What is Inclusive Education?
What is Inclusive Education?
The six elements of inclusive education, according to the Concept Note of the Global Education Monitoring Report (GEMR) for 2020 (UNESCO, 2018a), are governance and finance; legislation and policy; curricula and learning materials; teachers, school leaders and education support personnel; schools; and communities, parents and students. The elements operate at local, system-wide, and community levels.Some other ways that inclusion in education can be considered are: arenas of inclusion (different communities interact); dimensions of inclusion (physical, social, and psychological); and degree of inclusion.
These elements, arenas, dimensions and degrees offer a useful set of ways in to research with disabled refugee students, but they do not constitute theory. There is, in fact, no “theory of inclusive education” (Slee, 2018, p. 11) and we need to look elsewhere for theories which enable an understanding of the processes and mechanisms that enable and constrain educational access and success of disabled refugees in sub-Saharan Africa.
Also, the definition of inclusive education given in General Comment 4 on the UNCRPD above (UNESCO, 2016) offers four markers for inclusive education: participation, accessibility, attendance, and achievement. These markers signal that mere presence does not constitute inclusion.
The Reality in Africa
Many Global North Inclusion Models focus on mainstreaming children with disabilities (UNESCO 2001). This approach is designed to dismantle barriers to education based on disabilities. However, is this practical? In refugee camps, this definitely does not serve the best needs of students. In reality, with the social, cultural, and community attitude towards not only children with disabilities, but also refugee children, the need for systemic and cultural change must occur.Even though international conventions acknowledge the right of refugees and of disabled people to access quality inclusive education, both groups struggle to assert this right. Particularly in the Global South, educational access can very possibly be hindered by system constraints, resource limitations, and negative stigmas.
Thus, disabled refugees have been invisible in policy and service provision, reliable data is extremely limited, and there has been little to no research into their experiences of educational inclusion or exclusion. Their invisibility signals how countries have deemed them forgotten and non-existant. With many barriers of education to refugees and children with disabilities, the forgotten must be brought to light, so they can become a functioning and capable member of their community.