Transcript Slide 1
A Shared Meaning for Inclusive Education
Ghana Education Services Special Education Division Ministry of Education, Science and Sports Accra, Ghana December, 2007 Mary Hooker
Education Specialist Global eSchools and Communities Initiative Dublin, Ireland.
00353 863378219
Understanding Inclusive Education
•
Inclusive Education (IE) is often defined as a journey away from the kind of segregation where children with particular difficulties have been put together with other children whose needs are similar.
Frederickson and Cline, 2002 •
In recent years, the appropriateness of such separate education systems has been challenged – from the perspectives of human rights and effectiveness .
UNESCO, 2005
Patterns of Development
Inclusion Knowledge (Rights based approach – Participation, Equality, Community) Exclusion Denial Segregation Acceptance (Institutional provision/ benevolence, charity) Integration Understanding (Special Needs Education, Inclusive Education) Fig.1 Steps from Exclusion to Inclusion
(Ainscow in UNESCO, 2004; UNESCO, 2005)
Special Education
Special schools, special educational needs, special needs • • • •
Groups of students categorized as with ‘special needs’ predominantly physically and/ or mentally impaired Approaches and responses have been essentially remedial and corrective Special institutional and curricular arrangements methods’, ‘special teachers’, ‘special environments’ and ‘special equipment’ ‘special Segregation from society, community and family
Abbott, n.d; Stubbs, 2002; Zagoumennov, 2007
Needs special teachers Needs special environ ment Does not respond, cannot learn Child as problem Is different from other children Has special needs Needs special equipment Fig. 2 Child as problem in need of ‘fixing’
(Lewis, 2007)
Integration
• • • •
Involves the school in a process of assimilation Onus is on the assimilating learner to make changes so that they can ‘fit in’ to the mainstream school environment Poor quality training ‘Integrated child’ either:
– –
left to cope with no support in a rigid system, or… receives individual attention that separates her from peers Lack of teaching learning materials Parents not involved Drop outs, repeats, or exclusion often perceived as fault of the child ; they
–
‘could not follow the curriculum’
–
‘could not cope with other children's comments’
Frederickson and Cline, 2002; Stubbs, 2002
Teachers’ attitudes Child must ‘fit in’ to school Teachers and school not supported Rigid methods, rigid curriculum Inaccessible environments Many drop outs, many repeaters Fig. 3 School set up makes learning difficult
(Lewis, 2007)
Inclusive Education
• • • •
Involves the school in a process of accommodation Onus is on the school to change , adapting curricula, methods, materials and procedures so that it becomes more responsive to the all uniqueness and diversity its learners of Is concerned with the identification and removal of barriers practice through monitoring and evaluation in order to plan for improvements in policy and Is about the students presence (attendance), achievement participation (quality of learning) and (learning outcomes across the curriculum) of all
Frederickson and Cline, 2002; UNESCO, 2005
Alternative methods of teacher education Appropriate teaching aids and equipment ?
Parents and community involvement Positive teacher attitudes Whole school improvement Child centred curriculum Flexible teaching methods ?
Reduction in drop outs and repeaters Well supported teachers and schools Fig. 4 Whole school improvement for all
(Lewis, 2007)
The Salamanca Statement Adopted by representatives of:
•
92 governments
•
25 international organizations
Regular 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 ; more over they provide an effective education to the majority of children and improve the efficiency and ultimately the cost effectiveness of the entire education system.
UNESCO, 1994:ix
Some Interpretations of IE
Inclusive education is a process of addressing and responding to the diverse needs of all learners by increasing participation in learning and reducing exclusion within and from education.
UNESCO, 2005:13 • • •
all children can learn inclusive education is a dynamic process which is constantly evolving differences in children – such as age, gender, language, disability, HIV and TB status – should be acknowledged and respected
•
education structures, systems and methodologies should be developed to meet the needs of all children
•
such developments should be seen as a wider strategy to promote an inclusive society
•
progress need not be restricted by large classes or a shortage of material resources
Enabling Network Education in Lewis, 2007:6
Some Interpretations of IE
•
Inclusive education is defined as education that responds to the concerns, aspirations and interests of a diverse body politic, and draws on the accumulated knowledge, creativity and resourcefulness of local peoples.
•
A school is inclusive to the extent that every student is able to identify and connect with her/his social environment, culture, population and history.
Sefa Dei, 2005:268
Key Issue with Inclusive Education
•
The key issue with Inclusive Education is that it is based on a rights and social model;
•
The system should adapt to the child , not the child to the system.
Stubbs, 2002
What is Inclusion about?
•
Inclusion is an approach that looks into how to transform the education system so that it will respond to the diversity of all learners.
•
A transformative approach to inclusion requires attention to all policies and processes within an education system through a principle of permeation .
Ainscow, 1998:375
Education Reform in Ghana
Both the system and its management need fundamental changes and Government has decided not to tinker with marginal adjustments to it but to carry out a radical reform
MoESS, 2004:7
of it.
Instituting change in Ghanaian schooling is, first and foremost a question of reconceptualising educational issues .
