06/02/2023
Inclusive Education
According to vanguard news, approximately 7 million kids were reportedly not attending school in 2016 since they were unable to enroll in a primary school due to a disability state. According to the reports, Nigerian primary and secondary schools are not inclusive and are not accessible to students with disabilities. Education is a fundamental necessity and right regardless of physical or social limitations.
As a result, incorporating inclusive learning within the curriculum is essential and should not only be an afterthought in Nigerian school administration regulations.
What is inclusive education?
Inclusive education means students with diverse and different learning and physical abilities staying in the same classroom to learn side by side. It is the act of placing students in age-appropriate general education classes in schools available in their immediate environment that gives access to high-quality instructions, interventions and assistance to meet up primary academic curriculum irrespective of any challenges they may have.
Educators need to recognise the fact that children with disabilities have equal capacities to learn and perform optimally as their age-mates that are without limitations. These children are therefore supposed to be part of all educational activities in their classrooms and within the neighbourhood. Such activities include excursions, academic debates, sports and other related activities.
How to create an inclusive classroom
•Cooperative learning
Presenting tasks and activities in a way that promotes cooperative learning is a fantastic strategy to implement inclusive education in the classroom. Students are all given the chance to engage by studying in groups. Instead of allowing students to choose their own groups for group work, you might want to assign fair groupings.
•Specialized training
Teachers should have the required resources and training in order to ensure that they are fostering the best learning environment possible. Upskilling and receiving further training might be very advantageous if you are a teacher who is eager to promote student inclusion.
•Adapted lessons and tasks
For pupils who have obvious disabilities or learning challenges, traditional teaching isn't always the best option. To accommodate these students and make courses more flexible, the curriculum needs to be changed. You could accomplish this by making lessons more immersive to keep the students engaged.
•Use diverse methods of marking
It's not always the ideal practice to grade papers by applying the same standards to all of the students' work. Some students may find it difficult to write down their thoughts or to complete specific types of assignments.
You can be more inclusive in your marking by, for instance, separating the evaluation of the ideas and content from the evaluation of the language and grammar. Additionally, you might assign points for effort. When providing feedback to students, make sure it is understandable to them and confirm with them that they are aware of your recommendations.
