Examples of good practice in SPECIAL NEEDS

EDUCATION

& COMMUNITY-BASED

PROGRAMMES

United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization

The views expressed in this documentare those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of UNESCO.

Credits photo cover:

ILOI. Benko, E. Gajeiro, L. Quanju, W.Shaoye

UNESCOP.Almasy, I. Forbes, D. RogerUNRWAM. Arjavirta

For information:

UNESCOSpecial Education7 place Fontenoy75 352 Paris 07SPFranceFax: 33-1-40 65 94 05Tel: 33-1-45 68 11 37

Preface

In line with its work to promote new strategies tore a c h c h i l d ren and young people with special educationalneeds within regular education and community-based programmes, UNESCO invited a number of practitioners to share successful experiences, projects, etc. in thisdomain.

The compiled stories reflect initiatives of different groups of practitioners - teachers, parents, specialists andcommunity people with a clear commitment to making a difference in the education of children and youngpeople with special needs - people who are determined to make things happen.

UNESCO's programme on Special Needs Educationhas put together these stories, hoping that they will be a source of inspiration, and a channel for exchange andnetworking with all those who want to promote education

for all including special educational needs.

Contents

Page

1. AUSTRIAIntegration models for elementary and secondary schools in Austria 1by Volker Rutte

2. CHINAIntegrated Education Project, Anhui Province 9by Janet C. Holdsworth

3. GHANAThe Community-based Rehabilitation Programme in Ghana 17by Lawrence Ofori-Addo

4. GUYANAInvolvement of volunteers, parents and community members 25with children with special needsby Brian O'Toole

5. INDIATeacher development initiative (TDI)to meet special needs in the classroom 33by N. K. Jangira and Anupam Ahuja

6. JAMAICAEarly intervention and education initiatives in rural areas 41by M. J. Thorburn

Page7. JORDAN

The role of institutions in Community-based Rehabilitation 47and in Community-based Special Education by Andrew L. de Carpentier

8. JORDAN The Resource room at the Amman national school 55by Hala T. Ibrahim

9. NETHERLANDSIndividual integration of children 61with Down's Syndrome in ordinary schools by Trijntje de Wit-Gosker

l 0. NORWAYIn harmony we learn 71by Marna Moe

11. INTERNATIONALINITIATIVES for Deaf Education in the Third World 79by Andrew L. de Carpentier

ANNEXAddresses of contributors 87

1

Introduction

This paper charts the success of a parent-and teacher-led movement in Austria which campaigned for theintegration of children with special educational needs.It has taken just ten years to achieve its aims and forthe first time, parents of children with special educatio -nal needs are able to make real choices about the edu -cation their children receive. In 1993, the Austriangovernment passed a law enabling the parents of chil -dren with special educational needs to choose whethertheir child is educated in a special or a mainstreamelementary school. Further legislation extending theprinciple to the secondary sector is to follow.

BACKGROUND

1. Historical and political context

There is a good, established system of specialeducation provision in Austria which has beco-me increasingly specialised since 1945. T h e r eare specialist schools for children with learningd i fficulties, for children who are blind andvisually impaired, deaf and hearing impaired,physically disabled, or behaviourally and emo-tionally disturbed, and for children with com-plex disabilities. However, by the early nine-teen eighties, an increasing number of parentswere refusing to enrol their children at specialschools . They wanted the i r chi ldren to be

educated in mainstream schools and felt that this choicewas their democratic right. At about this time, educationalresearchers and some of those working in special educa-tion were questioning the benefits of a segregated 'special'education for children with special educational needs.Special school rolls were also falling. The number of ele-mentary school-age children in Austria had decreased, andto avoid closure, many elementary schools were not trans-ferring pupils they identified as having special educationalneeds. This, then, was an opportune time for exploring thepossible benefits of integration.

The arguments for integration were primarily:

i) that special education teachers and their pupils feltthat they had been hidden away in their specialschools and that they were being excluded. Eventhe best-equipped and well-appointed schools can-not replace a 'normal' environment. Special schoolsfelt like ghettos for teachers, pupils and parents.

ii) that parents and disabled adults complained aboutthe relationship between disabled and non-disabledpeople, which was characterised by fear, insecurityand ignorance. If children with special needs wereeducated alongside other children, learning andplaying together, many of these negative feelingscould be overcome.

iii) the educational principles and goals of a schoolproviding an integrated environment would beattractive to all parents. The development of qual-ities like consideration, collaboration, and helpful-ness is often not a priority in mainstream schoolsand a policy of integration could help improve this.

AUSTRIA

Integration models for elementary and secondary schools in Austria

by VOLKER RUTTE

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2. History of the project

During 1983, several groups of teachers, parents, stu-dents and counsellors began to meet to discuss andlobby for the integration of children with special edu-cational needs into mainstream education. They wereacting independently of each other and were mostlyunaware of each other's activities. The groups campai-gned on the basis of civil rights and there was a groupin most provinces. Questions about integration werediscussed in countless meetings and workshops, thefocus usually being on the social integration of chil-dren with special needs. Specific proposals arose fromthese discussions, taking the form of potential modelsfor integration, and these were submitted to the Boardof Education and the Ministry.

