Inclusive Education


Excerpts from Porter (2001) Disability and Education - Towards an Inclusive Approach (PDF, 243KB):

In 1994, UNESCO's Salamanca Statement set forth the challenge to provide public education to 'all children, regardless of their physical, intellectual, emotional, social, linguistic, or other conditions'. Not only was this commitment made, this service was to be provided in 'ordinary schools'. Articles 2 and 18 of the Statement, which were endorsed by 300 participants representing 92 countries and 25 international organizations, are particularly notable: Regular schools with this inclusive orientation are the most effective means of combating discriminatory attitudes, creating welcoming communities, building an inclusive society and achieving education for all (Article 2, UNESCO, 1994). Educational policies at all levels (..) should stipulate that children with disabilities should attend their neighborhood school, that is, the school that would be attended if the child did not have a disability (Article 18, UNESCO, 1994).

Segregated education tends to perpetuate a way of thinking that isolates people throughout their lives. The low participation rate of persons with disabilities in the work force can be directly linked to their exclusion from the educational system. Children who have been segregated at school tend to be kept separate as adults through work, recreational programs, and institutions (including psychiatric hospitals). Arguably, the systematic marginalization of people with disabilities from mainstream society tears at the social fabric, thereby damaging the diversity of civil society as a whole. The resultant poverty, dependency, and despair represent a significant squandering of human potential (CACL 1997). Such arrangements are inconsistent with the spirit of international declarations on human, economic, and cultural rights, which are based on notions of full equality, inclusion, and respect. Today, the concept of educational access has evolved from a mere privilege to a right for all.


IDB Resources

Reports

Disability and Education - Towards an Inclusive Approach (PDF, 243KB)
By Gordon L. Porter, President of Inclusion InterAmericana. SDS Working Paper, 2001.

ECCD Guide: A Toolkit for Early Childhood Care and Development
Inter-American Development Bank, SDS, 1996.

Technical Co-operations under implementation

Initial Education for Children with Special Needs
Nicaragua, 2005.
Esta cooperación técnica tiene por objetivo general reforzar el sistema nacional de detección y atención a niños de 0 a 6 años con necesidades educativas especiales a través de la elaboración de un módulo que permitirá mejorar la calidad de la atención a estos niños en la educación inicial, facilitando sus posibilidades de entrar al sistema educativo formal.

Community-Based Inclusive Education Model Intellectually Disabled Children
Regional, 2005
Training to primary school teachers in dealing with, and working with, mentally handicapped children

For further information on disability and development projects in the IDB, please refer to the Project Portfolio.


International Mandates

Flagship for EFA and the Right to Education for Persons with Disability - Towards Inclusion
A Knowledge Sharing Initiative from UNESCO

An International Strategy to Operationalize the Dakar Framework on Education for All
Framework for Current and Future Actions, October, 2001. UNESCO.

Regional Framework for Action - Education for All in the Americas
Adopted in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, February, 2000.

Dakar Framework for Action - Education for All by 2015
Text adopted by the World Education Forum, Dakar, Senegal, 2000.

The Salamanca Statement and Framework for Action on Special Needs Education
UNESCO, 1994. Salamanca, Spain.

The World Conference on Education for All 1990
Jomtien, Thailand, March 1990


International Organizations

Inter-American Children's Institute

OECD
Social Cohesion and Education

Organization of American States (OAS)
Early Childhood Development

Organization of Ibero-American States
Digital Library on Special Education (in Spanish)

UNESCO
Education For All
Inclusive Education
Regional Office of Education for Latin American and the Caribbean

World Bank
Early child Development


Further Resources

Further Resources in Spanish



Last updated: 05/01/07