Elimination of Discrimination in Modern Educational System - Essay Example

3 April What is inclusive education and how will this shape your teaching practice INTRODUCTION Education is the process of acquiring knowledge through which the society transmits its accumulated knowledge, skills and values and moulds an individual for meaningful participation in life and desired social behavior. Education is directed by teachers in educational institutions. This process is called schooling. Systems of formal education include primary, secondary, higher, adult, alternative and indigenous education. Education is a fundamental right for all people, women and men, of all ages, throughout our world and nobody can deny this right to anyone. More than 40 years ago, the nations of the world asserted the right to education through the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Human rights are those fundamental rights, which are crucial to live and develop as human beings with dignity (World Declaration on Education for All, 1990). But in 1990 they observed that despite remarkable efforts around the globe to ensure the right to education for all, more than 100 million children, including at least 60 million girls, have no access to primary schooling; more than 960 million adults, two-thirds of whom are women, are illiterate, and functional illiteracy is a significant problem in all countries, industrialized and developing; more than one-third of the world's adults have no access to the printed knowledge, new skills and technologies that could improve the quality of their lives and help them shape, and adapt to, social and cultural change; and more than 100 million children and countless adults fail to complete basic education programs; millions more satisfy the attendance requirements but do not acquire essential knowledge and skills. The Jomtien World Conference on Education for All (1990), thus, set the goal of Education for All. UNESCO, along with other UN agencies, and a number of international and national non-governmental organizations, has been working towards achieving this goal - adding to the efforts made at the country level (UNESCO 2003). Human Rights Day 2009 observed on 10 December focused on non-discrimination. "Discrimination targets individuals and groups that a vulnerable to attack: the disabled, women and girls, the poor, migrants, minorities, and all those who are perceived as different" (Ban Ki-moon, 2009). UN reports about an estimated 650 million persons with disabilities worldwide, or 10 per cent of the global population, with approximately two-thirds living in developing countries. Despite encouraging developments there are still an estimated 113 million primary school age children not attending school. 90% of them live in low and lower middle income countries, and over 80 million of these children live in Africa. Of those who do enroll in primary school, large numbers drop out before completing their primary education (UNESCO 2004). The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, often referred to as CRC or UNCRC, is the first legally binding international instrument to incorporate the civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights of children. They are founded on respect for the dignity and worth of each individual, regardless of race, color, gender, language, religion, opinions, origins, wealth, birth status or ability and therefore apply to every human being everywhere (UNICEF, 2008). As of November 2009, 194 countries are signatories to this and they have ratified, accepted, or acceded to it. EXCLUSION UNESCO leads the global 'Education for All' movement, aiming to meet the learning needs of all children, youth and adults by 2015. According to UNESCO, today, 75 million children are excluded from the realm of education mainly due to poverty, gender inequity, disability, child labor, speaking a minority language, belonging to an indigenous people, and living a nomadic or rural lifestyle. 72 million children are still not enrolled at all in school and of this more than half are girls. Children in the rural areas and urban slums have hardly any access to education. Disabled children, who account for one third of all out-of-school children, suffer from blatant educational exclusion. Working children, nomadic children, children from linguistic minorities and those affected by HIV/AIDS are among the vulnerable groups. Such situations exist in both industrialized and developing countries. However, the exact cultural, social and economic consequences of these factors that limit access to or marginalize within education vary from time to time, from country to country and from location to location. Factors like poverty, inequalities in a society and lack of access to basic services contribute to learning breakdown, drop out and exclusion. For example, inequalities resulting from apartheid and economic deprivation have had a great impact on the education system in South Africa (NCSNET & NCESS, 1997). This indicates that in spite of the existence of human rights framework and convention establishing their rights as well as real progress since 2000 towards universal primary education, children suffer from unequal access to education. This