is still work in progress but it already informs on inclusion on different continents and specific countries.
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https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.businessdailyafrica.com/analysis/columnists/Special-needs-education-must-focus-on-homes/4259356-4584500-grylb6z/index.html&sa=U&ved=2ahUKEwic6ori1KjcAhU1NH0KHcElD4gQFjAHegQICRAB&usg=AOvVaw1LA8C5SpxYSqyIjK_Lqgxi
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List of projects published by the University of Edinburgh’s ‘Center for Education Inclusion & Diversity’
https://www.ed.ac.uk/education/rke/centres-groups/creid/publications
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Hello, part of my research focuses on inclusion and equity in higher education. I have several research-based edited volumes coming out this year on this topic. See also:
http://www.universityworldnews.com/article.php?story=20161102112722844
http://www.universityworldnews.com/article.php?story=20150929193529682
http://www.universityworldnews.com/article.php?story=20161216000610615
http://www.universityworldnews.com/article.php?story=20170823063722674
http://www.universityworldnews.com/article.php?story=20180306102731111
http://www.universityworldnews.com/article.php?story=2017112811351552
http://www.universityworldnews.com/article.php?story=20180711094726636
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I think technology policies and new edtech should e a part of inclusion, as well as recognition of non formal skills and competencies, which can serve the underprivileged.
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The emphasis should center on educating vulnerable children in our society. In Nigeria, children with autism and special needs are left at home without any provision for education. The well off families seek education from private schools which are few in the country. The poor vulnerable children which are in majority live without learning. Every child has an innate potential that could be harnessed for sustainable development. Education is the right of the child and should be provided equally for everyone. UNESCO should push for the inclusion of vulnerable children in their educational plan. This will boost the global efforts towards achieving the sustainable development goals in every country.
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I agree, technology policy has to address both access and use. While there’s a divide between those who have access, there’s also a deficit of knowledge about
using technology for learning in general, and targeted skacq a difference in terms of access to all spheres of skill acquisition. There is also another group of people to whom technology affords them independence in daily living.
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Education needs to emphasize on the experiential learning methods.
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Issues in the GEM 2020 report – which were not covered in the Concept Note – that might merit exploration are:
– Systemic changes and change management in relation to inclusive education. In many development country contexts inclusive education is addressed through various pilot projects that might be very successful. However, there are severe constraints in scaling up these initiatives, and many constraints related to systems’ capacity to manage systemic changes at different levels of education administration. It might be useful to look at research on this, as well as identify instructive practice from different contexts.
– While inclusion is addressed from multiple perspective, we do not have much evidence on intersectionality of vulnerability and how this can be addressed within education. Research is probably available but analysis of these studies, implications to practice and systems would be useful.
– In talking about inclusive education for children with disabilities and special educational needs, there is still the ‘struggle’ between inclusive systems of education and segregation in the form of special education. How to deal with this pressure for dual systems? What have we learnt in 25 years since Salamanca, or have we learnt?
– Inclusive pedagogy and ‘new understandings’ of inclusive pedagogy – Do teachers need special education knowledge to teach in inclusive classrooms? Developments in inclusive teacher education.
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Hello, I work for the Research Institute of JICA (Japan International Cooperation Agency), and would like to share some of our research outputs related to education and disabilities.
Working Paper (Research Project, Disability and Education)
https://www.jica.go.jp/jica-ri/research/strategies/strategies_20140401-20170331.html
Working Paper (Impact of Universal Primary Education Policy on Out of School Children in Uganda)
https://www.jica.go.jp/jica-ri/publication/workingpaper/wp_153.html
Book (Disability, Education and Employment in Developing Countries: From Charity to Investment)
https://www.jica.go.jp/jica-ri/publication/booksandreports/disability_education_and_employment_in_developing_countries_from_charity_to_investment.html
I hope these would be of your help in writing 2020 GEM report.
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We would add 3 Points for Germany.
1. As second-greatest teachers union in Germany we allready made two germanwide-representative surveys of the subject „Inclusion in Germany“ (2015 and 2017).
You will find for each a report, a presentation with graphics and our press information on the following sites:
https://www.vbe.de/service/meinungsumfragen/inklusion-2015/
https://www.vbe.de/service/meinungsumfragen/inklusion-2017/
Please understand, that we have not the capacity to translate the surveys. So please find the main findings below:
o Over half of the teachers support the idea of inclusion.
o But there are insufficient conditions:
o o lack of specialist staff
o o inadequate personal and financial ressources
o o insufficient training
o In conclusion, teachers demand from the german policy:
o o a better personnel situation
o o more ressources (also for a school construction equipped for the disabled)
o o a broad spectrum of advanced training
2. The number of pupils in need of special pedagogical support rose fast, especially the number of those with emotional and social developmental disabilities. Please see the statistics on the official website of the standing conference of the ministers of education and cultural Affairs” (KmK): https://www.kmk.org/de/dokumentation-statistik/statistik/schulstatistik/sonderpaedagogische-foerderung-an-schulen.html
3. We commisioned an expertise , which determines, which conditions these children need. Please find the Expertise here: https://www.vbe.de/service/expertise-ese-kinder/
Please understand, that we have not the capacity to translate the expertise. The main finding (and answer to the question) is: „It depends.“ We are all convinced, that these children need individualised help by strong personally bounding. If this is possible in a regular school depends on the personnel situation and the accommodation facilities.
Verband Bildung und Erziehung (VBE), Germany
Press Office.
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Hi, inclusion in my country and maybe other countries with centralised educational systems , face various barriers in ncluding the national policies and attitudes.
Details can be found in my PhD thesis which concentrated on analysing barriers to inclusion both in regard to policy and practice in Oman
https://www.research.manchester.ac.uk/portal/en/theses/responding-to-pupil-differences-in-oman-a-study-of-two-primary-schools(738de91e-3c7a-4ce3-8e92-79efb0511ef2).html
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I would like to highlight two points:
a) Make sure the report does not refer only to children when speaking of ‘inclusive education’. Education is about children, young people and adults, and inclusiveness is a need for all of them.
b) AGE is a major factor of discrimination in education, usually unnoticed as such and not mentioned. Embracing a ‘lifelong learning approach’ – as recommended by the Incheon Declaration (2015) for SDG 4 – implies among others acknowledging and addressing such discrimination in education policies. Inclusive education means also including those regularly or often discarded or bullied because of being ‘older’ (or ‘younger’) than conventionally regulated or expected.
Rosa María Torres, Lifelong Learning expert, Ecuador.
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As an eye care provider working for more than 25 years with children with many different neurodevelopmental problems, I have encountered patients with vision problems that can be addressed by simply wearing glasses. Uncorrected refractive error (farsightedness, nearsightedness, and astigmatism) is one of the primary causes of visual impairment in the world and children with disabilities typically have a higher prevalence than those without disabilities. Many are considered visually impaired if there vision problem is not diagnosed and corrected. There is research to show if a child is corrected they perform better in academic settings. It is therefore, important to ensure basic health care including an eye exam be considered to rule out the basic sensory issues to ensure that every child can perform at their highest level.