The education authorities were hesitant. It was unusualto receive proposals from community-based groups andthere were many special schools which were opposedto educating children with special educational needsoutside the special school sector. Finally, however, theMinistry decided to set up a working group whichincluded representatives from all the interest groups,and a pilot scheme to test four models for integrationwas agreed, and funding was provided by the ministry.It is this pilot scheme which forms the basis of thispaper.

THE PILOT SCHEME

1. The models

Four models were tested in the pilot scheme.

i) Integrated classes

An integrated class has about 20 children and includesfour children with special educational needs. The classhas two teachers, one is an elementary school teacherand the other a special school teacher. Teaching isbased on the principles of individualisation, coopera-tion and active learning and should offer as manyopportunities as possible for supportive interaction bet-ween children with special needs and the rest of theclass. Social learning must be actively encouraged. Thechildren with special educational needs work to indivi-dual learning programmes.

ii) Cooperative classes

In this model, a special school class and mainstreamclass cooperate while following their own curricula.The special needs class continues to be part of the spe-cial school and the level of cooperation is agreed bythe two teachers involved. The children are usuallysegregated for the teaching of academic subjects, butthis does not prevent social integration taking place.The education authorities tend to favour cooperativeclasses over integrated classes because this approachdoes not require any changes to the Austrian schoolsystem.

iii) Small classes

This model involves running a special class within amainstream school, with between six and eleven stu-dents. The classes were designed for students with lear-ning difficulties who were allowed six years, ratherthan four, to achieve the 'right' level of attainment. The'small classes' are not a good model for social integra-tion as they are segregated within the mainstreamschool. The classes were really a suggestion from thespecial education administration and were remodelledafter a few years to become either integrated or coope-rative classes.

iv) Supporting teachers

For financial reasons, a minimum of four children withspecial educational needs is required before a class in amainstream school qualifies as an integrated class, entit-led to an extra, full-time specialist teacher. For theclasses with fewer than four children with special needs,support teachers are available, offering four to six hourssupport a week for each child who needs it. In small,rural schools, the support teacher system provides theonly feasible means of integrating children with specialeducational needs. The level of support available isminimal; for most of the time the elementary school tea-cher has no support and in these circumstances, the sup-port teacher can spend most of his/her time 'repairing' asituation rather than on development activity.

In 1991, an evaluation of all four models was produced bythe Austrian Centre for Educational Experiment andSchool Development. The evaluation concluded that theintegrated class model was the most effective, followed bythe support teacher model. The least successful approach tointegration was that of the cooperative class. The pilotscheme was limited to working with a maximum of 20%of elementary school classes. By 1992/3, there were:

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- 290 integrated classes - 24 cooperative classes - 31 small classes - 3200 children being taught by a support teacher.

2. Partners

One of the strengths of the pilot integration scheme hasbeen the involvement of all the interest groups, but thishas inevitably caused problems. The parents, teachers,students and counsellors involved have differing pers-pectives and needs. The parents are usually keen tocooperate but need help in making the 'right' choices.Teachers need information about special educationalneeds and often require training too. The counsellorsneed to adopt new approaches which go further thanarguing the viability of social integration, which is abasic human right. The counsellors should be assistingthe classes, working with teachers to determine theconditions favourable and unfavourable to social inte-gration. The counsellors' role should also be to docu-ment integration which will help others in similarsituations to develop new approaches. Finally, thepeople the children meet on trips and visits contributeto the extended integration of children with specialneeds. The shopkeepers, businesspeople and factorystaff who meet these children all learn that they are,simply, children; this is when the process of integrationinto society can be said truly to have begun.

THE PROJECT IN PRACTICE

1. Philosophy

Social integration in schools means creating an envi-ronment where children with special educational needscan work, play and live with children who do not havespecial educational needs. Every child has an indivi-dual learning programme which ensures that she deve-lops to his or her full potential, regardless of ability.This approach is only possible with extra resources,including more teachers, smaller student groups andindividualised instruction.

No type of special educational need is excluded.Children are assessed on an individual basis to identifythe resources required to meet their needs. If no sui-table place can be found, then by working towardsmaximum integration with the minimum

level of segregation, the authorities will endeavour tomeet the child's needs as best it can.

Parental involvement is essential and a child will notbe considered for integration until the parents registerat the local elementary school. All children, regardlessof their special educational need(s) are eligible foradmission to elementary school. If there is not a schoolnearby with an integrated class, then the child willeither work with a support teacher or travel to an inte-grated class.

2. Teacher training

The success of an integration project depends primarilyon the commitment and skill of the teachers. Some tea-chers do not wish to teach children with special educa-tional needs and this should be respected. However, asthe integration of children with special educationalneeds increases, so training will be necessary to equipteachers with the necessary skills and understanding toteach their integrated students.

In-service training is currently provided by two tea-chers' academies which run a two-year course coveringa wide range of topics including:

- concepts of special educational needs (handicap) and normality

- simulation of disabilities - mainstreaming - handicap and society throughout history - special schools, special education and therapy - integration and its effectiveness - integration in other countries - resourcing - parental involvement - teaching styles - social learning - individual learning programmes.

One-year teachers' courses are run at local centres inrural areas. These follow a similar curriculum. Aweek-long introductory seminar is held during the lastweek of the summer vacation. This seminar was thefirst course run by the project as a means of reachingteachers quickly with information and help in underta-king integrated work. Attendance at the seminar isvoluntary and does not mean an automatic increase insalary for the teachers.

