Quality Education for all ? Exploring ways of measuring what we value

1. Quality Education for all? Exploring ways of measuring what we value Equal Rights. Equal Opportunities. Education and disability Oslo, 8 May 2014 Dr Susie Miles Manchester Institute of Education, University of Manchester susie.miles@manchester.ac.uk Enabling Education Network – EENET www.eenet.org.uk

2. Overview • Introduce myself and EENET • DfID – Topic Guide on Inclusive Learning From: Rights; advocacy; atttudes; access To: Impact; measurement; inclusive growth Some preliminary findings (from scarce evidence) • The thorny issues • Examine our own attitudes and assumptions; • Global v grounded, context-sensitive inclusionism; • A clash of ideologies; fragmented approaches.

3. School for deaf children (next door) 10% of pupils are deaf; 10 deaf children in each year group High quality audiological support Specialist ToDs = dual role as class teachers (50%) & advisory teachers ‘Inclusive’ school, UK, 1981 Sign Language not tolerated Specialist training did not prepare me for teaching 35 children, several of whom were deaf Head of ‘Unit’ was Deaf, educated at grammar school for deaf Specialist support for children from ethnic minority backgrounds No National Curriculum or standardised testing. Little parent involvement Attendance at nearby Deaf Club - learned to Sign in secret!

4. My learning journey Teacher Teacher of deaf children: In an inclusive school (and itinerant advisory teacher), UK; in a residential ‘special’ school in Swaziland. Audiologist Set up national Speech and Hearing Clinic Services (introduced hearing aids, sign language classes for parents, awareness for traditional healers) in Swaziland. Academic Inclusion/Exclusion Voice, power and representation Participatory photography Regional Disability Advisor Promoted policy and practice in Community Based Rehabilitation and ‘Integrated’ Education, in close collaboration with Parents’ and Disabled People’s Organisations in East and Southern Africa, Save the Children UK. International Networker Set up the Enabling Education Network (EENET). Developed an inclusive approach to the networking of knowledge about the education of marginalised groups in the South.

5. The Enabling Education Network-EENET EENET was established in 1997 in response to the expressed needs of Southern practitioners for simply-written information about how to make education more inclusive (accessible). Web site accessed by people in 213 countries - a unique international resource on inclusive and enabling education. Some of the most pioneering practice in making education accessible for all is happening in countries of the South - contrary to the commonly held view that a minimum level of resources is required.

6. EENET: some key features “The medium is the message” • ‘Enabling’ was chosen to contrast with ‘disabling’ – and to avoid the association with special education • Slow mail is a priority in our digitally divided and profoundly unequal world. • Creating critical conversations • Independent – not speaking on behalf of an agency • Resources by the people for the people • Reaching the hard to teach: teaching the hard to reach! • Developing emancipatory action research skills • Supporting practitioners to be critically reflective “Making the familiar unfamiliar”

7. Understanding inclusion • Presence (Entry) Who goes to school? Safety on journey? • Participation (Engagement) Suitable seating? Can everyone see, hear and understand? Does everyone have friends? • Achievement (Empowerment) Do learners reach their potential? Is learning meaningful? Are there life-long benefits from their education, beyond literacy/numeracy?

8. Justifications for inclusion • Educational A way of producing higher quality schools • Socially The basis of a just and non-discriminatory society • Economically Less costly to establish and maintain schools which educate all children (rather than a complex system of different types of schools). Open File on Inclusive Education, UNESCO, 2001

9. Economic benefits • Reduction of social welfare costs and future dependence • Increased potential productivity and wealth creation through school improvement • reduction in school repetition and drop-out rates • Reduced cost of administrative, transportation and institutional provision associated with segregated services. James Lynch (1994) World Bank study on inclusive primary education in Asia

10. Using images to stimulate debate

11. No schools for deaf children in Bushenyi district 10 deaf children in each of 14 units = 8% of deaf children No audiological support No Deaf Club Specialist teachers trained at Kyambogo University Bushenyi, Uganda, 2010 Sign Language for parents Community attitudes have improved; minimal donor funding; Ex-volunteer from UK secured outside support Inclusive financing - Units created in response to parent demand Enlightened national policy, UPE, 1996; Positive discrimination Some social mixing between deaf children and their peers; some deaf learners are boarders Rigid curriculum and exam system; Some deaf learners proceed to secondary education

13. Parallel agendas: Inclusive education and EFA There are tensions between two distinct ways of making education more equitable: • Advocates of inclusive education tend to cater to learners identified as having ‘special educational needs’ or disabilities (Article 24, UNCRPD; • EFA/MDGs tend to overlook marginalized and disadvantaged learners, especially those with disabilities and difficulties in learning. History of ‘separate thinking’ – ‘not fully human’

14. An inclusive approach to education for all – or competing agendas? Focus on disability rights Inclusive education Education for All Universal Primary Education Improving the quality of education

16. Salamanca meets inclusion in Southern contexts: a disconnect? “Too often, policy makers and technocrats are more influenced by global frameworks, than indigenous knowledge” Kisanji and Saanane, 2009. Kisanji (1993) suggests that customary education in in-tact rural communities of many sub-Saharan African countries is characterized by elements of inclusiveness, such as the provision of a relevant, locally developed ‘curriculum’ and the preparation of young people to become responsible citizens in their interdependent community structures. Yet more recent attempts to formalize the process of inclusion, with its emphasis on special educational needs, have often ended in failure.

