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School Violence and Bullying: Global Status Report

UNESCO
January 2017

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"A 2012 report by the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Violence against Children1 notes that ‘more than one billion children around the world attend school. Many of these children enjoy their right to be taught in a safe and stimulating environment. For many others, however, schooling does not guarantee such opportunity. These girls and boys are exposed to bullying, sexual and gender-based violence, corporal punishment and other forms of violence… Many are also exposed to schoolyard fighting, gang violence, assault with weapons, and sexual and gender-based violence by their own peers. New manifestations of violence are also affecting children’s lives, notably the phenomenon of cyberbullying via mobile phones, computers, websites and social networking sites. The symposium is one of a series of international meetings UNESCO has organised to address school violence and bullying and it is intended to promote evidence-based action by educators, policy makers, professionals and practitioners in the education, health and other sectors. Consequently, this report aims to provide education sector stakeholders with a framework for planning and implementing effective programmes to prevent and respond to school violence and bullying as part of wider efforts to address violence against children." 

Evaluating the impact of a community–based parent training programme for children with cerebral palsy in Ghana

ZUURMOND, Maria
et al
January 2017

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"Cerebral palsy is the most common cause of physical disability in children worldwide, and yet in most low resource settings there are few services available to support children with cerebral palsy or their families. Research is required to understand the effectiveness of community and/or home based programmes to address this gap. This 2-year study aimed to evaluate a participatory caregiver training programme called ‘Getting to know cerebral palsy’ in Ghana. The training programme consisted of a monthly half-day support group with training, and a home visit, delivered across eight sites in Ghana over 10 months. A total of 76 families and children were included at baseline and 64 families followed up one year later at endline. Children were aged between 18months and 12 years with a mean of 3.8 years and a range of severity of cerebral palsy. Nearly all (97%) the caregivers were female and the father was absent in 51% of families. The study was a pre-post intervention design using mixed methods to evaluate the impact. A baseline and endline quantitative survey was conducted to assess caregiver quality of life (QoL) and knowledge about cerebral palsy and child feeding, health, and nutrition outcomes. Qualitative data was collected to explore the impact and experiences of the training programme in more depth".

Inclusive teaching and learning in higher education as a route to excellence

DISABLED STUDENTS SECTOR LEADERSHIP GROUP
LAYER, Geoff
January 2017

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The report encourages UK higher education providers (HEPs) to look at how they can support and offer the best environment for disabled students. It considers the requirement to provide ‘reasonable adjustments’ under the UK Equality Act 2010, and suggests actions to mitigate risks associated with that. It has been produced by the Disabled Student Sector Leadership Group, a sector-led group. 

DFE-00044-2017

School and classroom disabilities inclusion guide for low- and middle-income countries

BULAT, Jennae
HAYES, Anne
et al
January 2017

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This guide provides strategies and recommendations for developing inclusive classrooms and schools. We specifically address the needs of Sub-Saharan African countries, which lack the resources for implementing inclusive education. However, our strategies and recommendations can be equally useful in other contexts where inclusive education practices have not yet been adopted. Strategies for enhancing existing school and classroom environment and instruction include: modify the physical environment; modify classroom managment strategies; ensure social inclusion; adopt best instructional practices; apply strategies for students with sensory disabilities; and use assistive technologies. Strategies for adopting response to intervention include: tier by tier implementation; individualised education plans; and planning for school wide adoption of inclusive practices and a multilevel system of support.

 

 

Bridging the gap – your role in transporting children with disabilities to school in developing countries

ACCESS EXCHANGE INTERNATIONAL
AJUWON, Paul
January 2017

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This guide provides practical information for people who want to improve transportation for children with disabilities in developing countries. The guide will help parents and their children, teachers, heads of schools, and education officials to improve transport to and from school for children with disabilities. It will help transportation officials and transport providers, as well as agencies promoting sustainable development in developing countries. The guide addresses a variety of circumstances found in it's case studies, ranging from children with disabilities riding on school buses in large cities to children walking to school in some rural areas where roads do not even exist. Key findings and recommendations are presented from research carried out, case studies and interviews with school heads 

Inclusive education in Iceland

ONNUDOTTIR, Hildur Kristiana
2017

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The small population of Iceland made the creation of a segregated special needs school system a practical impossibility and the right of children to be educated within their community was ensured in the 1970s. When the policy of inclusive education was introduced in 2008 it encountered little resistance or concern, many believed that implementation would be simple. Yet, in a governmental report in 2014 it was revealed that only 32% of parents and 44% of teachers agreed that the policy of inclusive education had improved the education system. An interview with a Basic Education School teacher in Iceland added context to the statistics and provided a vital insight into what teachers feel that they need for inclusive education to be successful. 