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Several comments on the concept note and other issues…
• Inclusive education. I think it’s useful to conceptualise inclusive education (IE) as insisting on not only inclusion physically in a classroom (what has been called before integration or mainstreaming) but also inclusion “academically” in learning. Many children are sitting in a school (and are counted as such) but for reasons of sex, language, disability, etc., are not learning. This relates to the issue of systems having to adapt to children rather children to the systems. (I’m doing work now on educational innovations in East Java, and that is exactly what a district education head said last week — that children with disabilities have to be helped to adjust to the school.) In this regard, I refer you to the attached (rather old) study I did on IE for UNESCO Bangkok several years ago and a note I did for ADB on IE used primarily for internal socialisation and external advocacy — https://www.adb.org/publications/strengthening-inclusive-education
• Drop out vs. push out. I think it useful to look at the terminology around the word “drop out” which ultimately puts the blame for exclusion and failure on the child — waking up one morning and deciding not to go to school rather than – as what more often happens — being slowly pushed out by the system and school because of language, poverty, gender, disability, etc. I think the word “push out” more properly describes what happens during processes of exclusion and failure – and getting Ministries of Education to understand that idea (if not use the word) helps them to accept that they need to share some of the blame for failure.; e.g.,
o the school is too far from the child, not the child too far from the school
o the school doesn’t use the language of the child, not the child not knowing the language of the school
o the school is too expensive, not the child too poor
o the school hasn’t shown parents the importance of education, not the parents being unaware of the importance of education.
• Inclusion as the welcoming of diversity. I think the terminology around inclusion as tolerance of — or even respect for — difference and diversity also needs to be changed to one where diversity is welcomed and even celebrated and seen not as an obstacle to, but rather an opportunity for, better education. Teachers usually like homogeneity in their classrooms — children using the same language, of the same age, without special needs, and not too poor. What might begin as a diverse cohort in Grade 1 can soon become much less diverse in the later grades as more of the “different” children are excluded and pushed out. This simplifies the work of upper grade teachers and also increases the chance that a school may do well on a school completion examination (where these still exist).
• Dimension of exclusion. I find the “dimensions” of exclusion in the concept note a bit unclear — “physical” means what? — disabilities? geographic remoteness? And where do dimensions of sex and language fit?
• Educator training. The section on “teachers, school leaders, and education support personnel” deals mainly with special needs when, in fact, there are many areas related to IE, beyond special needs, which teachers must be prepared for:
o using mother tongue, both as the initial language of instruction and then for the transition into the national language, or, less desirable, using mother tongue orally to help children directly learn the national language
o multi-grade teaching techniques for small and/or understaffed schools
o gender-responsive approaches in regard to both girls and boys
o methods of individualised instruction for children with delays and disabilities.
Many of these issues are dealt with in a toolkit focusing on “inclusive, learner-friendly education” developed by UNESCO Bangkok — http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0013/001375/137522e.pdf . An issue related to this is the extent to which teacher education policies and programmes around the world focus on either the general philosophy of inclusion or the specific skills mentioned above needed for an inclusive classroom. It’s my view that the content candidate teachers get in regard to inclusion is very limited and deserved more study.
Published in 2015 by the United Nations Educational …
unesdoc.unesco.org
Published in 2015 by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization 7, place de Fontenoy, 75352 Paris 07 SP, France and
• Parental attitudes toward inclusion. The section on “communities, et al” neglects issues around parental attitudes towards mother tongue – often opposing it because of a lack of awareness about the benefits of gaining initial literacy in mother tongue before moving to the national language. Similarly, and likely to be covered in this section, are parental attitudes around disability — both of parents of children with disabilities, ashamed to send their children to school or worried about their safety, and of those of children who may be reluctant to have their children in the same class with disabilities.
• Some useful policies and practices in relation to IE include the following:
o Mother tongue — There are excellent policies concerning mother tongue-based education in both Cambodia and the Philippines; the policy is perhaps being better implemented in the former (with a much simpler language context than the latter), but both offer useful lessons in the advocacy for and practice of mother tongue teaching. The UNESCO Bangkok working group on mother tongue-based multi-lingual education also has useful resources in this regard — including a toolkit linked to advocacy at different levels of the system: https://bangkok.unesco.org/tags/mother-tongue-based-multilingual-education
o Multi-grade teaching — You may wish to contact Angela Little to check on current best practices in this regard. I fear that in the Southeast Asia, despite the presence of many small, remote schools which are understaffed and could benefit from MGT, it is seen as “second class” education and therefore only a step towards the ideal of one teacher per class, no matter how small it is. In Indonesia, for example, there are several examples of donor-funded MGT pilots, with excellent training materials and early success, which have now virtually disappeared since they were never really “owned” by the system or included in their pre-service teacher education.
o Delays and disabilities — There are approaches, often promoted by UNICEF (e.g., in Laos and Indonesia), to develop (and label) “inclusive schools” with, in theory, accessible facilities and assistive devices, teachers sensitive to disabilities, and even specialised teachers/teaching assistants (some from nearby special needs schools). These may very well serve a useful function for children with a range of disabilities, but they may also discourage other schools from becoming ready to accept children with disabilities. These children can then be pushed out of what might be more convenient “normal schools” to the inclusive schools. The actual practice and possible potential of special schools should be reviewed.
A related issue is that of children with delays, especially in reading — so-called “slow learners” — who may simply be left behind, without remediation, pushed out the system or automatically promoted until completion (the EGRA studies demonstrate that), and then unsuitable for the world of work which awaits them. If a child has not learned to read with some fluency by (say) Grade 3, she/he may never learn to read. Schools which provide remediation for such pupils (adding extra class hours and one-on-one tutoring or, in the case of one school I just visited in Indonesia, using kindergarten materials to promote early reading) are rare but useful to examine.
• Inclusive ECD/ECCE programmes. Another important issue related to IE is accessibility to and the quality/inclusiveness of ECCE/ECD programmes and of the nature of the transition from these programmes to formal primary schools. Inclusion really has to begin at the pre-school level (and, of course, in families), and, in theory, what is meant to be the more informal, child-centred nature of pre-school education should make inclusion easier – e.g., of children of different languages and backgrounds and with disabilities. This doesn’t always happen, of course, but when it does children are faced with the likelihood of then transitioning into a more formal, often less child-centred, and often more exclusionary Grade 1.
(This is often exacerbated by the fact both that the pupil-teacher ratio in Grad 1 is — illogically – usually much larger than for the last grade and that the teacher of Grade 1 is often the least experienced, least qualified, and most contractually unstable teacher in the school given that more senior teachers want the smaller, more controllable classes of the upper grades.) A search for practices of teacher allocation which lead to greater inclusion might be useful to undertake.
(E.g., I saw years ago a small rural school in Laos with an entirely Hmong student populations and all Hmong teachers except one Lao speaker. The headteacher put a Hmong speaker in Grade 1 to ease the transition into the school and the Lao speaker in Grade 2 to ensure that children in an early grade had a good example to follow in regard to the Lao language – in a context where early literacy in mother tongue is impossible!)
• “Left behind” children. I think one gap, perhaps a bit peripheral to inclusion, relates to children left behind by parents who migrate, internally or externally, seasonally or for the long-term, leaving their children with other caregivers, mostly grandparents – supposedly nine million in the Philippines, three million in Thailand, and countless more millions in sending countries such as Indonesia, Nepal, and Bangladesh. While these substitute parents may be very good at caring, they are also often less educated/literate; less knowledgeable about issues of good nutrition and health; and less motivating toward, and perhaps less interested in, the education of their charges. The impact on a child’s well-being (psycho-social, nutritional, and academic) may exacerbate other exclusionary factors and push the child further out of school – which implies that the school must somehow make up for these potential shortcomings in caregiving through greater awareness of who these children are, more frequent health and nutrition checks, psycho-social counselling, etc.
Please let me know if you would like any further information on the above suggestions.
Sheldon Shaeffer
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I would like to echo Dr. Shaeffer’s remarks on the language issue.
All too often, policy makers fail to consider language of instruction. It is an “invisible issue,” as people mistakenly believe that all children magically learn language easily. In 2005 the World Bank estimated that half of the world’s school drop-outs were not native speakers of the school language.
The British Council’s 2011 book “Dreams and Realities: Developing Countries and the English Language” demonstrates the huge damage done to children in the developing world who are forced to study in English (or other colonial) languages. Timor-Letse’s Portuguese language education is a case in point: most teachers do not speak Portuguese, yet are somehow expected to teach it! The impact on children has been devastating.