There is a demand for publications about integratedschooling which focus on the practical aspects of deve-loping teaching programmes and models of good prac-tice.

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3. A team approach

The composition of an integrated class is usuallyagreed by a team of people, including the kindergartenteacher who has been teaching the child or childrenunder discussion, the receiving school teacher(s), theschool principal, the parents and where necessary, theschool psychologist, a doctor, social worker, represen-tative of the parents of children who do not have spe-cial educational needs, a community representative (ifbuilding adaptations are required) and so on. Parentsdo not have a vote, but do have a voice and are askedto give their views. This often requires counselling theparents to inform them about their rights and choices.Hitherto, this team approach has been successful andno parents have objected to the decisions taken abouttheir child's education.

Once a child has been accepted into an integratedclass in the mainstream school, it is not just thetwo class teachers who are involved, but all thes t a ff, including the janitor and the cleaners.Teachers from other classes observe work in theintegrated class and occasionally cover for eitherof the two teachers in their absence. Sometimes aschool will expand its integration programme andincreasing numbers of teachers are involved asmore integrated classes are established. It is theprincipal's responsibility to ensure that each inte-grated class is integrated within the school.

The parents of children who do not have special educa-tional needs are usually in favour of integrated classes.They appreciate the benefits to their children of smallerclasses, special education teaching methods, and thefocus on personal and social education. There are caseswhere these parents have objected to integrated classesbut this tends to be where they have been ill-ormis-informed.

4. The integrated class in action

In the pilot project, the number of pupils in an inte-grated class is smaller than a normal class, being redu-ced from 30 to 20. Up to 20% of the class will havespecial educational needs ie. a maximum of fourpupils. The class has two teachers, one trained to workin mainstream schools, the other to work in specialeducation. Sometimes a consultant teacher is neededwhen the class has a student who has special educatio-nal needs with which the teacher is not familiar. This ismost often the case for visually - or hearing - impairedpupils.

The classroom itself must be large enough to accom-modate small group instruction. Books, toys, craft/artand science materials, should all be easily accessible toevery child. An extra room can be helpful. If the schoolhas blind and/or physically disabled pupils, the buil-ding may need to be adapted.

In addition to the elementary school curriculum,Austria has national curricula for children with mild ormoderate learning difficulties. These set levels for tea-ching and attainment. Each child has an individuallearning programme to which parents can make aninput. Despite the individualised nature of the learning,careful attention is paid to shared activity, projects,group work and whole-class teaching. Assessment ofperformance is through a system of marking from oneto five. In most integrated classes, the children aregiven verbal evaluations in addition to their marks.These and general comments are given in a schoolreport. Decisions are made jointly at the annualparent-teacher conference.

A detailed breakdown of an average day in a fourthgrade integrated class appears in Appendix.

1

THE PILOT SCHEMEIN SECONDARY SCHOOLS

1. Background

In Austria, after four years at elementary school, at theage of 10, children transfer to either a gymnasium, ahigh school or a special school. Generally, the seconda-ry schools are hesitant about the idea of integrated edu-cation and reluctant to continue the work of the ele-mentary schools in this area.

The high school streams its pupils according to ability,with a first, second or third stream. This makes socialintegration more difficult. However, in some areas, thehigh schools are suffering from falling rolls and theyare looking for ways in which to increase pupil enrol-ment.

The gymnasium is selective and competition to gainentry is fierce as these schools prepare students for uni-versity entrance. In theory, it is possible to establishintegrated classes in gymnasiums but in practice it hashappened only rarely and the issue is a politically sen-sitive one.

2. How it works in practice

The models used at secondary level are similar to thosein the elementary schools. The number of students perclass, individual learning programmes, whole-classactivities and group and project work, parental involve-ment and evaluation are all features.

A pilot project in a secondary school provides for threeteachers in subjects like mathematics, English andGerman, and one of these teachers is always a specialschool teacher. In most of the other subjects, two tea-chers work together. This 'team' comprises either ahigh school teacher with a special school teacher, ortwo high school teachers. Some models group subjectsinto 'scientific', 'social-scientific' or 'artistic'. This pro-vides more opportunities for active learning and canmore easily motivate students than traditional,single-subject based teaching. If the administrationinsists upon all subjects being taught by qualified sub-ject specialists, then the staff team can become too big,causing coordination, and internal communication dif-ficulties, and it can undermine the individual nature ofteacher-student relationships. Some schools have there-fore reduced their teams to about six high school tea-chers, plus a special school teacher, all teaching avariety of subjects.

There are particular problems with integrated classes insecondary schools, not least the fact that the schoolsare subject - and not child - oriented. More traditionalteaching styles prevail, with a reliance on textbooksand verbal instruction. The assessment and evaluationprocedures are also problematic, as the traditionalmethods do not always enable the child with specialeducational needs to demonstrate his or her achieve-ment.

Assessment at secondary level involves more tests andexaminations than in elementary schools, and seconda-ry schools are bound by more regulations. Assessmentarrangements for integrated classes are usually a com-promise, with basic written tests for all students andsome students taking additional papers to enable themto demonstrate their capabilities to the full.

