1. Inclusive education for children with special learning needsAcross Central Asia, the majority of children with special learning needs do not have access to quality education. Many of these children, labelled as "defective", remain in special institutions without standards for education quality or at home without access to stimulating learning opportunities. The children who are integrated in mainstream schools often remain excluded from learning because schools, administrators, teachers and parents are not equipped to support their needs. Children’s special needs are widely viewed as immutable "defects" instead of as unique individual characteristics that create an opportunity or starting point for quality learning and instruction. Governments across the sub-region have committed to reaching out to children with special needs through policy initiatives, legislation and reforms to improve the quality of teaching-learning methods. Yet these initiatives require a major shift in the collective perspective on special learning needs and a new approach to instruction that encourages differentiated teaching-learning methodologies. Sessions one through three aim to promote this shift in thought by inviting in-depth discussions about the nature and definitions of special needs, providing examples from the region of models of inclusive education and providing an opportunity for country experts to work together and with international experts to analyse their country’s approach to children’s disability. Session 1 presentations:
Resources United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Road Home' by EveryChild - A video of the realities and effects of institutional childcare in Russia (for full version contact EveryChild) [PDF] (PDF documents require Acrobat Reader to view.) |
