UNIT: 2 TRENDS THAT MARKED INCLUSIVE AND SPECIAL NEEDS EDUCATION
Key Unit Competence: Identify and contextualize Inclusive
Education in the current policy trends andpedagogical practices.
Introductory Activity
1. The right to education of children with Special Needs has been
promoted over time in Rwanda. With examples, discuss on what
has been done to promote the right to education of children with
Special Needs in Rwanda.
2. There are different types of schools that children with Special
Needs may attend. Name at least four special schools and ten
inclusive schools that you know.
3. Persons with Special Needs/diverse needs have long been
neglected and not considered as productive member of the society.
How is the situation today? Discuss the long journey that Personswith Special Needs went through to arrive at where they are today.
2.1. Brief history of the development of Special Needs and Inclusive Education
Activity 2.1.
1. All children can learn. With reference to the history of development
of Special Needs, elaborate on this statement.
2. Explain four phases of development of Special Needs Education
Educational Historians typically trace the beginning of Special Education
to the late of eighteenth and the early nineteenth centuries. Before that
time, persons with disabilities and other special needs were not taken into
consideration.
One of the earliest documented attempts at providing a special education were
the efforts of the French physician Jean Marc- Gaspard Itard (1775-1838)
at educating 12year old Victor, the so called” Wild boy of Aveyron”. Victor
was discovered by a group of hunters in a forest near the town of Aveyron,
France. When found, he was unclothed, without language, ran but did not
walk, and exhibited animal-like behaviour. Itard, an authority on diseases of
ear and teaching youngsters with Hearing Impairments endeavoured in 1979
to civilize Victor. He attempted to teach Victor through a sensory training
program and what today would be called behaviour modification. Because
this adolescent failed to fully develop language after five years of dedicated
and painstaking instruction, and only mastered basic social and self-help
skills (dressing, sleeping, eating), Itard considered his efforts a failure. Yet
he successfully demonstrated that learning was possible even for individual
described by his contemporaries as a hopeless and incurable idiot. The title
“Farther of Special Education” is rightly bestowed on Itard because of his
ground-breaking work 200years ago.
Another influential pioneer was Itard’s student Edourd Seguin (1812-1880).
He developed instructional programs for youngsters whom many of his fellow
professionals believed to be incapable of learning. Like his mentor Itard,
Seguin was convinced of the importance of sensorimotor activities as an aid
to learning. His methodology was based on a comprehensive assessment of
the student’s strengths and weaknesses. Seguin also realized the value of
early education; he is considered one of the first early interventionists.
The work of Itard, Seguin and other innovators of their time helped to
establish a foundation for many contemporary practices in special education.
Examples of these contributions include individualized instruction, the use of
positive reinforcement techniques and a belief in the capacity of all children
to learn.
In Rwanda, the history of special education can be traced back in the year
1962 when Father Joseph Fraipont Ndagijimana opened the first centre for
medical, education and reintegration of persons with Disabilities in Gatagara.
Persons with disabilities in Rwanda suffered stigmatization, isolation and
segregation and was denied their rights to education. It is only after the
1994 Genocide against the Tutsi that the government of Rwanda committed
to leave no one behind. Inclusive Education was then adopted as a mean to
give rights to education to all children including those with disabilities.
All over the world, the education of learners with special needs can be
categorized into four phases:
• Period of extermination and Neglect
Before 17th century, all over the world, disability was seen as a punishment
from God, a bad or evil sign. God created a man in his own image, disability
was therefore an impurity. Persons with Disabilities could not approach
sacred places.
Plato and Aristotle called for infanticide and Ciceron calls for the purity of
the race, a society free of defectives. As a result of this philosophy, Persons
with Disabilities were left on hills to die, thrown off cliffs and locked away.
Fathers had rights to terminate child’s life. Children with severe intellectualDisabilities, Blind and Deaf had little more chance to live.