LESSONS LEARNT

1. Problems

A number of problems with integration were highligh-ted by the evaluation of the scheme from the Centre forEducational Experiment and School Development.

i) Teamwork and team-teaching is central to the inte-grated class model. A willingness on the part of theteachers to work in partnership is essential.Sometimes, personality differences and/or differentprofessional views can threaten a team and it isimportant for teachers to meet regularly to discussapproaches, workload etc. However, sometimescounselling is required to resolve specific issues orpersonality clashes. It is vital not to ignore or post-pone confronting such difficulties. They do notsolve themselves.

ii) Cooperating with and involving parents is animportant part of the teachers' work. Many teachersof integrated classes meet the parents every monthor so. The parents identify strongly with 'theirclass', often because they fought hard for it to beestablished, and they want to be involved in dis-cussing their children's learning.

iii) Differentiation and active learning are necessarycomponents of integrated learning. This presents achallenge to teachers who may be used to more tra-ditional teaching styles. Social integration inschool can fail because the teaching styles areinappropriate.

AUSTRIA

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iv) Assessment of performance, as explained earlier, isnorm-referenced with children being marked from1-5. This leads to ranking within and betweenclasses, with the emphasis on meeting normal'standards' rather than on a true assessment of achild's performance. Despite evidence showing thatthese marks are neither reliable, valid, or objective,this form of school report has a sound traditionamong parents and is supported by many teachers.This type of assessment does not benefit studentsand debate will continue among both parents andprofessionals about its efficacy and desirability.

2. Mistakes

i) Sometimes the integrated class can become over-loaded with too diverse a range of special educatio-nal needs. Some school principals believe thatbecause these classes are smaller and have two tea-chers, they can assimilate children with vastly dif-fering needs. The additional resources provided forthe pilot project were geared towards a narrowerdefinition of special need.

ii) The cooperative class model failed. It was unpopu-lar with the teachers and made it easier to maintainsegregation and separation while ostensibly educa-ting children in an integrated study.

3. Positive outcomes

Initial data on social integration in Austrian schoolsshows that children with special educational needs donot learn less in integrated classes. Often, the achieve-ments of all the children are superior, quite probablyowing to the individualised and more open instruction.The children with special educational needs arewell-integrated and the parents are apparently pleasedwith the integrated approach. An increasing number ofparents want their children to attend integrated classes.Most teachers, despite an increased workload, with noextra pay, enjoy teaching integrated classes and descri-be this new approach as a positive change. The majori-ty of teachers accept the challenge and are prepared todevelop new approaches to their teaching. As a result,the social integration of children with special educatio-nal needs might not only improve teaching and lear-ning in mainstream schools, but also contribute to animprovement in teacher training.

4. Advice to others

Teacher training is a vital element of the integrationapproach, as is the availability of counselling guidance.

Once there is a legal framework for the integration ofchildren with special educational needs into mains-tream schools, information and public relations areimportant. Those who reject integration often do sobecause they lack information. Integration is not just aquestion of where children are taught, and theresources needed, it is about personal development andacknowledging the desire in many people to avoid andbanish all that is foreign, unknown and ailing.

It is neither wise nor just to paint too optimistic a pic-ture of integration. There were difficulties during thepilot scheme, but these were mostly overcome. Themost heartening aspect of the work was the enthusiasmand ability of the parents and teachers who took part. Aspirit developed over the years, a feeling that a newtype of school was being created, that we were takingpart in the first genuine process of educational reform.

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APPENDIX

1st lesson: Free working period

Children may select their work within three fields:

a) Games- Bingo, Think, Memory, Chess, Dominoes, Look

exactly, etc.- Construction of a freeway bridge- Roleplay

b) Mathematics- Multiplication tables, Bingo, written multiplication

with 2-digit multipliers in combination with solutionmanual, Dominoes

c) Language- Crossword puzzle, spelling B-s, puppet theatre, role-

play "Post-office"

2nd lesson- German

a) 'Non-handicapped' children : Repetition of wordclasses (Noun, verb, adjective) and their definitions.Finding nouns, verbs and adjectives with the topic"Forest and wood".

b) Children with moderate learning difficulties:Reading of new words: names of trees. Attributingnouns to the categories 'deciduous' and 'coniferous'.Writing variations of sentence patterns.

c) Children with severe learning difficulties: Readingof known word cards. New word: where. Writingvariations of sentence patterns ie. "Where is Peter?".Perceptual training: labyrinth.

3rd lesson: Science

After excursion to a saw mill:

a) 'Non-handicapped' children:Lumber industry in theprovince of Styria. Using a map and a sketch.

b) Children with moderate and severe learning difficul-ties:Discussion on experiences and things at the sawmill and about a picture "From the tree to the table".

4th lesson: Mathematics

a) 'Non-handicapped' children:Calculations with woodtransportation. Concepts: dead weight, payload, totalweight, freightcharge, calculation.

b) Children with moderate learning difficulties: Writtenmultiplication with one-digit multipliers. Handouts.

c) Children with severe learning difficulties:Recognising and presenting sets up to 5.Corresponding numbers.

5th lesson: Arts

a) 'Non-handicapped' children:"It's snowing on theroofs of the town" (Collage with cotton wool)

b) Children with moderate and severe learningdifficulties:"It's snowing on all the houses"(Watercolours)

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Introduction

This is a report on the Anhui Province IntegratedEducation Project in Anhui Province, People'sRepublic of China. This project involves the integrationof children with mild learning difficulties into themainstream kindergartens. The aim is that the childrenwill go on to mainstream primary school at the normalschool admission age of seven.