Studies in both “developed” and “developing” countries have shown the huge impact language of instruction has on education outcomes; even in the United States, numerous studies have demonstrated that those who acquire strong literacy skills in their home language (through bilingual education) do better in American schools that those who are “submerged” in English-only classrooms (Tomas and Collier, 1997). In Thailand’s Malay-speaking Deep South, children in schools using a home language-based Multilingual Education Approach were 271 per cent more likely to score perfectly on a Thai letter dictation test, and 207 per cent more likely to pass a Thai sentence writing test then their peers in Thai-only classrooms (UNICEF 2018–online at https://www.unicef.org/thailand/reports/bridge-brighter-tomorrow).
Dr. Jim Cummins of the University of Toronto, in his keynote address (delivered via Skype) to the 4th International Language and Education Conference in Bangkok in 2013 summed it up best: “When we look at the research that has been carried out in bilingual and multilingual education, what we see over the last 10-15 years is an accumulation of evidence that has become almost overwhelming… consistent across very different sociological and sociolinguistic contexts. So when we look at what we know and what should inform policy makers…it is not possible to credibly deny the legitimacy of multilingual education for minority and marginalized group students…..” http://www.lc.mahidol.ac.th/mleconf2013/keynote.htm
The evidence cited above–and much more–is why SDG #4 Thematic Indicator 4.5.2 asks countries to report “Percentage of students in primary education whose first or home language is the language of instruction.”
So please remember to include language in your list of excluding factors!
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I did my PhD on inclusion in Oman…it was a case study that analyzed national policies as well as practices in 2 elemantry schools in Oman.
The study focused on looking at barriers to inclusion and came out of new model for barries in Oman that can apply to other Gulf countries.
The barriers to inclusion were found to be stemming from three interconnected areas:
1- Misunderstanding of Concepts like inclusion, equity and All
2-structural barriers including national policies and infrastructures.
3- Attitudes
You can find details in my thesis and will be ready to send it as pdf if you wish.
Thesis is available on the University’s Research Explorer:
https://www.research.manchester.ac.uk/portal/en/theses/responding-to-pupil-differences-in-oman-a-study-of-two-primary-schools(738de91e-3c7a-4ce3-8e92-79efb0511ef2).html
and also on EThOS:
http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?did=1&uin=uk.bl.ethos.740306
Thuraya alhosni
PhD in inclusive education
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ACKNOWLEDGING TEACHERS AS KEYPLAYER IN THE SUSTAINABLE PROVISION OF ALL INCLUSIVE QUALITY EDUCATION
I am a teacher by profession, coming from Sub-saharan countries and currently writing these comments as i am pursuing my Mandela Washington fellowship in USA, my passion being QUALITY EDUCATION FOR ALL through QUALITY TEACHER LEADERS.
I would like to share my views about the GEMReport 2020. I see in most of the International Education Strategies and Reports, a very CRUCIAL issue not adequately addressed, or maybe its potential not fully realized; that is, THE CRITICAL AND SIGNIFICANT ROLE OF THE TEACHER as a KEY INSTRUMENT FOR POSITIVE CHANGE in the whole issue of learning outcomes and access to quality education FOR ALL in developing countries.
For decades, the teachers have been overlooked and their role limited to only the classroom settings, in return issues concerning education has been discussed while excluding the teacher. As a result when “Teacher Training” is been discussed, apart from the fact that very little has been done, for most of the responsible authorities in sub-saharan, teacher training is just to dictate to teachers what to do in the class TO CONFORM with the paper work (lesson plans, log books, schemes e.t.c) that the school inspectors will come to control. Although YES these are a part and parcel of the teacher’ job, but teacher trainings are not meant to INVEST in the teachers. As a result, even when those VERY FEW teacher trainings occur (and still many teachers would not be able to attend due to financial constraints), they do not give the expected outcomes and most teachers would just attend to listen and wait for when the time to leave will come.
I have A DIFFERENT APPROACH, i think if we want SUSTAINABLE quality basic education THAT IS ALL INCLUSIVE in Sub-saharan countries and developing countries in general BE A REALITY, we have to direct MORE OF OUR EFFORTS to inspire and bring up SKILLED QUALITY TEACHERS, who are LEADERS in themselves and in their community settings. Nurturing such teacher leaders will not only PROMOTE teaching as an absolute necessary PROFESSION, but inspire young generation with TALENTS TO TEACH and POTENTIAL TO LEAD to take on the challenges facing our education system and be A CATALYST FOR CHANGE in their own RURAL COMMUNITIES and UNDERPRIVIELEGED SETTINGS. These quality teacher leaders will be THE KEYPLAYER TO SAFEGUARD THE PRINCIPLES OF INCLUSION, because they are RIGHT AT THE CENTER between local governments, parents, students and THEIR COMMUNITIES in general.
In Sub-saharan countries, for decades we have been looking for solutions for education through POLICY and CURRICULUM CHANGES and most of International Organizations’ efforts have been in providing LIMITED material and infrastructure support and maybe scholarships to the underprieveleged. But no matter how NOBLE these supports are, they all have a common thing, that is, they are LIMITED and do not guarantee SUSTAINABILITY.
I look upon QUALITY TEACHER LEADERS as CENTER-STAGE who DESPITE THE LIMITED RESOURCES will be able to find ALTERNATIVE means, organize to leverage local and international support, embrace the challenge of education as their own, IDENTIFY and FIND SUPPORT for underprievileged and mis-represented families and children in their communities and enforce INCLUSION, work together to improve their productivity by engaging in continous professional development, be leaders and inspire leaders in the young generation, and be well exposed to diverse opportunities available so as to guide the children especially in the RURAL areas to reach their fullest potential. These teachers before asking for INTERNATIONAL AIDS AND GRANTS will have first leverage all the possible local resources, making sure the grants and aids are used only for STRATEGIC projects, and yet making sure that those projects will be able to self-run in the long run.
Only in that way, that we can ascertain sustainability.
I do not think that i need to EMPHASIZE MORE on the role of EDUCATION in combating all the challenges we face in Subsaharan countries, the challenges addressed in Sustainable Development Goals. Therefore if we want to improve the quality of education and ACCESS TO ALL, we must INVEST IN BRINGING UP these quality teacher leaders. Governments CANNOT DO THIS ALONE, N.G.Os cannot do this alone, THIS STRATEGY MUST INVOLVE THE LOCAL PLAYERS, who are connected with the society, with the parents, with the children, with the government, these are non other than TEACHERS, and I REPEAT, TEACHERS, NOT exactly LOCAL GOVERNMENTS (In Subsaharan countries local governments tend to have many issues to attend to, education and principles of INCLUSION might not be a priority). And if we empower these teachers with LEADERSHIP SKILLS, they can be our ONLY HOPE. These teachers will eventually be the bridge between the local communities, the local government authorities and the International Agencies.
I recommend deliberate strategic plans to be included in this draft, that will put a teacher as a center-stage, and in the long run, (1) We inspire talented young generation to be teachers, (2) We strengthen the curriculums of teaching colleges and emphasize in nurturing leadership skills, (3) We invest on On-going teachers for their professional development, (4) We inspire all teachers and teacher candidates to know that they are LEADERS in themselves and can make a difference in the classroom and OUTSIDE the classroom. That their role is NOT ONLY CONFINED in the classroom, that they will be catalyst and keyplayer for quality education and safeguard INCLUSION by being active members in their local communities.
Thank you.
