inclusive education. ’it takes a whole village to raise a child’ christer ohlin, ph d program...
TRANSCRIPT
Inclusive education.’It takes a whole village to raise a child’
Christer Ohlin, Ph D
Program Director in Special Education, Kristianstad University
SWEDEN
Purposes
• The main purposes of this lecture are to give you some answers to the questions:
– What is inclusive education?– What are the benefits of inclusive education?– How do we manage diversity?
From exclusion to inclusion
• Denial
• Acceptance
• Understanding
• Knowledge
• Exclusion
• Segregation
• Integration
• Participation/inclusion
Inclusive Education
When every child is welcomed and valued regardless of ability or disability.
International Instruments relevant to Inclusive Education:
1948: Universal Declaration of Human Rights 1989: UN Convention on the Rights of the Child 1990: The World Declaration on Education for
All, Jomtien 1993: The Standard Rules on the Equalisation
of Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities
International Instruments relevant to Inclusive Education:
1994: The Salamanca Statement and Framework for Action on Special Needs Education
1999: Salamanca 5 Years On Review 2000: World Education Forum
Framework for Action, Dakar
International Instruments relevant to
Inclusive Education: 2000: Millenium Development Goals
focusing on Poverty Reduction and Development
2001: EFA (Education for All) Flagship on Education and Disability
2006, 2009:The United Nations Convention on the rights of Perssons with Disabilities (PWD)
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Four fundamental principles
• No child may be discriminated on grounds of origin, sex, religion, disability or on other similar grounds (Article 2).
• The best interest of the child shall guide all decisions and actions concerning children and young people (Article 3).
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Cont.
• Children and young people must be allowed to develop at their own pace and based on their own individual circumstances.
• Children and young people must be given the opportunity to express their opinions on matters that affect them and to have them respected (Article 12).
The 1994 Salamanca statement
….accommodate all children regardless of their physical, intellectual, social, linguistic or other conditions.
Cont.
• This should include disabled and gifted children, street and working children, children from remote or nomadic populations, children from linguistic, ethnic, or cultural minorities and children from other disadvantaged or marginalized area and groups. (UNESCO, 1994, Framework for Action on Special Needs Education, p.6)
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Reasons for inclusion
Human rightsAll children have the right to learn together
There are no legitimate reasons to separate children from their education
Good education
Research shows children do better academically and socially in inclusive settings
Good social sense
Inclusion has the potential to reduce fear and to build friendships, respect and understanding
Inclusive Education is an attitude
• It means the doors to schools, classrooms and school activities are open to every child and they are afforded every opportunity to be included
• The focus is on giving every child the help s/he needs to learn.
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Conditions for inclusive classroom practices
• Teachers’ attitudes towards meeting the diversity
• Teachers’ competence
• Support to teachers
• Clear view on inclusion (Government)
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Factors associated with successful inclusion
Strong leadershipDevelopment of whole-school policy
supportive of inclusionPositive attitudes in staff, parents and
children towards students with disabilitiesDevelopment of mutual support networks
among staffRegular assistance from classroom aides
and assistant
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Barriers in school
• External– Physical location of the schools– Social stigmatization– Economic condition of children– Lack of community awareness
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Barriers in school
• Internal– Curriculum factors– Teaching methodologies– Negative attitudes– Untrained teachers– Lack of teaching materials and learning
materials– Absence of identification procedures– Inadequate funding
Inclusive education is about:
• welcoming diversity• benefiting all learners, not only targeting the
excluded
• children in school who may feel excluded
• providing equal access to education or making certain provisions for certain categories of children without excluding them
In practical terms
• Inclusive eduction relates to the opening up of:– all regular schools– other educational institutions– out-of-school programs
In practical terms
• Inclusive education is to:– plan for– welcome– accommodate– meet
the learning needs of all members of the local community.
Education through the Inclusion Lens
Seeing education through the inclusion lens implies a shift from seeing the child as a problem to
• seeing the education system as the problem that can be solved through inclusive approaches
The lens of inclusion
Child as a problem
• Does not respond• Needs special
environment• Different from other
children• Has special needs• Needs special
teacher
Education system as a problem
• Teachers’ attitude• Poor quality teaching• Parents not included• Teachers and schools
not supported• Lack of teaching and
learning materials• Rigid methods and
curriculum
A holistic viewBrofenbrenner (1979; 2004)
An Ecological Model of Child development which focuses:
• on the ways in which children’s developmental needs are met
• the capacity of their parents to respond appropriately to those needs and
• wider environmental factors interact with one another over time.
Bronfenbrenner
• The microsystem - activities and interactions in the child's immediate surroundings: parents, school, friends, etc.
• The mesosystem - relationships among the entities involved in the child's microsystem: parents' interactions with teachers, a school's interactions with the daycare provider
Bronfenbreener
• The exosystem - social institutions which affect children indirectly: the parents' work settings and policies, extended family networks, mass media, community resources
• The macrosystem - broader cultural values, laws and governmental resources
• The chronosystem - changes which occur during a child's life, both personally, like the birth of a sibling and culturally
Important questions:
• What is the child actually doing and with whom?
• Is someone showing the child appropriate ways to behave?
• Does someone read with the child regularly?
• Is the child hearing encouragement ?• How often do the parents and the child’s
child provider talk?
