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Framing heuristics in inclusive education: The case of Uganda’s preservice teacher education programme

NANTONGO, Proscovia S.
October 2019

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Background: Recent education-related research has raised concerns about the persistent exclusion of vulnerable learners in Uganda. The Revised Primary Teacher Education Curriculum of 2013 marked an ambitious yet inconclusive attempt to advance the implementation of inclusive education but has encountered deeply entrenched sociocultural exclusionary practices among education experts.

 

Objectives: This study aimed to explicate education practitioners’ interpretations of Uganda’s flagship inclusive education programme in preservice primary teacher education.

 

Method: Drawing on the conceptual vocabulary of frame analysis and the qualitative analysis of individual and group interviews and classroom observations, the interpretations of inclusive education implementation in preservice primary teacher education in Uganda were examined. The participants included policy design experts, curriculum design experts and classroom practitioners.

 

Results: Three main findings emerged. Firstly, interpretations of inclusive education displayed a narrow framing heuristic of inclusive education as a perfunctory, daily practice rather than a pathway for reflective, inclusive pedagogical engagement. Secondly, the heuristic encouraged the treatment of inclusive pedagogy as a ‘label’ under a specific rubric referring to sensory impairments or disabilities – a historical device for sociocultural exclusion. Thirdly, inclusive education was a praxis but was misframed from its original intentions, causing tension and resentment among practitioners. These findings contribute to the debates on the sustainability of inclusive education beyond preservice teacher education.

 

Conclusion: Uganda’s flagship inclusive education programme in preservice primary teacher education was fraught with tensions, ambiguities and an overt, urgent need for change.

 

 

African Journal of Disability, Vol 8, 2019

Bridging the Gap: Examining disability and development in four African countries. The case for equitable education

GROCE, Nora
et al
June 2018

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Over the course of a three-year project the Leonard Cheshire Research Centre worked with research teams in four countries: Kenya, Sierra Leone, Uganda and Zambia to better understand the relationship between disability and development in each country across four domains: education, health, labour markets and social protection. This mixed methods research used a range of interrelated components, including policy and secondary data analysis, a household survey of 4,839 households (13,597 adults and 10,756 children), 55 focus group discussions and 112 key informant interviews across the four countries. 

 

This report explores key findings in relation to education. Key findings discussed include school attendance, cost of education, inability to learn and gap in educational attainment.

Supporting HIV-positive teachers in East and Southern Africa

MALLOURIS, Chrstoforos
BOLER, Tania
September 2007

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This report provides an overview of the impact of HIV on teachers and the specific issues HIV-positive teachers face. It also summarises support mechanisms for teachers with HIV and presents key conclusions and recommendations from the consultation regarding how the education sector can support HIV-positive teachers. The report is the result of a consultation involving a range of different stakeholders including representatives of Ministries of Education, teachers' unions and HIV-positive teachers' networks from six countries in East and Southern Africa

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