• Period of Institutionalization and isolation
Early eighteen, Christians believed that Jesus helped persons with disabilities
(ex: Blind miracle). Disability was therefore seen as less a fault or evil sign.
They felt that there was a need of assistance and help. As a result, Persons
with Disabilities were often placed in hospitals, asylums or other institutions
that provided little, if any education. They were isolated from the society and
considered as useless eaters. The belief was that once disabled always
disabled. Persons with Disabilities could not marry or get married. The
sterilization law was enacted to prevent society from getting more personswith disabilities.
• Period of segregation
The Second World War (1939-1945) left many persons with a certain disability
and other special needs. Many were injured during the war and became
disabled. Families of injured people pushed the US government to help
persons with disabilities. The movement continued and reached to children
with disabilities. The education of children with disabilities started. However,
during this period, children with disabilities were catered for in segregated
set ups in the community. Children with disabilities may be placed in special
schools in which they learn with others who have similar difficulties like
themselves. The school can be day or boarding. They were schools for the
hearing impaired, visually impaired, mentally handicapped and physically
handicapped. Under this kind of education, children with disabilities were still
taken to be different hence segregation. This form of education has however
some advantages which include:
• Smaller class enrolment resulting in a teacher handling fewer children
• Greater access to expert like trained special needs teachers, therapists
such as physiotherapists, occupational therapists, speech therapist and others
• Modified environment such as cemented pavements, ramps and lowered toilets
• Availability of specialized equipment and resources.
The disadvantages of segregated education include:
• The special schools are often far from the learner’s home, separating
the learner from the family and age mates
• They may be limiting to learner’s interaction with the real worlds as
they spend most of the time with others like themselves.
• The learners are separated from peers and siblings in the formative
years and come back home after the schooling years to people who
may not know how to relate to them. This make it difficult for the learner
to face the real world full of diversities, which he/ she was not prepared for.
• The special teachers in the special programme rarely interact with
teachers of regular schools and so they do not exchange new ideas on teaching.
• The teachers are trained to work with only a specific disability or special need.
• The cost of this provision is very high and not sustainable
• Most of the special education provision was started and maintained
through a charity approach. Because of the charitable outlook of this
type of provision children with special needs education are viewed as:
–– Object of pity
–– Dependent on others
–– Underachievers
–– Persons with special needs who need to be in a special school or
class under a special teacher trained in special institution
• Period of integration
As society started accepting those with special needs as part of the society,
they become more tolerant and understanding. The idea of integration was
conceived. Integration reflects the attempts to place learners with special
needs into the mainstream. Even though this is being done, the focus is still
on disability. The child is expected to adapt and fit into the education system
without any major changes being done to its curriculum or style of teaching
and learning. Everything in these schools is tailored to fit the normal child.
That leaves out the Children with Disabilities, whose needs are normally
ignored. Integration is still practiced in many countries in Africa. This then
shows that the means by which the Children with Disabilities should access
basic quality education without discrimination is yet to be achieved in many
parts of the world. This therefore calls for flexibility in educational practices.
This form of education also has its advantages and disadvantages.
Advantages include:
• The learners with special needs in education enjoy social integration
from peers and relatives
• It is less restrictive to the learners as they interact with others without
similar special needs education
• Gives an opportunity for learners without special needs to support
those with special needs in various activities
Disadvantages include:
• If not well coordinated, a learner with special needs in education may
be excluded from academic learning while being socially included
• Labelling and stigmatization of the learners with special needs may
results from special arrangements to help meet their needs. This may
lower their learners’ self-image
• The regular teachers feel incompetent to deal with the special learnerwho they think many only be handled by special teacher.
