Inclusive Education : Policy paper - Hiproweb.org

Implementation phase and monitoring and evaluation
Level 2: Improvement of services
(education, social, health)
30
Handicap International’s education work
on teaching and learning focuses both on
the service provided (e.g. by a school and
its staff) and the children with disabilities
accessing that service. The successful
development of a quality teaching service
which can achieve positive learning outcomes
relies upon long-term investment with those
involved in the teaching and learning process
and specifically, working closely alongside
partners (teachers, children, and families) to
understand their issues and collaborate with
them in the long term.
In the countries where Handicap
International works, there is currently a
widespread lack of teaching knowledge and
skills within formal and non-formal learning
environments. Predominant teaching and
learning methodologies are ‘one-way’, i.e.
from the teacher to learner, and the concept
of individual needs is rarely understood. The
large majority of teachers have only a basic
level of education themselves and have had
no exposure or training on how to ensure
that all children are able to follow lessons
and be included in school and community
life. Accessing teacher training programmes
can be costly for many and the prospect of
extremely low teacher salaries offers little
incentive.
Teaching children with special educational
needs, including children with disabilities,
presents challenges for teachers, both from
the perspective of social stigma for accepting
these children in their classrooms to the
preparation and delivery of ‘inclusive’ lessons.
Many teachers are poorly prepared to meet
these challenges, and as a result, the quality
of service delivery is weak and the learning
achieved by the students is limited.
Expected result: Teaching and learning for
an inclusive system of services
“Primary schools are able to include disabled
children with special education needs in
their classrooms and school activities and
can provide appropriate education”
Examples of activities 31 :
Developing links between model inclusive
mainstream schools and the surrounding
regular schools
Developing education programmes on
inclusive education with higher learning
institutions
Developing teacher training programmes
(initial and in-service) with teacher
training colleges and curriculum
development centres
Developing the education service to be
able to successfully train, recruit and
employ teachers with disabilities
Updating curricula and creating manuals
Developing links between mainstream
and special education to ensure specialist
services are available and accessible for
children with disabilities in mainstream
education settings (e.g. deaf children will
need to learn sign language; blind children
will need to learn Braille)
Participating in monthly teacher
meetings: presenting teaching materials
and Individual Education Plans (IEPs) as
assessment tools
Training local resource teams on inclusive
education
Setting up and training key groups of resource
persons to give support to inclusive schools:
i.e. to give advice to teachers and parents
and monitor the IEPs. These resource people
could be teachers from the special school
Training of teachers in classroom
management
Sourcing adapted teaching and learning
materials
Improving physical accessibility (in
schools and homes)
Awareness-raising sessions for all
teachers within a project area on inclusive
education, not just the target schools.
This activity ensures that all teachers are
predisposed to the issues of inclusion of