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Ensuring the right to quality inclusive education for persons with disabilities: From commitment to action

UNESCO
November 2020

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The international symposium "Ensuring the right to quality inclusive education for persons with disabilities: From commitment to action", co-organized by UNESCO, the Leonard Cheshire, and the Ministry of Education of Portugal brought together a wide range of stakeholders across the globe to discuss progress, successes achieved and challenges to ensure full participation and access to quality learning opportunities for all learners.

The symposium aims were to:

  • review persisting, as well as new challenges, due to the COVID-19 pandemic that are hindering the fulfilment of the right to inclusive education for learners with disabilities.
  • facilitate the exchange of experiences on factors influencing successful inclusive policies and practices for learners with disabilities and strengthen dialogue and cooperation amongst stakeholders at policy and practice levels.
  • explore how the inclusion of learners with disabilities in inclusive settings can be more effectively addressed by governments with regards to the commitments of Article 24 of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), the CRPD General Comment 4 on article 24, and Sustainable Development 4 SDG 4, to ‘ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all.

The programme included:

Opening session - Accelerating efforts towards inclusive education for learners with disabilities. (Video recording: English - French - Spanish)

Session 1 - From legislation to inclusive practices: Re-designing policy frameworks, funding and monitoring arrangements across sectors for inclusive education for learners with disabilities. (Video recording: English - French - Spanish)

Session 2 - Revisiting the teaching and learning process to ensure access and participation of learners with disabilities.

Session 3 - Moving towards inclusive and safe learning environments, including by addressing violence and bullying against learners with disabilities.
 

Closing session - Rebuilding a Stronger Global Disability Inclusive Education System post COVID-19. (Video recording: English - French - Spanish)

GEM report summary on disabilities and education

UNESCO
2018

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In support of the run-up to the 2020 GEM Report on inclusion and education, this paper contains summarised content related to disabilities and education in previous Global Education Monitoring (GEM) Reports since 2010. Reports cited from 2010 and 2015 monitored countries in the Global South. The GEM Report started monitoring countries in the Global North from the 2016 Report onwards only.

 

Topics covered include: compliance monitoring; the role of civil society organisations; lack of data; marginalisation; data on primary school attendance; intersection with other disadvantages; different education related challenges; and ten education policies to counteract marginalisation.

Global education monitoring report, 2019: migration, displacement and education: building bridges, not walls

UNITED NATIONS EDUCATIONAL, SCIENTIFIC AND CULTURAL ORGANIZATION (UNESCO)
et al
2018

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“The 2019 GEM Report continues its assessment of progress towards Sustainable Development Goal 4 (SDG 4) on education and its ten targets, as well as other related education targets in the SDG agenda.


Its main focus is on the theme of migration and displacement. It presents evidence on the implications of different types of migration and displacement for education systems but also the impact that reforming education curricula and approaches to pedagogy and teacher preparation can have on addressing the challenges and opportunities posed by migration and displacement. It gives voice to experiences in host and home communities.


With the help of case studies, it illustrates approaches which work and could be scaled up. In this way, it aims to be a tool for practitioners. It will make the case for investing in education of good quality in rural areas suffering from depopulation and in slum areas suffering from large population inflows; in countries with high rates of emigration and those with high rates of immigration; in short-term refugee emergencies and in protracted crises. Its analysis, conclusions and recommendations advance the aims of SDG 4 and its call to leave no one behind.”

A guide for ensuring equity and inclusion in education

UNESCO
July 2017

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This guide is intended to support countries in embedding inclusion and equity in educational policy. It supports Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 4 on education calls for inclusive and equitable quality education and lifelong learning opportunities for all by 2030. The guide is intended for use primarily by key government education policy-makers working with key stakeholders. The guide provides an assessment framework that can serve to: review how well equity and inclusion currently figure in existing policies; decide which actions are needed to improve policies and their implementation towards equitable and inclusive education systems; and monitor progress. The guide includes evidence that informs the assessment framework, examples of initiatives that are contributing to more inclusive and equitable education systems in different parts of the world, and recommendations for further reading. 

