Overcoming the barriers to inclusive education in Papua New Guinea
Guy Le Fanu (Honorary Research Fellow, School of Education, University of Bristol) and Mevelyn Kawane (Lecturer in Special and Inclusive Education, Balob Teachers’ College, Papua New Guinea)
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Event information
Overcoming the barriers to inclusive education in Papua New Guinea
Wednesday 6th November 2024, 12:00-13:00 GMT
This event is part of the School of Education's Bristol Conversations in Education research seminar series. These seminars are free and open to the public.
Hosted by the Education in Small States Research Group (ESSRG)(affiliated with the Centre for Comparative and International Research in Education (CIRE))
Venue – Hybrid
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About the event
In recent decades, there has been increased awareness of the need for education systems around the world to become inclusive for learners with disabilities and additional learning needs (DALN). This has been attributed to civil society activism (both within countries and globally) and the signing, endorsement, and ratification of various international agreements, such as the Salamanca Statement (1994), the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (2006), and the Sustainable Development Goals (2015).
In this seminar, we will report back on case-study research carried out earlier this year in Papua New Guinea which was commissioned by a Provincial Division of Education. This examined education provision in a ‘model’ inclusive primary school and involved lesson observation and semi-structured interviews with selected teachers. It was found that the teachers encountered various challenges including learners with disabilities in their classes. Deaf learners were particularly disadvantaged due to their lack of access to sign language. These challenges were placed in the immediate context of teaching and learning realities and the broader contexts of curriculum reform, culturally embedded patterns of teaching and learning, fragile support systems, colonialism, and globalisation.
In the light of the findings and subsequent discussions with education stakeholders, various low cost/no cost ways of making the school more inclusive for learners with DALN were identified. These measures are in the process of being implemented by the Provincial Division of Education, the local Inclusive Education Research Centre, and the school.
The research has implications for Papua New Guinea and other small states as they seek to promote sustainable inclusive education of good quality for learners with DALN in often challenging circumstances. It also has implications for the international development community as it endeavours to provide these countries with the financial and technical assistance that will assist them to realise this goal.