BACKGROUND

1. Anhui Province

Anhui Province is a medium-sized province in centralChina. It is a relatively underdeveloped area and isconsidered to be one of the poorer provinces. Industryis concentrated in a few large cities, the majority of thepopulation being employed on the land. Land producti-vity in the more remote hilly areas is poor and regularflooding is a problem. The last floods in 1991 causedconsiderable damage to farmland and the rural infra-structure .

Anhui has a population in excess of 50 million andover 30,000 primary schools serve six million children.It is estimated that approximately 98% of primary-agedchildren are attending school.

Of the estimated 134,000 children (aged 3-15) needing special education, it is thought that 128,500

have learning difficulties. At present, there are 25 spe-cial schools (of all types) and 27 special classes in theprovince.

2. Reform in Education policy

The passing of The Law on Compulsory Education in1986 and The Law on the Protection on the Rights ofthe Disabled in 1991 has required and empowered pro-vinces to begin the process of giving everyone accessto education. Both these laws specifically include theright to education for children with disabilities. In theformer, disabled children are named as being requiredby law to attend schools; the latter ensures the right toeducation for these children. Furthermore, the will anddetermination of the Government is providing a favou-rable and supportive atmosphere in which to developspecial education. This is extremely important, as tradi-tional attitudes towards disability can be hostile.

The current Five-Year National Plan (1991-95), whichis the eighth such plan, stipulates that between 60 and80 per cent of disabled children requiring special edu-cation in urban and fairly developed areas, and 30% inless developed areas, should be receiving primary edu-cation by 1995. An increase in special schools andvocational centres, special classes and integratedschemes will all contribute to the attainment of this tar-get.

The target in Anhui is that by 1995 an average of 30%of disabled children across the province should bereceiving special education. This will be made up of anaverage of 80% in cities, (60% in 'counties') and20-25% in rural areas.

CHINA

Integrated Education Project, Anhui Province.

by JANET C. HOLDSWORTH Integrated Education Adviser, Anhui Integrated Education Project

10

3. Integrated Education in Anhui Province

It is against this background that the IntegratedEducation Project began in 1988, with the comingtogether of the Elementary Division of AnhuiProvincial Education Commission (APEC) and Savethe Children Fund UK (SCF). Both parties were inter-ested in the feasibility of a pilot project in one of thekindergartens in the province and they decided to col-laborate on a pilot project at a kindergarten in Gantang,a small rural town in the south of the province. Since1988, the kindergarten has been admitting two or threechildren with learning difficulties a year. The nearbyprimary school is now successfully integrating childrenwith learning difficulties, in grades one, two and three.All these children will have attended kindergartenbefore entering the primary school. In 1991, a secondkindergarten joined the pilot project. The kindergartenis in the large steel town of Maanshan and thus pro-vides a model of an urban setting.

All organisational aspects of the project have beenundertaken by APEC in collaboration with officialsfrom the local education commissions at Gantang andMaanshan. SCF has supported the projects by provi-ding the schools with resources, funding training work-shops and seminars, and supporting study trips to HongKong. For example, in 1990, a seminar was held forteachers, administrators and parents from the pilot kin-dergartens with invited speakers from the U.K..

4. Present situation

The success of the first two pilot projects has led to thedecision to expand the initiative. The aim is that a fur-ther 10 kindergartens will admit children with dis-abilities from September 1993. These kindergartens arespread across the province and are intended to providea model for other kindergartens in their local area.There are plans for another group of kindergartens tojoin the project next year.

The planned expansion requires the project team to siteall training and support within the province. Hitherto,training took place in Hong Kong, but this would nowbe too expensive, slow and inefficient a means of pro-viding the training, given the projected number of par-ticipant teachers. SCF is therefore supporting a foreignteacher with special education and teacher-trainingexperience to work with the APEC team to developtraining and support programmes which will be delive-red locally (see under Training).

PROJECT DESIGN

1. Planning for success

There are certain aspects of the project design whichhave helped to ensure the success of the pilot projects.The project starts from the premise that success of theproject as a whole will depend on ensuring success forthe child. Thus, the needs of the disabled child enteringthe project, and the needs of the other children in theclass, have been at the forefront of the planning pro-cess. The team has been fully prepared to accept thatthe introduction of integration therefore cannot berushed. The process of change in schools will followthe child as she progresses through the educational sys-tem.

The following aspects of the project are considered tohave been of prime importance at the pilot projectstage and form the basis of the current expansion pro-gramme.

2. Early intervention

Legislation and planning at national level arenaturally concerned with compulsory schooling andonly encourage, rather than demand, pre-school pro-vision. There are, however, many problems associa-ted with beginning integration work so late, whenthe children are already aged seven.In a developedc o u n t r y, it would not be considered good practice toexpect disabled children to start school at sevenwithout any previous educational experience. This isbecause the gap between the disabled and non-d i s a-bled children would already have become considera-bly wider by this age. Furthermore, the issue of pre-judice from non-disabled children would have to beconsidered, whereas this is not an issue when chil-dren are aged only three or four. Difficult patterns offamily response, such as over-protection or rejec-tion, may also be less easy to overcome if not tack-led until a child is seven.

The prospects for successful integration at primarylevel are much better if disabled children have accessto pre-school education, and can progress throughschool with their peer group. It is also helpful if a chil-d's relationship with his or her family can be enhancedand strengthened to the benefit of the child; again, thisis easier to achieve in the early years.