BenefitsChildren experiencing barriers to learning
* They can learn new skills through imitation.
• They are with peers from whom they can learn new social and real life skills that will equip them to live in their communities.
• They have an opportunity to develop friendships with typically developing children.
• They get access to education in their communities instead of being sent away to special schools or staying at home.
Benefits all other children
• They are able to learn more realistic and accurate views about children experiencing barriers to learning.
• They can develop positive attitudes towards those different from them.
• They can learn from others who successfully achieve despite challenges in their way.
• Both children with learning disabilities and gifted learners can benefit from the inclusion of learners needing support to learn.
Families of children who experience barriers to learning
• They will feel less isolated from the rest of the community.
• They will develop relationships with other families who can provide them with support.
• They can enjoy having their children at home during their school years without the need to send them away to special schools or hostels.
Families of the other children
• Will develop relationships with families with children with disabilities and be able to make a contribution.
• Will be able to teach their children about individual differences and the need to accept those who are different
Communities
• They can economize by providing one program for all children rather than separate programs.
• People experiencing barriers to learning who have developed their full potential through effective education no longer are a burden to society but can make a contribution.
• Communities will learn to appreciate diversity in their midst.
How to manage diversity
Four major components of:
• communication
• interpersonal skills
• attitude
• flexibility
Each of these components plays a vital role while still being challenged by two external forces: policy and practice.
The concept of diversity
Everybody is different and we should not see it as a problem
but rather as a resource
Each indiviual makes a valuable contribution to society.
Diversity, important issues:
gender
culture
religion
age
class
socio-economic environments
language
disabilty
Strategic plans will include:
• the development of inclusive approaches to curriculum & school organization
• the identification of groups at risk of exclusion or limited participation (i.e. ethnicity, gender, disability)
Individual Student Learning, Access & Participation Plan
These plans will be developed for students who need additional support to access and participate in the curriculum
School performance assessment
• A key element of performance assessment is on how the school environment and its teaching capability has been shaped to meet the objectives and targets of for inclusive education outlined in the Strategic Plan
What is it?
Teacher varies:content, activities, methodology and resources
when taking into account the range of interests, needs and experience of the students
Differentiation
Adapting the Process
• Methods – Discussion, writing, reading, active learning, brainstorming,
sequence boxes, concept maps, project work• Organisation
– Whole class instruction – Group teaching– Co-operative groups– Peer tutoring– Activity-based learning– Independent learning– 1:1 instruction
• Resources– Textbooks, artefacts, multimedia, ICT, students’ work.
Adapting the Product
• Cartoons / story boarding
• Mind maps
• PowerPoint Presentation
• Dramatisation
• Video / tapes
• Model making
• Art / design
• Writing/ Project work
Work systems
Individualized organizational strategies help the pupil to be better organized:
What do I have to do?
How much do I have to do?
How am I progressing?
What do I do with finished (and unfinished) work?
What will I do next?
A further dimension to inclusion.
The most important needs of people who are perceived by society as being ‘different’ are as follows:
• The need to be accepted as a human irrespective of physical, intellectual, societal or sensory differences
• The need to belong to a group; to be able to make a contribution and to be valued as a human.
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Social inclusion
• in education is an important aspect for all learners,
but more especially for learner experiencing barriers to learning.
This is one of the key areas that would require a great deal of attention in the implementation of Inclusive Education in all institutions.
Inclusive education
In the past
Serving children with
disabilities within the
general education setting.
Special schools
Currently
A reform which support all learners
“If they can’t learn in the way I teach,
can I teach in a way they can learn?”
Tell me, and I’ll listen.Show me, and I’ll understand.Involve me, and I’ll learn.- Teton Lakota India
References
Bronfenbrenner, U. (2004). Making Human Beings Human: Bioecological Perspectives on Human Development. Sage Publications
Bronfenbrenner, U. (1979). The ecology of Human Development. Cambridge: Harvard University Press
References
Hargreaves, A. (1994). Changing teachers, changing times: Teachers' work and culture in the postmodern age. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.
Haug,P. (2003). Qualifying teahers for the school for all. In T.Booth., K. Nest., & M. Stromstad, (Eds). Developing inclusive teacher education. London: Routledge, 97-114.
References
Peters, S. J. (2004). Inclusive Education: An EFA Strategy for All Children [Online]. Available from: World Bank <http://www1.worldbank.org/education/pdf/InclusiveEdu_efa_strategy_for_children.pdf> [Accessed 16 November 2007]
Rieser, R. (2008). Implementing Inclusive Education: the UN Convention on the Rights of People With Disabilities
References
Sebba, J. and Ainscow, M.(1996). International development in inclusive schooling: Mapping the issues in Cambridge Journal of Education. Vol.26 (1) (p.5-18)
Thomas, G. and Vaughan, M. (2004). Inclusive Education: Readings and Reflections. Maidenhead: Open University Press
References
UNESCO (2009). Inclusive education the way of future: Final Report. Retrieved May 13th2009,
http://www.unesco.org/en/inclusiveeducation
UNESCO (1994). The Salamanca Statement and Framework on Special Needs Education. Paris: UNESCO
References
• UNESCO (2001). Understanding and Responding to Children’s Needs in Inclusive Classrooms A Guide for Teachers. Paris: UNESCO