Including disabled children in regular schools: the Ugandan experience

In developing countries, it is often reported that around two per cent of children with disabilities attend school. Uganda is leading the way in its commitment to integrating children with disabilities into mainstream schooling as a step in the process towards 'inclusion'. But what are the practical implications of inclusive education? What do teachers think of integrated classes? Do they have access to adequate resources and training?

A study from the UK’s Centre of International Child Health examines the perceptions of some of the stakeholders since Uganda adopted the Universal Primary Education (UPE) programme in 1997. Evidence from observation and interviews with teachers and children in three primary schools in different regions of the country, suggests that attitudes are changing. However, the study warns that without additional resources and special needs training Uganda will not be able to adequately satisfy the educational needs of its disabled children.

In a national address in 1996, Ugandan President Museveni acknowledged the equal right of children with disabilities to be educated. Within a year the number of disabled pupils doubled. With overcrowded classrooms and lack of training, instructional materials and textbooks, many teachers found it very difficult to cope with the new challenges. The presence of disabled children in the classroom was sometimes perceived as making learning for others more difficult and discipline problems even worse. This has motivated many better-off parents to opt for private education.

The majority of children with disabilities in these three schools had intellectual disabilities or hearing impairment. It seemed that transport difficulties prevented children with physical impairments from reaching school. In addition, many children had AIDS or had lost parents to the disease.

With furniture in short supply, many pupils sit on the floor. There are hardly any teaching aids and many children lack pencils or exercise books. There is constant background noise. Given the huge number of students in each class, which can be as high as 150, teachers find it hard to give individual attention to students, although a few sit children with disabilities at the front and try to communicate with hearing impaired children with gestures. Teachers seem to take little interest in or responsibility for how many children follow or understand what they are saying. Despite these disadvantages, UPE has also brought positive changes.

Teachers have found that:

• they are overcoming their own ignorance, fears and prejudices around disability
• they are more confident about identifying disabilities and developing pedagogic coping strategies
• they have become change agents and help children with and without disabilities to develop more positive attitudes and get used to each other
• parents are changing their attitudes towards their 'useless' disabled children once they see their child’s behaviour and skills improve from attending school.

How can poor developing nations promote inclusive education? The study makes the following recommendations:

• provide better resources to schools and to teachers
• introduce participatory, child-centred teaching methods appropriate to large classes with different levels of student need such as activity-based learning, child-to-child activities and group work
• emphasise special needs in both teacher training courses and in-service training for current teachers
• improve networking to enable information exchange and help remote schools access advice from special education services
• gather information on the numbers of children with disabilities in schools, their length of attendance, levels of attainment and reasons for dropping out.

Source(s):
‘Teachers’ and pupils’ experiences of integrated education in Uganda’, International Journal of Disability, Development and Education, 49 (1): 61-78, by S. Arbeiter and S. Hartley, 2002 Full document.

Funded by: C P Charitable Trust

id21 Research Highlight: 18 September 2002

Further Information:
Sally Hartley
Centre of International Child Health
30 Guildford Street
London WC1N IEH
UK

Tel: +44 (0) 207 905 2383
Fax: +44 (0) 207 831 0488
Contact the contributor: S.Hartley@ich.ucl.ac.uk

Centre of International Child Health

Susanne Arbeiter
German Development Service (DED)
PO Box 119
Hanoi
Vietnam

Contact the contributor: sarbeiter@hotmail.com

German Development Service (in German)

Other related links:
'Nothing about us, without us: including disabled people in poverty reduction work'

Refer to NCDDR for research on disability issues.

IDDC is a consortium of NGOs working on disability and development.

Healthlink Worldwide publishes newsletters called Disability Dialogue and Community-Based Rehabilitation.