Classrooms must be inclusive friendly to implement Inclusive Education- Lecturer

Winneba (C/R) July 17, GNA – Dr. Anthony Kofi
Mensah a lecturer at the University of Education, Winneba (UEW) has called for
the need to ensure that that basic school classrooms are conducive friendly for
learners of all abilities and background.

He said with the implementation of Inclusive
Education (IE) in Ghana, which will take off in September this year, must have
the classrooms convey respect for those learners with disabilities.

Dr. Mensah made the call in a presentation he
delivered on the topic “Accommodation for Inclusive Education”, at a capacity
building workshop for teachers, officials of the Effutu Directorate of the
Ghana Education Service.

The workshop, which was attended by Community
Health Students in Winneba, was organised by Campaign for Learning Disabilities
(CLED) an N.G.O in collaboration with the Department of Special Education of
UEW.

The workshop was a follow up of earlier
information session the Department of Special Education of UEW had with
selected teachers and staff of Effutu Directorate of Ghana Education Service
(GES) in March this year for Prof Tiece Ruffin Associate Professor of
Education, U.S Fulbright Scholar to build their background knowledge on the
Universal Designed for Learning (UDL).

Fifty three out of the 59 participants made up
of 29 basic and 20 Junior High Schools teachers and 10 Staff of the Municipal
GES Directorate at the session stated Yes with reasons that the UDL framework
was contextually appropriate for Ghana inclusive classroom and also the best
way for teachers to plan for diverse learners in the classroom.

Those who said No, indicated that most classes
were not conducive enough and would be much expensive to deal with all children
of school going age.

They also mentioned lack of requisite
technologies to facilitate the UDL, congestions of the classrooms, lack of
resources for the UDL, animals trooping in whiles teaching, and other
distractions from people’s homes.

He said children who learn together, learn to
live together, saying, Inclusive Education had emerged as one of the most
dominant issue in the education of learners with Special Educational Needs,
which they needed to be provided with appropriate supplementary aid and support
services.

Dr.
Mensah took the participants through Accommodation in Inclusive Education in
Ghana, Test, Timing/Scheduling, Setting, presentation, Response Accommodations,
accommodations in teaching, instruction and learners responses.

He said accommodation in IE was a change made
to the teaching or testing procedures and when fully adopted, would go a long
way to provide the learners accessibility to information and create an equal
opportunity to demonstrate knowledge and skills.

GNA

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