Contributions from: Palesa Mphohle - Lesotho, B. Venkatesh - India, Paul Mumba - Zambia, Thomas P. Otaah - Ghana, Ana Frappola - Uruguay
Abstract
The enabling Education Network (EENET) is an information-sharing network which supports and promotes the inclusion of marginalized groups in education worldwide. An overview of the reasons for the setting up of EENET, its values and principles, and its main achievements to date will be provided as an introduction to the symposium. There will also be a brief discussion of EENET's understanding of the term 'inclusive education'.
The symposium will examine ways in which the difficulties caused by limited resources have been overcome and have been seen as an opportunity rather than as a barrier to progress. Parents of disabled children, disabled adults and children themselves are a major resource for schools and communities as they move towards more inclusive practices. A parents' perspective of inclusion and inclusive education, with particular reference to Lesotho, will be presented, together with a summary of the themes arising from EENET's 'Family Involvement in Inclusive Education' project. A Child-to-Child approach to inclusion, currently being piloted in Zambia, will be described. The importance of the involvement of disabled people in preparing schools and communities for inclusive education will be highlighted and examples given from India, where the inextricable links between poverty and disability lead to educational exclusion. Finally some specific issues relating to the inclusion of deaf people in education will be discussed.
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