The inclusion of inclusive education in international development: Lessons from Papua New Guinea

Stakeholder perspectives on barriers and facilitators of inclusive education in the Solomon Islands

“…It seems that the western notion of schooling, and inclusive education, is highly problematic in the Solomon Islands context. This cultural disconnect, noted in other research in the region (Le Fanu, ; McDonald and Tufue‐Dolgoy, ; Miles, Lene, and Merumeru, ) is potentially responsible for many of the difficulties faced and must be challenged directly. Perhaps a new way forward can be found.…”

Distortions and Dichotomies in Inclusive Education for Children with Disabilities in Cambodia in the Context of Globalisation and International Development

“…Within the context of inclusive education, the vested interests that have emerged from the current structure of globalisation tend to seek to maintain this structure (Grech, 2011;Le Fanu, 2013). This paper has attempted to illustrate some of the unfortunate consequences of maintaining this structure for the development of educational services for children with disabilities in developing countries.…”

“…For example, in their analysis of the application of the international orthodoxy of inclusive education in Lesotho, Urwick and Elliott (2010) conclude that, despite government and donor support, "the grand inclusion program of the 1990s, fuelled by the rhetoric of human rights, had little chance of taking hold" (2010, p. 146) because it failed to consider its financial implications for the resource-strapped country within the context of a limited pool of trained personnel, limited physical infrastructure, and lack of basic assistive devices for children with disabilities. Similarly, in a study of inclusive education policy and practice in Papua New Guinea, Le Fanu (2013) found that, by failing to tap into teachers' existing ability to respond to the needs of children with disabilities or to engage in an attempt to change parents' reluctance to send their child with disabilities to school and the community's negative perceptions about the employability of people with disabilities, the top-down approach employed by both donors and government left the teachers feeling inadequate about their pedagogical knowledge and led to no change in school enrolment figures for children with disabilities. Where poverty precludes access to more basic amenities and services, such as basic healthcare and potable water, for populations extending beyond people with disabilities (Eide & Ingstadt, 2011;Grech, 2009;Groce, Kett, Lang, & Trani, 2011), there are serious implications for the sustainability of such programmes beyond the bolus of funding from donors (Metts, 2000).…”

“…Second, during the colonial period and now, the transfer from Europe and North America was and is imbalanced and imposed on the rest of the world. In the disability arena, international standards such as the 1994 Salamanca Statement, "virtually the Bible of the inclusion movement" (Urwick & Elliott, 2010, p. 139 With disability and inclusive education becoming a firm part of the international development agenda, disability studies scholars have begun to explore the ramifications of the "international orthodoxy" (Urwick & Elliott, 2010), or the homogenisation of such highly nuanced and complex issues into a monolithic paradigm dominated by western knowledge and practices, and the "epistemological disengagement" with local realities (Grech, 2011) that results from the assumption that IDAs can then dictate or prescribe the application of these norms globally (Bickenbach, 2012;Grech, 2009Grech, , 2011Le Fanu, 2013;Meekosha & Soldatic, 2011;Shakespeare, 2012). For example, in their analysis of the application of the international orthodoxy of inclusive education in Lesotho, Urwick and Elliott (2010) conclude that, despite government and donor support, "the grand inclusion program of the 1990s, fuelled by the rhetoric of human rights, had little chance of taking hold" (2010, p. 146) because it failed to consider its financial implications for the resource-strapped country within the context of a limited pool of trained personnel, limited physical infrastructure, and lack of basic assistive devices for children with disabilities.…”

“…Donors' epistemological disengagement tends to permeate most development initiatives because, "critical issues related to context, culture, economy, history, community and relationships of power among others are often bypassed" (Grech, 2011, p. 88). Studies of inclusive education projects funded through IDAs present similar divergence between the donors' "one-size-fits-all" approach and the local realities (Le Fanu, 2013;Urwick & Elliott, 2010), suggesting that donors frequently use their fiduciary clout to push their own agenda while believing that they are following the agenda of their beneficiary country.…”