Document Type

Open Access Capstone

Publication Date

2005

Abstract

The rights of people with disabilities have been outlined through many international policies. One specific right, which many of us take for granted, is the right to access public education. Many of these policies, which have been adopted by countries and non-governmental organizations (NGO) throughout the world, call for the inclusion of children with disabilities. One such organization, the Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee, most commonly known as BRAC, is explored in this paper.

In June of 2004, BRAC created a research team, which was made-up of two interns and a unit manger to conduct research over a period of one month. The team was to gather information through interviews and observations; specifically looking at the impact of inclusion on selected BRAC schools and the school community (children with disabilities; CWD, children without disabilities: CWOD, guardians of children with disabilities: GCWD, guardians of children without disabilities: GCWOD, and teachers).

A total of 67 interviews were conducted, another thematically coded for analysis. The results indicated that the majority of CWD and CWOD played and worked together. CWOD were found to be very supportive of inclusive education, however, they questioned the academic ability of their CWD classmates. Some of the guardians said that CWD had promising futures, others indicated that they were surprised by how much a CWD could achieve. Lastly, the responses to the questionnaires indicated that teachers supported inclusion and adapted their instruction to meet the needs of CWD. Furthermore, teachers requested further training to learn about disability issues.

Pages

122

Share

COinS