Inclusive education development and challenges: Insights into the Middle East and North Africa region
- PDF / 514,242 Bytes
- 15 Pages / 439.37 x 666.142 pts Page_size
- 95 Downloads / 400 Views
Inclusive education development and challenges: Insights into the Middle East and North Africa region Maha Khochen‑Bagshaw1
Accepted: 29 August 2020 © UNESCO IBE 2020
Abstract Developments within education systems in many countries have been moving toward inclusion. Inclusion, however, is a contested term, understood differently by different individuals. How it is interpreted in practice also differs across local, regional, and country levels. This article discusses the development of inclusion and its understanding and application in Arabic-speaking countries of the Middle East and North Africa region, with the intention of understanding better the regional contexts of inclusive education and informing the future efforts of education reformers. More specifically, it reflects on existing education provisions for children with disabilities in these countries, using personal and professional experiences in disability and inclusion across the region, supported by relevant literature. Progress toward inclusion is at different stages of development across the region, and its development is slow and fractured. There is a need to create researchdriven national frameworks to promote disability inclusion that align governmental and nongovernmental efforts in each country. Finally, the article encourages collaboration as a way of promoting inclusion in and across the region, capitalizing on the growing expertise available as well as on the cultural and linguistic similarities present there. Keywords Inclusion · Disabilities · Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region
I would like to acknowledge the following organizations for the consultancy missions they entrusted me with, which have contributed to expanding my experience and knowledge of disability inclusion in the region: the British Council, UNICEF, the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia, Oxford University Press, Christopher Blind Mission, and Open Society Foundations. I would also like to extend my warmest gratitude for invaluable insights to all ministry representatives, educators, and inclusion advocates with whom I have interacted in one way or another during my missions in the region. I am grateful for all the feedback, comments, and support I have received while writing this article. * Maha Khochen‑Bagshaw [email protected]; [email protected] 1
International Consultant, Leicester, UK
13
Vol.:(0123456789)
M. Khochen‑Bagshaw
Despite global trends toward “inclusion” generally and “inclusive education” in particular, the precise meaning of these terms has been subject to long-lasting debate, and these terms are understood differently by different individuals (Ainscow 2020). Using the available literature and personal and professional experiences in disability and inclusion, I investigate inclusive education in Arabic-speaking countries of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). More specifically, I aim to shed light on the barriers, progress, and way forward for inclusive education in the region. To that end, I
Data Loading...