Teacher Yunus
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This is a piece about disability day centres for adults rather than education for children, but the analysis of why we sometimes ‘leave people behind’ may be of some value. See http://peterbates.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/dontleavepeoplebehind.pdf
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Dear consultation team,
Thank you for sharing the 2020 Global Education Monitoring Report with me at the recent Global Disability Summit in London. RNIB welcomes the focus on inclusion in the report and many of the issues identified are ones that we too are concerned about. The tone of the document is very much in line with our own, and we support the priorities identified. We are keen to make use of the 2020 GEM report when it is produced
Some specific points we support
1. While the scope of the work is huge we are pleased that the report will consider people with disabilities as a special focus as this group has received less coverage in previous reports.
2. We endorse and support the definition of inclusive education used in the Concept note.
3. We support the point that inclusive education is socially and morally important, and desirable, yet is not being achieved. The reasons given for this in the report are clear and we agree with your analysis.
4. We support the specific issues identified in “Elements of Inclusive Education” on pages 5-6, as being ongoing key factors in the success or failure in delivering inclusive education.
5. We particularly welcome the understanding that inclusive principles need to be supported by adequate and appropriate financial support, and that the gap between inclusive policy and practice is often due to insufficient resourcing. This is a significant issue for children with VI in the UK and one which RNIB will be campaigning on in 2018/9 (page 5 Governance and finance paragraph.)
An area for further consideration
Access to inclusive education, is indeed about “the full and effective participation, accessibility, attendance and achievement of all students”, as detailed in the Concept note page 4 definition.
Within this definition we ask that consideration is given to children with low-incidence or rare conditions, whose needs can differ from children with more common disabilities in greater numbers. Inclusion doesn’t just mean enabling all children to access or experience the same things. In some cases, as with children with vision impairment, children need something additional, specialist and specific in their learning and development that is unique to their disability.
Two in every 1000 (0.2%) of children and young people up to the age of 25 in the UK have a vision impairment (VI). This is based on the WHO international classification of childhood vision impairment. This makes it a low incidence special educational need (LISEND) which is characterised as follows:
• A need which has the potential to have an adverse impact on learning and development unless additional measures are taken to support the child/young person.
• The prevalence rate is so low that a mainstream setting is unlikely to have sufficient knowledge and experience to meet these requirements. Settings will need to obtain specialist support and advice on how to ensure equitable access and progression (against national standards.)
• The prevalence rate is so low that any formula for allocating specialist resources for additional needs, which is based on proxy indicators of need, will not reflect the true distribution of children and young people identified as having low incidence SEND.
Source (National Sensory Impairment Partnership natsip.org.uk)
The consequent preferences and priorities of parents of children with VI should be considered in relation to the fact that they are a small group whose specific needs are often underrepresented or misunderstood in wider discussions of inclusive education and childhood disability. Children with VI require specific and specialist attention to the unique needs created by loss of vision.
An example of the need to consider blind children specifically, can relate to the Curriculum and learning materials paragraph (page 6) in which the Concept Note says, “There is more than one approach to learning: the same curriculum needs to be flexible enough to be taught to learners with different backgrounds or abilities.”
Children with vision impairment in fact need to access the additional VI curriculum – a programme of skills and interventions to address the need for instruction in life skills, independence and mobility (habilitation) due to lack of vision.
The 2020 GEM report was a pleasure to read though addition of section numbers would make it easier to reference specific points when offering comments.
With good wishes
Eleanor Southwood
Chair of RNIB
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These remarks are probably quite general and critical, in the academic sense, but, nevertheless, reflect profound and sustained concerns about inclusion in its widest sense.
1. I’m no longer confident about the purpose of education. Many sectors, countries and demographics are increasingly affected by the impact of AI, IoT, the ‘hollowing out of the labour market’ and the reduction in social mobility so inclusion in education does not necessarily mean subsequent economic inclusion or any realistic and improved employment prospects
2. There has been growing evidence that improved inclusion, participation and opportunity in education in societies that are fundamentally economically unequal merely reproduces this inequality; someone said recently wealth produces education, not the other way around
3. There seems to be a default or an emphasis on (state) schools and the (state) education system, making assumptions that these are appropriate if only everyone went through them and if schools could just be adapted sufficiently. This makes me wonder about the relevance of inclusion, seen in this light, to adults, nomads, gypsies, dissidents and indigenous communities especially in those countries where the national school system is used to propagate some linguistic, cultural and social agenda at the expense of the more marginal, local or divergent ones.
4. I’d also argue that the increasingly pervasive and ubiquitous but diverse nature of personal digital technologies and the combination of movement and connection that they afford all substantially change the nature and control of learning and that this new dispensation substantially changes the meaning of inclusion and that state education systems and institutions are failing to respond to this, seeing education and learning as still the prerogative of the established institutions, modalities and professions. https://journal.alt.ac.uk/index.php/rlt/article/view/1825
5. I suspect that what is promoted as ‘mobile learning’, if it has any impact at all, will be to at least consolidate existing inequalities if not amplify them; it will privilege the privileged, individuals, institutions and countries. This is not to say that mobiles have not featured in programmes addressing opportunity, participation and inclusion and in projects addressing cognitive and physiological barriers. Only that in the wider context and the longer timescales, these have not been maintained or sustained and have probably attempted to run counter to the general direction of educational, or rather political and economic, ideology over the last two decades.
6. I worry about the default drive to scale, sustain and transfer, fearing that it privileges some pedagogies over others, that it favours the mass production of education, based often on external content and on alien values, to the detriment of local, small-scale, informal forms of learning and knowing, that it assumes cultures scales up as easily as technology and that, see next point, the evidence never justifies it
7. I think the evidence base from which policy is generated is flawed and partial for a variety of reasons including, the bias in favour of funding, promoting, analysing and reporting success but failure, the pressure for short-term and/or measurable outcomes, the closed community of researchers who write, review and read research reports, the perceptions of policy-based evidence formulation rather than evidence-based policy formulation.
To finish on a more positive note, I recognise and applaud the efforts and outcomes of many people and many projects in improving the lives of all manner of disadvantaged and disenfranchised people and communities. What worries me profoundly is our inability to then reason clearly and rigorously about our evidence and our experiences, to think hard and think clearly. I’d also thank the GEM team for catalysing our efforts to improve the lives of those ‘excluded’ wherever and whoever they might be.
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As ILO, we very much appreciate the opportunity to provide comments to the concept note for the 2020 Global Education Monitoring Report on inclusion.
We consider it essential to highlight the importance of making inclusive of persons with disabilities technical and vocational education and training (TVET) and other vocational skills development systems in the broader context of inclusive education.
On page 4 of the concept note it says “The Report takes as its starting point general comment 4 of the CRPD Committee in 2016”. The general comment clearly understands vocational training as part of education and details in its section “II. Normative content of article 24”: “In accordance with article 24 (1), States parties must ensure the realization of the right of persons with disabilities to education through an inclusive education system at all levels, including preschool, primary, secondary and tertiary education, vocational training and lifelong learning, extracurricular and social activities, and for all students, including persons with disabilities, without discrimination and on an equal basis with others.”
We are thus happy to share with you two recent ILO policy briefs on how to promote the inclusion of persons with disabilities in mainstream vocational training, i.e.
• Making TVET and skills systems inclusive of persons with disabilities
• Making apprenticeships and workplace learning inclusive of persons with disabilities
These briefs contain good policies and practices from across the globe for your consideration.
Further, there is a dedicated ILO report on Bangladesh’s TVET Reform: Design an inclusive skills development programme.
For further material on the matter of disability-inclusive vocational training, you might be interested to visit the ILO page Increasing employability of persons with disabilities.
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My name is Humberto Rodríguez, I am Professor at Colleague for Teachers in Monterrey, México. I have some comments:
1.- It is very important to consider the “guide for ensuring inclusion and equity in education” (UNESCO,2017) because “The guide is intended for use by key government education policy-makers, working with key stakeholders such as teachers and other educators, students, families, and community representatives. The guide could also assist development partners in facilitating a policy review process”. Its dissemination and application has been valuable ? What adjustment or transformation are necessary to serve as a reference in the promotion os inclusion. among others.
