Deafness : Inclusion and Deafness Report Contents

Inclusion and Deafness Seminar

University of Manchester, June 14th 1999

Inclusion and Deaf Education:
Should they Co-exist?

Joseph Kisanji: University of Manchester

1.1 Inclusive education is a process, not a goal. There are five possible notions of inclusive education, and inclusive practices may be based on one or more of these notions in a given country at any one time.

1. Reduction of the number of children in special schools

   The integration of disabled children in regular schools and the gradual reduction of the number of children in special schools is often equated with inclusive education.

2. Education of all children in the local school

   This is a moral notion of inclusive schooling. All children with special needs ought to be educated with their peers so that they can be accepted as valued members of their local community.

3. Inclusive Education as ‘Effective Schools for All’

   This notion demands that schools should change in order to meet the learning needs of all children in a given community. It seeks to improve the learning outcomes of students academically, personally and socially. There are strong links here with the school improvement and effectiveness movement. Effective schools see pupils experiencing difficulties in learning as indicators of the need for reform. This represents a shift in the conceptualisation of barriers to learning. The individual child is no longer seen as the problem, instead the curriculum and teaching methods require reform.

4. Inclusive education as meeting the individual needs of all learners

   The focus here is on meeting the individual needs of all learners in the classroom. It is argued that regular school systems will only begin to be inclusive when children described as having special needs form an integral part of the wider diversity in classrooms.

5. Partnership with the community

   This notion of inclusion differs from the above notions because it is not only concerned with school issues. The school is not only located in the community, but it is an integral part of it. All children, whatever their learning needs, go to their local school. Parents and community members play an active role in the school and the school takes part in the development activities of the community.

"Partnership with the community is perhaps the best entry point for introducing
more inclusive practices for Deaf children in the income-poor countries of the
South, where only a tiny minority are currently attending school."

Deafness : Inclusion and Deafness Report Contents

22/10/1999