• 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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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.
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• 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.
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• 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.
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• 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).
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• 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
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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.
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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.
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• 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.
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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.
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• 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.
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• 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.
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• 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.
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• As a result , the concept of inclusion was redefined:
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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
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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.
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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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21
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 .
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• We went back with a major question on our minds :
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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?
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.
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• 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 .
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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.
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• 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.
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• 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)
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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.
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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.
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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
• 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.
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• 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:
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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
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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.
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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:
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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.
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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
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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’
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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.
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“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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