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EENET Newsletters : Newsletter 8 Contents
Inclusion is seen as a process of addressing and responding to the diversity of needs of all learners through increasing participation in learning, cultures and communities, and reducing exclusion within and from education.
UNESCO believes that the issue of inclusion has to be seen as part of the wider international activities stimulated by the 1990 Jomtien Declaration on Education for All (EFA). In the early documentation on EFA, there was a rather token mention of ‘special needs’. This has been gradually replaced by a recognition that the inclusion agenda should be seen as an essential element of the whole EFA movement. Thus, instead of an emphasis on the idea of integration, (with its assumption that additional arrangements will be made to accommodate pupils seen as being special within a system of schooling that remains largely unchanged), we now see moves towards inclusive education, where the aim is to restructure schools in response to the needs of all pupils.
The Dakar Framework for Action and the subsequent Millennium Development Goals on Education, provide the most up-to-date frame of reference on making EFA a reality by 2015. However, the Salamanca Statement on Principles, Policy and Practice in Special Needs Education and the Framework for Action continue to provide a valuable reference point for all those involved in lobbying for inclusive education. It also provides a framework for thinking about how to move policy and practice forward. Indeed, it is arguably the most significant international document that has ever appeared in special education.
The statement concludes that regular schools with an inclusive orientation are:
‘…the most effective means of combating discriminatory attitudes, building an inclusive society and achieving education for all.’
Furthermore, it suggests, such schools can:
‘…provide an effective education for the majority of children and improve the efficiency and ultimately the cost-effectiveness of the entire education system.’
Salamanca encourages us to look at educational difficulties in new ways. This new direction in thinking is based on the belief that changes in methodology and organisation – made in response to students experiencing difficulties – can, under certain conditions, benefit all children. In this way, students who are currently categorised as having special needs come to be seen as a stimulus for encouraging the development of richer learning environments.
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National EFA Action Plans
UNESCO assists member
countries in developing their National EFA Plans. It sets out to make sure that
these plans really are inclusive, ie, that they cater for all learners. This
means that the principle of inclusion must inform and permeate strategies at
all levels of an education system. This is a major challenge and will require
expertise that is not always available within countries.
UNESCO has identified four components of the technical assistance and support required:
Inclusion is a cross-cutting issue in UNESCO’s overall programme.
If EFA is to be achieved, inclusion also has to be seen as the guiding
principle of development work with governments. However, countries must
themselves identify the types of technical support needed for the
implementation of their EFA Plans.
Taking a lead
UNESCO continues to see inclusive
education as a priority and will provide a lead in encouraging developments
around the world. In this connection, the
EFA Flagship ‘The Right to Education for Persons with
Disabilities: Towards Inclusion’ was developed over the last three
years to ensure that the goals of the Dakar Framework are realised for
individuals with disabilities. Its main goal is to provide access to education
and promote completion of quality education for every child, youth and adult
with disabilities. This will be achieved by ensuring that National EFA Plans
incorporate persons with disabilities, and by encouraging policy makers to
identify and remove barriers within the education system.
The strategic objectives of the Flagship are to:
The Flagship works in partnership with other UN agencies, international and national disability organisations, and donors.
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Sharing ideas
UNESCO will also continue to
encourage the sharing of experiences internationally and make available
materials that can be used to support the development of inclusive policies and
practices. Details of the materials currently available can be found later in this newsletter.
New directions
UNESCO is in a process of change.
Regional offices are increasingly taking over responsibility for implementation
and there is a move from a project to a programme oriented approach. This means
that the field and regional offices of UNESCO will carry out the programme,
leaving the headquarters in Paris to take on more of a co-ordinating and
facilitating role. Less than 30 per cent of available funds are spent by
Headquarters and more than 70 per cent by the regional offices.
With very limited funds, UNESCO needs to work in different ways to promote real change in education. In particular, change must be stimulated at the policy and system level if it is to be sustainable. By working in co-operation with governments and local, national and international disability organisations, UNESCO works towards the Salamanca vision of educational systems that are truly inclusive.
EENET Newsletters : Newsletter 8 Contents
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20/01/2005