Satellite classes: A promising model for educating children and young people on the autism spectrum

CROYDEN, Abigail
et al
2017

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Results of research into attempts to provide the best of both mainstream and specialist education for autistic children are presented. The ‘satellite class’ model of supported inclusion is where the strengths of a special school education are kept in place for selected autistic pupils as they transfer to dedicated classes within mainstream ‘host schools’. The schools studied were all within the London borough of Tower Hamlets, UK.

African Disability Rights Yearbook volume 5 2017

NGWENA, Charles
et al
2017

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This volume of the African Disability Rights Yearbook is divided into four sections presenting articles, country reports, commentaries on regional developments and a book review. The first section A of the journal presents a number of articles on issues affecting people with disabilities in Africa, ranging from education and rights of children with disabilities to albinism. Section B presents country reports on Djibouti and Madagascar. Section C presents two articles: one on mental health and the other on disability rights developments in the East African Community post-2012. Finally a review of E. Barnes’s 2016 book "The minority body: A theory of disability" is given.

 

Employment rights of persons with disabilities in India

RIOUX, Marcia
et al
2017

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This report presents an overview of individual experiences and systemic data concerning the right to work for persons with disabilities in India. The report is part of the AWARE Project conducted by DRPI in Hyderabad in Andhra Pradesh, India. A total of 78 people with various physical, sensory and intellectual disabilities participated in this study. The research team also consists of people with various disabilities. Individual experiences have been collected through individual interviews or focus groups discussions. Information was collected about the barriers and challenges to participate in the workforce. People with disabilities were asked by other people with disabilities to tell their own stories about when they have been left out, treated badly or prevented from participating in the workforce because of their disability. These stories give us information about the real human rights situation faced by persons with disabilities. Personal interviews were conducted in Hyderabad and Secundarabad cities in Andhra Pradesh, India. A total number of 78 people were interviewed. The data was collected, collated and interviews conducted by persons with disabilities

Good practice report on inclusive education and employment for people with disabilities in Bangladesh

HANDICAP INTERNATIONAL (HI)
2017

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This report is the output of a project titled “Advocating for Change for Persons with disabilities in South and South-east Asia” which was implemented by Handicap International for the period January 2013 – June 2014. In Bangladesh, the project supported Disabled People’s Organisations (DPOs) in 17 districts across the country, developing their capacity to advocate for rights of people with disabilities in education and employment. This report has been compiled to showcase good practices collected by DPOs and to promote practical recommendations, based on local evidence, on how to include people with disabilities in employment and education systems in Bangladesh. The Making it Work methodology was used as part of this project.

This report includes the 11 validated good practices including

  • to ensure access of people with disabilities to waged employment n factories
  • to ensure waged employment of people with disabilities though the Chamber of Commerce and Industries
  • to ensure access to start up capital for people with disabilities
  • to use local initiative to create educational opportunities for children with disabilities
  • to ensure access of students with disabilities to secondary education through social mobilisation by school authorities
  • to ensure access of children with disabilities to inclusive primary education
  • to ensure physical accessibility for children with disabilities in high schools
  • to ensure free of cost High School education for children with disabilities

The wellbeing of children with developmental delay in Bangladesh, Bhutan, Laos, Nepal, Pakistan and Vietnam: An analysis of data from UNICEF’s Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys

EMERSON, Eric
SAVAGE, Amber
LLEWELLYN, Gwynnyth
December 2016

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This report, produced by the University of Sydney’s Centre for Disability Research and Policy (CDRP),
uses data collected in rounds four and five of UNICEF’s Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys programme (MICS) to describe the wellbeing of young children with and without developmental delay in six Asian countries. The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) were used as a framework for identifying indicators of child wellbeing.

The report, authored by CDRP Disability and Inequity Stream Leader Professor Eric Emerson with Dr Amber Savage of the Family and Disability Studies Initiative, University of Alberta, Canada and CDRP Director Professor Gwynnyth Llewellyn, found that children with Developmental Delay in Bangladesh, Bhutan, Laos, Nepal, Pakistan and Vietnam are more likely than their peers to:
• Be living in poverty (SDG1). In five out the six countries children with developmental delay were more likely to be living in poverty than their peers
• Experience hunger (SDG2). In all six countries children with developmental delay were more likely to have experienced persistent severe hunger than their peers
• Suffer poor health (SDG3). On three indicators (poor peer relationships, diarrhoea and fever) children with developmental delay were more likely to have poor health than their peers. On three indicators (obesity, aggression and acute respiratory infections) there was no systematic difference between children with and without developmental delay.
• Experience barriers to quality education (SDG4). On all four indicators (attendance at early childhood education centre, family support for learning, access to learning materials in the home, maternal level of education) children with developmental delay were more disadvantaged than their peers.
• Experience barriers to clean water and sanitation (SDG6). On two indicators (improved sanitation, place to wash hands) children with developmental delay were more disadvantaged than their peers. On one indicator (improved drinking water) there was no systematic difference between children with and without developmental delay.

