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Global education monitoring report, 2020, Latin America and the Caribbean: inclusion and education: all means all

GLOBAL EDUCATION MONITORING REPORT TEAM
LABORATORY OF EDUCATION RESEARCH AND INNOVATION FOR LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN (SUMMA)
UNESCO OFFICE SANTIAGO AND REGIONAL BUREAU FOR EDUCATION IN LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN (OREALC/UNESCO)
2020

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This regional report on inclusion and education in Latin America and the Caribbean offers a deep dive into the core challenges and key solutions for greater inclusion, in a region characterized for having the largest and most challenging socio-economic inequalities in the world.

In the framework of this report, 29 in-depth case studies from the region covering 8 dimensions of exclusion were prepared. The Report covers access to education of Venezuelan migrants in Colombia and Haitians in Dominican Republic; remoteness in Suriname and Brazil; disability in Nicaragua; girls in Peru and boys in Jamaica; sexual orientation in Mexico and Chile; and youth incarceration in Uruguay. It also explores how the Covid-19 pandemic has further exposed and deepened the disparities that already existed in education.

Chapter 2 analyses the role of legal tools in supporting the development of inclusive education. Chapter 3 addresses governance and finance. Chapter 4 discusses the politically complicated issue of how curricula and learning materials are adapted to the principles of inclusive education. Chapter 5 looks at ways teachers can support the case for inclusion, considers their needs, and examines how well governments help them prepare to meet the inclusion challenge.  Chapter 6 examines school-level factors. Chapter 7 examines communities’ crucial role in achieving inclusive education. After these chapters addressing the main inclusion challenges, Chapter 8 looks at them all through the lens of COVID-19. 

Every learner matters: Unpacking the learning crisis for children with disabilities

McCLAIN-NHLAPO, Charlotte
et al
June 2019

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This paper was developed by the World Bank in partnership with Leonard Cheshire and Inclusion International. It is an attempt to add knowledge to the current understanding of the importance of learning achievements, with a focus on children with disabilities. While the premise is that inclusive education refers to the inclusion of all children, the focus of this paper is on children with disabilities.

The aim of the paper is to:

  • Provide an evidence-based review of educational participation of children with disabilities.
  • Establish a case for focusing on learning achievements for students with disabilities.
  • Take stock of current mechanisms of measurement of learning outcomes and review their inclusivity.
  • Explore evidence of practice and systems which promote disability-inclusive learning for all. 

Four case studies are provided - from Pakistan, South Africa, Canada and UK.

Uzbekistan: Case for inclusion

NAM, Galina
2019

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The inclusion of children with disabilities in mainstream education has become an important agenda for many developing countries. The Uzbekistan government has also attempted to provide equal educational opportunities to this previously excluded group of children. Despite these efforts, however, many children with disabilities remain segregated. The total number of children with disabilities under 16 years old in the country is 97,000 (Uzbek Society of Disabled People, 2014). The majority of them either study at specialised educational institutions, or receive home-based education. Those who are placed at specialised institutions are often deprived of resources and services necessary to receive adequate education (UNICEF, 2013). While limited by the lack of reliable empirical data and research, this article aims to present the current situation in the development of inclusive education in Uzbekistan. It outlines the major legislative documents intended to support inclusive education and identifies some of the current obstacles to inclusive education practices.

 

Disability, CBR and Inclusive Development, Vol 30, No 1 (2019)

Funding and inclusion in higher education institutions for students with disabilities

CHIWANDIRE, Desiree
VINCENT, Louise
2019

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Background: Historically, challenges faced by students with disabilities (SWDs) in accessing higher education institutions (HEIs) were attributed to limited public funding. The introduction of progressive funding models such as disability scholarships served to widen access to, and participation in, higher education for SWDs. However, recent years have seen these advances threatened by funding cuts and privatisation in higher education.

 

Objectives: In this article, the funding mechanisms of selected developed and developing democratic countries including the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, Australia, South Africa and India are described in order to gain an insight into how such mechanisms enhance access, equal participation, retention, success and equality of outcome for SWDs. The countries selected are often spoken about as exemplars of best practices in relation to widening access and opportunities for SWDs through government mandated funding mechanisms. Method: A critical literature review of the sample countries’ funding mechanisms governing SWDs in higher education and other relevant government documents; secondary academic literature on disability funding; online sources including University World News, University Affairs, newspaper articles, newsletters, literature from bodies such as the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, Disabled World and Parliamentary Monitoring Group. Data were analysed using a theoretically derived directed qualitative content analysis.

 

Results: Barriers which place SWDs at a substantial educational disadvantage compared to their non-disabled peers include bureaucratisation of application processes, cuts in disability funding, means-test requirements, minimal scholarships for supporting part-time and distance learning for SWDs and inadequate financial support to meet the day-to-day costs that arise as a result of disability.

 

Conclusion: Although the steady increase of SWDs accessing HEIs of the sampled countries have been attributed to supportive disability funding policies, notable is the fact that these students are still confronted by insurmountable disability funding-oriented barriers. Thus, we recommend the need for these HEIs to address these challenges as a matter of urgency if they are to respect the rights of SWDs as well as provide them with an enabling environment to succeed academically.

 

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.

