Inclusive ECCD: - Consultative Group on Early Childhood Care and ...

CASE STUDIES
MOVING TOWARD INCLUSION
Experiences in <strong>Inclusive</strong> <strong>ECCD</strong> from
Guyana, Lao PDR, and Portugal
UNICEF/HQ96-0246/Nicole Toutounji
This set of case studies illustrates some diverse ways in
which inclusive programmes have been developed: arising
from efforts to strengthen community supports for people
with special needs; arising from efforts to reform schooling
for children with special needs (and with that, seeing the need
to improve the links between <strong>ECCD</strong> programmes and the early
primary years); and arising from a growing social awareness
about how migrant populations have been marginalised and
thus become identified as people with special needs.
The case study from Guyana, describing the use
of the Community Based Rehabilitation approach,
illustrates a desire to develop support for
those with special needs as part of a larger effort
to strengthen the inclusion of all young children
in the community. The Lao PDR case study illustrates
the advantages of creating an inclusive programme
as part of a larger school reform effort.
Changes were being made in the primary school
system—in terms of curriculum reform, teaching
methods, expectations in terms of children’s participation
in the process, etc., all of which were
very much in line with the philosophy and approach
advocated in inclusive programming.
Since it was part of a larger school reform, inclusive
education in Lao PDR did not have to be
“sold” on its own merits. The example provided
from Portugal, shows us how an effort to include
children with special needs into an existing nursery
school raised awareness about the plight of
marginalised people in the region, and spurred
educators to get involved in a larger social inclusion/consciousness
raising movement. They
worked from a broad definition of special needs,
which included not only children with disabilities
and mental challenges, but also children and
adults from migrant populations and ethnic minority
groups who were at risk because of their
marginalised social status.
What is missing from among the cases is an example
of a truly inclusive programme for the
youngest age group—children from birth to 3
years of age—and, with the exception of the Lao
PDR case, a truly inclusive approach which begins
with an assessment of the system rather than
finding ways to integrate children in the current
system.
Why don’t we have cases which better illustrate
what inclusion is all about? The primary reason
is that the concept is relatively new, so there
has been little experience in inclusive programming.
This is illustrated by the fact that within
these cases, the authors refer to the “integration”
of children with special needs rather than to “inclusion”.
This is more than a semantic difference—even
those who are seen to be at the
forefront in terms of their work with children
with special needs have not, for the most part,
fully incorporated the concept of inclusion into
their own thinking about programming (even
when their actions reflect the basic principles of
inclusive education). Taking a systems approach,
rather than beginning from the needs of an individual
child, requires a re-framing of our understanding
of what children need and how that can
be provided. And new programming strategies
have to be developed.
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