Ensuring the right to equitable and inclusive quality education : Results of the ninth consultation of member states on the implementation of the UNESCO convention and recommendation against discrimination in education

UNESCO
July 2017

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The specific purpose of this report is to present the measures taken by Members States who have submitted monitoring country reports. It aims to summarize the information provided by Members States in response to the reporting guidelines, highlighting the results of the Consultation and the measures taken with a view to achieving the right to education in the context of the Sustainable Development Agenda and, in particular, SDG4.  There were 67 reports from Member States: 13 from Western European and North American States; 18 from East European States; 13 from Latin American and Caribbean States; 10 from Asian and Pacific States; 8 from African States; and 5 from Arab States. A section is presented on students with special needs.

The revised UNESCO charter of physical education, physical activity and sport

UNITED NATIONS EDUCATIONAL, SCIENTIFIC AND CULTURAL ORGANIZATION (UNESCO)
November 2015

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"The International Charter of Physical Education, Physical Activity and Sport  is a rights-based reference that orients and supports policy- and decision-making in sport. Based on the universal spirit of the original Charter, and integrating the significant evolutions in the field of sport since 1978, the revised Charter introduces universal principles such as gender equality, non-discrimination and social inclusion in and through sport. It also highlights the benefits of physical activity, the sustainability of sport, the inclusion of persons with disabilities and the protection of children"

Education 2030 Incheon Declaration And Framework for action towards inclusive and equitable quality education and lifelong learning for all

WORLD EDUCATION FORUM 2015
2015

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UNESCO together with UNICEF, the World Bank, UNFPA, UNDP, UN Women and UNHCR organized the World Education Forum 2015 in Incheon, Republic of Korea, from 19 – 22 May 2015, hosted by the Republic of Korea. Over 1,600 participants from 160 countries, including over 120 Ministers, heads and members of delegations, heads of agencies and officials of multilateral and bilateral organizations, and representatives of civil society, the teaching profession, youth and the private sector, adopted the Incheon Declaration for Education 2030, which sets out a new vision for education for the next fifteen years.

Towards 2030: a new vision for education

Our vision is to transform lives through education, recognizing the important role of education as a main driver of development and in achieving the other proposed SDGs. We commit with a sense of urgency to a single, renewed education agenda that is holistic, ambitious and aspirational, leaving no one behind. This new vision is fully captured by the proposed SDG 4 “Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all” and its corresponding targets. It is transformative and universal, attends to the ‘unfinished business’ of the EFA agenda and the education-related MDGs, and addresses global and national education challenges. It is inspired by a humanistic vision of education and development based on human rights and dignity; social justice; inclusion; protection; cultural, linguistic and ethnic diversity; and shared responsibility and accountability. We reaffirm that education is a public good, a fundamental human right and a basis for guaranteeing the realization of other rights. It is essential for peace, tolerance, human fulfilment and sustainable development. We recognize education as key to achieving full employment and poverty eradication. We will focus our efforts on access, equity and inclusion, quality and learning outcomes, within a lifelong learning approach.

 

Action and commitments required to implement the agenda are presented.

Model policy for inclusive ICTs in education for persons with disabilities

WATKINS, Amanda
LEBLOIS, Axel
2014

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“This document presents a Model Policy for Inclusive Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) in Education for Persons with Disabilities. The focus is upon the use of ICTs to support the implementation of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD, 2006), specifically:

  • Article 9: Accessibility;
  • Article 21: Freedom of Expression and Opinion, and Access to Information;
  • Article 24: Inclusive Education”

UNESCO global report|Opening new avenues for empowerment : ICTs to access information and knowledge for persons with disabilities

