OO213 - English Federation of Disability Sport

terms for 20 schools at a time, with training providedto one teacher from each school. 83 Severalof the CDD trainers are visually impaired or haveother disabilities, so they are important rolemodels for teachers and students with and withoutdisabilities. And in Mozambique, Ajuda deDesenvolvimento de Povo para Povo, a nationalNGO, has worked closely with the national disabledpeople’s organization known as ADEMO totrain student teachers to work with children withdisabilities and to train student teachers whohave disabilities. 84Teachers tend to work in isolation, which meansthey are often unsupported in the classroom,and are often under pressure to complete a narrowsyllabus imposed from above. Inclusiveeducation requires a flexible approach to schoolorganization, curriculum development and pupilassessment. Such flexibility would allow forthe development of a more inclusive pedagogy,shifting the focus from teacher-centred to childcentredto embrace diverse learning styles.Parents can play many roles, from providingaccessible transport to raising awareness, gettinginvolved in civil society organizations andliaising with the health sector so that childrenhave access to appropriate equipment and supportand with the social sectors to access grantsand credit schemes to reduce poverty. In manycountries, schools have community committeesthat are engaged in a wide range of activitiesto support inclusion. For example, in Viet Nam,Community Steering Committees have beeninvolved in advocacy, local training, securingassistive devices, providing financial supportand developing accessible environments. 87 It isimportant that parents and community membersrealize that they have contributions to make andthat their contributions are used.Although the importance of child participationand child agency is well documented, they situncomfortably within the existing structures and(continued on p. 36)Teachers need to be able to call on specialist helpfrom colleagues who have greater expertise andexperience of working with children with disabilities,especially children with sensory or intellectualimpairments. For example, specialists canadvise on the use of Braille or computer-basedinstruction. 85 Where such specialists are relativelyfew, they can travel between schools as needed.Even these itinerant specialist teachers can be inshort supply in such low-income areas as sub-Saharan Africa. 86 This presents an opportunity forappropriate support from providers of financialand technical assistance from the internationalto the local level.Involving parents, communitiesand childrenInclusive education programmes that focus onlyon classroom practices fail to harness parents’potential to contribute to inclusive education –and to prevent such violations as the confinementof children with disabilities to separate rooms.Boys play football at the Nimba Centre in Conakry, Guinea.The centre provides training for people with physicaldisabilities. © UNICEF/HQ2010-1196/AsselinA STRONG FOUNDATION33