Inclusion at KG Level in the UAE - Research Proposal Example

Research Project Proposal: Inclusion in Kindergarten Level in the UAE Name Institution Abstract Inclusive education has been an ongoing reform in the United Arab Emirates. Seven emirates including Abu Dhabi, Ajman, Umm Al Quwain, Ras Al Khaimah, Fujairah, Sharjah and Duba have adopted the special education policy framework from the Ministry of Education. Schools from kindergarten level to higher education institutions are required to adopt the framework and accommodate special needs (SN) children in their mainstream classrooms. The purpose of this project is to describe the effective implementation of inclusive education at the kindergarten level in the UAE. Reviewed literature confirms that the UAE has adopted inclusive education system but is facing a number of implementation issues. The project seeks to add to inclusion literature by focusing on the implementation issues facing teachers at the kindergarten level. Consequently, the project will answer three research questions: How can mainstream kindergarten teachers implement inclusion effectively in the kindergarten level in the UAE? What factors would hinder schoolteachers from implementing inclusion effectively in the kindergarten level in the UAE? What strategies can kindergarten teachers adopt to make inclusion more effective in the UAE? The project will use qualitative data collected from ten kindergarten teachers at a UAE kindergarten school. Semi-structured interviews will be used. Thematic analysis will be used to identify themes that can explain how the kindergarten teachers have adopted inclusion in their school, factors hindering the implementation and strategies to make the adoption of inclusion more effective at their kindergarten school. Keywords: inclusion, special needs, disabled, implementation, education system Introduction The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has undergone a number of reforms in the education arena in recent years. Educationalists, scholars, and professionals have been instrumental in driving these reforms because of economic growth and the need to change the education sector (Usman, 2011). In 2006, the UAE recognized the need to empower and support special needs children. According to the Ministry of Education Special Education Department (MOE) (2015), the government ratified the Rights of Persons with Disabilities by the United Nations (UN), the Federal Law 29/2006, and the Disability Act to protect the rights of special needs children and adults. The government also developed rehabilitation and vocational centers, supported Special Olympics, and made an effort to incorporate special needs (SN) children in the mainstream school setting (MOE, 2015). Within the education sector, the UAE government ensures that all children have access to private and public schools. The government also makes it illegal for any learning institution to reject an admission, fail, or hold back a special needs child (MOE, 2015). Furthermore, the UAE government facilitates the inclusion reform by providing special education teaching permits to the Ministry of Education, developing university curriculum for special needs educators, and adapting at least 100 public schools for SN education (MOE, 2015) This ensures that teachers receive appropriate training on specialized courses for inclusion of SN children in their classrooms. Lastly, the government supports the inclusion reform by ensuring that schools meet the equipment needs for sponsored SN children. An assessment team is responsible for evaluating the needs of disabled children in schools, following up on the children’s progress, and ensuring teachers develop Individualized Education Plans (IEPs) for every student (MOE, 2015). Inclusion in the Kindergarten Level in UAE Special education has been a major commitment in the seven emirates including Abu Dhabi, Ajman, Umm Al Quwain, Ras Al Khaimah, Fujairah, Sharjah and Dubai (MOE, 2015). The Education ministry developed a framework for integrating SN children in schools. This framework involves identifying at-risk children through universal screening programs, referral to a student support team (SST) for an individualized intervention plan and implementation of the plan (MOE, 2015). The outcome would determine whether the SN child continues learning in a regular class or is referred to a multi-disciplinary evaluation team (MET) for SN evaluation. For instance, a student with severe disability may be referred to MET because he/she may not benefit from regular classroom education (MOE, 2015). School administrators are obligated to provide equal education opportunities to SN children and comply with the government’s framework for special education (Usman, 2011). The purpose of the project is to describe the effective implementation of inclusive education at kindergarten level in the UAE. Research Questions 1. How can mainstream kindergarten teachers implement inclusion effectively in the kindergarten level in the UAE? 2. What factors would hinder school teachers from implementing inclusion effectively in the kindergarten level in the UAE? 3. What strategies can kindergarten teachers adopt to make inclusion more effective in the UAE? Literature Review Five studies were collected and reviewed on the topic. The articles were selected because the studies discussed the inclusion reform, special education programs in the UAE, or the implementation of special education in UAE kindergarten or primary schools. Alborno (2013) used the social model of disability to explain the adoption of inclusion in UAE public schools. The author reveals that the UAE has made significant progress in inclusion education. However, this progress has been hampered by implementation issues such as inadequate school structures (such as special books and differentiated tests), teacher training, insufficient support services (such as physiotherapy), slow community awareness to reduce the negative stigma associated with disability, and need for training on assistive technologies for special education. Additional factors affecting the effective implementation of inclusion in UAE schools are the school practices, policies and cultures (Alborno, 2013). Usman (2011) examined the cultural issues in inclusion within the UAE to reveal that the parents’ and teachers’ attitudes were significant factors affecting the implementation of inclusion in UAE schools. The findings are based on responses from 5 school administrators in the country. The findings show that some teachers feel ill-equipped to accommodate SN children due to their personal beliefs and negative attitudes towards disability. These attitudes are more prevalent in male teachers and novice teachers with less than 12 years of experience. The results also show that some parents prevent their children from attending mainstream schools in the UAE because they fear their children could be stigmatized, bullied