17. Inclusion – a southern reality “Small rural schools [in India] provide education for all children under one roof, little realizing that they are following a system of education newly rediscovered in the West termed “inclusive education”. The tragic fact seems to be that somewhere on our way towards modernization we have lost this unique system of education” Pramila Balasundram (2005:2) ‘The journey towards inclusive education in India’, Paper presented at Seisa University, Ashibetsu Shi, Hokkaido, Japan, 9th July, 2005. www.gtid.net

18. Thorny issues Data • Inaccurate, contradictory & not joined up • More mixed methods research needed • Disconnect between academic and I/NGO data Post-2015 agenda: Leaving no-one behind • Standards v inclusion and equity • ‘Read, write and count’ - narrow forms of educational measurement • ‘Payment by results’ - could be negative for marginalized groups and may worsen the schooling situation for disabled children

19. Inclusive Learning: A Topic Guide for DfID Advisors • What is the evidence for inclusive learning in developing country contexts – what works? • What forms of teacher education enable teachers to promote inclusive learning for 3-12 year old children? • What forms of classroom practice can promote inclusion in participation and learning? • What is known about inclusive pedagogy in a range of developing country contexts? • What evidence is there that inclusive approaches to education contribute to inclusive societies and inclusive growth? The Guide will be available from: http://www.heart-resources.org/

20. Analysing the inclusive learning challenge 1. Children enrolled in school but who fail to learn due to unrecognised difficulties / mild impairment 2. Children not in school due to mild impairments but who could attend with a small amount of support (glasses, ramps, well-trained teachers) • Children not in school who have significant physical, sensory or intellectual impairments but who could attend with well-targeted support (differentiated curriculum, Braille, Sign Language.

21. Preliminary findings • Academic evidence base is weak – dominated by research on teacher attitudes; • I/NGO evidence difficult to locate and does not meet demands of academic rigour;  • South-generated evidence hard to find; • Northern agendas, conceptual confusion; • Fragmented approach to teacher education. • Generic decontextualised toolkits; • Strong focus on VI and blindness – probably due to its ‘visibility’; • Teachers find it hard to differentiate their teaching • Parent support is crucial • Little evidence of Early Childhood research; A nuanced, flexible approach required in education.

22. Gansu province, China The economic benefits of giving glasses to children has been shown to outweigh the costs, and to improve test scores. A randomized control trial in 25 townships … included about 19,000 children in 165 schools, of whom about 12% had poor vision … offering eyeglasses to children with poor vision increases their test scores (averaged over three subjects) by between 0.11 to 0.16 standard deviations of the distribution of those test scores. But, around one third of children or household heads refused the glasses, due to fear of stigma. Glewwe et al, 2012

23. Assistive devices for children with albinism The cheapest, most effective and most accepted form of ‘aid’ is a wide brimmed hat and dark glasses. Hand held magnifiers are also useful, but compliance may be low. Prescription spectacles … are relatively expensive, may get broken and require regular check-ups at optometrists. (Lynch & Lund, 2011)

24. Teacher education • Attitudes (dominates the evidence base!); • Confidence (& common sense); • (High?) expectations of learners; • I/NGOs run courses which are not accredited; • High quality, problem-based, in-service ‘training’ and support is essential – but often not sustained – eg Lao / Lesotho; • Separate and fragmented forms of training on ‘special’ and ‘inclusive’ education • Teachers who have disabilities can be role models and challenge negative attitudes.

25. Inclusive financing of service deliveryIssues to consider The relative costs of different forms of provision: ‘inclusive’; ‘twin-track’; and/or ‘separate and specialist’. Also: • Individual child-based? • Resourcing of services? • National v decentralised budgets? Bines and Lei (2011)

26. Thorny issues Data • Inaccurate, contradictory, not joined up • More mixed methods research needed • Disconnect between academic and I/NGO evidence Post-2015 agenda: Leaving no-one behind • Standards v inclusion and equity • ‘Read, write and count’ - narrow forms of educational measurement • ‘Payment by results’ - could be negative for marginalized groups and may worsen the schooling situation for disabled children

27. The way forward? Education is a social process. System change will not happen through technical support and equipment. Alliances and networks can be a way forward to developing: • Inclusive policies (with a disability component) • Teacher education & development: context-relevant • Parent support and empowerment • Lifelong learning – beyond school • Building capacity at community level to collect useful and relevant data • Disabled people involved in doing research • Documentation of ‘promising’ practice - by teaching skills in reflection and analysis. Create interruptions - stay critical!

28. Attitudes, values & beliefs Disability Rights, UNCRPD Financing Policy analysis International National Government Policy Teacher education School Index for Inclusion, CBR guidelines & other international toolkits Inclusive pedagogy & learning environments Family/ Community Units Concepts & definitions Child UNICEF UNESCO, WHO CBR Child to child Reflective teachers Pupil voice “Child friendly schools” UNICEF Leadership Language • Networking • IDDC/IETG • EENET • Incl. International Data & statistics Conflict and emergencies