Sefa Dei, 2005:268
Reconceptualising Special Education
•
Inclusive education is a shift from disability specific theories, assumptions, practices and models to a non-disability specific inclusive system of education.
•
It involves a client-centred Whose school is it?
approach to education which starts with the question:
•
It involves 3 levels of change: Attitudinal, policy, classroom level
•
The process minds requires changing hearts and
Booth, 1983; Rusteimer in Thomas and Vaughan, 2004; Van der Brule, 2007
Changing Hearts and Minds
Learning and change cannot be imposed on people. Their involvement and participation is needed in diagnosing what is going on, in figuring out what to do and in actually bringing about learning and change. In the end cultural understanding and cultural learning insight .
starts with self-
Mc Niff, 2000:418
Changing Hearts and Minds
Solutions must come through the development of shared meaning . The interface between individual and collective meaning and action in every-day situations is where change stands or falls.
Fullan, 2007:7
Shared Meaning
• • •
Group discussion
There is
no single definition
of inclusive education that can be adopted and applied in every situation. Inclusive Education is a
constantly evolving concept
. The aim of the workshop is to share a vision of inclusion and the elements that might make up inclusive education in the unique situation that is Ghana.
What is the issues?
vision of inclusion What are the values and beliefs for Ghanaian Schooling?
about education/ learning/difficulties in learning/ responsibility for learning/ difference/ discrimination/teacher’s support/ other relevant What are the conceptual and practical challenges facing the MoESS in the process of change towards Inclusive Education?
References
Abbott, C. n.d.
Futurelab Series: Report 15: E-Inclusion: Learning Difficulties and Digital Technologies
[Online]
.
Available from: Futurelab < http://www.futurelab.org.uk/resources/publications_reports_articles/literature_reviews/Literature_ Review314 > [Accessed 17 July 2007] Ainscow, M. 1998.
Understanding the Development of Inclusive Schools.
London: Falmer Press Chadla, A. 2003. Perspectives in Special Needs Education in India: A Journey from Isolation to Inclusion [Online]. Available from: < http://www.un.org.in/Janshala/Janmar03/incluson.htm
> [Accessed 19 October 2007] Frederickson, N. and Cline, T. 2002.
Special Educational Needs, Inclusion and Diversity.
Maidenhead: Open University Press Fullan, M. 2007.
The New Meaning of Educational Change. Fourth Edition.
New York: Columbia University Lewis, I. 2007.
Inclusion in Action: Report of an inclusive education workshop, Zanzibar, 7 – 10 February 2006.
Oslo: Atlas Alliance Ministry of Education Science and Sports 2004.
White Paper on the Report of the Education Reform Review Committee.
Accra: Ghana Mc Niff, J. and Whitehead, J. 2000.
Action Research in Organizations.
London: Routledge Sefa Dei, G. J. 2005. The challenge of inclusive schooling in Africa: a Ghanaian case study.
Comparative Education
[Online]. 41 (3), pp 267-289. Available from: Academic Search Premier http://web.ebscohost.com.remote.library.dcu.ie/ehost/detail?vid=3&hid=15&sid=b56c94fb-9e3b 43dc-ae61-f940ada4cada%40sessionmgr106 > [Accessed 2 November 2007] Special Education Division 2005.
Special Educational Needs: Policy Framework.
Accra: MOESS
References
Stubbs, S. 2002
Inclusive Education: Where there are few resources.
Oslo: Atlas Alliance Thomas, G. and Vaughan, M. 2004.
Inclusive Education: Readings and Reflections.
Maidenhead: Open University Press UNESCO 1994. The Salamanca Statement and Framework for Action [Online]. Available from: UNESCO http://portal.unesco.org/education/en/ev.php URL_ID=8412&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html
[Accessed 11 October 2007] UNESCO 2004.
Final Report: Regional Workshop on Inclusive Education: Getting All Children into School and Helping Them Learn
[Online]
.
Available from: UNESCO < http://www2.unescobkk.org/elib/publications/Inclusive_Edu/ > [Accessed 15 July 2007] UNESCO 2005.
Guidelines for Inclusion: Ensuring Access to Education for All.
Paris: UNESCO Van den Brule, J. 2007. The Right to Education for All: Global Perspectives in Inclusive Education.
IN: Gulf Arab States for the 48 th Session of the ICE 2008, Dubai, United Arab Emirates, August 2007
[Online}
.
Available from: UNESCO http://portal.unesco.org/education/en/ev.php URL_ID=54092&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html
[Accessed 5 November 2007] Zagoumennov, I. 2007. The Concept and the Practice of Inclusive Education in the CIS Region.
IN: International Workshop on Inclusive Education Latin America – Southern Cone and Andean Region, Buenos Aires, Argentina, September 2007
nov%20(Bielorusia).pdf
[Online]. Available from: http://www.udesa.edu.ar/files/EscEdu/Inclusi%C3%B3n%20Educativa/10%20Iouri%20Zagoumen [Accessed 6 November 2007]