3. Working with families

This project recognises the importance of the family.The teachers involved aim to rebuild family confidenceand hope, and to involve families in the work of theschool. The effect of the family on the all-round deve-lopment of the child is fully recognised and one of thegoals of the project is to promote partnership betweenteachers and families. This helps to ensure that thedemands on the child are consistent and that the skillss/he learns are transferable and of use in both schooland the home.

In the absence of diagnostic tests which are appropriateculturally, the observation skills of both teachers andparents are vital if appropriate goals are to be set forthe child and individual learning programmes desi-gned.

Family contact is maintained through home visits byteachers and school visits by families. Families areencouraged to become fully involved with their child'sindividual learning programme, to meet with otherfamilies and to take part in seminars and meetings asfull members of the project.

4. The needs of the non-disabled children

It is vital that the education of the other, non-disabledchildren is safeguarded and, if possible, improved. Forthis reason, the number of disabled children in any oneclass is held to 6% to maintain a balance

within the classroom. This limit ensures that all thechildren in the class can enjoy the normal environmentof a mainstream classroom. The project has led to animprovement in the teaching methods and educationalexperiences for all the children.

Changing the teaching methods in one particularschool in a neighbourhood can be very problematic ifthe school is governed by a set national curriculum andtests. The freedom allowed in the non-compulsory sec-tor of education is always greater and, as such, schoolsin this sector are more open to innovation. This factorhas contributed to the success of the reforms in tea-ching methodology instigated by the project.

The pilot kindergartens have introduced small groupteaching, imaginative play, exploratory play, somechoice for all the children and individual learning pro-grammes for children with disabilities. These methods,which started in the first class to take children withdisabilities, have spread to all the classes in each of thetwo schools. Teachers and families are happy withthese innovations and note the positive benefits, parti-cularly in the areas of linguistic and cognitive develop-ment. The attention to individual learning rates andstyles has also contributed to an improvement for allchildren.

5. Record keeping

Educational records provide information vital to theplanning of the individual learning programmes, anddemonstrate to teachers, families and receiving primaryschools the actual level of a child's achievement andany persistent difficulties s/he may have. The impor-tance of record-keeping cannot be overstressed. It isimportant for teachers to devise their own systems,based on observation of a chill's abilities and disabili-ties. The records include basic information and anystandardised test results, records of observation, tea-ching plans and results, records of work within thefamily and evaluations.

6. Individual programmes

Individual programmes are designed for each disabledchild. The child's individual programme is in operationthroughout the day with the teacher intervening atpoints during play sessions or following through cer-tain aspects during group teaching times. For example,if the teaching plan called for the child to distinguishbetween two colours (yellow and red) this would beone aim of the one-to-one sessions. It would also formpart of the play session, in that teachers would watchfor opportunities to intervene in the play

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to direct the child's attention to the two colours. If shewere playing with bricks and placing a red one, the tea-cher could suggest putting a yellow one next to it.Within the group teaching session, it might also bepossible to direct the child in this way. All members ofstaff in the classroom will be aware of the majoraspects of the programme and will be involved in usingthe opportunities that arise. Parents are also involvedwith these programmes, particularly those elementsthat are concerned with social and life skills.

The skills of observations and analysis that teachersrequire in order to design individual programmes canhave a profound effect on their understanding of allchildren in the class. This has enabled more targetedteaching to take place in the classroom, leading to animproved educational experience for all children.

PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION

The implementation of the project has focussed onthree key areas: training; the concept of "small begin-nings" which are followed by expansion; and the buil-ding of support systems.

1. Training

From the outset, it was decided not to concentrate thetraining solely on the classroom teacher, an optionconsidered to be neither reasonable nor cost effective.Change can only be achieved with the active supportand understanding of the administrators at local level.During the life of the pilot projects and subsequentlywith the expansion programme, the local administra-tors have received information and training to enablethem to understand fully the nature of the changestaking place and to become key support people for theschools.

The style of training has been important. It is recognisedthat theoretical knowledge is of limited value, particular-ly in the early stages of a project. For teachers andschools to transform their working practices, and to assu-me responsibilities for the education of children with spe-cial educational needs, they must have the opportunity toobserve other teachers, to talk with them, to see practicalsolutions to classroom organisation and management pro-blems, and to see individual programmes being plannedand implemented, These opportunities were only avai-lable outside China and much of the success of the pilotprojects should be attributed to the facilities so gener-

ously offered by the Salvation Army kindergartens inHong Kong.

Following the success of the pilot projects, it is nowpossible for this practical training to occur withinAnhui. As such, the pilot kindergartens are now a vitalresource for training the new teachers and administra-tors. The two training courses (one for administratorsand one for teachers) held this summer have both usedthe expertise of staff at the pilot kindergartens. In thefuture, it is expected that each new kindergarten will beable to provide similar training opportunities within itsown administrative district.

2. Small beginnings

The basis of any pilot project is that much can belearnt from a 'small beginning' and that at the appro-priate time this can be expanded, extended and/or repli-cated elsewhere. This concept is also being used withineach kindergarten. No kindergarten needs to transformthe whole school straight away. Changes are madewithin one classroom and training is provided for thoseparticular teachers. Two disabled children are admittedinto this class, which should be the youngest class inthe kindergarten. From this beginning, it is possible tochange the teaching methods throughout the school,with the slowest rate of change being one new class ayear. This enables integrated children to progressthrough the school and new children to be admittedevery year. It also ensures that there are the sameopportunities for discussion and observation within theschool that exist between the pilot kindergartens andthe new kindergartens.