2- I understand the inclusive education needs to to be clear about critical issues as a curricula and learning process as well as personalization of learning or the diversity of learners in the classroom. I believe that these issues should have an important relevance in the consultation.
3. In another order of ideas, I would like to suggest some research projects in term of this consultation process: Firstly What are the characteristic of an inclusive school building? the new learning approaches and the diversity of the learners, among others impulse a news roles and activities in the classrooms. Secondly< How implement diverse options about non-formal education and which has been successful, documenting all valuable experiences about it. Third. How implement a teacher preparation programe for inclusion ? What are the professional competencies for to update the teacher preparation ? .
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Unfortunately, we can talk more about physical integration rather than real integration. Support services are insufficient, inefficient for both children with special educational needs and their families and for teachers.
I think that teachers in the public educational system are not enough prepared for the effective integration of these children ;that’s why there should be more courses on teaching students with special educational needs. I also find it very appropriate to have an assistant who can support the teacher during his/her classes.
Therefore, public schools should be prepared, from the school manager to the students’ parents ,to accept the students with disabilities in order to become an inclusive one.
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In the year 2020, I think that the issues relating social inclusion vis-a-vis adaptive physical education/exercise as well as political/democratic issues should be looked into. Although, the Special Olympic and Paralympic game have been instituted to promote sportsmanship among persons with disabilities but public perception and attitude towards investing is such venture is understudied. Same goes for the involvement of persons with special needs in all activities of democracy. The ‘how’, ‘when’, ‘what’ and ‘why’ persons with special needs are involved or excluded in our society is still under studied. It is believed that it will be awesome, if the 2020 GEM agenda can beam a searchlight in this regard as well.
Thank you
Olufemi
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Dear GEM Report Team,
Thank you and congratulations for compiling the 2020 Global Education Monitoring Report on inclusion. It is a very important report with crucial intentions and its contribution cannot be underestimated. There has clearly been a tremendous effort to develop and enact the tenets of SDG#4 and we all have a responsibility to ensure there is access by all children to a quality education. Education initiatives and programs can only be successful and sustained if there is accountability and we ensure all children are included.
The focus of my work has been on behalf of displaced children who have lost their homes, have found their way to refugee camps and have had to confront issues of cultural differences, language barriers, and inadequate resources from host countries working to fully integrate them into school systems that are all too often already overburdened. Many of these children have other challenges besides losing their homelands, to include disabilities, being orphaned and psycho-social issues in response to their terrifying situations. These children can become marginalized and ultimately this impacts their ability to become educated, integrated and productive members of the global family, and it also affects their ability to be contributors to society.
It is incumbent upon all to realize that it requires a global effort to ensure full integration and inclusion of these displaced children by institutions, nations and their laws; that funding is readily available; that adequate school infrastructure and resources are available; that local teachers are trained appropriately for their needs; that curricula is designed so children are able to learn at their ability level and possibly even gain vocational skills; that language barriers are eliminated; and as far as possible that psycho-social needs are met.
Here are some studies of mine on the subject: http://www.unhcr.org/en-us/events/conferences/5abb8c147/educating-refugee-children-global-way-forward.html and, http://www.childhoodexplorer.org/ngo-initiatives-to-support-childrens-education
With best wishes,
Rose Cardarelli, Ed.D.
Member, Executive Council, Kappa Delta Pi International Honor Society
and NGO Representative to the United Nations/DPI
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I am a teacher at Pui Secondary School, from Romania
By involving all pupils in group activities with children with disabilities, they learn how to be more tolerant to disabled people. Do not be surprised to learn that students will become supporters of special needs children and will protect them. Once exposed to the way people with disabilities survive (such as motor disorders, chronic illnesses, autistic children, or people with disabilities), more and more students will no longer differentiate one another.
Matei Dan
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1. I agree that while inclusive education must cover persons with disabilities, inclusive education also encompasses other groups and issues.
2. Inclusion is not the same as integration. While a learning environment may ensure access to all persons by enabling them to come together- “integration” , inclusion implies also catering to special needs when those persons come together. This is most evident in regard to the rights of persons with disabilities which call for “reasonable accommodation” of their needs and facilities responding to those needs linked with “universal design” (s).
3. It may be useful to look at inclusive education from the angle of its antithesis: (social) exclusion, discrimination and violence. Inclusion is grounded on the notion of equality and human dignity, as well as human rights.
4. The tools for supporting inclusive education involve laws and policies. However, there are other tools which should not be overlooked: good programmes; practical implementation through case work; mechanisms, personnel and processes; material and non-material resources; capacity development; data and related monitoring; remedies and accountability; political and social will linked with good leadership; participation and mobilization with space for reform and transformation.
5. In the section on Government and finance, the issue of leadership should be reflected in the analysis. This is related to the local to international levels.
6. In the section on curriculum and learning materials , the issue of methodology should be analysed. Impediments include: learning by rote and undemocratic classroom; monofocal history. Diplomatically, the issue of indoctrination needs to be looked at ! Corporal punishment appears in several settings and there is the challenge of how to promote positive discipline without use of force.
7. The section on teachers etc cannot avoid the issue of quality. However, teachers, particularly in primary and secondary schools, are often overworked and underincentivised. Technological and language skills are a challenge in many developing countries, especially where English is not well taught. In Thailand, one good practice is that resort to English teachers from the Philippines has helped to accelerate improved language skills of local teachers in Thailand.
8. In regard to the section on communities, parents and children, challenges include: child participation; positive discipline v corporal punishment; how to enable parents to improve their digital skills to work with their children to regulate access to internet where necessary (e.g. to prevent access to child exploitation and violent materials and channels).
9. The Report should have a section on linkage with Media and Social Media. Prospectively, it should lays the seeds for analyzing human links with artificial intelligence and robotics. Today, some examinations are already using robots to test performance.
10. Inclusive education should be seen as a dynamic process. This is linked with the advocacy of life long education and related skills – and employability, under SDG 4.
II. Re On line questions- SDG 4 on Inclusive Education:
1. Policy solutions ?
– Link with national development plans and local plans
– Emphasise participatory implementation
– Importance of good leadership and peer examples
2. Obstacles to implementation ?
– Shortage of qualified personnel, including teachers
– Socio-economic-cultural impediments, including poverty, exclusion and discrimination
– Civil-political impediments, including lack of democratic space in the classroom and beyond; non-democracies!
– Violence, ranging from inter-personal violence to systemic violence and armed conflicts ( see Syria, for example).
3. Coordination ?
– SDGs call for a “No Silo”approach, and favour interconnected, interagency response
– Field access is key to implement programmes
4. Monitoring /Data ?
– One value added of SDGs is to generate data and mobilise action to overcome gaps. Currently indicators under SDGs are linked with three tiers: Tier 1 – data system and collection; Tier 2 – data system but inadequate collection of data; Tier 3 – no data system yet.
SDG 4 is particularly affected by a Tier 3 situation in regard to the following from current UN sources which should be borne in mind:
“Target 4.1: By 2030, ensure that all girls and boys complete free, equitable and quality primary and secondary education leading to relevant and effective learning outcomes
• Indicator 4.1.1: Proportion of children and young people: (a) in grades 2/3; (b) at the end of primary; and (c) at the end of lower secondary achieving at least a minimum proficiency level in (i) reading and (ii) mathematics, by sex
o No data for this indicator is currently available. See available metadata
Note: Available metadata applies to part (b) and (c). Methodology for part (a) is still under development, please seeTier III Work Plan webpage
Target 4.7: By 2030, ensure that all learners acquire the knowledge and skills needed to promote sustainable development, including, among others, through education for sustainable development and sustainable lifestyles, human rights, gender equality, promotion of a culture of peace and non-violence, global citizenship and appreciation of cultural diversity and of culture’s contribution to sustainable development
• Indicator 4.7.1: Extent to which (i) global citizenship education and (ii) education for sustainable development, including gender equality and human rights, are mainstreamed at all levels in: (a) national education policies; (b) curricula; (c) teacher education; and (d) student assessment
No data for this indicator is currently available and its methodology is still under development, please seeTier III Work Plan webpage”
Much work needs to be done to ensure that all Targets under SDG 4 have data systems and data responding to a Tier 1 situation to overcome a Tier 3 situation with its information/data deficit.
