Inclusive and Supportive Education Congress International Special Education Conference Inclusion: Celebrating Diversity? 1st - 4th August 2005. Glasgow, Scotland

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Inclusive networking: the example of the Enabling Education Network

Ms Susie Miles
School of Education, University of Manchester, Oxford Road,
Manchester M13 9PL
Susiemiles@eenet.org.uk

Co-presenters: Mel Ainscow and Ingrid Lewis

In this introductory paper to the symposium entitled, ‘Promoting international dialogue on inclusive education’, we introduce the philosophy behind the creation of the Enabling Education Network (EENET) and the international role it plays as an ‘inclusive network’. We discuss the importance of developing different varieties of ‘inclusive education’ in countries of the South, in response to the particular context of limited material resources. We also outline the key features of an action research study, led by EENET and funded by the UK Department for International Development (DFID), entitled, ‘Understanding Community Initiatives to Improve Access to Education’. We will use the action research model created in Zambia and Tanzania over the last few years as the basis for the whole symposium. Examples of the way EENET supports regional developments in inclusive education in the major regions of the world will be provided. We aim to show through the symposium papers how an action research approach can enable stakeholders in inclusive education to document and share their experiences in a range of formats.

Introduction to EENET

The Enabling Education Network (EENET) is a participatory international network which provides information about including all children in education, focusing on income-poor countries. The network makes easy-to-read information about inclusive education available through its website and newsletter, and by responding to individual enquiries. EENET’s web site currently averages 200,000 hits per month, but EENET also prioritises the dissemination of materials in hard copy to those practitioners who do not have access to the Internet.

EENET provides a free service to teachers, parents, children and policy makers, primarily in countries of the South. It facilitates the flow of information and documentation originating in the South and encourages critical thinking and innovation. Through sharing information in this way, EENET promotes access to education for marginalised groups and supports the development of better education for all children.

EENET is based in the School of Education at the University of Manchester and was established in 1997 through the efforts of a range of international non-governmental organisations, UNESCO, and the University. It is managed by an international steering group which has ensured the accountability of its two staff members and helped sustain its inclusive philosophy. EENET is not just a network about inclusion, it aims to network inclusively.

One of the key reasons for the establishment of EENET was the urgent need for documentation on inclusive education in the South. This was also one of the main motivations for initiating the action research study. The long-term aim of the study was to improve the quality of information which the network shares, primarily between similar contexts in Southern countries, but increasingly between diverse situations. However practitioners expressed their need for support in producing documentation about their work.

EENET has faced many difficulties in collecting written accounts. Supporting practitioners who work in the context of a predominantly oral culture to document their work has proved to be particularly difficult. In tackling this dilemma the work of Slim and Thomson (1993) was very helpful. Since practitioners are often over-loaded and lack confidence in their writing abilities, they tend not to realise that their stories will be of value to others working in similar cultural contexts, where material resources are limited and class sizes are large – classes of over 50 learners are not uncommon.

Inclusion in an international context

International commitments made at Jomtien and Salamanca and subsequently through the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), to provide every child, youth and adult with educational opportunities through Education for All have not led to significant changes. Children continue to be marginalised from educational opportunities in large numbers (DFID, 2000a). Children from economically poor backgrounds, girl children, children from nomadic and other minority ethnic families and those affected by HIV/AIDS all face marginalisation from, and within, education. Disabled children may belong to any one of these marginalised groups, but also tend to be disproportionately represented in the out-of-school population. Some children, such as those with multiple impairments, often experience greater marginalisation from services than others. By contrast children with unrecognised difficulties in learning tend to repeat classes and eventually drop out of school without ever having these difficulties recognised.

The particular challenge of ensuring that disabled children and those categorised as having special educational needs gain access to education and successfully complete their primary school education is considerable. Statistics are notoriously unreliable on this issue, primarily because of the differences in definition across cultures and contexts. The figure of two per cent is often put forward as the number of disabled children who attend school in Southern countries, leaving 98% out of school. Whatever the actual figures, we know that the majority of disabled children in most Southern countries do not attend school and therefore the MDGs cannot be achieved.

The field of ‘special needs’ and inclusive education is full of contradictions and confusion. Some of this confusion has arisen because of the tendency of Southern countries to look to the North for ideas of how to educate disabled children and those identified as having ‘special needs’. Many Northern agencies have also encouraged Southern governments to adopt models of service provision, such as special units attached to mainstream schools, which may work well in highly resourced situations, but work less well where there are limited resources.

UNESCO has put forward the following definition, demonstrating its move towards a broader vision of inclusion, inspired by Salamanca.

“Inclusion is seen as a process of addressing and responding to the diversity of needs of all learners through increasing participation in learning, cultures and communities, and reducing exclusion within and from education”. (UNESCO, 2004)

Since there is no agreed international definition of inclusive education, it is defined in this paper as being “the process of increasing the presence, participation and achievement of all learners in their local schools, with particular reference to those groups of learners who are at risk of exclusion, marginalisation or underachievement” (Miles et al, 2003: 12). Inclusive education is seen as a central strategy in achieving social inclusion, and is closely linked to social justice, democracy and human rights. It is not only an issue of disabled children’s access to mainstream education. The UK Department for International Development has asserted that: “Inclusive education in a developing country implies the equal right of all children to the “educational package”, however basic that package may be” (DFID 2000b:12).

