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Bibliographies : Save the Children (UK) : Towards Inclusion: SCF UK's Experience in Integrated Education - Contents
Case Study - SCF Laos
Integrated Education
Incountry Experience 1992-1995
1. Situation of Education for Children with Special Needs Prior
to the Start of SCF's Work on Integrated Education
No
special provision for children with disabilities was available. In September
1992, a school for the deaf catering for 30 pupils (present numbers), was
opened at the National Rehabilitation Centre located in the capital Vientiane.
A school for the blind (17 pupils) on the same site was opened in 1993.
2. SCF's Starting Point in Laos
SCF's involvement
in Integrated Education came about through the programme's primary education
project, which aims to upgrade teacher effectiveness in primary schools through
the reform and development of pre-service and in-service teacher training.
The major focus of the primary education project was to develop a one year pre-service teacher training course for students who had had eleven years of formal education. It was decided to develop a course that would be as practical as possible, concentrating on teaching skills and methodologies that related to the different stages of a child's development. Emphasis was placed on what was happening in the classroom, how children were or were not learning, and whether the teaching methodologies being used were effective. Learning to see what was happening in the classroom was seen as being the key to improving practice and to the development of the training programme.
The most striking factor to emerge from classroom observations was that children's individual learning needs were given scant attention. Assessment was found to occur infrequently, and when it did take place it was invariably normative. Little evidence of formative or diagnostic assessment was seen. Arising from these observations, debate on children's learning needs and on helping children with learning difficulties developed.
It was these discussions at the end of 1991 and the beginning of 1992, which in effect marked the beginning of SCF's involvement in Integrated Education. Throughout the development of SCF's Integrated Education work in Laos, it has been seen as being an integral component in meeting the aims of the primary education project of whole school improvement and the provision of effective education for all.
3. Development of Integrated Education in Laos
In the development of the project since 1992, two distinct phases can be
recognised: An awareness raising/preparation phase, and an implementation/pilot
stage.
Awareness raising/preparation phase
Initial
situational analysis revealed that few of the people working with the primary
education project had any perception of special needs or integrated education,
or how the learning difficulties of children with special needs could be
addressed. To remedy this, what followed over the next two years, was a process
of awareness raising within the primary education project and the Ministry.
A visit to Laos in early 1992 by the SCF Regional Disability Advisor helped to focus senior officials at the Ministry of Education on disability issues within education, and how strategies could be developed for implementing educational provision for children with special needs. Further awareness raising opportunities were provided. Study tours to the UK, Thailand, Japan, Indonesia and Australia contained special needs components or concentrated on special needs provision in the countries visited. These visits helped to broaden people's perceptions and inform them of what approaches were being used elsewhere to provide education for those with special needs. SCF regional workshops provided additional input.
Participation in the UNESCO workshop in Thailand introducing the UNESCO Resource Pack in January 1993, and in the UNESCO Regional Seminar on Planning and Organisation of Education for Children with Special Needs held in Harbin China in February 1993 provided further exposure. This exposure and the government's wish to fulfil its obligations under the treaty on the Rights of the Child accelerated the need for action. After the Harbin meeting, a joint working party (Project Board) drawn from the Ministry of Education and the National Rehabilitation Centre was formed with the mandate to develop strategies for special needs education within the country. With the help of SCF's Field Director in Thailand (formally the Regional Disability Advisor), funds were secured from UNESCO for and incountry workshop to introduce the UNESCO Resource Pack. The working party decided that this workshop would be an ideal time to initiate the start of a pilot school for integrated education. Having been involved in much of the awareness raising for integrated education as an approach to special education needs provision in Laos, SCF was asked to provide technical and financial support for the pilot programme.
Implementation/pilot stage
The setting up of the
pilot school marked the beginning of the implementation stage. The pilot school
(Saphanthong Neua) was selected by the Ministry on the basis of it having a
good administrative structure, an active parent/teacher association and the
fact that three children with special needs were already attending the school.
In its first year the school admitted 12 pupils with special needs, at present
the number has risen to 22.
