Worldwide, there has been an increased emphasis on the need to extend access to education to all children. The ratification of a number of international conventions has made this possible. This includes: the Salamanca statement on special needs education, UNESCO, 1994, the UN convention on the Right of the Child, 1989, and the UN international convention on the Right of the Persons with Disabilities (2000).

Education, according to (Grubb and Lazerson, 2004) is a tool that can be used to reduce poverty, to improve the lives of individuals and groups, and to transform societies. Providing an inclusive education is therefore closely linked to human, economic, and social developmental goals. As such, failure of an education system to provide education for all children not only leads to an educational underclass, but also breeds a social and economic underclass which will have serious consequences on society now and in the future.

In this regard, the development of policies that support inclusive education at all levels of education is essential. Unfortunately, around the world, and here in Kenya, children are being excluded from learning in community, public or private schools because of disability, race, language, religion, gender and poverty. This should not be the case because every child has the right to be supported by their parents and community to grow, to learn and develop. Children should be allowed to join or go to any school of their choice. And the schools should welcome them and make them feel appreciated. They should also get an opportunity to be included in all learning and play activities where their peers or teachers are involved. When all children, regardless of their differences are educated together, everyone benefits - this is the cornerstone of inclusive education.

What is inclusive education?
Inclusive education means different and diverse students learning side by side in the same classroom. The term inclusion here captures, in one word, the all-embracing societal responsibility - to secure and provide opportunities to students with disabilities so that they can to learn alongside their non-disabled peers in regular classrooms.

In an inclusive setting, every student should feel safe and have a sense of belonging. Parental involvement is critical, as they assist teachers set learning goals and decide learning approaches. The school community including teachers and all other staff members should be trained and supported to respond to needs of all students.

Why is inclusive education important?
An inclusive education system provides a better learning environment for children because it helps reduce discriminatory tendencies by promoting empathy and understanding for each other. In this regard, it is important that schools adopt inclusive education, because schools provide the context for a child’s first relationships with the world, outside their families. It is in and through schools that they learn to interact and establish social relationships. Respect and understanding grow when students of diverse abilities and backgrounds play, socialize, and learn together. When education is inclusive, future concepts like civic participation, compassion and community life, become a reality.

What are the basic elements of inclusive education?

The basic elements of inclusive education are;
•    Inclusive education must accommodate the use of teaching assistants or specialists: To deliver inclusive learning a multidisciplinary team is required and which may comprise of, teachers, therapist, specialists, assistants and other support staff.
•    Inclusive curriculum: the learning syllabus should avoid binary narratives of good and bad, and allow for the adaption of learning styles of children that will include special education needs. As such a curriculum that fosters for a broadened concept for inclusive education is urgently needed. This will allow for the development of pedagogies that will support the involvement of children with learning disabilities. .
•    Parental involvement: Most schools strive for some level of parental involvement, but it is often limited to emails home and occasional parent–teacher conferences. In a diverse school system, inclusion means thinking about multiple ways to reach out to parents on their own terms.

The Challenge
Often the greatest challenge of inclusive education is the children with disabilities themselves, because they face a multitude of barriers in terms of attending, participating in and ultimately benefitting from school. In addition there is always the issue of learning gaps – particularly because most children with disabilities either start school late or have never attended school. Issues of bullying, ostracization and negative attitudes of regular teachers make it even more challenging. Nonetheless effort should be made to overcome these challenges through constant communication and engagement, in addition to implementing the following recommendations.

Transforming Education and Training through Inclusion
How can we advance inclusive education?
The push to improve the delivery of education, which has become a worldwide phenomenon, forms the basis for the demand to accommodate inclusive education. This has been brought on about by the necessity to focus on what the students with disabilities need to help them learn and grow. This is echoed by the Competency Based Curriculum (CBC) learning framework, which focuses on the student as the center of learning. In the same vein there is the need to accommodate children with disabilities so that they are not left behind. As such to make inclusive education a reality we need to do the following:
•    We need to ensure that educators have the training, flexibility, and resources to teach students with diverse needs and learning styles. This includes strengthening the teachers knowledge, skills, and attitudes so that they can embrace the inclusive ethos, because they are at the heart of ensuring that inclusive initiatives and practices in schools succeed
•    In addition it is important that the government and school owners provide adequate and sustainable financial support so that there is the necessary infrastructure, services and activities that will fully support inclusive education
•    Parents need to assert their children’s right to education in inclusive settings, schools and the government should support this. However for this to be effective the whole community within the school setup should participate. This includes — the regular and special educators, social workers at school, other parents, and the able students—together the community should participate in the designing, delivering and reframing inclusive education as a shared responsibility
•    Finally we must continue to hold the central government and county governments accountable for implementing antidiscrimination legislation, legal mandates for inclusion, and policies to remove barriers.

In conclusion, the move to entrench inclusive education policies worldwide based on the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights will be a game changer. For it will give the government and the other stakeholders the impetus to push for the adoption of inclusive learning as part of the core curriculum. Currently inclusive education is still fighting for its space at the table. As advanced discussions are taking place on how inclusive education can be accommodated not just as a ‘special needs’ class, but as part of the education framework, proponents of inclusive education must continue engaging education stakeholders at all levels. So that even now children with disabilities and special needs are not left behind.

Reference:
Grubb,W.N & Lazerson,M.The education gospel. The economic power of schooling. (Cambridge: Havard University press,2004).
UNESCO The UNESCO Salamanca Statement and Framework for Action on Special Needs Education.(Paris: UNESCO, 1994). (1)


By Eva Naputuni
MSc. Special Education
Acorn Special Tutorials