How the learning space can become an inclusive learning space – Lessons from Europe... USA and Latin America Presented at CAVA2018, 21-24 August 2018 in Medellin, Colombia.

1. How the learning space can become an inclusive
learning space – Lessons from Europe... USA and LA
By KarelVan Isacker

2. Disability and
Education
1World Health Organization. (2011).
World report on disability. Retrieved
from
http://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/106
65/70670/1/WHO_NMH_VIP_11.01
_eng.pdf.
2The cycle of poverty and disability.
(2017, February 17). Retrieved from
https://www.add.org.uk/why-
disability/cycle-poverty-and-disability.
3 United Nations. (2015.). Global
Status Report on Disability and
Development. Retrieved from
http://www.un.org/esa/socdev/docum
ents/disability/2016/GlobalStatusRepo
rtonDisabilityandDevelopment.pdf.
 More than a billion people in the world
live with some form of disability. (1)
 Disabilities disproportionately affect
vulnerable populations, generating a
cycle that is hard to break.
 People in poverty are more likely to
become disabled, and people who are
disabled are more likely to be poor. (2)
 According to the World Health
Organization, people with disabilities
experience lower educational
achievements and less economic
participation.(1)
 Children with disabilities are less likely
to start school, and have lower rates of
staying and advancing in schools. (3)

3. Some numbers

4. Some numbers

5. Some numbers

6. Some numbers

7. Testimony
Promoting accessibility in education is the
best way to change those numbers.
 BUT: Putting theory into practice can be a
tough endeavour for educational
institutions around the globe.
 “The problem is not the fact that I am blind.
The problem is the fact that inaccessible
technology is woven into the fabric of the
collegiate academic experience at many
institutions. Nobody wants the technology to
be inaccessible, but no one has guidelines on
how to ensure that I can be welcome in
higher education.Well-meaning institutions
can and do go awry without these guidelines.”
Justin, Louisiana student

8. Convention on the
Rights of Persons
with Disabilities
(CRPD)
 The Convention on the Rights of Persons
with Disabilities and its Optional Protocol
(A/RES/61/106) was adopted on 13
December 2006 at the United Nations
Headquarters in NewYork, and was
opened for signature on 30 March 2007.
 So far:
 Convention
 Ratifications/Accessions: 175
 Signatories*: 160
 Optional Protocol
 Ratifications/Accessions: 92
 Signatories*: 92

12. Article 24 – Education
 ... recognize the right of persons with disabilities to education....
 ... ensure an inclusive education system at all levels and lifelong learning...
 .... are not excluded from the general education system on the basis of disability, and that children
with disabilities are not excluded from free and compulsory primary education, or from secondary
education, on the basis of disability;
 Persons with disabilities can access an inclusive, quality and free primary education and
secondary education on an equal basis with others in the communities in which they live;
 Persons with disabilities receive the support required, within the general education
system, to facilitate their effective education;
 Effective individualized support measures are provided in environments that maximize academic
and social development, consistent with the goal of full inclusion.
 In order to help ensure the realization of this right, States Parties shall take appropriate
measures to employ teachers, including teachers with disabilities, who are qualified in
sign language and/or Braille, and to train professionals and staff who work at all levels
of education. Such training shall incorporate disability awareness and the use of appropriate
augmentative and alternative modes, means and formats of communication, educational techniques
and materials to support persons with disabilities.
 States Parties shall ensure that persons with disabilities are able to access general tertiary
education, vocational training, adult education and lifelong learning without
discrimination and on an equal basis with others.To this end, States Parties shall ensure that
reasonable accommodation is provided to persons with disabilities.

13. Putting theory into practice: challenges
 3 main factors
 Most European societies are experiencing a growing
diversity in population and therefore also in schools
and classrooms.This includes greater cultural, ethnic, gender
and personal (through more medical and psychological
differential diagnosis) diversity: our understanding of “diversity”
has expanded.
 Regarding education, schools, principals and teaching will need
to manage to meet all those diverse needs, while every
country has its own tradition of education, school and
teaching.
 Most people responsible for and in schools are engaged in
their work and want to “do good”, or to put it another way,
they “do not consciously do the wrong things”.

14. Core issue
 How to break traditions that
do not meet needs?
 How to combat fear,
uncertainty and insecurity?
 How to support isolated
principals?
 How to create adaptive
teaching?
 How to meet complex needs,
such as people with a
neuropsychiatric disability?

15. Different approaches...

16. Starting point
 Core starting points as defined by UNESCO’s
policy guidelines on inclusive education
(http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0017/001778/17
7849e.pdf) on a policy level is for policy makers
to:
 Carrying out local situation analyses on the scope
of the issue, available resources and their utilization in
support of inclusion and inclusive education.
 Mobilizing opinion on the right to education for
everybody.
 Building consensus around the concepts of inclusive
and quality education.
 Reforming legislation to support inclusive
education in line with international conventions,
declarations and recommendations.
 Supporting local capacity-building to promote
development towards inclusive education.
 Developing ways to measure the impact of
inclusive and quality education.
 Helping teachers to understand their role in
education and that inclusion of diversity in the
classroom is an opportunity, not a problem.

