Comparative Education Bulletin - Faculty of Education - The ...

these children need to be identified, rather than labeled. So far, the
assessment of children with individual needs hardly exists in Ethiopia.
Recently the International Classification of Functioning, Disability
and Health (ICF) has been considered by Ethiopian policymakers
and stakeholders to provide an applicable instrument to identify and
to define disabilities. A research project to remedy this situation is
envisaged at the Addis Ababa University (Department of Special Needs
Education), in collaboration with the University of Vienna (Department
of Educational Sciences, Special Needs and Inclusive Education).
The International Classification of Functioning, Disability and
Health (ICF) – an instrument for enhancing quality Education for All
in Ethiopia?
A main reason for publishing a revised version of the International
Classification of Impairments, Disabilities and Handicaps (ICIDH
1980) was to turn away from the associated bio-medical concept, which
is mainly deficit oriented and focuses primarily on the consequences of
diseases. The revised classification is built on a bio-psycho-social model
(Bronfenbrenner), which looks at a person’s functioning and disability
as a dynamic interaction between health conditions and contextual
factors. Contextual factors are constituted by the physical, social and
attitudinal environment of a person. Functioning and disabilities are
divided into body function (physiological and psychological functions)
and body structures (anatomical parts) on the one hand, and activities
and participation on the other. These components are dynamically
linked with each other and with environmental factors, and all
together construct the conceptual framework of the ICF. Personal
factors are not explained in detail. The ICF does not intend to classify
people – although it does – but to concentrate on individual situations
and on the interaction between persons with a health condition and
their contextual factors. Components of health are stressed. The
environment thereby plays a key role because it might create barriers
or facilitate support in daily life situations, depending on each person’
s individual circumstances (WHO 2001). Barriers as well as facilitators
are of particular interest for the education of children with individual
needs and education in general, because they influence a child’s
activity and participation in educational settings. They are taken into
consideration in the ICF-CY (Children and Youth). The ICF-CY was
developed in response to a need for a version of the ICF that could be
used universally for children and youth in health, education and social
sectors (WHO 2007).
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