Inclusive Education Initiative Newsletter #13

Dear Members,

We hope you are all doing well! We have been very busy with the Conference of State Parties to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and other activities pushing the conversation around disability-inclusive education ahead.

We are so grateful to the now 1500+ members of our Community of Practice. Thank you for sharing resources, joining us in discussions, contributing to ensuring that all children with disabilities have access to education.

In continuing to make our website your go-to website on various aspects of disability-inclusive education, we welcome your feedback. As we work to increase the amount of content on our repository, we kindly ask that you continue sending us documents so that others can learn from your work. Please reach out to us if you have a blog post or anything else you would like featured on the website—we are happy to feature your work on disability-inclusive education. You can email us at iei@worldbank.org or join our LinkedIn Group and post questions directly there.

Again, thank you for being with us. We promise to continue building this community of practice and knowledge hub and look forward to our continued collaboration in achieving the goal of ensuring all children have access to quality inclusive education.

With best wishes,
The Inclusive Education Initiative Team

Deaf Child Worldwide

Exploring our Unheard Children Report Webinar Series

UNGEI’s Gender and Disability Inclusion in Education
Two-Part Learning Series on inclusive education for girls with disabilities

Part 1: Evidence from West and Central Africa: Recording
Part 2: An intersectional approach to education: Recording

In the lead up to the G7 and the Global Education Summit convened by the Global Partnership for Education, the UN Girls’ Education Initiative (UNGEI), UNICEF, UNESCO International Institute for Educational Planning (IIEP-UNESCO), Sightsavers and Humanity & Inclusion are joining forces to launch two-part webinar series on inclusive education for girls with disabilities! When safe, quality education is available to all, it has the potential to transform our societies and reverse inequalities.

The IEI, in partnership with the University of Cambridge and University of Gondar, is hosting the IEI Research Exchange Workshop Series which will bring researchers and academics from Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia together and provide a platform to share perspectives on the disability-inclusive education research priorities in their regions.
The second workshop will focus on researchers from West and Central Africa. It will take place on Thursday, July 29th from 7:00 am to 09:00 am (EST).
If you are a researcher affiliated with a university or institution in West or Central Africa and you believe you would be a good candidate for this workshop, please fill out the participation interest form by Friday, 16th July.

GPE Global Education Summit Side Event
What opportunities lie ahead to strengthen disability-inclusive education?
Inclusive Education Initiative 
Tuesday, July 27th from 9:00-10:00 am EST
 

The IEI will host a side event at the Global Partnership for Education's Global Education Summit. This side-session will bring together stakeholders, implementers, governments, donors, civil society, and practitioners to critically engage in a discussion around the purpose, process, and implementation modalities of the two trust funds (the Inclusive Education Initiative and the USAID Disability Inclusive Education in Africa Program), and how education actors can be best supported to ensure that no one is left behind. Registration is live.

GPE Global Education Summit Side Event
Gender-responsive and disability-inclusive education for all.
Leonard Cheshire, The World Bank's IEI, SightSavers, UNGEI, GPE, GCE-US and UNGEI
 Wednesday, July 21st from 9:00-10:30 am EST.

After several months of extreme school disruption due to the Covid–19 pandemic, world leaders are coming together at the Global Education Summit to reflect on progress made to provide all children with quality education and ensure education policies are fully funded.

Leonard Cheshire, Sight Savers, the Global Partnership for Education (GPE), the World Bank, GCE, and UNGEI will come together to explore what inclusive education models look like, and discuss barriers and opportunities for all girls with disabilities to be and remain in school.

The event will be an opportunity to discuss solutions and agree on a set of recommendations to take forward to the Global Education Summit.

This event will highlight the importance of inclusive early learning for marginalized children, particularly those with disabilities. Join us for lessons learned in policy, financing, and implementation, including tools and examples from a variety of contexts that include adaptations made during COVID. A panel discussion and interactive activities will allow participants to share experiences and identify ways that promising practices can be replicated in different resource settings. Co-sponsored by African Early Childhood Network Catholic Relief Services (CRS), Early Childhood Development Action Network (ECDAN), Global Campaign for Education-US (GCE-US), International Parliamentary Network for Education, Light for the World, Save the Children, UNICEF, World Vision

 

World Federation of the Deaf
Position Statement on Educational Rights for Deaf Learners during the COVID-19 Pandemic and Beyond

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and its effect on access to education has significantly impacted deaf learners. Around the world, deaf children and youth lack access to quality bilingual education in national sign languages, and parents of deaf children lack support for learning sign languages.

The WFD calls on all governments to ensure deaf children and youth receive equitable access to information and education in national sign languages during and after the pandemic, including:

Monica Kaniamattama & Judith Oxley
Unpacking the Varied Roles of Mothers of Children with Disabilities in South India
This research illustrates the diverse parenting roles and responsibilities assumed by mothers while caring for and facilitating the development of their children with Developmental Disabilities and associated Complex Communication Needs in South India. Data collected during a participatory action research project to develop and evaluate a communication partner training program for parents of children with Developmental Disabilities and Complex Communication Needs, were analyzed to understand diverse parenting roles and how they relate to early intervention. Applied Thematic Analysis showed that mothers assume various roles as tutors, case managers, disciplinarians, nurses, and orchestrators of home training. Reasons for taking uncommon roles and responsibilities included filling gaps in services and facilitating the habilitation journey of their children with Developmental Disabilities. Role conflicts, role strains, and role overload experienced by participant mothers while trying to parent and provide intervention for their children with Developmental Disabilities were identified.

Nicola Deghaye
Disability Support & Accessibility in Mainstream Schools in South Africa
This report is about quantifying progress made in aspects of disability inclusion in mainstream South African schools from 2001 to 2017. The study also highlights where schools (and their support systems) still have a long way to go to become fully inclusive.