3. Support systems

Support systems are essential if such programmes areto be successful. With the pilot project there was noneed for formalised systems, as the project team was inclose contact with the kindergartens. At the secondstage of development, however, a system must bedeveloped to support the new schools. One existingsystem of support is the local administration, butwithout some overall system, schools and teacherscould feel isolated and discouraged when they encoun-ter difficulties.

At present, a central Resource Centre is being plannedand equipped. This Centre will have a broad range ofroles. It will cover the education of children with lear-ning difficulties and of children with other disabilities.It is envisaged that this Centre will be central to thefuture expansion of the integration programme and theimprovement in special education.

The Resource Centre will be based in Hefei, theprovincial capital, and will undertake the followingtasks:

- provide information for the project team;- provide training for administrators and teachers;- answer queries and provide information and help for

project schools;- produce a regular newsletter to link all project

schools and spread good practice between theschools;

- produce materials eg. booklets for use with families;- provide information and build links with other related

agencies;- provide a central point of information for any other

external organisations - eg. other provinces, nationalagencies and international organisations;

- actively promote the rights of disabled children andinfluence public opinion.

In summer 1993, the Centre was planning to producethree publications:

i) a booklet designed to alleviate family distressusing the experiences of families already participa-ting in the project. The booklet will be used by tea-chers to facilitate the initial stages of schools andfamily cooperation;

ii) the first issue of the newsletter;

iii) a leaflet about the programme which will be distri-buted to relevant local organisations and institu-tions to aid in the early identification of disabledchildren.

The most important support of all is that which pro-fessionals can give each other. It is essential to fosterprofessional attitudes which permit the discussion ofproblems and the sharing of solutions and newapproaches. The project team is endeavouring to buildsuch open and trusting relationships within and bet-ween schools. It is these attitudes and the opportunitiesfor sharing through the newsletter and planned semi-nars and meetings which help development to takeplace. Teachers from all the participating kindergartenswill come together in a seminar planned for the latterpart of 1993.

THE PROBLEMSAND MAJOR ISSUES

1. Funding and resources

While additional funding might be available to supporta single pilot project, the issue of cost per school can-not be ignored. If the long-term aim is to transformmany or all schools, a sustainable pattern of fundingshould be agreed, particularly at the first stage of "sca-ling up" from the initial pilot project.

Whereas large sums spent on the initial training (ie.through study visits) can be justified, it is perhapsunhelpful to provide too many additional resources tothe school. Teachers will generally have to becomeinventive users of waste materials and utilise existingteaching equipment and this should be demonstrated inthe pilot schools.

All material advantages should be used. In the Anhuiproject, space is limited, classes are large, and kinder-gartens have little in the way of educational equipment,but the staffing levels are generous. No one teacher hassole responsibility for a class and a form of team-tea-ching is practised, although generally only one teacheris with the class at any one time. It has therefore notbeen necessary to increase staffing levels. However, inexchange for acquiring new skills and improved jobsatisfaction, teachers have to increase their classcontact hours and learn to work together much moreclosely.

Training costs should also be considered. Cheap,part-time training is not possible in the early stages.Providing pilot schools in each administrative areaacross a large province such as Anhui, means thatintensive residential courses are needed. Follow-upvisits from the project team are also required.

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2. Early identification

The lack of systematic child health services means thatmany disabilities, particularly mild and moderate lear-ning difficulties, may not be detected at an early stage.Even when children have been identified, access toeducation can be delayed, owing to a lack of awarenessfrom medical personnel who do not appreciate thevalue of pre-school education for these children. Theabsence of effective referral systems also delays mat-ters. This leads to pressure on the kindergartens toaccept older children and those with more severe lear-ning difficulties. Teachers and schools new to the workmay find themselves faced with problems with whichthey are not equipped to deal.

In the long term, the presence of appropriate educa-tional facilities in the area, greater public awareness ofdisability, reductions in stigma and prejudice andimproved child health facilities will change this situa-tion. In the short term, the project team must decidehow much time and how many resources should bedirected towards improving early identification sys-tems. The project team must support the kindergartensin the enrolment procedure so as to ensure that eachkindergarten has the best possible chance of success.

3. Families

Fear of mental disability and strong prejudice put greatstrain on the families involved. As the facilities andunderstanding in communities increase, this problemwill ease, but in the meantime, work with the familiesmust be slow and patient. Parents are unused to thetype of daily cooperation which is needed in an inte-gration project and teachers are new to the type of rela-tionship they need to build with the parents.

Members of many of the families are poorly educated,so the design of any materials and the methods used toreach families must be very flexible.

4. Initial teacher training

The principles and practice of integration as anincreasingly common approach to educating childrenwith special educational needs, and the introductionof more effective teaching methods in particular,must, at a certain point, be included in the initialtraining of teachers. Plans to influence the curriculaof teacher training providers will need to be addres-sed at some point.

LESSONS LEARNT

1. Starting points

While it is always tempting to target those areas wherethe need is perceived to be the greatest, this should per-haps be resisted. The very difficult circumstances inwhich the poorest rural schools find themselves mayhamper the introduction of innovation. This project hasbeen started in reasonably developed areas and inschools with adequate funding. The expertise gainedwill enable the programme to move outwards intoareas with more problems.