5. Finance ?
– Interlinked with national and local budgets, and also international assistance
– How to increase scholarships and incentives – creatively
– Current student loans are at times a burden (nor are they paid back)
– Accountability and public audits with a human rights sensibility
– Public participation
6. Feedback: needed research:
– Violence and discrimination issues, interlinking between SDG 4, 5, 8 and 16.
– Inequality issues, interlinking between SDG 4 and SDG 10
– Gender sensibility and Intersectionality with other challenges such as ethnicity, age, national, social and or political origin, and other status
– Bullying
– Positive discipline v corporal punishment
– Child participation in curriculum development and assessment
– Inclusive Education, Reasonable Accommodation and Rights of Persons with Disabilities
– Access to education by non-nationals, including stateless, migrant workers and refugees (particularly the children)
– Artificial Intelligence, the Teacher and the Student
– Digitization and Inclusive Education.
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For the future generations, who will live in a world so different to ours we MUST ensure that all learners acquire the knowledge and skills needed to promote sustainable development. They will have to not only have the necessary information, but also to know how to deal , how to react and use this information on ,among others, education for sustainable development and sustainable lifestyles, human rights, gender equality, promotion of a culture of peace and non-violence, global citizenship and appreciation of cultural diversity and of culture’s contribution to sustainable development
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I have two additional issues to add to the concept note:
1. early starting with inclusion. the importance of early education is obvious in many publications. as well an early start with inclusion will increment the opportunities of leaning in community with others, children get to know each other from early age and prejudices as well as discrimination is avoided. Children will have the chance to learn together, children with disabilities are depending very much from these chances for their development (which often is limited and deprived in segregated settings where social learning cannot take place accordingly).
2. Schools should be seen as a part of community and community (inclusive) development. One of the challenges students have to face in school is the lack of motivation as learning is abstract and not part of their reality in communities. in general learning in schools can be improved significantly when learning can take place in the reality (in the community). Schools are also important resources for community (inclusive) development. Participation of learners, teachers and other school staff in community activities will improve the mutual understanding and involvement.
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I am an English teacher in a small town in Romania and, personally, I do not have any experience of working with disabled children. That is why I have carried out some research before providing feedback.
Since your team has asked us to give examples related to this topic, I will start by mentioning a very serious case of discrimination, which happened in 2016 in a school in Piteşti and which was in the news because of its shocking characteristic. The school did not only fail to adapt to the needs of this disabled child, but the teachers together with the students and their parents also protested against him at school and on social media. Of course, the school was fined and several measures were taken to solve this problem. A detailed article about it can be found at the following address – https://www1.agerpres.ro.
Consequently, the Ministry of Education became fully aware of the fact that the inclusion of children with special needs is of utmost importance and made several important decisions as far as this issue is concerned. These measures will focus on the following aspects: the preparation of the educational environment for this category of students, individualized plans of educational, social and medical support and general support for an inclusive type of education. For further details please access https://www.edu.ro.
However, I am convinced that the problem of discrimination against students with disabilities will not be solved very fast and very easily. The example I have given shows the fact that this aspect needs to be tackled from various points of view. We should not forget that the child was ‘attacked’ by his teachers, by his classmates and by his classmates’ parents. So, it is not only the school that needs to take measures. Educating the teachers is only the first step. Something has to be done to educate all the categories of people who are part of the educational process: the children who are lucky enough to be ‘normal’ and their parents.
Children are taught to be civilized and to behave, to be nice to other students and to show compassion for those in need. But they often misbehave and treat other children badly and sometimes some of them are bullied. And for no serious reason, sometimes because they are shy or because they are plump or taller than the others. But you cannot blame them. After all, everything is part of the learning process and that is what we do, we shape them, we teach them, all of them, the bullies and their victims, how to adapt to this world.
Things are even more complicated when it comes to integrating a disabled child. We should not be surprised and shocked if that particular child is rejected, especially by younger students. It comes natural to them, they immediately notice the odd one out. The same thing happens to their parents. Those who have healthy children want an appropriate learning environment, they do not want their children to be distracted in class.
And that leads me to another category of problems, those related directly to the way things happen in a class that includes a child with special needs. I have talked to two of my colleagues who have actually worked with this kind of students when they taught in other schools. One of them told me that her special student, in the 5th or 6th grade, was a child who had Down syndrome. Firstly, the student had difficulty paying attention in class, he was restless and when he got bored, he simply stood up and started walking around the classroom. Of course, the rest of the students could no longer focus on their lesson, which was ruined, and the teacher was overwhelmed. She felt that the rest of the students were falling behind because of this situation. Another colleague told me that her special student, in primary school, was silent all the time and could spend hours doodling all over her notebooks. She said she was ‘lucky’ to have such a quiet student because, to be honest, such a student can easily be ignored. I could feel their regrets and frustration when they talked about not being able to meet all of their students’ needs. But they were not properly trained before having to work with disabled children, they did not have the help of a learning support teacher and of course, they were not given any incentives.
It is obviously easier said than done. Talking about it is effortless. We all want to integrate these children with disabilities in mainstream classrooms, but it is not only a matter of accepting them, we have to educate them as well. And let’s face it, it is quite difficult, since we also have to respect the needs and rights of the rest of the students and we have to face reluctant parents who want what is best for their children. That is why parents and students need to be taken into consideration when talking about inclusive education.
The teachers need the help of the officials and of the school community, we need the support of proper training and knowledge of this topic. Only then can we become the heroes our society needs!
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I’m a teacher at Transilvania Technical High School and I would like to point out a few ideas related to the topic of discussion.
In the last decades our educational system has encouraged the idea of an inclusive society education, an education flexible and open to the phenomenon of students’ diversity.
Steps have been made to prevent and combat marginalization and social exclusion by improving access to education for disadvantaged groups:
-providing support services for children with special needs to successfully face compulsory education and improve school success rate
-improvement of education for children with special educational needs or students with different types of disabilities
-integrating children with special educational needs in regular schools
-alternative recovery programs, in order to encourage students’ integration into society
However, even though there have been made a series of changes, all focused on inclusion, there are still isues to be considered when it comes to actually implementing these measures. The benefits of an inclusive education are obvious, but there may be some significant barriers that many schools have to overcome.
First, there is the need to update and adapt the curriculum according to the new requirements, becoming aware of the importance and necessity of education in current circumstances.Second, teachers should be trained in the spirit of the principles and values required by inclusive education.Nevertheless, school facilities, materials and resources ought to be provided to the teachers working with children with special needs.
Possible solutions, to the previously mentioned problems, would be the setting up of a Book Room or a Leveled Library- with free access or forming an Inclusive Practices Support Team to encourage inclusion throughout the school.
Thus, the inclusive approach in education means providing conditions to meet the specific, particular needs of each individual in society. It is important that these particular needs are not seen as something “exceptional”, as the existence of various disabilities must not result in marginalizing human lives.
We look forward on the report!
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A few pieces of the puzzle here that aren’t included:
–Inclusion of indigenous students (including tensions with language policy)
–Privatization and inclusion of students in education systems–are profit-seeking institutions servicing all students or are they generating exclusion? Do laws prohibit private institutions from excluding children based on protected characteristics? What are the accountability mechanisms like? How well enforced are they?
