Key issues : Teacher Education

The Lesotho Video Story

In 1997 Save the Children had not been able to disseminate the videos due to a shortage of funds. Shortly after EENET was set up, in April 1997, we were asked to take over the video reproduction and dissemination. The timing was perfect. EENET was just beginning to build up its own database of resources on inclusive education. The dissemination of the video was an ideal first project. An article about the work in Lesotho and about the video was included in the first issue of EENET's newsletter.

The first 100 video packages were reproduced and disseminated by EENET in 1998. SC-UK produced the video manuals at low cost, and paid for 50 of the videos, so that they could distribute them to their programme staff. Since then a further 50 have been reproduced. We estimate that 120 video packages have been disseminated altogether. Most of these have been sent to people working in the South free of charge. Organisations based in the North pay £30 for the video package. The money collected ensures that we can continue to provide practitioners in the South with videos at no cost to them.

Although the video was produced in 1996 it continues to be a highly relevant training package today. This is partly because no other video material demonstrates the implementation of inclusive education in the context of limited material resources, large class sizes, teachers with no specialist training and schools located in remote rural areas. In fact EENET has received more enquiries about the video in the last 6 months than at any time previously. Issues that have been raised recently are the need to translate the video, sub-title, or caption it, and have it digitalised, which will improve the sound quality.

Footage from the Lesotho video has been used in a video, also produced by Roy McConkey, this time for UNESCO in 2001, entitled 'Deafness'. The Lesotho material is the only example in the whole video of deaf children being included in their local schools. All the other video material shows deaf children in segregated settings.

The use of the Lesotho video around the world

According to EENET's records the video package has been distributed to practitioners working in the following African countries: Lesotho, South Africa, Botswana, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Tanzania, Uganda, Kenya, Eritrea, Ghana. It has also been distributed in Asia: Vietnam, Thailand, Hong Kong, Nepal, India and Pakistan. It is likely that it has been used in other countries, through SC-UK's distribution. Voluntary Services Overseas (VSO) has also used the video widely, possibly in countries not mentioned here.

EENET has not been able to follow up everyone who has been given a Lesotho video to find out how they are using it. However we have received sufficient feedback to provide some examples of the variety of contexts in which it is being used.

South Africa

The video has been widely disseminated in South Africa - probably more than in any other country, including Lesotho! See Appendix 1 for detailed feedback from Dr Nithi Muthukrishna, who has used the video extensively.

Eritrea

The video was used in a training course in Eritrea in 2001 led by a consultant from St Martin's College, Lancaster, UK, for a wide variety of education professionals. The participants on the course were very impressed that a video existed, showing inclusion happening in Africa, and especially in large classes. They were also impressed by the use of case study work; examples of attitudinal change amongst teachers; consultation with parents and village elders; using other people and professionals to intervene and provide support; and the diagnostic testing methods using local resources. See Appendix 2 for further details.

Thailand

Discussions are under way with practitioners working in Burmese refugee camps about the translation of the video into a local language 'Karen', so that it can be used more widely to train teachers.

Pakistan

Sections of the video are being used by staff at the Aga Khan Uiversity in Karachi, Pakistan. They are developing open learning materials for the training of teachers. The course is entitled 'Inclusive Education for Children with Special Needs' and it is for the 'Master of Education' students.

USA

The video material is being used as part of a distance learning certificate for workers in developing countries on disability. The video is being captioned (given sub-titles) in order to make it more accessible. EENET will be able to distribute captioned versions of the video as a result of this initiative - at no additional cost.

Appendix 1

South Africa

Preparing Teachers for Inclusive Education - a video package from Lesotho An interview with Dr Nithi Muthukrishna, Enabling Education Issue 3

"This video shows how the capacity of teachers can be built to respond to the needs of disabled children - even in a country with minimal resources."

Dr Nithi Muthukrishna and her colleague, Mrs Thabi Ntombela, teach in the Department of Education, University of Natal, Durban, South Africa. 'Diversity in Education' is the title of one of the courses for the Higher Diploma in Education. This is a one-year post-graduate course for new teachers. 'Special Needs in Education' is taught as part of the post-graduate BEd and MEd degree courses for practising teachers. Here Nithi is interviewed by EENET about the usefulness of the Lesotho video for their teaching.

How did you hear about the Lesotho video package?
I heard about it from Roy McConkey. He produced the package with Lineo Phachaka, the Head of the Special Education Unit in Lesotho, and Lilian Mariga, SCF's adviser to the Ministry of Education on special and inclusive education.

How useful is the video in your work in teacher education?
We have found it extremely valuable because it reflects the practice of inclusive education in a context similar to South Africa. The most important aspect of the Lesotho experience is that it highlights the role that can be played by teachers and school management (our students!) in the whole process - not only in developing inclusive schools, but also inclusive communities. It also provides insight into how teachers and school managers can initiate school-based teacher development programmes.

Do you have other video material for your teaching?
One of the problems we have had over the years is the lack of literature and training materials coming from countries of the South. All other video materials were from the USA, the UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. They reflect highly specialized and costly models of service provision and support, and a dependence on specialists to meet the needs of disabled children. Their contexts are so far removed from the challenges we face. In South Africa, 90% of disabled children, especially those in rural areas, have no access to education. The small number of high cost special schools, situated mainly in urban areas, do not meet the needs of the majority of disabled children. An urgent priority is to provide an education for these out-of-school children, and find innovative ways to bring them into the system.

"The video is a rich resource that can be used in school-based initiatives."

