Training teachers to keep children with disabilities in school
- Organization
- Uganda Society for Disabled Children
- Country of Implementation
- Uganda
- Region
- Africa
- Subregion
- Subsaharan Africa
- First published
- 31.01.2016
Solution details
People
“The training provided by USDC has enabled our teachers to identify more children with learning challenges and other hidden disabilities. I have questioned myself and my teachers why children with hearing impairments are so many, but we have no clear reasons. So the health professionals have to help here.” Mr. Masson, Head Teacher, Kureku Primary School
Problems Targeted
One of the problems facing the inclusion of children with disabilities in school is that the methods and modes that are used to qualify teachers and that the teachers use in the classroom are inadequate. Another is that the total school enrolment rate of children with disabilities in Uganda is very low – between 5% and 10% – compared to approximately 90% of children without disabilities. About 9% of children with disabilities attend primary school and only 6% complete it and continue to secondary school.
Solution, Innovation and Impact
A first steps towards achieving higher completion rates of children with disabilities is to improve the skills of teachers and to lobby for Inclusive Education. Teachers who are employed in public schools need to be trained to use a child-to-child methodology. Teachers who are qualified through this project do not assume that children with disabilities have only limited knowledge, and instead the training gives them the skills to enable learners to discover many things by themselves, rather than just transferring knowledge. Furthermore, USDC aggressively advocates for Inclusive Education, seeking partnerships with likeminded organizations and raising funds to promote an inclusive agenda. As a result, the teacher-training curriculum at Kyambogo University was reviewed and revised to increase the knowledge of trainees so as to enable them to support children with disabilities in a better way.
Funding, Outlook and Transferability
In the rest of 2015 and in 2016 the project staff will work to increase the implementation of their child-to- child methodology and use the positive results for their lobbying activities. These activities will also be increased and will centre on promoting policies that reinforce the use of ICT for Inclusive Education.
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