The aims of the pilot project were to: ascertain the feasibility of integrated education in Lao primary schools; mobilise the support of decision makers, communities and families, in order to make the education system more responsive to the needs of all children, including those with special needs. More specifically, its objectives were to improve the teaching skills of primary teachers in order to provide an effective learning environment for children with special needs and to adapt curricula, testing systems and other regulations which prevent successful learning.
Since the pilot school started in September 1993 a number of training courses for teachers, teacher trainers and for Ministry, district and provincial officials have been held at the school. All the teachers attended a three week training course in Chiang Mai, Thailand in February 1994, and in December 1994, the Director of UNESCO's Special Needs in the Classroom Resource Pack conducted a seminr on school improvement at the school. These training courses were also supplemented with additional classroom support and the progress of the school was monitored on a regular basis. As there was no special needs expertise available in the country, the training endeavoured to de-emphasise the `special' in special needs, concentrating rather on how teaching and classrooms could be organised in order to meet the needs of all pupils. An evaluation in May 1994 by the Project Board indicated that good progress had been made. However, there were still some feelings of insecurity amongst the teachers. To counter this and to take the project forward, and Integrated Education Advisor was appointed to work with the project, taking up the post in February 1995.
4. Situation Now for the Education of Children With Special
Needs
Following an assessment by the Integrated Education
Advisor and from previous monitoring and evaluation evidence, it was clear that
Lao schools could provide education for children with special needs providing
there was sufficient training and support. It was therefore recommended that
the project be extended. Education for children with special needs was on the
Government's and the Ministry's agenda and was supported by them, this support
being manifested in plans to change the policy and regulations governing
schools in order to end discrimination against children with disabilities. The
pilot project school had had considerable success with many children although
it had been difficult for newly trained teachers to successfully implement
programmes for some children. These tended to be children with more severe
disabilities and those entering primary school very late without any previous
education or training. Such children may have additional problems due to their
social isolation and the neglect of their development during early years.
Discussions took place about how IE could be taken forward and introduced in several schools. A replicable model was needed which did not need extensive external training and relied, instead on the growing skills of the small implementation group made up of MoE staff and teacher trainers. Methods of supporting schools new to IE were needed as was time for schools to increase skills gradually.
The chosen model included the following aspects:
Two centres were chosen for the extension of the project: Vientiane and the southern province of Savanakhett. Both locations had the advantage of a rehabilitation centre which can offer advice and support to schools. Before opening the programmes in new schools short training courses were held for local administrators, headteachers, kindergarten teachers and teachers from Grade 1 and 2 of the primary schools. In September 1995 six primary schools and four kindergartens recruited disabled children. Support for these schools continues at the present time and early indications are that the programme is progressing smoothly.
5. Key Factors in Programme Development
In the
development of integrated education in the Lao PDR since 1992, a variety of
factors, both internal and external, can be identified as having been
significant in programme development. These include: government policy;
UNESCO's initiative in special needs education within the region; regional
support by the Save the Children Fund; other Save the Children education
programmes within Laos; lack of conflicting interests within special needs
education within Laos; external support in terms of professional expertise;
easy access to decision makers within the Ministry of Education; programme
costs; early intervention; ways of working and sustainability.
Government policy
The Ministry of Education's
implementation of the government's policy of compulsory education in pursuit of
'Education for All' has provided a foundation and impetus for the introduction
of the integrated education programme. This policy has cleared the way for the
entry of children with special needs into mainstream schools, and recognises
that curricula, teaching and organisational changes may need to occur within
the system to accommodate the different needs of children.
In addition, the implementation of the policy has created a 'climate of
change' within the country with regards to education. This 'climate of change'
is a major motivating factor throughout the education system. People are
expecting change and want to participate in the changes occurring, and this
works to the advantage of new approaches such as integrated education.