also points out the inadequacies in current strategies and programs with regard to needs of children and youth who are vulnerable to marginalization and exclusion. The Dakar Framework for Action in April 2000 emphasized the need and urgency to address the needs of learners vulnerable to marginalization and exclusion through responsive educational opportunities. Inclusive education as an approach seeks to address the learning needs of all children, youth and adults with a specific focus on those who are vulnerable to marginalization and exclusion. The principle of inclusive education was adopted at the Salamanca World Conference on Special Needs Education (UNESCO, 1994) and was restated at the Dakar Framework for Action (2000). Against the above background, this essay attempts to explore inclusive education and how will this shape my teaching practice, with reference to children with disability. INCLUSIVE EDUCATION Inclusion is 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 (Booth, 1996). It involves changes and modifications in content, approaches, structures and strategies, with a common vision which covers all children of the appropriate age range and a conviction that it is the responsibility of the regular system to educate all children (UNESCO, 1994). Inclusiveeducation is based on the right of all learners to a quality education that meets basic learning needs and enriches lives. Focusing particularly on vulnerable and marginalized groups, it seeks to develop the full potential of every individual. The ultimate goal of inclusive quality education is to end all forms of discrimination and foster social cohesion.The ten questions on inclusive education discussed illustrate the principles, policies, strategies, changes in curriculum, and role of teachers in achieving inclusive quality education benefitting all learners. Inclusive education is founded on values of democracy, tolerance and respect for difference (UNESCO, 2010). PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES The estimated 650 million persons with disabilities worldwide make up the world's largest and most disadvantaged minority. The magnitude of the problem of disability is vast. The impact of disability on the individual, family and the community is very severe. Wherever they are, they often live deprived of some of life's fundamental experiences. They are deprived of appropriate schooling, getting a job or having their own home. The literacy rate for adults with disabilities is as low as 3 per cent and 1 per cent for women with disabilities in some countries. Education of children with disabilities has always posed a challenge to Educators. GOVERNMENT POLICIES AND SUPPORT Rule 6 of the UN Standard Rules for persons with disabilities states, 1993 "States should recognize the principle of equal primary, secondary and tertiary educational opportunities for children, youth and adults with disabilities, in integrated settings. They should ensure that the education of persons with disabilities is an integral part of the educational system. General educational authorities are responsible for the education of persons with disabilities in integrated settings. Education for persons with disabilities should form an integral part of national educational planning, curriculum development and school organization." The UNStandard Rules on the Equalization of Opportunitiesfor Persons with Disabilities (1993) are strongly supported and efforts are on towards full implementation of these rules world-wide. This resulted in U.S. enactment of the Americans with Disabilities Act, 1990 which influenced a number of countries to pass their own legislations (Disability Acts) and laws. France (1990); Australia (1992), Great Britain (1995); India (1995); Council of Europe (2003) are a few examples of this. In addition to this, the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (2006) ascertains to promote, protect and ensure the full and equal enjoyment of all human rights and fundamental freedoms by all persons with disabilities, and to promote respect for their inherent dignity. EDUCATION OF CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES The above mentioned government policies, legislative and regulatory frameworks support equal primary, secondary and tertiary educational opportunities for children, youth and adults with disabilities. However, a majority of persons with disabilities live in rural areas or urban slums. To ensure that children with disabilities are not excluded but are benefitted from education, the best approach to facilitate this inclusive education. A clear understanding of the principles of inclusive education is very necessary to develop inclusive schools. According to Booth, T. and Ainscow, M. (2000) inclusive education has three dimensions: creating inclusive cultures; creating inclusive policies and evolving inclusive practices. Addressing these three dimensions appropriately at different levels from policy makers to practitioners is crucial to the success of inclusive education. Inclusive development of schools leads to inclusive learning environments facilitating inclusive education. The principle of inclusive education states that the teacher should be a facilitator