The following quotation reminds us that inclusive policies and practices should be unique to the context in which they are developed and that a range of inclusive possibilities should be considered:

“…. it seems to me mistaken to look for a single set of policies or practices which will somehow 'deliver' inclusive education. Such policies and practices have to be developed in different contexts to address whatever threats to equity arise in different systems, at different times and for different groups of children”. (Dyson, 2004, p.615)

Promote inclusive practices through action research

The main aim of EENET’s collaborative action research study was to explore appropriate and sustainable ways of building the capacity of key stakeholders in education to reflect, analyse and document their experience of promoting inclusive education. By developing analytical and writing skills, the study indirectly aimed to build the research capacity of education practitioners (EENET, 2000).  

Dissemination was a central strategy in the study, since this is an integral part of EENET’s day-to-day work. EENET has inspired practitioners in Southern contexts to promote more inclusive practices through the dissemination of contextually and culturally relevant information (Miles (2002).The study involved an investigation of a process designed to facilitate improved discussion and sharing of ideas on inclusive education in Southern contexts.   It is a process, we believe, that can help teachers, parents and children themselves to move away from a reliance on external help to conduct formal research and produce documents. By taking a more active role in research projects, they can make a more informed contribution to the development of inclusive practices in their own school communities.

The research approach adopted involved a combination of collaborative inquiry methods, as used in English schools (Ainscow et al, 2003, Reason and Rowan, 1981), and Participatory Learning and Action, as practised primarily in Southern countries (Chambers, 1999). This combined approach involved both group processes and visual methods of recording.

In Tanzania the study focused on five primary schools and one special school in Dar es Salaam, which had all been designated as pilot inclusive education schools by the Ministry of Education. In Zambia 12 primary and basic schools in the Mpika area were involved in the study, including two schools which had special units attached. In both countries there was already some experience of implementing inclusive practices - with a particular emphasis on disabled children and those identified as having special needs.

The study was exploratory, short-term and small-scale. It was also carried out on a very low budget in each country – approximately £10,000 in each country over two years . A deliberate effort was made to support a sustainable approach to action research. The action research methodology used in the study was unusual in that it was the basis of the intervention in each of the contexts, and, at the same time, the means of collecting and engaging with evidence in relation to the overall research questions . The study assessed the extent to which the development of analytical and writing skills can lead to a process of reflection and evaluation, and to changes towards more inclusive practice in schools and communities. The following quote from the final research report highlights the importance of linking research with practice:

“It has generally been assumed that the gap between research and practice is a result of inadequate dissemination strategies.   The implication being that educational research does speak to issues of practice, if only the right people would listen.   Yet research findings will continue to be ignored, regardless of how well they are communicated, because they by-pass the ways in which practitioners formulate the problems they face and the constraints within which they have to work. The methodology used in this study required a newly formed group of stakeholders to engage in a search for a common agenda to guide their enquiries and establish ways of working that enabled them to analyse their existing experience, and collect and find meaning in different types of information. S

uch an approach aims to overcome the traditional gap between research and practice” (Miles et al, 2003: 17).  

Look-think-act

The following diagrams capture the essence of what the initial research project and the ongoing dissemination programme aimed to do. In the first diagram the key principles of action research are highlighted. The CD-ROM created to disseminate the ‘Guidelines’ on action research for inclusion is divided into these three interconnected activities. Throughout this symposium ‘Promoting international dialogue on inclusive education’ we will refer to these three aspects of the process of research and reflection.

Source: EENET (2004)

In the second diagram we have tried to capture the effect of ‘inclusive networking’ and the ways in which this action research process can be used to share experiences beyond the limits of individual projects among a wide range of stakeholders in accessible formats, enabling children, people with learning difficulties and those with limited literacy skills to participate.

Source: EENET (2004)

In this symposium you will hear examples of papers from all the major regions of the world: Africa, Asia and Latin America. It is EENET’s aim to ‘regionalise’ its activities as much as possible, while at the same time providing an essential unifying link between regionally-based projects. We aim to demonstrate the way in which this action research process has been institutionalised within EENET and the way it captures the very essence of EENET’s aims, objectives and core philosophy. In this way we aim to provide a model of ‘inclusive networking’ which we believe is very different from the way most networks operate.

References

Ainscow, M., Howes, A., Farrell, P., and Frankham, J. (2003) ‘Making sense of the development of inclusive practices.’ European Journal of Special Needs Education. 18(2) pp 227-242

Chambers, R. (1999) Relaxed and Participatory Appraisal. Notes on Practical Approaches and Methods. Brighton: Institute of Development Studies.

Department for International Development (2000a)   Education for All: the challenge of Universal Primary Education. London: DFID

Department for International Development (2000b) Disability, Poverty and Development. An Issues Paper. London: DFID

Dyson, A. (2004) Inclusive education: a global agenda? In Japanese Journal of Special Education. 41 (6), 613-625, 2004.

EENET (2004) Learning from Difference: An action research guide for capturing the experience of developing inclusive education, CD-ROM. Manchester: EENET

EENET (2000) Understanding community initiatives to improve access to education: Writing Workshops April 1 2001 – March 31 2003. www.eenet.org.uk/action/proposal_website.doc. Accessed 28.03.05.

Miles, S. (2002) ‘Learning about inclusive education: the role of EENET in promoting international dialogue’. In P. Farrell & M. Ainscow (eds) Making Special Education Inclusive. London: David Fulton

Miles, S., Ainscow, A., Kangwa, P., Kisanji, JN., Lewis, I., Mmbaga, DN & Mumba, P. (2003) Learning from Difference.   Final project report to DFID.

Reason, P. and Rowan, J. (1981) Human Inquiry: A sourcebook for new paradigm research. Chichester: Wiley

Slim, H. and Thomson, P. (1993) Listening for a change: Oral testimony and development. London: Panos Publications Ltd

UNESCO (2004) An Inclusive Approach to EFA: UNESCO’s Role. In Enabling Education. Issue 8, June 2004. Manchester: EENET.

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