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As a teacher, I am trying to make all my students feel they belong to the group, to feel welcomed and challenged. I do have some experience in working with children with special educational needs, and I find it very challenging and motivating, both for me and my students.
I can say, as a teacher, is a challenge to make a student with special educational needs to learn and understand a foreign language. Also, for the students with special educational needs, is a challenge to keep the pace with their coleagues and every new thing learned by them is a success for the entire group.
I think it is very important that, in the groups where students with special educational needs can be found, all the children to see themselves as equals, despite having or not disabilities or difficulties in learning.
It is true that, to implement inclusive education with success still is work to be done:
– school resources and materials ought to be provided for teachers
– training and support for teachers is needed to improve their work, a.s.o
However, the most important part in implementing inclusive education with success is the human factor-we have to understand that, as teachers, we have an important role in creating the foundation of a healthy society: we need to teach our students how to help and support each other to overcome the problems they will meet in their journey through life.
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Rapport mondial de suivi sur l’éducation 2020 – Inclusion et éducation
La réalité et la dynamique de la vie sociale, économique et culturelle, ainsi que les nouveaux défis du monde contemporain, ont entraîné des changements importants dans la conception et la mise en œuvre de politiques et de stratégies éducatives dans la plupart des pays du monde. Dans ce contexte, la question de l’inclusion / intégration scolaire des enfants ayant des besoins spéciaux ou provenant des milieux socioculturels précaires est devenue un domaine d’action prioritaire pour les spécialistes de notre système éducatif dans la promotion des principes de l’éducation pour tous et de la normalisation de la vie des personnes ayant des exigences spéciales
La Déclaration de la Conférence de l’UNESCO de Salamanque de 1994 stipule que « les écoles ordinaires avec une orientation inclusive est le moyen le plus efficace de combattre les attitudes discriminatoires, en créant des communautés priorisés, la construction d’une société inclusive et de fournir des formes d’éducation pour tous; De plus, ils fournissent une éducation efficace pour la majorité des enfants et d’améliorer l’efficacité et la rentabilité du système éducatif dans son ensemble « , a déclaré .Autrement dit, les écoles inclusives sont les écoles ouvertes, amicales dans la recherche programme flexible, améliorer la qualité de l’enseignement – apprentissage, l’évaluation continue et étudiants de formation et de partenariat éducatif et de l’éducation inclusive se réfère essentiellement à éliminer tous les obstacles à l’apprentissage et à assurer la participation de tous ceux qui sont en danger ou vulnérables à l’exclusion et à la marginalisation (UNESCO, 2000).
La diversité scolaire à long terme est l’école de l’expression équivalente pour tous et représente le désir maximum de flexibilité et de tolérance en ce qui concerne les différences physiques, socioculturelle, linguistique et psychologique entre les enfants / étudiants, la mission de l’école étant de donner à chacun l’occasion d’apprendre selon au rythme de leurs propres capacités et besoins et de s’exprimer selon les traits de personnalité individuels.
L’éducation pour tous était définie comme l’accès à l’éducation et sa qualité pour tous les enfants, avec deux objectifs généraux identifiés:
– assurer la participation aux possibilités d’éducation pour tous les enfants, peu importe la façon dont ils sont différents et comment dévier de votre propre développement personnel, de ce que la société devient normal. La participation implique principalement l’accès et des moyens pour que tout le monde soit intégré dans des structures facilitant l’apprentissage social et individuel, contribuant et ressentant une part active du processus. L’accès vise à permettre aux enfants d’atteindre physiquement les influences éducatives d’une société (famille, école, communauté), de s’intégrer à l’école et de répondre favorablement à ses demandes.
– la qualité de l’éducation vise à la fois d’identifier les dimensions de l’enseignement, le contenu d’apprentissage et la qualité des agents éducatifs qui favorisent l’apprentissage pour toutes les catégories d’étudiants pour assurer le succès, pour rendre le système ouvert, flexible et efficace.
Les écoles inclusives, en revanche, doivent comprendre très clairement que l’inclusion ne signifie pas seulement accepter, tolérer les enfants ayant des besoins spécifiques dans une salle de classe. Cela signifie adapter aux besoins des enfants ayant des besoins particuliers, leur inclusion dans leurs programmes, avec des enfants normaux, mais aussi de fournir, alors que les services spécialisés, les programmes de soutien personnalisés. Cela signifie la prise en charge responsable de changements radicaux dans l’organisation et le développement des activités éducatives menées à l’école.
En plus d’intégrer les enfants ayant des besoins éducatifs spéciaux dans les écoles de masse, nous respectons un droit fondamental, ce qui profite à toutes les personnes impliquées.
Les parents de ces enfants voient leur désir naturel d’avoir un enfant accepté par les personnes âgées avec lui, d’avoir des amis, des préoccupations communes avec eux, de mener une vie normale.
Les enfants impliqués, qu’ils soient enfants handicapés ou non, acquièrent une meilleure compréhension des autres mais aussi d’eux-mêmes, deviennent plus responsables, plus empathiques et se préparent ainsi à une intégration sociale active dans un monde caractérisé par une grande diversité. Ainsi découvrent-ils plus tôt que la différence existe, mais cela ne nuit à personne, et les enfants normaux peuvent mieux apprécier le potentiel réel des enfants des besoins spécifiques.
Dans le système éducatif actuel, en particulier le système éducatif pour les enfants handicapés, l’éducation inclusive a un rôle central, avec des réformes législatives et des initiatives réussies.
Les débats des 10 dernières années sur l’intégration des enfants à besoins spécifiques dans l’enseignement public ont été l’occasion de développer des processus réels compris où les enfants / élèves ayant des besoins particuliers sont traités comme des étudiants valides, mais en tenant compte les limites imposées par leurs déficiences spécifiques.
Dans une école inclusive, chacun a le droit d’accepter ses différences individuelles, à encourager l’indépendance et la responsabilité, a le droit de fixer ses propres tâches et objectifs, avoir des aspirations réalistes, être encouragés pendant l’apprentissage. Une école est prête à développer une éducation inclusive lors du développement d’une culture inclusive, à savoir:
– l’école est accueillante pour tout le monde;
– développe activement des relations avec la communauté réelle;
– la diversité des enfants est considérée comme une ressource précieuse;
– les étudiants ont la même valeur;
– Les enseignants s’entraident pour résoudre des problèmes et prendre des décisions.
En outre, si l’école élabore des politiques inclusives, à savoir:
– comprend tous les enfants, indépendamment du degré et du type de déficience;
– dispose d’une stratégie efficace pour réduire les tentatives d’intimidation et d’abus sur les élèves et les étudiants;
– adapte le bâtiment de manière à ce qu’il soit accessible à tous les enfants (mobilier, bureaux spécifiques de récupération / réhabilitation).
– Fournit des programmes de services personnalisés et des politiques de soutien pour résoudre les problèmes de comportement;
– distribue les ressources à l’école de manière ouverte et équitable;
– encourage la participation et la participation de tous les enseignants à la gestion des écoles
Dans une école inclusive:
– la planification des cours implique tous les élèves;
– les leçons développent la compréhension et le respect des différences;
– les étudiants sont encouragés à assumer la responsabilité de leur propre apprentissage;
– on peut utiliser une grande variété de styles et de stratégies d’enseignement et d’apprentissage;
– pendant les cours, les étudiants sont encouragés à travailler ensemble;
– les enseignants adaptent leurs cours en fonction des réactions des élèves;
– Les difficultés d’apprentissage sont considérées comme des occasions de développer des pratiques inclusives;
– les parents participent activement à la vie scolaire.
Ils participent à la prise de décisions concernant l’enfant, ils participent à des activités individuelles et de groupe organisées pour l’autonomisation des enfants. Les parents apprennent de nouvelles attitudes et de nouveaux comportements, ils participent effectivement à l’élaboration du plan d’autonomisation/de rétablissement.