for learning of all children in the classroom. Inclusive education also envisages that the mainstream school (learning center) would adapt to the needs of every child in the classroom. Irrespective of the locality, all classrooms will have children with diverse abilities, aptitudes as well as needs. Every child is unique and learns at its own pace. It is very important to recognize, understand and appreciate the diversity in the classrooms. A special need experienced by a child is a need for an additional help required to perform an activity or understand a concept. Such needs and difficulty in learning are manifestations of problems associated with either social, intellectual, physical, sensory, motor or illness. The duration of such needs also vary from child to child. Thus, an understanding of the various factors that affect learning is also very important. As for teachers, it is very important to recognize the uniqueness and pace of learning of every child. Having said that, in a classroom of say 25-40 children, whose pace the teacher should follow. In a teacher centered classroom, a teacher sets his/her own goals and pace that will not match the individual children thus leading to underperformance, unequal outcomes and drop outs. Therefore, the best solution to this problem is to create a child centered environment through some reforms in the classroom organization. Thus, inclusive education is an important concept for teachers to understand. How does teachers' understanding of inclusive education shape their teaching practices Inclusive education is a process of removing barriers to enable all students, including previously excluded groups, to learn and participate effectively within regular school systems. A teacher being a proponent of education, need to maximize the participation of all learners in the community schools of their choice, make learning more meaningful and relevant for all. Education for all is a movement and therefore teachers in regular schools should be prepared to meet the challenge. Teachers' positive attitude is very critical to meet this challenge. Curriculum is one of the major tools to facilitate the development of more inclusive system. Inclusive education advocates a curriculum for all, which is child centered, flexible, participatory, and has a partnership with parents. A child centered curriculum, with broad common goals defined for all, takes into account the individual needs of children through its specific, observable, measureable and achievable outcomes. A flexible, locally relevant curriculum facilitates responding to the diversity and providing diverse opportunities for practice and performance in terms of content, methods and level of participation. A participatory curriculum provides a learning environment in which all children can actively participate in learning. Partnership with parents extends the facility to emphasize the role of parents as children learn not only in the classrooms but also at home. As a strategic approach, inclusive education identifies existing resources and innovative practices in local contexts, examines the barriers to learning, with a specific focus on marginalized and excluded groups. The curriculum can facilitate the development of more inclusive settings when it leaves room for the centre of learning or the individual teacher to make adaptations so that it makes better sense in the local context and for the individual learner (UNESCO, 2003). The clear cut understanding of the principles of inclusive education will mould the teaching practice of teachers fostering inclusive approaches within education, accordingly, with an emphasis on improved enrollment, quality of education, and application of improved pedagogy, flexible, success-oriented means of assessment, examination and evaluation. How will the understanding of inclusive education shape one's teaching practice As a teacher with special interest in children with disabilities, an understanding of inclusive education will help me modify my teaching practice to develop an inclusive school and ensure that (a) all children with disabilities are enrolled, retained and achieve on par with other children and (b) ensure that all children outside schools are enrolled into the inclusive education system. Accordingly my teaching practice also will revolve around the following inclusive methodology and teaching techniques. The first step is to equip the school and classrooms as a barrier-free, child-friendly environment so that every child gets an equal welcome. Screen all children in the school using inclusive education screening forms to identify any special needs of the child as well as to ensure that the child receives adequate rehabilitation procedures. Assess the functional levels of children who may have a special need using functional assessment forms. This will be followed by establishing the baselines to understand the current levels of learning using CCRD (A curriculum for all is further modified to the classroom level with Specific, Observable, Measureable and Achievable features; and multipurpose Curriculum based Criterion Referenced checklist designed. CCRD has a list of concepts, corresponding sub-concepts and sequential and graded learning