ERIC Number: EJ1205164
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2019
Pages: 19
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1360-3116
EISSN: N/A
Going to School for the First Time: Inclusion Committee Members Increasing the Number of Students with Disabilities in Primary Schools in Kenya
Elder, Brent C.; Kuja, Bernard
International Journal of Inclusive Education, v23 n3 p261-279 2019
This paper is an extension of a prior research project where Kenyan primary school teachers began using inclusive education strategies that proved beneficial for meeting the needs of diverse primary school students. Specifically, this paper highlights a project where these inclusive practices were expanded to a second region of western Kenya. This expansion of teacher training on inclusive education and critical disability studies promoted sustained school- and community-based discussions on inclusive education and sensitisation on issues related to disability. These practices also led to the development of inclusion committees, co-teaching practices, and stimulated the partial dissolution of the physical boundaries and categorical distinctions between 'primary' and 'special' schools. In conjunction, all of these factors ultimately led to an increase in the number of students with disabilities accessing any form of education for the first time. Furthermore, such approaches to the development and small-scale expansion of a sustainable inclusive education system led to the Kenyan government's consideration of the replication of such practices on a national scale. As a result of this work in conjunction with a growing inclusive network of governmental and non-governmental organisations, a national review on special education policy is underway.
Descriptors: Inclusion, Disabilities, Elementary School Students, Foreign Countries, Team Teaching, Elementary School Teachers, Special Education, Participatory Research, School Community Relationship, Teacher Student Relationship, Attitudes toward Disabilities, Elementary Schools, Special Schools
Routledge. Available from: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 530 Walnut Street Suite 850, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 800-354-1420; Tel: 215-625-8900; Fax: 215-207-0050; Web site: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Elementary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: US Department of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Kenya
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A