The UNESCO initiative
Being able to participate in
UNESCO's regional initiative to promote integrated education through its
'Teacher Education Resource Pack for Special Needs in the Classroom', has been
important in several ways. First, it has legitimised and given status to the
project's ways of working. The methods advocated in the Resource Pack mirrored
approaches that were already being implemented in Save the Children's primary
and pre-school programmes. Secondly, it internationalised the programme,
providing Ministry of Education personnel with the opportunity to observe the
provision of education for children with special needs in other countries as
well as giving them access to networks that previously they had no
participation in. Thirdly, it provided the funding for a high profile initial
training course opened by the vice-minister of education, which marked the
beginning of the implementation phase.
Other Save the Children programmes within Laos
Save the Children's other programmes in pre-school and primary education, which
concentrate on child-centred approaches to teaching and whole school
development, have provided the framework on which the integrated education
programme has been built. Integrated education was to some extent already being
enacted in both programmes, although it was not specifically defined as such.
Both decision makers at the Ministry of Education and practitioners (teachers
and teacher trainers) were already comfortable with changes in practice that
were taking place, and the concept of integrated education, based as it was on
these approaches, posed no threat.
Support from Save the Children's Regional Office, Bangkok, and Save
the Children's regional work in integrated education
As
mentioned earlier in the section on programme development, Save the Children's
Regional Office in Bangkok has played an important role in both phases of the
programme's development. The start of the programme can be traced back to a
country visit by the Regional Disability Advisor in 1992, and much of the early
development of the programme was dependent on the support of the Regional
Office and other Save the Children programmes within the region (in Thailand,
Vietnam and China), as were the initial links with UNESCO.
Lack of conflicting interests
As mentioned
earlier in the report, there is only very limited provision for children with
special needs in Laos. Because of this, there has been no opposition to
integrated education from professionals who have their own vested interests in
keeping special educational needs separate. Nor has there been any conflict
between the education and health sectors as to who should control educational
provision for special needs. Co-operation between both sectors has been good,
and has been an important factor in programme development. The steering group
set up to supervise the implementation of the programme contains members from
both sectors, and both are mutually supportive.
Early intervention
Experience from the pilot
school of the entry of children at different age levels (most of whom have
never been to school before) has revealed difficulties for teachers new to
integration. Early intervention is recommended, and the programme is resolving
these difficulties by bringing children with special needs into education at
the earliest possible age through the kindergarten programme.
Professional expertise - external support
Laos
has very limited technical expertise in special needs education. As a
consequence, the timeframe for the development of a sustainable programme may
take longer than in countries where there is established special needs
provision. Because of this, until local skills can be developed, technical
input from outside has been and will remain essential if integrated education
is to succeed.
Involvement of decision makers
Involvement of
decision makers in the Ministry of Education and their close support and
supervision of the programme from the beginning has meant that implementation
has gone forward with the minimum of fuss. Having this involvement also means
that practice can more easily influence policy, and programme adjustment is
more easily achieved.
Costs
Where resources for education are limited,
integrated education is the most cost-effective approach in providing education
for children with special needs. Initial costs have been moderate, and although
costs may increase over the coming years due to the training required to
establish a local cadre of expertise and the initial expansion of the project,
future costs should be within the ministry's budget.
Ways of working
Perhaps the most important
factor in the programme's progress has been the ways of working within the
programme. Decision making has always been through consultation, and all
parties affected by the project (education and health officials, teacher,
trainers, parents, children and local communities) have been involved. Because
everyone is aware of the developments and has a chance to affect them, work is
facilitated. Commitment to the project from the people working with it has
always been strong and this has particularly facilitated the implementation
phase. An example of this commitment can be seen in the activities of two
deputy-directors of major departments at the Ministry of Education, who are
chair and deputy chair of the project steering board. With few exceptions, they
have attended every workshop and meeting connected with the project and have
been a major influence in maintaining project momentum.
Sustainability
Working with government in line
with its national policy builds into the project the potential for
sustainability. If integration is feasible, and this seems to be the case, only
the government has the capacity to carry it forward.
Bibliographies : Save the Children (UK) : Towards Inclusion: SCF UK's Experience in Integrated Education - Contents
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17/10/1997