No child left behind
Schooling strategies for inclusive education in the time of Covid-19 The focus on inclusion has been growing at a steady pace. Globally, organisations such as UNICEF have been safeguarding the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) since 1989, reminding governments to support learners who have been forgotten or left behind by economic and social progress.
In South Africa, then Minister of Education Professor Kader Asmal called for the integration of special needs education in the education system nearly two decades ago, speaking of the ‘difference special schools can make when they provide a quality and relevant learning experience’.
The South African Ministry of Education has defined inclusive education as: • Acknowledging that all children and youth can learn and that all children and youth need support. • Enabling education structures, systems and learning methodologies to meet the needs of all learners. • Acknowledging and respecting differences in learners, whether due to age, gender, ethnicity, language, class, disability, HIV or other infectious diseases. • Broader than formal schooling and acknowledging that learning also occurs in the home and community, and within formal and informal settings and structures. • Changing attitudes, behaviour, teaching methods, curricula and environment to meet the needs of all learners. • Maximising the participation of all learners in the culture and the curriculum of educational institutions and uncovering and minimising barriers to learning.
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