EENET’s website contains a variety of translations. To help readers find the documents that are available in other languages, we have added a ‘translations quick list’ to the Documents and Video Library. When you select your chosen language, you’ll see a summary list of the documents available in that language.
EENET relies on donations and volunteers to help us translate documents. If you could help us to offer more documents in more languages, please contact us.
A new article co-authored by EENET’s non-executive director, Susie Miles, has recently been published in the journal Social Inclusion (2018, Volume 6, Issue 1). “Inclusions and Exclusions in Rural Tanzanian Primary Schools: Material Barriers, Teacher Agency and Disability Equality” is written by Susie Miles, University of Manchester, Jo Westbrook, University of Sussex, and Alison Croft Independent Consultant.
Article abstract: This article begins with the assumption that the argument for the inclusion of children with disabilities in mainstream schools, championed by Sustainable Development Goal 4 and Article 24 of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, has largely been accepted nationally and internationally by policy makers, and is increasingly being accepted by teachers. In interrogating the complex craft of developing inclusive and equal learning environments for children with disabilities, this article draws upon Kershner’s ‘core aspects of teachers’ knowledge and knowing’, and in particular, ‘the school as a site for the development of teaching expertise and the creation of knowledge’. Data is presented from in-depth interviews following videoed lesson observations with experienced teachers in 15 rural, urban and coastal primary schools in four districts in Tanzania. Findings indicate that the teachers’ practice is moving unevenly towards disability equality, and involves processes of inclusions and exclusions. This involves teacher autonomy, agency and reflective practice in the context of material, attitudinal, structural, pedagogic and curricular barriers. The teachers’ expertise has potential to inform national and international policy developments, and so reduce the evident rhetoric-reality gap. In conclusion, it is argued that inclusive education needs to grapple with disability as a social construct, and lessons are drawn for the further fulfilment of the rights of children with disabilities to equal participation in education.
Today (21 March) is the launch of this year’s ‘We Ring the Bell’ campaign run by Liliane Foundation, a Dutch-based disability organisation that works with partners around the world.
The campaign starts today with schools around the world making a noise (e.g. ringing bells) for one minute, to draw attention to the millions of children globally whose right to education is being violated.
The campaign will continue during the year, and Liliane Foundation invites you to sign their manifesto calling for all children to be welcome in school.
The manifesto highlights that 9 out of 10 children with disabilities are not welcome in their local schools. It presents 10 urgent actions that everyone – from parents and teachers through to government policy makers – can help to implement.
You can download and read the manifesto in PDF format.
Full details available from VSO website.
Application deadline: 30 March 2018
VSO Rwanda is looking for a consultant Disability Assessment Adviser with experience of identifying disability amongst children of primary school age as part of a current Building Learning Foundation program (BLF). The assessment has three phases:
The Adviser will lead Phase 1 of the project. Phase 1 is expected to be complete no later than 1 August 2018. Specifically, the Adviser will design and deliver Phase 1 including engaging with the concerned VSO-BLF personnel and key stakeholders, designing necessary tools, providing training and supervision to field teams, and producing data analysis and reporting on results. This is an important opportunity to contribute to learning both within Rwanda and internationally on the use of the Washington Group approach especially for children.
How to apply
You can apply online via VSO’s website.
UNESCO Nairobi has recently published a set of tools on Health Literacy and Behavior Change Practices among Adolescent Girls.
The kit includes a teacher’s guide, fact booklets, stories and drama scripts for students, and a sample radio drama script.
There is also a booklet of artwork from students involved in piloting the materials. Here is one student’s drawing, illustrating various forms of gender-based violence that an affect girls’ education.
The health literacy materials were developed by two of EENET’s consultants, Dr Anise Waljee and Dilu Kassam. The kit was created initially for use in informal settlements in Kenya, but is much more widely applicable.
Girls around the world often face significant risks to their education because of school-based violence, early pregnancy, sexual and reproductive health concerns, and harmful practices like female genital mutilation. This toolkit provides teachers with valuable advice and activities to help them support girls to stay healthy, safe and in school. The materials are designed for use with both boys and girls.
INEE – Inter-Agency Network for Education in Emergencies – is making improvements to its website. A set of thematic pages has been developed. These pages contain introductory information and recommended reading materials for each theme.
The following themes are available so far:
Visit the International Disability Alliance website for more details
The UK Department for International Development (DFID), the Government of Kenya and the International Disability Alliance (IDA) will co-host the UK’s first Global Disability Summit in July 2018. This is an opportunity to build on the current momentum on disability-inclusive development. It provides a platform to secure financial and political commitments by national governments, bilateral and multilateral donors, the private sector and civil society organisations.
As co-host of the Summit, IDA is facilitating and co-ordinating the engagement of disabled persons’ organisations (DPOs) to ensure their active and meaningful engagement in the Summit.
To find out how to nominate a person with disability or their family members to attend the Summit, and to access nomination forms, visit IDA’s website.
Deadline for nominations: 23 March 2018
NOTE: This event is not organised by EENET. Please contact the organisers directly with any queries.
The latest data from UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS) shows that one-in-five children and young people are out of school around the world – that’s 263 million. The figures range from 63 million being out of school at primary age, 61 million at lower-secondary age, and a shocking 139 million at upper-secondary age. The situation is worst in sub-Saharan Africa, where one-in-three children and young people of school age are not in school. And, not surprisingly, girls are more likely than boys to be out of school. UIS’s data also shows millions of children and young people not achieving basic learning outcomes even when they are in school.
The data suggests that progress has stalled, as the figures have barely changed in the last five years. This picture offers us a clear reminder of why we need to keep working hard to make education more inclusive for all, so that every child and young person is able to access education, participate fully in the learning process, and achieve to the best of their abilities.
The data certainly motivates EENET to continue helping stakeholders exchange experiences and ideas for improving education, collaborate and work together to strengthen education initiatives, and more effectively influence the policy makers and budget holders who need to be taking bolder steps to reform education systems worldwide. Find out how you could help EENET exchange, collaborate and influence for more inclusive education systems globally.
The latest edition of Enabling Education Review is now available in pdf and html formats.
EER6 is a special issue on street-connected young people and inclusive education. This edition showcases some of the many different ways that organisations support young people living and working on the streets to access education. A number of the programmes included can be adapted to learners in other contexts.
EER 6 features articles from the following countries:
This edition of EER has not been printed in hard copy yet. If you or your organisation could help to fund the printing costs, please visit our Donations page, or contact us to discuss.
The Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC) Task Team on Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities in Humanitarian Action has launched a global survey to seek opinions on how to improve the inclusion of persons with disabilities in humanitarian action. They want to hear from a wide range of stakeholders including field-based organisations and DPOs, to ensure that these perspectives are considered in the development of the IASC Guidelines.
This may provide our readers with an opportunity to share some suggestions regarding ensuring the inclusion of persons with disabilities in education within humanitarian action.
The online survey is open until 10 March 2018.