UNITED NATIONS EDUCATIONAL, SCIENTIFIC AND CULTURAL ORGANIZATION (UNESCO)
February 2013

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This report aims "to provide governments, civil society, industry, academia and other groups with an insight into the use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) by persons with disabilities to access information and knowledge around the world; To present an overview and critical assessment of existing information policies and strategies as well as challenges and advantages in using ICTs to access information and knowledge for persons with disabilities; To identify practices at local, national and global levels on effective application of ICTs by persons with disabilities to access information and knowledge; To foster future frameworks on the use of ICTs to access information and knowledge of persons with disabilities (PWD); and Based on the best available information and analysis, to make recommendations for strategy formulation, action-oriented initiatives and new synergies at national, regional and international levels"

Toolkit for mainstreaming HIV and AIDS in the education sector : guidelines for development cooperation agencies

VISSER-VALFREY, Muriel
January 2008

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This toolkit aims to help education staff from development cooperation agencies, including both development and humanitarian-oriented multilateral and bilateral agencies as well as non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and other civil society organisations, to support the process of mainstreaming HIV and AIDS into education sector planning and implementation. It provides resources and support to assess the progress countries have made with respect to HIV and AIDS mainstreaming; to identify entry points and opportunities; and to establish priorities for advocacy and action. It is designed to be used as a reference tool or a resource for training and discussion, depending on the local needs and context

Strong foundations : early childhood care and education. Education for all monitoring report 2007

United Nations Educational, Scientific And Cultural Organization (UNESCO)
2006

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"This global monitoring report focuses on the first Education for All goal, which calls upon countries to expand and improve early childhood care and education - a holistic package encompassing care, health and nutrition in addition to education. Disadvantaged children stand to benefit the most, yet too few developing countries, and too few donor agencies, have made early childhood a priority." Additional features on the CD-ROM: 1. The report in ten questions 2. Highlights and overview of the 2007 report 3. 2007 summary report 4. Background research papers commissioned for the report 5. Over 90 country profiles on early childhood care and education

Guidelines for inclusion : ensuring access to education for all

UNITED NATIONS EDUCATIONAL, SCIENTIFIC AND CULTURAL ORGANIZATION (UNESCO)
2005

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"This paper is intended to systematize how excluded children are planned for in education. It begins with a brief introduction, which provides a historical perspective on the origins of inclusion and describes the shift from integration towards inclusion. It is then divided into three main parts.
The first provides a theoretical framework. It defines inclusion, explains how it is founded in a human rights approach and how it relates to factors such as quality and cost-effectiveness.
The second part looks at more practical changes at the school level. It outlines the key elements in the shift towards inclusion with a particular focus on the key players including teachers, parents and educational policymakers as well as curricula.
The third part brings together the first two sections by providing tools for policymakers and educational planners for hands-on analysis of education plans."

Special needs in the classroom : a teacher education guide

AINSCOW, Mel
2004

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An updated version of UNESCO's training pack developed in the early 1990s for teachers learning about inclusion. It has been used in over 50 countries and has been adapted to different countries' contexts. This guide is a source of ideas for educators wishing to improve teachers’ skills in dealing with pupil diversity in mainstream schools. It offers advice on teacher education methods, including accounts of initiatives already undertaken in various parts of the world. The book emphasises the importance of teacher development, both pre-service and in-service, and demonstrates how pupil diversity in mainstream schools can be a positive influence on the life of the school

Review of the present situation in special needs education

HEGARTY, Seamus
1995

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An overall comparison between the two situations - 1986 and 1993 - reported here and in the previous report allow for some guarded optimism. Most countries provided some information on policies but varied greatly in the amount of detail offered. Special educational provision is more firmly located within regular education, at school and the administrative levels, than before and has greater legislative underpinning. Within the policy statements, themselves, the most common strands related to : developing the individual's potential, integration and necessary steps for implementation. Regarding legislation, most countries did include special needs provision in the same regulatory framework as general education; the most common reason given for excluding particular children was severity of disability. Much remains to be done and there is no room for complacency. Many countries face fiscal and personnel constraints, and maintaining let alone increasing existing investment in special educational provision will not be easy. A word of caution : even where resources are not the central issue, the pressures created by the general school reforms taking place in many countries may reduce the priority given to speical educational provision. However, progress has been made, despite the many difficulties.

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