Inclusive education research: Its role in mainstreaming disability

What role does inclusive education play in mainstreaming disability? This was the question addressed by participants in the last of three international roundtables on the relationship between disability, poverty and mainstreaming disability in development.

“Inclusive education is about children! They must be at the centre of our discussions and represented in our research,” said Alam Jahurual Kandaker, Executive Director, Centre for Services and Information on Disability, Bangladesh.

He was speaking at the start of a three-day Disability Knowledge and Research roundtable in Phnom Penh in May 2005 that brought together 60 participants from Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand and Laos along with representatives from Europe, Bangladesh and India. (More information on the event can be found in the roundtables section)

People from disabled people’s organisations discussed mainstreaming with policy makers; parents of children with disabilities shared their knowledge with people from international non-governmental organisations and people from donor agencies listened while participants voiced their concerns about the unequal relationships between grassroots organisations and donors and governments.

Children were definitely at the centre of the discussions: a question and answer session with children from a local inclusive school and field visits to special and mainstream schools prompted a session on how to gather the views of children.

‘Examining research opportunities’ was a main theme of the event, with group work, exercises, field visits and feedback sessions being run to identify areas for research for the Disability Knowledge and Research programme and for individuals and organisations to take forward.

Gathering statistical evidence
One of the first research areas to be discussed was that of the actual numbers of children with disabilities in the South East Asia region (and in particular Cambodia). Participants were aware that such statistical analysis was not readily available, and that largely rural populations made gathering such information difficult. However, all thought it would help support international initiatives such as the ‘Education for All’ 2015 campaign. Such research would aid the development of appropriate services and the sharing of information and resources nationally and internationally.

What is the impact of cultural attitudes?
Discussions on ‘how many?’ led to debate on the experiences of people with disabilities and it became clear that examining cultural attitudes was a useful area for research. For instance the group were interested in the numbers and types of marriages between people with disabilities and how communities viewed these marriages. One of the participants, Mr Khun Prayat Pungongon, Vice-chair of the Disabled Peoples International, Thailand, was interested to know: “Are such marriages an indicator of integration or isolation, and are marriages between people with disabilities and non-disabled people increasing in the [South-East] region?”

Employment
Employment opportunities for disabled people was another issue discussed. In Cambodia, for example, current legislation means it is not possible for a person with disabilities to train or be employed as a teacher in a public school. What effect does such a policy have on a person with disabilities wanting to contribute to society? What message does this give to children? Research into this area would provide an opportunity to review current legislation and compare different employment sectors.

How can NGOs be encouraged to work together?
The relationship between NGOs, both national and international was also an area the participants were keen to explore. An audit on ‘who is doing what and where’ could be used to improve collaboration and the sharing of information between organisations. There was also interest in finding out what investment governments are providing compared to the work NGOs are doing within the sector. The roundtable discussions highlighted the frustrations that many participants felt with regard to the un-equal relationship between NGOs operating at a grass-roots level and their dependence on donor agencies and government, who have their own agendas and priorities. Any research that encourages NGOs to collaborate was seen as vital to help NGOs become more efficient at delivering services and support.

Children’s networks
The field-visits to special and mainstream schools and talks by local Phenom Pehn children with disabilities, prompted a discussion on the importance of gathering the views of children. One suggestion from David McCormick, Disability Equality in Education, UK was that of ‘The voice of a child’. His idea is to connect children from Cambodia with children from the UK by email, as a way to encourage children to share views and information. As he says: “When I heard the children speak I realised that they have the same issues, needs and interests as other children, wouldn’t it be great if they could share their experiences with children from different countries?”

Children’s views
Other ideas for research included interviewing children with disabilities and examining the reasons why they may prefer inclusive education or to be taught in special schools. The issues raised by the children could go a long way to addressing some of the negative cultural attitudes that surround the education of children with disabilities.

IE research opportunities
Since the third roundtable the Centre for Services and Information on Disability, Bangladesh has completed an IE research project on behalf of the Disability KaR programme (as part of a series of themed research projects, which were identified at the roundtable events, for more information see the research section)

The research project examined the gaps in existing design and implementation of inclusive education programmes for disabled children in four countries; Bangladesh, Nepal, Vietnam and South Africa. It broadly looked at factors such as enrolment, repetition, dropout and attitude. The findings drew out parallels between the countries in terms of adverse economic conditions, cultural attitudes and availability of resources but also acknowledged the specific local needs of children in the different countries. It concluded that there were no exemplary IE programmes within the countries examined and that more intensive and comprehensive research into how to improve existing systems was necessary. The full research report is available in the research section.

A full list of the research ideas from the third roundtable can be seen in the roundtable section.

The Disability Knowledge and Research programme is now closed. For more information about the programme and resarch into mainstreaming disability in development please contact the Overseas Development Group at the University of East Anglia, UK.

Email Katharine Trott: K.Trott@uea.ac.uk