17. UDL Guide
Digital Outcasts: Moving
Technology Forward
without Leaving People
Behind is a book by Kel
Smith.The book covers the
digital gaps that exist, the
role of innovation in
accessibility, and tackling
accessibility strategically.
 A UDL Guide is aimed at people working in
(higher) education who are looking to
improve their overall accessibility efforts,
embracing Universal Design for Learning
(UDL). UDL is a set of principles for
curriculum development intended to give all
individuals equal opportunities to learn.
 Such guide provides step-by-step advice
including
 (1) Getting acquainted with digital
accessibility solutions
 (2) Addressing accessibility as an organization-
wide concern
 (3) Understanding the legal risks associated
with inaction
 (4) Utilizing published policies and program
implementation advice
 (5) Seeking expert help when needed

18. Toolbox
 Set of guidelines (incl. checklists) that define what
the needed steps are to provide inclusive education,
from registration to actual participation in the
classroom., and accessible curriculum.
 Guidelines towards accessible OERs/MOOCS and
inclusive pedagogical approaches (courses and
materials) and related curricula that will be used to
prepare professors and administrative staff towards
inclusive affordable education.
 Database with guidelines and associated
good/best practices that can be consulted using a
wizard approach : based on disability, teaching content
format (video, audio, written, etc.), type of training
(auditorium, workshop, visit)
 Online pre and post self-assessment for (H)EIs
staff to identify:
 improvement point towards current practices, curriculum
and supporting materials, as well as
 streamline administrative processes that accommodate the
needs of students (and staff) with disabilities.

19. How to make
resources accessible?
 Provide transcripts
 Audio and video content can be difficult for learners with hearing or
visual impairments to access. Providing transcripts for audio and
video content helps.
 Use accessibility features
 Documents that are difficult to navigate can cause problems for
some learners. Using existing built-in accessibility features of
applications helps create more accessible and well structured
documents.
 Make use of free software
 Learners with vision or hearing problems can find it difficult to
access standard learning materials. Using simple, free additional
software applications to provide access to the curriculum.
 Reframe content in learning materials
 Some people with disabilities find the format of learning materials is
the biggest barrier to being able to access them.There are many
simple and effective to allow uses to reframe content into a format
they find easier.
 Make resources available online, on time
 Providing ‘just in time’ information, held on online learning platforms,
helps to support learners with disabilities to access all the content
they need, in formats most useful to them, at any time.
 Support collaboration
 Supporting collaboration and sharing also develops crucial
employability skills and also provides an opportunity for deep
learning and the development and testing of ideas.

20. What can you
(student) do?
 Time to be an Accessibility Advocate for
Higher Education Begins at birth - Be the
Voice!
 Silence = Consent = Nothing will change
 Steps
 Writing letters, editorials and bringing
awareness to the inequities of higher
education for students who are blind or
visually impaired needs to start today.
 Create a Self-Advocacy in Higher Education
Toolkit, designed for students with disabilities
seeking to better understand the higher
education accommodation request process,
mitigate access barriers on campus, and
ultimately to succeed at their schools in their
chosen area(s) of study.

21. ForTeachers, get
practical ...
 1. Start small. Choose a single subject area,
a single class, or even a single activity to
allow your students to tailor that
assignment or that objective to their
personal needs.
 2. Get to know your students.Talk to the
parents, create surveys or activities that
allow students to talk about themselves.
 3. Be flexible and have an open mind.
 4. Celebrate diversity.There is no one
right answer to how to teach and how
students learn. Nobody is the same and
we should not expect them to be the
same, because our diversity is what makes
us unique, and is what makes things
interesting and fun in the classroom.

22. Latin America
good practice 1
 Universidad Abierta y a Distancia de
México (UnADM)
 It was created in 2012 with the mission to
guarantee access to education for the most
vulnerable populations in the country, such as
people with disabilities, people deprived of
their liberty, ethnic groups, and indigenous
communities.
 With 23 bachelor’s degree programs, 19
associate’s degree programs and two
postgraduate programs, digital accessibility is
essential for UnADM to fulfil their mission
and vision. content production model was
developed taking into account the
accessibility standards of the World Wide
Web Consortium (W3C).
 The university currently has 929 students
with some form of disability.

23. Latin America
good practice 2
 UniversidadTécnica Nacional in Costa Rica
 University staff is fully committed with holistic education
which promotes an integrated (inclusive) education.
 Admission policy based on inclusive criteria.
 Special Committee for promoting the integration of people
with disabilities into the educational system. All of their
regulations have been adapted for responding to the
inclusion and integration policies.
 Actions that UTN develops for inclusion of students:
 Psychological support
 Psychopedagogical attention
 Vocational orientation.
 Academic and Access Support (Curricular Adaptation).
 Technical support for people with disabilities.
 Courses for teachers and administrators in the field of disability.
 Courses on disability in university careers (in process).
 Scholarship and Student Benefits Program.
 StudentTutors Program.
 Employment Intermediation System (SIE).
 Institutional Groups of Student Representation (Culture and
Sports).