The authors noted that “Since the development of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) in 1998, increased attention has been paid to monitoring the well-being of children. The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) and UNCRC both contain explicit provisions regarding the rights of children with disabilities. These impose obligations on governments to act to ensure that children with disabilities enjoy the same rights and opportunities as other children. In order to promote the visibility of children with disabilities, enable better policy, and monitor progress, disaggregation of data related to children’s well-being on the basis of disability is needed."

Accessibility for All: Good practices of accessibility in Asia and the Pacific to promote disability-inclusive development

AKIYAMA, Aiko
HOLLIS, Jake
KRETZSCHMAR, Tyler
December 2016

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"This publication seeks to support policymakers in promoting accessibility at a policy and practical level. It contains information on relevant global and regional mandates that support and promote disability-inclusive development and accessibility, with a view to demonstrate the multi-faceted value of focusing on disability and accessibility policies to achieve broader development goals. Readers will learn about the core concepts of disability and accessibility, and be empowered with knowledge on standards, tools and means of promoting accessibility. Furthermore, this publication will outline and analyse examples of good practices of accessibility identified in Asia and the Pacific. The majority of the good practices featured in this publication were initially discussed at two international and multi-stakeholder workshops that took place in 2014 and 2015, with a few additional examples drawn from Pacific island member States. The selection of practices for this publication is based on their embodiment of the principles of accessibility, demonstrated success, measurable impact on the community, and their adaptable and replicable nature"

Society at a Glance 2016 : OECD Social Indicators

OECD
November 2016

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Society at a Glance 2016 aims to address the growing demand for quantitative evidence on the social situation, its trends, and its possible drivers across OECD countries. One objective is to assess and compare social outcomes that are currently the focus of policy debates. Another is to provide an overview of societal responses, and how effective policy actions have been in furthering social development. This edition of Society at a Glance discusses policy actions in response to the situation of youth Neither in Employment, Education, nor Training (NEET). Indicators on youth are therefore a particular focus

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/9789264261488-en

Asia Education Summit on Flexible Learning Strategies for Out-of-School Children

MIYAZAWA Ichiro
LEE Hyunjeong
November 2016

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The Asia Education Summit 2016 aimed to share the latest innovations and flexible learning strategies in education and educational systems development for Out Of School Children. Innovations can be considered to be the implemented ideas, actions, products, processes, or organisational methods, which bring about significant improvement and change. UNESCO Bangkok defines flexible learning strategies (FLS) as an umbrella term for a variety of alternative educational programmes targeted at reaching those most marginalised. Thus, this report ultimately aims to highlight and give voice to the unique innovative initiatives and flexible learning strategies shared during the course of this three-day summit. Consequently, each presentation summary in this report is intended to stand alone, while contributing to the collaborative nature and understanding of the innovations and Flexible Learning Srategies for Out of School Children C presented.

Asia Education Summit on Flexible Learning Strategies for Out-of-School Children

UNESCO
November 2016

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The Asia Education Summit on Flexible Learning Strategies for Out-of-School Children (24-26 February 2016) brought more than 550 education and learning colleagues from across the Asian Region and world to Bangkok, Thailand. The Summit welcomed 121 speakers and over 100 government officials. More than two-thirds of the Summit’s participants were NGO representatives and educators in the region who were, and currently are working “on the ground” in efforts with and for out-of-school children (OOSC).  This report aims to highlight and give voice to the unique innovative initiatives and flexible learning strategies shared during the course of this three-day summit. Each presentation summary in this report is intended to stand alone, while contributing to the collaborative nature and understanding of the innovations and FLS for OOSC presented. Presentations inlcuded "Sustainable and Innovative Financing for Disabled and Disadvantaged OOSC in Thailand: Mae Hong Son Model"

Disability Studies Quarterly (DSQ) - Volume 36, Issue No. 4 (2016)

DISABILITY STUDY QUARTERLY
October 2016

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 Disability Studies Quarterly (DSQ) is the journal of the Society for Disability Studies (SDS). It is a multidisciplinary and international journal of interest to social scientists, scholars in the humanities, disability rights advocates, creative writers, and others concerned with the issues of people with disabilities. It represents the full range of methods, epistemologies, perspectives, and content that the multidisciplinary field of disability studies embraces. DSQ is committed to developing theoretical and practical knowledge about disability and to promoting the full and equal participation of persons with disabilities in society.