outcomes. CCRDs will be used to establish baselines, develop Individual Education Plans, monitor progress, and for on-going built in evaluation of the student). After establishing the baselines, the individual educational program will be designed on an annual, half-yearly, quarterly, monthly and daily basis. Parallel to this the classrooms will be equipped with self-learning multisensory teaching and learning materials and co-operative learning environments created (Cooperative learning enhances the learning levels of all children as the retention is very high due to constant repetition). Establish baselines in the plus curriculum, the additional curricular requirements to optimize learning in the classroom and outside. This includes use of Braille, Abacus, Taylor Frame, orientation mobility, recorded tapes, large print etc. Introduction of participatory evaluation system and on-going assessment helps success-oriented means of assessment. Developing school based resource centre by mobilizing resources and establishing networks and partnerships with teachers, schools, families, communities, people's representatives and government departments to mobilize effective support. CRITICAL REFLECTION One of the greatest problems facing the world today is the growing number of persons being excluded from meaningful or gainful participation in their respective communities. While Poverty, ethnicity, religion, disability, gender or membership of a minority group are certain factors denying access to education, traditional policies and practices as well shortage of resources also add to exclusion. Inclusive education is a transformation process that removes barriers and enables all students of all ages, including previously excluded groups, to learn and participate effectively. It transforms the education system by enabling teachers to respond to the diversity of learners and take it as a challenging and enriching experience, rather than a problem. This approach helps developing the capability of regular education system to meet the diverse educational needs of students by planning and building on their ability levels and not on disability levels. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1949, Convention on the Right of the Child (UN, 1990), the Jomtien World Conference on Education for All (1990), the Dakar Framework 1990, the Salamanca Statement and Framework for Action (1994) and the Disability Acts are some of the legislative, regulatory and policy frameworks which supports teachers to facilitate inclusive education at all levels whether it general, adult or vocational. Applying the basic principles of inclusion, persons with disabilities or the marginalized and excluded persons of all ages can be comfortably accommodated and included in any educational, such as primary, secondary and high school, or vocational and adults training programs with positive results. Inclusion, starting with comprehensive early childhood care and education programs reduces impact of disability, prepare for primary schooling, further preparations like vocational training give them a better chance to use their full potential, succeed at all levels and lead a self-reliant life with dignity and meaningful participation. Inclusive quality education is an innovative approach, the practice of which transforms the education system to achieve the ultimate goal of Education for All. Teachers play a pivotal role in implementing inclusive education sans any discrimination thereby contributing to socially inclusive, cross-cultural understanding and practices in their professional, community and civic associations. Works cited Ban Ki-moon, 2009, 'Non-discrimination is focus of Human Rights Day', viewed 2 April 2010, Booth, T. 1996, 'A Perspectives on Inclusion from England', Cambridge Journal of Education, vol. 26, no: 1, pp. 87-99. Booth, T. & Ainscow, M 2000, The Index for Inclusion; Developing Learning and participation in Schools, Bristol, CSIE. 'Convention on the Rights of the Child', 1990, viewed 1April 2010 Convention on the Rights of the Child, UNICEF, 2008, viewed 1 April 2010, 'Dakar Framework for Action', 2000, viewed 1 April 2010 Inclusive Education, viewed 2 April 2010, . 'International Human Rights Instruments', viewed 1 April 2010 'National Commission on Special Needs in Education and Training (NCSNET) and National Committee on Education Support Services (NCESS)', 1997, Quality Education for All. Overcoming barriers to learning and development, Department of Education, Pretoria. 'Overcoming Exclusion through Inclusive Approaches in Education, A Challenge A Vision', 2003, Conceptual Paper, UNESCO 'Standard rules on the equalization of opportunities for persons with disabilities', 1993, viewed 2 April 2010, 'The United Nations Human Rights Day', 2009, viewed 2 April 2010 UNESCO (1994) The Salamanca World Conference on Special Needs Education: Access and Quality. UNESCO and the Ministry of Education, Spain. Paris: UNESCO UNESCO, 2010, 'Ten questions on inclusive education', viewed 1 April 2010, 'Vulnerable and Marginalized Groups, Education' UNESCO, viewed 1 April 2010 'World Declaration on Education for All', UNESCO, Jomtien, Thailand, from 5 to 9 March, 1990, viewed 1 April 2010 Read More