• Period of Inclusion
The integrated education model emphasizes on where the pupil is placed
rather than on the quality of his or her learning experiences. With time,
educators have realized that integration needs to be reviewed and that is
how the inclusion started. After the international year for the PWDs in 1981,
many organizations of and for persons with disability organized themselves
and become vocal on the quality of education they were receiving. They
argued that CWDs who went to regular schools got better education than
those in special schools. They came to the conclusion that provision of
education through inclusive approach was the best option. Inclusion follows
from integration but differs from it in that, in inclusion it is the school that
must make the adjustments to accommodate or include the child. Inclusion
means participating in school life in all aspects. It requires the educational
system to meet the needs of the child as normally and inclusively as possible
rather than the child with the special needs being made to adapt to suit
the needs of the system. The key issue with inclusive education is to make
the regular schools welcoming for all learners regardless of difficulties thelearners might have.
SELF Assessment 2.1
1. What are some of the advantages and disadvantages of integration?2. What are the negative aspects of segregated education?
2.2. Pioneering contributors to the development of Special Education
Activity 2.2
1. Explain how the work of Louis Braille influenced the education of
learners with Visual Impairments in Rwanda?
2. Maria Montessori believed that children learn best by direct
sensory experience, in a group. Discuss how children can learn
using different senses?
3. Name four pioneers who contributed to the development of SpecialEducation
Many people contributed to the development of Special Education. The
following are selected people whose contributions marked the development
of Special Education.
• Jacob Rodrigues Pereine (1715- 1780): Introduced the idea that
persons who are deaf could be taught to communicate. He developed
an early form of Sign Language.
• Phillippe Pinel (1745-1826): A reform minded French physician who
was concerned with the humanitarian treatment of individual with
mental illness. Advocated releasing institutionalized patients from their
chains. Pioneered the field of occupational therapy
• Jean Marc Gaspard Itard (1755-1838): A French doctor who secured
lasting fame because of his systematic efforts to educate an adolescent
thought to be severely mentally challenged. Recognized the importanceof sensory stimulation.
• Thomas Gallaudet (1787-1851): Taught children with Hearing
Impairments to communicate through a system of manual signs
symbols. Established the first institution of Learners with Hearing
Impairments in United States of America.
• Samuel Gridley Howe (1801-1838): An American Physician and
educator accorded international fame because of his success in
teaching individuals with visual and hearing impairments. Founded the
first residential facility for the blind in America.
• Louis Braille (1809-1852): A French educator, himself blind who
developed a tactile system of reading and writing for people who are
blind. His system, based on a cell of six embossed dots, is still usedtoday.
• Eduard Seguin (1812-1880): A pupil of Itard, Seguin was a French
physician responsible for developing teaching methods for pupils with
Intellectual Disabilities. His training emphasized sensorimotor activities.
• Alfred Binet (1857-1911): A French psychologist who constructed
the first standardized developmental assessment scale capable of
qualifying intelligence. The original purpose of this test was to identify
students who might profit from a special education and not to classify
individuals on the basis of ability. Also originated the concept of mental
age with his student Theodore Simon.
• Maria Montessori (1870-1952): Achieved Worldwide recognition for
her pioneering work with young children and youngsters with Intellectual
Disabilities. First female to earn a medical degree in Italy. Expert in
Early Childhood Education. Demonstrated that children are capable
of learning at a very early age when surrounded with manipulative
materials in a rich and stimulating environment. Believed that children
learn best by direct sensory experience.
• Lewis Terman (1877-1956): An American educator and psychologist
who revised Binet’s original assessment instrument. The result was the
publication of the Stanford Binet Scale of intelligence in 1916. Terman
developed the notion of intelligence quotient, or IQ. Also famous forlifelong study of gifted individuals. Considered the grandfather of gifted education.
SELF Assessment 2.2
1. Name three pioneers of Special Education and explain how
their works influenced education of learners with Special Needs Education in Rwanda?
