Inclusive Education refers to an education system which takes into account the learning and educational support needs of all marginalised and vulnerable children and young people; street children, girl children, ethnic minority group children, children from economically poor families, children from nomadic and pastoralist families, children with HIV/AIDS and disabled children.
Inclusive Education aims to ensure that these children are afforded equal rights and opportunities in education.
It is an approach to education which values diversity as an essential part of the teaching and learning process, and one which promotes human development. Inclusive education aims to combat the marginalisation of individuals and to promote difference.
In schools inclusion means that the whole school considers what measures it must take for the school to be accessible to all children (including disabled children). The school evaluates its existing capacities and from the outcome creates an inclusive improvement plan. This will include the planning of resources (infrastructure, human and material) to ensure that all pupils’ learning support needs are met. This occurs in collaboration with local education authorities, families, disabled and non disabled children and communities.
Handicap International’s work on Inclusive Education has a focus on the education of disabled children. This may be in formal education (education in schools) or in non formal education (education at home or in the community).
As our work takes an inclusive approach it inevitably promotes education opportunities for many other excluded groups within mainstream learning environments.The six main areas of activity within all of our education project are:
- awareness-raising
- identification (of disabled children out-of-school & in-school)
- support to parents
- teacher training
- accessibility
- development of inclusive education policies.
Why work in education?
Disabled children and young people are some of the most disadvantaged and vulnerable people in society worldwide. They are excluded from participation in social life and highly vulnerable to neglect and abuse. Disabled girl children are further marginalised within their families and communities and face a double discrimination due to traditional gendered roles and responsibilities.
This social invisibility of disabled girls and boys contributes to the fact that disabled children are excluded from local mainstream learning environments and national education frameworks.
Further resources
> Generic reasons why disabled children do not go to school in developing countries (doc, 213k)
> Generic reasons why disabled children do not go to school in developing countries (pdf, 17kb)