Costing equity: The case for disability-responsive education financing

MYERS, Juliette
October 2016

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This report contributes to the global discourse on education finance by providing a disability perspective on donor and government investment into inclusive education. The report looks at the benefits of financing disability - inclusive education, the current state of education financing with regard to inclusion, and what needs to change in order for education financing to effectively support the realisation of Sustainable Development Goal 4 and Article 24 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UN CRPD). Representatives of nine leading bilateral and multilateral education donors were surveyed on their agencies’ efforts towards disability inclusive education: DFAT (Australia), DFID (UK), European Union, GIZ (Germany), Global Partnership for Education, Norad (Norway), UNICEF, USAID (USA), and World Bank

Right to inclusive education. Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. General comment No. 4 (2016). Article 24

OFFICE OF THE UNITED NATIONS HIGH COMMISSIONERS FOR HUMAN RIGHTS (OHCHR)
September 2016

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"States parties must ensure the realisation of the right of persons with disabilities to education through an inclusive education system at all levels, including pre-schools, primary, secondary and tertiary education, vocational training and lifelong learning, extracurricular and social activities, and for all students, including persons with disabilities, without discrimination and on equal terms with others". "The right to inclusive education encompasses a transformation in culture, policy and practice in all formal and informal educational environments to accommodate the differing requirements and identities of individual students, together with a commitment to remove the barriers that impede that possibility". The difference between exclusion, segregation, integration and inclusion is highlighted. Core features of inclusive education are set out. These general comments take the form of an introduction, normative content, states parties’ obligations, relations with other provisions of the Convention and implementation at national level." 

Learning generation. Investing in education for a changing world.

THE INTERNATIONAL COMMISSION ON FINANCING GLOBAL EDUCATION OPPORTUNITY
September 2016

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The International Commission on Financing Global Education Opportunity was set up to reinvigorate the case for investing in education and to chart a pathway for increased investment in order to develop the potential of all of the world’s young people. To achieve its goals, the Commission proposes a range of measures to finance education and a set of strategic reforms necessary for ensuring finance delivers real learning results. These actions aim to engage domestic and international partners across governments, the private sector, and civil society. This report summarizes the Commission’s findings and conclusions. It draws upon new research by partners around the world, new expert analysis of the existing evidence base, and wide-reaching global consultations with practitioners, education providers, ministers of finance and education, policymakers, and partners in education. More than 300 partners in 105 countries engaged in this process. The report also draws on the conclusions of dedicated expert panels on technology, health and education, and finance, as well as a youth panel. The Education Commission concludes that it is possible to get all young people into school and learning within a generation – despite the scale of the challenge, we can create a Learning Generation. 

Students with hearing impairment at a South African university: Self-identity and disclosure

BELL, Diane
CARL, Arend
SWART, Estelle
2016

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Background: A growing number of students with hearing loss are being granted access to higher education in South Africa due to the adoption of inclusive educational policies. However, available statistics indicate that participation by students with hearing impairments in higher education remains low and research suggests that support provisioning for those who do gain access is inadequate.


Objectives:  This article aims to illustrate that the assumed self-identity of students with hearing impairment influences their choice to disclose their disability. The choice not to disclose their hearing loss prevents them from accessing the necessary reasonable accommodations and this in turn may affect their eventual educational success.


Method: Reported here is a qualitative descriptive case study at a South African university. Purposive sampling methods were employed. Data were gathered from in-depth interviews with seven students with hearing impairment ranging from moderate to profound, using spoken language. Constructivist grounded theory was used as an approach to the process of generating and transforming the data, as well as the construction of theory.


Findings: All the student participants identified as having a hearing rather than a D/deaf identity cultural paradigm and viewed themselves as ‘normal’. Linked to this was their unwillingness to disclose their hearing impairment and thus access support.


Conclusion: It is crucially important for academic, support and administrative staff to be aware of both the assumed ‘hearing’ identity and therefore subsequent non-disclosure practices of students with a hearing impairment using the oral method of communication. Universities need to put measures in place to encourage students to voluntarily disclose their hearing impairment in order to provide more targeted teaching and learning support. This could lead to improved educational outcomes for students.

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