Dans l’école inclusive, le travail de l’enseignant n’est pas facile. Il travaille avec de nombreux étudiants, chaque étudiant avec son individualité. S’il y a un enfant handicapé dans une classe ou toute une classe défavorisée, cela nécessite plus de travail.
L’enseignant ne peut gérer les différences entre les enfants seulement s’il:
– Connaît les forces et les faiblesses de l’enfant et planifie les leçons en conséquence;
– s’il / elle sait que l’apprentissage des enfants peut être affecté par des handicaps ou des pénuries et s’il / elle utilise des stratégies d’enseignement – apprentissage menées à surmonter ces difficultés;
– s’il est capable de concevoir des leçons pour répondre à la diversité, en adaptant le programme à tous les étudiants;
– si l’enseignant travaille avec d’autres collègues et d’autres professionnels tels qu’un psychopédagogue, un orthophoniste, un physiothérapeute, un enseignant spécialisé.
La valeur de l’éducation inclusive pour tout élève réside dans le fait que l’élève est inclus dans l’ensemble de la classe et peut travailler avec d’autres enfants. Nous avons le devoir d’encourager cela car l’expérience montre que les étudiants avec des ESC peuvent être isolés même en classe.
Le plus grand obstacle à l’inclusion est, en règle générale, l’attitude négative. Les enfants ne sont pas habitués aux enfants handicapés qui se comportent différemment d’eux. Les parents peuvent également éprouver des difficultés à abaisser la note si les enfants handicapés ou ayant d’autres besoins spéciaux sont également inclus dans les classes ordinaires.
Ces obstacles doivent être surmontés et surmontés dans de nombreux cas lorsque:
– TOUTES les activités incluent TOUS les enfants;
– lorsque la communication est ouverte, efficace et efficiente de différentes manières;
– lorsqu’il y a une gestion de classe;
– lorsque des plans individuels et individualisés sont atteints;
– lorsque le soutien individuel est accordé;
– lors de l’utilisation de moyens de soutien supplémentaires;
– quand il y a du travail d’équipe;
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Veuillez consulter aussi les sites suivants:
https://totilascoala.wordpress.com/2009/09/22/stiti-ce-este-educatia-incluziva/
http://www.asociatia-profesorilor.ro/despre-educatia-incluziva.html
https://www.didactic.ro/revista-cadrelor…/coala-romaneasca-i-educatia-incluziva
http://www.scritub.com/profesor…/EDUCATIA-INCLUZIVA-CONCEPTE-PO32187.php
http://www.jurnal-social.ro/primul-curs-online-de-educatie-incluziva-pentru-profesorii-din-r...
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Ioan Dan COSMA – Enseignant de Français Langue Étrangère, à DEVA, (Hunedoara), ROUMANIE
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Inclusive education is based on the simple idea that every child and family is valued equally and deserves the same opportunities and experiences. Inclusive education is about children with disabilities – whether the disability is mild or severe, hidden or obvious – participating in everyday activities, just like they would if their disability were not present. It’s about building friendships, membership and having opportunities just like everyone else. That is why I consider inclusive education is of paramount importance.
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I would like to bring into attention some of the misconceptions related to inclusive education:
– disabled children have to be prepared, somehow, to deal with being part of a community;
-parents should support the process of inclusion (it is true that the best results are obtained as a result of the cooperation between teachers and family);
-it is for disabled child’s benefit to be separated from others.
For many years, all these ideas were considered to be true and maybe they still are in some people’s minds.
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1.Quelles sont les solutions-clés pour chacun des éléments de l’éducation inclusive afin de garantir la réalisation de l’ODD 4?
Je pense que les meilleures solutions sont les projets impliquant les parties prenantes: les politiques d’éducation inclusive doivent être cohérentes; l’école, l’administration publique, les ONG (organisations non gouvernementales) doivent être convaincues de discuter des actions ensemble; bien entendu, les personnes en situation d’exclusion doivent être entendues / consultées.
2.Comment des obstacles communs peuvent-ils être anticipés et surmontés lors de la mise en œuvre de telles politiques d’éducation inclusive?
Les obstacles à l’application des politiques d’éducation inclusive sont nombreux. certains peuvent être anticipés et surmontés. Par exemple, l’accès dans les espaces publics, dans les restaurants, dans la nature est difficile. Ce n’est qu’en travaillant avec des utilisateurs de fauteuils roulants que l’accessibilité des itinéraires, des toilettes, des transports publics et des espaces publics peut être vérifiée.
5.Quels canaux de financement sont utilisés pour les politiques d’éducation inclusive dans le monde, comment sont-ils contrôlés et comment les pratiques locales les affectent?
Pour moi, les canaux de financement les plus efficaces pour les politiques d’éducation inclusive étaient ceux du programme Erasmus +; La collaboration entre pays (France et Roumanie) et organisations (Association Connectée par Nature – France, Association Equi-Sense – Dijon, Association 21 – Bucarest, Association Esperando – Baia Mare) peut changer les pratiques locales. “Soyez le changement que vous voulez voir dans le monde”, a déclaré le Mahatma Gandhi; C’est pourquoi, après une expérience concrète du projet “Nature & Handicap” avec des personnes ayant besoin d’intégration (en fauteuil roulant ou à mobilité réduite), plusieurs parties prenantes ont signé la charte du projet et se sont déclarées prêtes pour des actions inclusives.
Je recommande cet exemple intéressant de mettre en évidence la manière dont les politiques d’éducation inclusive se sont produits dans la coopération franco-roumaine: http: // nature- handicap.eu/ et la charte http: // nature- handicap.eu/?page_id = 23.
Je pense que la nature et le handicap sont des domaines inexploités, non testés pour le moment en corrélation, bien que la reconnexion à la nature soit avantageuse pour tout être humain. L’important est de donner à chacun l’indépendance nécessaire pour en profiter.
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Creating opportunities for people with disabilities to participate in
mass education is not only important to them, it contributes
to understanding human diversity by people without disabilities.
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In order to adapt the educational processes (make it inclusive) I think that`s very important to know (and try to understand) the students we work with, try to keep the teaching subject as interesting as possible,and varying the teaching method whenever necessary – make use of the technology and combine the modern approach withe the classic ones.
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EVERY STUDENT IS SPECIAL!
Our aim is to draw attention to the human rights and to raise people’s awareness to the issues encountered in European and Mondial schools.
”Man, love as your brother every man of every nation and every country they might be and you can very easily set this skill in the children’s heart. ”- Simeon Mehedinți
Even though our friendship is hidden in the distant kilometers, we are friends as long as we share the same sky. -Turkish quote
The respect for man presupposes, in its simplest expression, a form of self-respect. A form of self-respect, which is at the same time a basic form of manifestation of the moral sense, represents the keeping of the the given word, the respect for truth. – Ion Găvănescu
Respect is the basis of all relationships. It is crucial to any friendship.
Maria Branco
Respect and tolerance are liberating acts, whereby the differences of others are recognized as the same as our own and whereby the riches of another culture are taken as the wealth of all. Berindea Sergiu
Respect and tolerance are quite important. We must respect all people regardless of their race, culture, physical characteristics, opinions or lifestyles. Increasingly we need people with more tolerance and respect for others. – Helena Santos
Teacher Popescu Rodica Mariana, Colegiul National de Informatica CARMEN SYLVA Petrosani, Romania
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It is a synonym for accepting, understanding, despite having different ideas or beliefs. Tolerance can occur at various levels. It may be social, by accepting something or someone with habits different from those to which the person is accustomed, and religious, by respecting and accepting the various characteristics of other religions, which are sometimes so peculiar to others.
Rodica Mariana Popescu, Colegiul National de Informatica Carmen Sylva Petrosani
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