Rana Ismail Lebanese Window For Inclusion 1

Rana Ismail

Lebanese Window For Inclusion

1www.britishcouncil.ae

• We are all different from one another. Everyone you know and everyone you will ever meet is special and different in some way. The world would be a boring place if people were all the same. Often, the hard part is accepting others with their differences and knowing how they might be treated

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Activity 1

How does it feel to be different?


Historical Background For Lebanese window For Inclusion

• Lebanon recognized the world declaration for education for all EFA

and the Salamanca Statement and Framework.

• In April 1999 the First National Conference for the Education of

Children with Special Needs was held, followed by a Second National

Conference for the Education of Children with Special Needs ,June

(2000), both were organized by CERD.


• Two essential recommendation in both conferences was to study the

already existing programs for the education of special needs children

in the special institutes and in regular schools.

• The need for coordination and exchange of information among the

ministries and the private institutions and NGOs providing services for

students with special needs.


• CERD organized a series of workshops in the years 2000-2002

aiming at raising awareness of what is inclusive education and

introducing some techniques in special education and curriculum

adaptation .

• The overall outcome of these conferences and workshops was in

more awareness to the importance of inclusive education and paving

the way for more private schools , on the national level , to adopt the

education of students with special needs in their schools.

6www.britishcouncil.ae

• In 2011, the general directory of education and CERD issued a

decree no 886/2011 to form a joint committee to prepare an

educational plan for students with special needs in public schools.

The National Inclusion Strategy was launched in 2012

• CERD , started training of teachers to become “resource teachers” in

special education , 20 teachers in each province, which means a total

of 120 teachers were trained as pilot project (2013).


• Pilot study component: six public schools were chosen as pilot schools to:

1. Develop a model for an “inclusive school” ( building-equipment-

teaching aids) to circulate later to other inclusive schools and

update and qualify those schools accordingly.

2. Set curriculum and programs to meet the needs of the SN in

public schools.

3. Set enrollment process to meet the needs of those students in

public school


4. Set training programs for members of the teaching staff (principals, supervisors and teachers).

5. On the political level: Help decision makers to adopt the inclusion principle

based on practical and scientific basis that are appropriate to public education.

Avoid pointless disbursement of funds by providing suitable models and standards prior to full implementation of inclusion and a wide acceptance of these students in public schools.


There hasn’t been any official announcement of the results, nor have

any meetings been scheduled to agree on future steps, it is not clear if

the work has been suspended currently or still going on.


• CERD published “A Guide for Common Learning Difficulties and

Mental Disabilities in the Lebanese Schools: Symptoms and

Suggested Intervention”.

• The guide was distributed freely for both public and private sectors.


Mena Inclusion Conference Abu Dhabi, Feb.2013

The British Council organised the first regional inclusion conference in February 2013 in Abu Dhabi, bringing together educational practitioners from the region and the UK .

Participation in the conference has been a turning point in terms of:

• Inclusion now means the involvement /engagement of students in the educational process and not only accessing the school.


• The road to successful inclusion requires changing regulations, rules,

culture, infrastructure, attitudes and tendencies. Changing on a social

scale, in addition to changing educational pedagogy pertaining to

curriculum, strategies and content.

• Inclusion requires major changes in regulations and concepts related

to school management, and in teachers’ roles and their

responsibilities.


• There is no right or wrong way to travel down the road of inclusion but it is important to be aware of the basic systems & structures that can be used.

• Inclusion is a continuous approach and process not only an outcome/product.

• Inclusion is not a destination at which we arrive, it’s a road upon which we travel.


• we need to recognize what obstacles are in the way to Access & engagement of SN and how to overcome them.

• All parties need to understand that inclusion is not meeting the needs of a specific group , it is about all children’s needs being met.

• Inclusive practice works best when there is a coordinated approach from all the relevant agencies and a combination of policy & strategy.


• As a result , the concept of inclusion was redefined:


From To

All schools meeting the needs of

students

More schools meeting the needs of

more children

From your point of view, what is the difference

between the two definitions ?

Please give example


Activity 2

• Include all children regardless of gender, ethnicity, ability, Socio‐

economic background, Health or medical condition.

• Inclusive practice is not necessarily resource driven and can be

promoted in difficult economic contexts.


How learning can be great?


Activity 3

How learning can be great:

• Provide Motivation for students with special needs.

• Scratch the itch: students should be the major source of data in the

process to understand their difficulties and the challenges they face ,

which will lead us to more efficient planning &process to help

students overcome these challenges and have more responsibility

for their own learning.

• Beware of the concept: effort & talent: do we celebrate effort or do

we celebrate talent: if we celebrate effort, students will be more

independent and more engaged in the class room.

• Reward efforts not only results.

• Good teaching needs good teachers.


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Highexpectations

Developing teaching methods

Presence in classes

Gaining more

education

Low expectation

s

Isolation from regular

class

Alternative program

Gaining less education

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Conference Outcome:

• The outcome of the conference made a major difference, amongst the

Lebanese team participating in the conference, on the awareness

and knowledge level regarding both the conceptual model and

practices of inclusive education .


• We went back with a major question on our minds :


How can we manage

effective engagement for students with special

needs in schools?

How to adapt the regular

school system to enable it to

support inclusive

education?

Think and share your answers to the above question


Activity 4

The National Day of Students with Learning Difficulties22 April 2013

• The awareness and new knowledge acquired by the participants in

the conference motivated them to share the largest segment of the

society (organizations, schools, parents, students, media and non

governmental organizations) concerning the importance of the

inclusion of students with special needs in schools.