or ignored by teachers and other students (Usman, 2011, pp. 23-25). These fears, stigma and negative attitudes from teachers and parents are some of the cultural factors affecting the effective adoption of inclusive education. Another descriptive study by Anati and Ain (2012) examined the current practices affecting the implementation of inclusive education in the country. The authors collected questionnaire responses from 26 public and private school teachers in the UAE. The responses reveal that the implementation of inclusive education is influenced by teachers’ dissatisfaction. The authors showed that teachers are dissatisfied due to lack of special education training to handle SN students, inadequate practice training for mainstream teachers, insufficient knowledge on inclusion by senior administrators, limited financial resources, and lack of awareness on the issues that arise from integrating SN students with non-disabled students (Anati & Ain, 2012). The findings reveal the need to address the teachers’ concerns on integrating SN students in their classrooms and to provide support (such as special education training and positive school culture) to empower teachers adopt effective teaching strategies for the inclusive setting. Gaad & Almotairi (2013) examined the challenges and issues regarding inclusion of SN students in UAE classrooms. Qualitative data from document reviews, semi-structured interviews and observations was triangulated to reveal that teachers did not have professional training to teach SN students, based their teaching strategies on trial-and-error, and needed the support of SN students to help them design effective teaching strategies. The findings also revealed cultural issues affecting the implementation of inclusion such as focus on disabilities rather than abilities and negative attitudes towards disability (Gaad & Almotairi, 2013, p. 290). The study confirms that teachers need professional training and awareness to reduce their negative attitudes towards SN students. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) (2009) conducted a study on inclusive education and challenges in developing an inclusive education system. The study reveals that the key challenges affecting policy-makers are negative attitudes towards SN children, developing an effective curriculum for inclusion, teacher training and the policy cycle. The findings show that teachers, educationalists, parents, school administrators, teaching institutions and the private sector need to re-examine their attitudes towards inclusion. This re-examination should promote active participation among parents, public awareness, community support for inclusive education, and accommodation for diversity in schools. Curriculums also need to be built on flexibility and accessibility for easier adjustment while the learning environment should promote teacher development, teamwork, interactive teaching methods, safe learning, and teacher-parent cooperation (UNESCO, 2009). Lastly, the organization proposes that stakeholders address policy concerns such as lack of data on the enrollment of SN children in mainstream schools, deficient data systems, and sporadic data on population of SN children. Others include inability to reach rural children with special education needs, fragmented allocation of financial resources to inclusion programs, and misunderstandings between education policy makers and teaching staff (UNESCO, 2009). In summary, the reviewed literature confirmed that the UAE has inclusive education in the current education system. Another common theme was the issues affecting the implementation of inclusion in UAE schools. Although the studies provide insight into these issues, they recommend further research on the implementation challenges. Furthermore, there were few studies that focused primarily on inclusion in the kindergarten level. This study adds to inclusion literature by filling the gap on kindergarten-level implementation of inclusion and the teachers’ experiences at this school level. The purpose of the study will be to describe the effective implementation of inclusive education at kindergarten level in the UAE. The researcher will collect qualitative information from ten kindergarten teachers at a UAE kindergarten school using semi-structured interviews (Creswell, 2009). The information will reveal how the teachers have adopted inclusion in their school, factors hindering their implementation plan and strategies to make implementation of inclusion more effective in the kindergarten school. References Alborno, M.E. (2013). The journey into inclusive education: A case study of three Emirati government primary schools. Master’s thesis, British University in Dubai. Anati, N., & Ain, A. (2012). Including students with disabilities in UAE schools: A descriptive study. International Journal of Special Education, 27(2), 75-85. Creswell, J. (2009). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Gaad, E., & Almotairi, M. (2013). Inclusion of student with special needs with higher education in UAE: Issues and challenges. Journal of International Education Research, 9(4), 287-292. Ministry of Education Special Education Department. (2015). General rules for the provision of special education programs and services (Public and private schools). Retrieved from https://www.moe.gov.ae/English/SiteDocuments/Rules/SNrulesEn.pdf United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. (2009). Policy guidelines on inclusion in education. Paris: UNESCO. Usman, F. (2011). Principals attitudes towards inclusion in Dubai public schools: Where do they stand? Masters’ Thesis, Loyola University of Chicago. Appendix what who how where when Research Question 1. How can mainstream kindergarten teachers implement inclusion effectively in the kindergarten level in the UAE? 2. What factors would hinder mainstream education teachers from implementing inclusion effectively at the kindergarten level in the UAE? 3. What strategies can kindergarten teachers adopt to make inclusion more effective in the UAE? Participants: 10 kindergarten teachers Background: Teachers from nearby kindergarten school will be selected. Male and female KG teachers How relate them: The KG teacher needs to have at least one SN child in his/her classroom and understand the government’s requirements for inclusion reform. Type of sampling: Random sampling Years of experience: 5 years or more as KG teachers Data collection tool : - Semi-structured interviews Design: Descriptive design 1. Teacher scale 2. Interview (phones) Analysis: - Qualitative thematic analysis - Interview responses will be Context: KG school in UAE KG: Al Nassr kindergarten in the UAE Teachers: KG1 and KG2 teachers for male and female students Classes: Boy’s and girl’s classes at KG1 and KG2 AD context Time 30-min interviews February 8, 2016: Morning interviews: 8:30 am to 11:00 am Feb 9 – interviews from 9:00 am to 11:30 am Read More