25. New European projects (Erasmus+)
 Project 1:Training of teachers as inclusive education
ambassadors:
 professional skills to work towards integrative schools and do
active outreach to open up schools as institutions towards
inclusive education practices
 knowledge and skills in managing diversity
 ability to suggest strategies to promote inclusive practices at
mainstream schools
 ability to create a learning community in which everyone – staff,
students, parents are involved and valued for their input-to
promote the inclusion and integration of all students no matter
what their origin, previous experience, abilities and social skills
are
 Ability to support teachers and schools staff in dealing with
diversified groups of learners
 Project 2: European diversity design for inclusive education –
Euroddip-e

26.  Flanders (Belgium) started implementing its M-decree in
2015.This decree also deals with inclusive education.
 Inclusion is a basic right. However, the question is not "if"
education should include, but "how best" it can include.

27. The M-Decree
 The so-called "M-Decree" or M(ainstream)-Decree and
Perspective 2020 are the two most important reforms
currently taking place in Flanders.
 The "M-Decree", a reform plan for special education which was
approved in the Flemish Parliament in 2014.
 A radical shift, aimed at mainstreaming students with special needs in
primary and secondary education.
 So far the special schools remained the dominant type of education.
 Perspective 2020, a policy plan launched in 2010.
 Aims at the active inclusion and full participation of people with
disabilities in society.
 Central focus on the client and his/her network, stimulates person-
centered support processes and plans through more individualised
funding and induces a shift from a supply-oriented model of care and
support towards a demand-oriented model.

28. Brilliant idea
 The M-Decree follows the principle of “regular education if possible,
special education (BuO) if necessary”.
 Schools must carry out “reasonable adjustments”, such as providing
specific software for students with dyslexia or employing a sign
language interpreter for deaf students, in order to successfully
mainstream students into regular education.
 The move means that thousands of students will move from BuO to
regular classes. It’s an important step in the direction of inclusive
education.The allocated budget will remain the same but that it will
be invested in other ways.
 'GON guidance‘ (integrated education): a staff member of a school
for special education provides GON support (around 200 such
support staff available). Since school year 2017-2018, this became
“Support for students with specific educational needs”.

29. But ...
 Teacher unions have demanded more time because they fear
that the staff will get too little support and that the budget is
insufficient to implement the necessary measures.
 To enable inclusive education, regular schools were required to
carry out “reasonable adjustments”, such as providing specific
software for students with dyslexia or employing a sign-
language interpreter for deaf students. Both schools and
parents have difficulties determining whether measures taken
fulfil the requirement of “reasonable adjustment”.
 There is no reference framework on reasonable adjustments.
 There is no accessibility mediator that can take decisions
when the schools and parents are unable to agree on a
solution.

30. But ...
 The decree was introduced along with the promise that there
would be professional training, but ...:
 Even in primary education, where most of the disabled children end up
as a result of the M decree, only 53% of teachers have specialised
postgraduate training in teaching children with special needs. In
secondary education, less than 30% of teachers have followed this extra
training.
 In technical and general secondary education, the number of teachers
specifically trained to deal with special-needs pupils is negligible – 4% in
primary and less than 0.5% in secondary.
 Of the people responsible for co-ordinating care at primary school, only
14% have the extra qualification.
 A lot is expected from the contribution of the existing
multidisciplinary teams, composed of educationalists, speech
therapist and physiotherapists.

31. Children returning to special education despite M-
Decree
 1270 children have returned to special education from regular
education (pre-school, primary school and secondary
education) despite the decree introduced in September 2015
to move pupils with special needs into mainstream schools
(figures from the education ministry comparing 1 October
2016 and 1 February 2017).
 This is a “reality check” for the M-Decree.
 Many parents expected more support in regular education and
moved their child when this support didn’t meet their expectations.
 Another group of children were registered in a regular school with
certain conditions put forward by the school.They could easily go
back to special education if these conditions were not fulfilled and
the child was unable to adjust.

32. Free training for schools
 Provincial Education Flanders (POV) network offers free
training to schools to ensure they become ready to
integrate pupils with special needs into their classrooms.
 Reasonable adjustments
 Universal Design for Learning (UDL)
 Optional
 Dealing with behavioural problems
 Curriculum realisation for students with specific educational needs
 Parent and pupil participation
 Connecting together (CLB, teachers, support networks, family, etc.)

33. And then there were the pioneers...
 Wim Moeyaert (22 mei 1977 –
20 maart 2017)
 Cerebral Palsy
 Physical handicap
 Visual impairment
 Education
 1989 – 1995: technical
horticultural education
 1996 – 1999: higher education
marketing
 Informatics education
 Accounting education
 Various computer courses
 Extensive AT / ICT expertise

35. ICT (AT)
skills
Special/Inclusive
Education
Social
Competences
Caregiving
(PA/CP/PC/babies)
Empowerment / Employment / Inclusion

36. Contact details
 KarelVan Isacker
 karel@phoenixkm.eu
 +32 496 334056
Amersveldestraat 189
8610 Kortemark
Belgium