Disability and inclusive education - A stocktake of education sector plans and GPE-funded grants

BANHAM, Louise
PAPAKOSTI, Elena
et al
March 2018

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This report was commissioned by the Global Partnership for Education’s Secretariat to take stock of how disability and inclusive education are included in education sector plans in 51 countries, including GPE-funded programs, such as education sector program implementation grants, program documents, implementation progress reports education sector analysis, if applicable, and other relevant GPE program documents.

This report documents progress and highlights the need to step up support to GPE partner countries on disability and inclusive education, to improve consideration of issues around disability and inclusion in education sector analysis and sector planning processes to better promote the achievement of GPE 2020 strategic goal 2, and to fulfill the transformative vision of Agenda 2030

GEM report summary on disabilities and education

UNESCO
2018

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In support of the run-up to the 2020 GEM Report on inclusion and education, this paper contains summarised content related to disabilities and education in previous Global Education Monitoring (GEM) Reports since 2010. Reports cited from 2010 and 2015 monitored countries in the Global South. The GEM Report started monitoring countries in the Global North from the 2016 Report onwards only.

 

Topics covered include: compliance monitoring; the role of civil society organisations; lack of data; marginalisation; data on primary school attendance; intersection with other disadvantages; different education related challenges; and ten education policies to counteract marginalisation.

Impact area overview: the right to inclusive quality education

PLAN INTERNATIONAL
July 2016

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A review by Plan International of their work in the area of inclusive education is presented. Rights associated with inclusive education, education targets in SDGs and global education intitatives and trends are outlined. Issues associated with inclusive education implementation and what needs to be done are discussed. The experience, standards, priorities and strategies and advocacy of Plan International are reported.

Towards a disability inclusive education.

SAEBONES, Ann-Marit
BERMAN BIELER Rosangela
BABOO Nafisa
BANHAM Louise
SINGA Nidhi
HOWGEGO Catherine
VUYISWA MACCLAIN-NHLAP Charlotte
RI Trine Cecilie
et al
January 2016

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Background paper for the Oslo Summit on Education for Development July 7th, 2015. This paper covers the four topics of the Oslo Summit: investment in education, quality of learning, education in emergencies and girls’ education. The inclusion of children with disabilities is a moral issue as well as an economic and social issue: the costs of exclusion are significant for both for the individual and for society. Disability inclusion should be mainstreamed in all policies and plans. Accessibility standards should be implemented and supported by international development cooperation. Currently, 1/3 of the 58 million out of school children are children with disabilities. Planning and budgeting by national governments and development partners needs to include children with disabilities. There is an immediate need for inclusive reporting and monitoring, for applying disability specific education indicators as well as a need for systematic collection of disaggregated data on disability, age and gender. Keys to achieving quality disability inclusive education include: requiring minimum standards of accessibility for all schools, including in emergency settings; investment in teacher training; ensuring that learning materials/resources are available in accessible formats and are easily adaptable; investment in assistive technology and devices; ensuring participation of Disabled People’s Organisations in education planning and monitoring.

Education 2030 Incheon Declaration And Framework for action towards inclusive and equitable quality education and lifelong learning for all

WORLD EDUCATION FORUM 2015
2015

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UNESCO together with UNICEF, the World Bank, UNFPA, UNDP, UN Women and UNHCR organized the World Education Forum 2015 in Incheon, Republic of Korea, from 19 – 22 May 2015, hosted by the Republic of Korea. Over 1,600 participants from 160 countries, including over 120 Ministers, heads and members of delegations, heads of agencies and officials of multilateral and bilateral organizations, and representatives of civil society, the teaching profession, youth and the private sector, adopted the Incheon Declaration for Education 2030, which sets out a new vision for education for the next fifteen years.

Towards 2030: a new vision for education

Our vision is to transform lives through education, recognizing the important role of education as a main driver of development and in achieving the other proposed SDGs. We commit with a sense of urgency to a single, renewed education agenda that is holistic, ambitious and aspirational, leaving no one behind. This new vision is fully captured by the proposed SDG 4 “Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all” and its corresponding targets. It is transformative and universal, attends to the ‘unfinished business’ of the EFA agenda and the education-related MDGs, and addresses global and national education challenges. It is inspired by a humanistic vision of education and development based on human rights and dignity; social justice; inclusion; protection; cultural, linguistic and ethnic diversity; and shared responsibility and accountability. We reaffirm that education is a public good, a fundamental human right and a basis for guaranteeing the realization of other rights. It is essential for peace, tolerance, human fulfilment and sustainable development. We recognize education as key to achieving full employment and poverty eradication. We will focus our efforts on access, equity and inclusion, quality and learning outcomes, within a lifelong learning approach.

 

Action and commitments required to implement the agenda are presented.

The impact of antiretroviral treatment on AIDS mortality : a study focusing on educators in South African public schools

REHLE, Thomas
SHISANA, Olive
2005

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This study attempts to estimate the impact of antiretroviral treatment on AIDS mortality over the next ten years, focusing on educators in South African public schools. Recently, African governments have scaled up ART initiatives, but the full potential of wider access to treatment is still unknown. The results of this study show that given that ART only delays death, AIDS mortality rate will increase over time among treated people. Further, as HIV-positive people will survive longer, an expansion of ART programmes will result on higher HIV prevalence. These findings have crucial implications for the education sector. The paper calls for new government policies aimed at increasing the number of students preparing to become teachers and raising the retirement age of educators

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