DIVERSITY AS A RESOURCE FOR LEARNING
The following tips are taken from Barbara Gross Davis’ chapter entitled “Diversity and Complexity in the Classroom: Considerations of Race, Ethnicity and Gender” in her excellent book, Tools for Teaching. We recommend that you read her full text to learn more about the issues and ideas listed below in this broad overview.
Davis writes: “There are no universal solutions or specific rules for responding to ethnic, gender, and cultural diversity in the classroom…. Perhaps the overriding principle is to be thoughtful and sensitive….” She recommends that you, the teacher:
INCLUSIVE TEACHING STRATAGIES:
When instructors attempt to create safe, inclusive classrooms, they should consider multiple factors, including the syllabus, course content, class preparation, their own classroom behaviour, and their knowledge of students’ backgrounds and skills. The resources in this section offer concrete strategies to address these factors and improve the learning climate for all students.
Progress in inclusive education
1. Introduction: making progress in inclusive education?
1.1. Overview This study reviews developments in the theory, policy and practice of inclusive education since the Jomtien Conference. It has a dual focus. It examines progress in the development of an inclusive system of education which in responding to the diversity of learners, minimises exclusion for all. Secondly, within this broad task, it charts the progress made by learners with impairments in overcoming barriers of access to, and participation in, education. The study contains analysis interspersed with examples of instructive practice. Such practice illustrates barriers to inclusive development encountered at all levels of the system, and ways that have been found to surmount them. The study provides a survey of changes in practice and has a strategic function in identifying priorities for development. 1.2. Including learners with impairments Inclusive education is commonly associated with the mainstream participation of learners with impairments and those categorised as having 'special educational needs'. Throughout the last decade, learners with impairments continue to be disproportionately excluded from any form of education, particularly in countries of the South. They remain the group most likely to be left out of the agenda when educational exclusion is discussed. Learners with impairments are not a homogeneous group with a common set of concerns. For example, learners who are deaf and whose first language is sign language, have a need for a sign language community which has to be reflected in plans for increasing their participation in education. The study builds on the success of the United Nations Standard Rules on the Equalisation of Opportunities, the Jomtien Declaration on Education for All and the Salamanca Statement and Framework for Action in highlighting the exclusion of disabled people at all levels of education and society, and the formidable obstacles to participation that they still face. It recognises the key role that has been played by organisations of disabled people and parents of disabled children in pushing for the recognition of the right to education of disabled learners in their neighbourhood. It documents what has been learnt about the barriers to the inclusion of learners with impairments and how these can be overcome, and the role of governments and non MEETING SPECIAL AND DIVERSE EDUCATIONAL NEEDS 17 governmental organisations in supporting their education. In most countries of the world there are examples of instructive practice of the inclusion of learners with impairments even where economic circumstances or priorities lead to large classes and poor physical conditions. 1.3. From the inclusion of learners with impairments to learning and participation for all However, in this study inclusive education is not only concerned with learners with impairments but with overcoming the barriers to the learning and participation experienced by all learners vulnerable to exclusion from full educational participation. The view of inclusion within the study involves a shift of focus from learners to learning centres, education systems and societies. It is about creating inclusive cultures, policies and practices at all levels of the system. The educational inclusion of any group of learners cannot proceed very far without developing the capacity of learning centres to respond to learner diversity. This step, moving beyond access to learning centres for some learners to the development of quality education for all, is perceived in many countries as critical to the development of their education policies, requiring a transformation of traditional approaches to teaching and learning. Inclusive education is thus seen as a means by which educational development can take place. By employing a restricted view of inclusive education interventions have limited their contribution to sustainable educational development |
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