2.3 Current trends in inclusive and Special Needs Education
policies and practices
Activity 2.2
1. What does the Jomtien Declaration say about Special Needs Education?
2. What is the most recent declaration and what does it entail as regard to special needs education?
3. What was the emphasis of Salamanca statement?
The right to education has been globally acknowledged as an overarching
right. Article 26 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights decrees education
as an inalienable human right upon which depends the realization of
other rights. However, persons with special needs and those with disabilities
have long been denied their rights to education. International, regional
and national laws and policies have to be set to ensure that persons with
disabilities and other special needs are enjoying their rights as other members
of the society. The major ones include:
1. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948)
Article 26 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that: ‘Everyone
has the right to education, which shall be free and compulsory. All are
entitled to all the rights without discrimination of any kin such as race, colour,
sex, birth or any status”. This forms an important basis for education for all
children in the world regardless of the diversity of the needs of the person.
2. The World Conference on Education for All (EFA) also referred
to as the Jomtien Declaration (1990)
Another move for inclusion was during the World Conference on Education
for All in Jomtien, Thailand. The Jomtien Conference recommended among
other things that:
• All children have a right to education regardless of individual differences.
• All children should be taken to school
• Government should provide each child the most suitable education
However, this did not have a worldwide impact, as stakeholders didn’t
make deliberate attempts to implement the recommendations.
3. The Salamanca Statement on Inclusive Education (1994)
This statement was formulated by representatives of 92 world governments
and 25 international organizations who were delegates at the World
Conference on Special Needs Education in Salamanca, Spain. This was
a follow up of the Jomtien Declaration (1990) discussed above. The major
recommendations of the Salamanca Statement addressed the following:
• The right of every child to education that considers the child’s unique
abilities and learning needs.
• The child with special needs must have access to regular education
in a welcoming school in his or her neighbourhood. This will create an
inclusive society thus improving efficiency and cost effectiveness in
education system.
• All governments must give priority to policy, legal and budgetary
provision to improving their education system to include all children in
regular education as much as possible. This will be achieved by:
–– Exchanging programmes with other countries practicing inclusive
education
–– Establishing decentralized and participatory mechanisms for
planning education provisions for learners with SNE.
–– Encouraging community participation in education
–– Improving teacher education programme to address SNE in the
regular schools
4. Dakar Framework of Action (2000)
The World Conference on Education for All was held in Dakar, Senegal to
assess the progress since Jomtien (1990). It concluded that there was little
or slow progress in most countries especially in Africa towards achieving
the goal set ten years earlier. The following factors were suggested to be
the reasons for the lack of notable achievement of the EFA goals in African
countries:
• Low quality education
• Illiteracy among children and adults especially girls and those with
disabilities
• Low completion rates
• Irrelevant and expensive curriculum
• Low achievement(attainment) rates
• High cost education
• Limited resources for financing education
• Low community participation
The Dakar framework for action emphasises the need for action by National
Governments including Rwanda to rededicate themselves towards attaining
the EFA Goals.
5. The Convention of the Right of Persons with Disabilities (2008)
promotes the right of persons with disabilities to inclusive education (Article
24). It adopts a broad categorization of persons with disabilities and reaffirms
that all persons with all types of disabilities must enjoy all human rights andfundamental freedoms.
6. The Incheon Declaration (UNESCO, 2015)
is the most recent effort that reaffirmed previous efforts in guaranteeing
education for all and committed nations towards a 2030 target of inclusive and
equitable quality education and lifelong learning for all. Continuous efforts
by nations to ensure education for all have in recent years expressed in the
Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) of 2000. Goal 2 postulated that by
2015, member nations should guarantee Universal Primary Education (UPE)
for all boys and girls. Indeed, member nations were urged to ensure that those
in difficult circumstances and those belonging to ethnic minorities complete a
full course of primary schooling. But UPE was not achieved in the target year
(2015). This is the reason the aspirations were carried forward to Sustainable
Development Goals (SDGs). Goal 4 of the Sustainable Development Goals
recommits nations to work towards inclusive and equitable quality educationand promote life-long learning opportunities for all
7. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) (1989)
The UNCRC protects and promotes the rights of all children including those
with disabilities, coming from ultra-poor households and marginalized girls.