What have you learnt most from the video?
The video shows the whole process of developing inclusive schools. A feasibility study; developing training materials; pilot schools; disability awareness; and developing an awareness of the new policy. It shows how teachers can increase participation in, and minimize exclusion from, the curriculum. It also shows how they can be trained in the following skills: early identification, curriculum adaptation, braille, sign language and the empowerment of parents to help disabled children. The teachers' stories are extremely valuable.

The transformation of an education system was initiated by a small number of committed individuals with very limited financial resources. They have moved away from the expert model of service provision and made optimum use of existing resources, such as special schools. The importance of developing a shared vision by all stakeholders is highlighted in the video. The human resources within the community are utilised and there is collaboration between parents, teachers, special schools, disabled peoples organisations, universities, colleges of education, NGOs, representatives from Health and Welfare. I was particularly impressed by the way the colleges of education and universities were made part of the process - and how their involvement led to curriculum transformation in teacher education. Our students are most impressed by the empowered African women speaking with such conviction about their own experience.

Lesotho is your neighbour - an independent country within South Africa. Is there any collaboration between the University of Natal and the IE programme in Lesotho?
There is no formal collaboration, but we invited Lilian Mariga and Lineo Phachaka to present at a recent workshop We have begun a pilot programme called "Developing Sustainable Inclusive Policy and Practice". This is linked to a 3-year collaborative research project involving inclusive schools in India, Brazil and UK. In March 1999 we organised a one-week workshop for 23 schools in a rural district of Kwazulu-Natal. It was attended by one teacher and the principal from each of the schools. Our model of inclusion, which is indigenous and community-based, addresses all barriers to learning and development that result in the exclusion of learners from the culture and curriculum of the school. Disability is one of the issues that will be addressed since the majority of learners with disabilities in this rural context have no access to education.

Would you recommend the video to others?
Yes - everyone involved in inclusive education should have one.

Dr Nithi Muthukrishna can be contacted at:
Department of Education,
University of Natal,
Postbag x10,
Dalbridge,
4014, Durban,
South Africa.
Email: Muthakri@nu.ac.za

Appendix 2

Eritrea

Hi Susie

St Martin's College has a contract with the Teacher Training Institute in Asmara, Eritrea (in the Horn of Africa) through Danida (the Danish department for international development) to retrain teachers to be primary teacher trainers.

We have been implementing an MA in Education programme called 'Developing Teacher Expertise'. This is following on from previous College Certificate work we have done with them.

We are in our third year of working with them, though progress has been hampered by the political situation. Colleagues have been to teach in Eritrea and the students have come here.

I am teaching on the next module in Eritrea this August. The theme is 'Teaching for Diversity' which takes into account global and indigenous issues relating to inclusion, equality of opportunities, human rights, access and entitlement, special educational needs and differentiation.

Our MA is based very much on the Eritrean educational agenda, not a Western, post-colonial, imperialist one, as we are very sensitive to their rights and needs as one of the poorest developing countries in the world. They see the route to true independence through education as part of their agenda for the 21st century. We try to use as many Africa-based resources as we can.

I shall be using a transformational model where constraints can equal resources. When we have no money, no time, inadequate resources, huge classes etc (which are usually seen as constraints), we can maximise these constraints into resources, based on needs analysis. The constraint is re-conceptualised as a resource. Well, that's the plan anyway!!

The reality of your Lesotho video - that shows this in action, would be a most valuable contribution to the work I shall be doing.

Hello Susie

I said I'd get in touch when I got back from Eritrea and here I am.

Eritrea is rebuilding itself from very little - virtually all the infrastructure for education etc has been lost since the war. This has been made worse by the ongoing border conflicts and threats from Ethiopia. Resources are few, but the will is definitely there.

The Lesotho video went down extremely well, apart from a bit of a problem with sound quality. But we all learnt an awful lot from it. I used it on my MA module which was looking at equal opportunities, inclusion and special needs. The group consisted of staff from: the Ministry of Education, Asmara Teacher Training Institute, schools: Directors, Vice-Directors, Heads of Pedagogy, Regional Advisors and classroom teachers.

The video contributed greatly to the course. The group was really pleased that I'd got a video of an African developing country and saw it as an example of good practice. They particularly liked seeing inclusion in the field and seeing inclusion happening in large classes.

They highlighted the following:

Management issues

• Preliminary research and fieldwork;
• The use of a pilot study for collecting evidence;
• A structured evaluation programme;
• Cascade mechanisms of in-service and continuing professional development;
• The fact that funding was made available from the education budget to conduct the project.

Impact on teaching and learning

• Different ways of organising for teaching for diversity;
• Provision through using differentiated methods and learning support;
• Practising teachers and real cases;
• Use of case study work to inform others;
• Examples of attitudinal change amongst teachers.

Local self-sufficiency

• Consultation with parents and village elders;
• Using other people and professionals to intervene and support;
• Methods of diagnostic testing using local resources;
• Indigenous education and mother tongue teaching.

Generally, they were delighted with the films and would like to incorporate the ideas into their own teaching and training.

They were interested to know the following:

• Has there been any follow up work, or any recent updating, as the video was produced in 1996?
• Are there any other examples of work like this elsewhere?
• Would it be possible to have either sub-titles or a script to ensure ease of understanding, particularly for those who don't have fluent English?

Any further information would be welcome on any relevant issues. Similarly, if you'd like any more information I'd be delighted to give it to you.

Best regards,
Helen Channon

Channon, Helen "h.channon@ucsm.ac.uk"
Education Department
Continuing Professional Development Centre
St Martin's College
Ashton Road
Lancaster
LA1 5AX
tel: 01524 526511
mobile: 0798 0647202
fax: 01524 846244

Key issues : Teacher Education

13/10/2004