• Accordingly, arrangements were made in coordination with the Ministry of Education and Higher Education, CERD, British Council, and the representatives of private schools and NGOs to announce an annual national day for students with learning difficulties on the 22nd of April .

• This day was celebrated on 22nd of April,2013 and 2014 and aimed to :

1. Educate parents and other society members about the importance of inclusive education specifically students with learning disabilities .


2. Urge private educational institutions to pay special attention to this issue in order to increase the chances of success for students with learning disabilities.

3. Activate and stimulate the sixth element in the national plan which was developed for the inclusion of students with special needs.


• This national day took place in coincidence with a conference that is

organised by the British Council annually in Lebanon , in which

around 300 educators, school leaders, and policy makers discussed

and explored some of the methods and key concepts that support

inclusive practices in schools and in which we shared the UK

experiences. It was a capacity building effort organized by the British

council on a large scale.


• Also the British council contributed to the development of a

guide listing the inclusive schools which helps parents across

the country choose the most appropriate school for their child’s

needs.

• The British Council in collaboration with CERD organized a

training week for the public sector (May 5-10)


Study Visit to UK

• In October 2013 the British Council organized a study tour to the UK

for 14 delegates from the Ministry, CERD and representatives of

private institutions to examine inclusive practices in mainstream

schools, to visit special schools and to meet with UK experts and

policy makers. At the end of the tour, delegates produced a plan of

action and future policy planning to implement upon our return home.


The outcome of the study visit

1. A new conceptual frame work for our efforts towards inclusive education in Lebanon:

Policies.Culture.Practice.

2.Lots of ideas related to inclusive class room practices that we were able to translate in our schools and can be observed in our classrooms.


From your point of view, and the perspective of the country you’re representing,

How do you think the concept of inclusion could be achieved in your country regarding the:

policies, culture,

practices

Please give examplewww.britishcouncil.ae 32

Activity 4

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• One factor that needs to be made clear; upon the return of the

Lebanese representatives from London’s visit ,the Syrian crisis had

intensified dramatically.

• the ministry of education and CERD became preoccupied with the

increasing number of Syrian children refugees, which exceeded

thousands of students who over loaded the public schools in terms of

both students’ number and the educational process.


• During the same period, the Lebanese security situation witnessed

further strain, the fear of blasts and explosions prevented team

meetings which would have led to a joint action plan.

• Yet despite all of these obstacles, each team member worked within

his circle of influence to effectively spread knowledge and awareness

relating to the importance of inclusion.

• It is worth mentioning that various institutes vary in their progress on

the journey towards inclusive education concerning: policy, culture

and practice . We can categorize them into three named as such:


Yellow category:

• took the decision to adopt the concept of inclusion.• started to adjust their policies and structures to set the

stages for the change to fit with the concept of inclusion.

• Raised the school community awareness on the importance of inclusion.

• Initiated awareness programs for both school members and parents.

• Started the training programs in order to start welcoming the students with special needs beginning of 2014-2015


Greenish ( yellow to green) category:

• They already adopted the policies and did the necessary adaptations in practice and started a pilot implementation in one school before extending to other schools in their organization .

• Have students take a diagnostic test to point out their educational needs to plan individual programs based on scientific basis, students with basic or moderate needs could be accepted as well.


Green category :

• They have already been inclusive schools for years now.

• The conferences and study visit initiated a review process for all the policies and processes pertaining to the education of students with special needs in their schools. This review resulted in changes on the following levels:


Lebanese Framework

Belief Level:

• Promote our stance about inclusion as the vehicle to serve

students with disabilities.

• Raise awareness to inclusion as an ongoing process that

leads to increased level of students’ engagement in the

teaching-learning process versus attending or enrolling in an

inclusive school.

• Stress the importance of promoting inclusion within the

classroom setting and not only in the school setting.


policy Level:

• Set a conceptual framework for inclusive education as part of

the strategic planning for school improvement.

• Require that all teachers hold a degree or certificate in special

education.

• Assign fixed teaching hours for regular education teachers in

their daily schedule to follow the progress of students with

special needs.

• Include social and daily life skills learning outcomes in the

program based on types of learning disability, and across all

age groupswww.britishcouncil.ae 39

practice Level:

• Designed a lickert type checklist of indicators to measure

degree of students’ engagement in the teaching-learning

process.

• Changed the form of the Individualized Education

Program to include the P scale assessment for certain

types of disabilities, and adapted it for use in academic

areas.

• Use of alternate assessment in accordance with students’

individual needswww.britishcouncil.ae 40

Excessive enthusiasm for full inclusion might face opposition similar

to that of exclusion of special needs’ students. So inclusive

education is a process and not an objective by itself. It is a means to

insure the best educational opportunities for all students. Also,

teachers’ efforts should focus on keeping abreast with new

knowledge and research based information that enhance services

for special needs students.


“Change is a process, and we never stop growing and evolving! Restructuring, reform, and inclusive schooling are not outcomes; they are an ongoing process to ensure that best practice always occurs.

“More is learned from a single success than from multiple failures. A single success proves it can be done ------ whatever is, is possible.“ G.J. Klopf


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IT’S OUR CHOICE


Our Choice Is Reflected In Their Presence

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Documents

Rana Ismail Lebanese Window For Inclusion 1