Articles 2, 23, 28 and 29 are particularly relevant to the rights of children with
disabilities.
Article 2: Non-discrimination – “All rights apply equally to all children
without exception. It is the State’s obligation to protect children from any
form of discrimination and to take positive action to promote their rights”
Article 2 is the key Article for children with disabilities. It states clearly that
every Article applies equally and without exception, to all children, irrespective
of race, colour, sex, disability, birth or other status.
Children with disabilities have the same rights as other children. This
includes, for example, the right to education, to survival and development,
to know and be cared for by their families, to participate in leisure activities
and to have their opinions heard. However, children with disabilities routinely
face discrimination and many, such as girls with disabilities and children
from ultra-poor households face multiple forms of discrimination. In many
cases, they do not attend school because of discriminatory attitudes or a
lack of awareness as to how they should be included.
Articles 28 and 29: Education – “The child has a right to education, and the
State’s duty is to ensure that primary education is free and compulsory, to
encourage different forms of secondary education accessible to every child
and to make higher education available to all on the basis of capacity”
Article 28 reinforces that all children, including those with impairments and
difficulties in learning, have a right to education. However, there is no specific
mention of the importance of early intervention and pre-school education,
which can help to reduce the impact of impairments.
Article 23: Rights of Children with Disabilities “a child with disability has
the right to special care, education, and training to help him or her enjoy a
full and decent life in dignity and achieve the greatest degree of self-reliance
and social integration possible”.
Article 23 emphasises that, in order to implement the principle of nondiscrimination,
children with disabilities have the right to have their individual
needs met. The article suggests that children with disabilities may need“special care”. This implies that the only problems facing children with
disabilities are to do with their own impairments. No mention is made of
the barriers children face in society. Unfortunately, this article can easily be
misinterpreted. It could justify the segregation of children with disabilities
because they are seen as needing “special care”. It also implies that children
with disabilities can only have access to their rights ‘where resources allow’,
since ‘special care’ is usually expensive. The overall emphasis in Article 23
is on welfare rather than rights. It does not promote inclusive education or
inclusive social policy. However, the UN Standard Rules on the Equalization
of Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities make it clear that the rights of
people with disabilities are to be achieved through a policy of inclusion. It is
the combination of this principle and the rights provides by the UNCRC, that
determines the rights of children with disabilities.
Regionally, article 17(1) of the African Charter on Human and Peoples
Rights guarantees the right to education. Article 2 of the same decrees state
that the rights assured by the charter should be enjoyed without any form of
discrimination and article 18 (4), specifically targets persons with disabilities
and provides that persons with disabilities should be accorded special
measures of protection in reference to their physical and moral needs. It
further endeavours to guarantee the right to education. Article 3(a) of the
African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child states that every child
has a right to education. Section 3(e) exhorts state parties to take special
measures in respect to female, gifted and disadvantaged children, to ensure
equal access to education.
The Constitution of the Republic of Rwanda of 2003 as amended in
2015 reaffirms the equality of all Rwandans in rights and duties and prohibits
any form of discrimination based especially on physical or mental disability.
Article 51 states that the State has duty to establish measures facilitating
education of persons with disabilities.
SELF Assessment 2.3
1. Explain why nations should have policies and laws that support
persons with disabilities?
2. Discuss on the Sustainable Development Goals, especially number
4 and how it supports education of children with disabilities?
3. What was the reasons behind the lack notable achievement of the EFA Goals in Africa?
END UNIT ASSESSMENT
1. Discuss advantages and disadvantages of integrative education?
2. Discuss the contributions of the following pioneers to the
development of Special Needs Education
• Phillippe Pinel
• Jacob Rodrigue Pereine
• Jean Marc Gaspard
• Alfred Binet
3. What are the recommendations from the EFA conference?4. Elaborate on the Salamanca statement?