Similarly, the project has worked at kindergarten level,and with young children. No attempt has been made tobring older disabled children, who have had no educa-tion or training, directly into mainstream schools. Thiswould be extremely difficult to achieve even wherethere is considerable experience in the schools.

The project has targeted schools where effecting chan-ge is a little easier and where success is more possible.It has been designed to give children entering themainstream school system the best possible chance byallowing them to attend pre-school.

2. Pilot projects

Pilot project schools should not just be involved in theexperimental part of the programme. As well as testinga new approach, their long-term role is to help with thetraining process when the programme expands. If aschool is unable to undertake this role, then it becomesharder to extend the project. Time is needed for suffi-cient experience to be gained before expansion isattempted.

3. 'Scaling up' or extending the project

The most critical period for any programme is whenextending from one or two pilot schools to a group ofschools. For long-term expansion, the geographicallocation of these schools is important. The training andsupport programmes need to be carefully monitored asthese will form the basis for replication and extensionof the work. Cost-effectiveness is also an importantissue at this stage.

4. International cooperation

International cooperation can be very fruitful in sup-porting development by providing resources for experi-mentation, expertise and training. This project is suc-cessful because it is supported at the highest levels. Itis part of the policy of Anhui Province and is led bythe Director of Elementary Education. APEC is able tomake decisions, assign staff and agree budgets. Pilotprojects supported only by small local communities ornational or international non-governmental organisa-tions cannot become models for development in quitethe same way.

The national decisions which were taken on compul-sory education and the rights of disabled children pro-vided the necessary framework for this project.Without a legal framework, similar projects remainvulnerable to changes in funding and priorities.

5. The Rights of the Child

In the rush for change and the development of services,it should not be forgotten that these moves are for thebenefit of the individual children. The education ofboth disabled and non-disabled children in the projectschools must be safeguarded. The education of eachchild must be considered of value in itself and not justas an object of experimentation and learning for educa-tionalists. This project has been successful so farbecause this principle has been upheld. The difficultprocess of 'scaling up' and expansion is now beginning.Based on this principle and the experiences so far, theproject team feels confident about the future of integra-tion in Anhui Province.

2CHINA

The Community-based Rehabilitation Programme in Ghana

by LAWRENCE OFORI-ADDO Community-based Rehabilitation Programme, Department of Social Welfare, Accra, Ghana.

Introduction

In June 1992, the Ministry of Employment and SocialWelfare (MESW) initiated a Community-basedRehabilitation Programme (CBRP) for people withdisabilities. This was in collaboration with the Ministryof Health, the Ministry of Education, Ghana EducationService, the Ministry of Local Government,non-governmental organisations and organisations ofdisabled people. The purpose of the programme is toimprove the quality of life of babies, children, youngpeople and adults with disabilities, through the mobili -sation of community resources, the provision of ser -vices and the creation of educational, vocational andsocial opportunities.

In order to increase the capacity of the CBRP, theMESW requested assistance for a new project from twointernational NGOs, the Norwegian Association of theDisabled (NAD) and the Swedish Organisation of theHandicapped, International Aid Foundation (SHIA),the World Health Organisation (WHO), UNESCO andthe International Labour Organisation (ILO). The pro -ject is designed to strengthen the CBRP through techni -cal guidance, the training of personnel and the esta -blishment of a training capacity within the CBRP. Itwill also strengthen the technical and training capacityof collaborating NGOs, essential for the effectivenessof the CBR programme.

This paper examines the origins of the programme, thepreparation that was undertaken and how it has beenexecuted. It also highlights some significant lessonslearnt during the project and the constraints affectingthis kind of work.

BACKGROUND

1. Background to the CBRP programme

Since 1960, the Government of Ghana has been pro-viding various services for disabled people throughthe MESW, Ministry of Education/Ghana EducationService and the Ministry of Health. Social and voca-tional services for disabled people are also providedby NGOs. Most of the services have certain basicc h a r a c t e r i s t i c s :

- they are provided primarily by urban-based, specialistinstitutions, both governmental and non-governmen-tal, covering the needs of about 2% of the needs ofthe disabled people in Ghana;

- services are unevenly distributed across the countryand are mostly located in the urban areas, whereasthe majority of disabled people live in the rurala r e a s ;

- vocational training provided through theGovernment's rehabilitation centres is of poor qualityand lacks viability as to employment prospects;

- special education in special schools only benefits avery small number of disabled children and rarelyleads to employment in adult life.

It is estimated that over one million of the country's 15million people are disabled. It is recognised that themajority of these disabled people, who represent one ofthe most vulnerable groups in the rural areas, benefitlittle from these services, if at all.

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2. Current socio-economic situation in Ghana

The United Nation's Development Programme (UNDP)Human Development Report (1992) places Ghanaamong the poorest countries of the world. Ghana isranked ll9th out of 160 countries, with 6.7 million ofits 15 million people living below the poverty line.Some 5.8 million people have no access to health ser-vices, there are 10.3 million without access to sanita-tion and 6.5 million without access to water (1990figures).

In an effort to improve the living conditions of thepoor, the Government initiated a short-term"Programme of Action to Mitigate the Social Cost ofAdjustment" (PAMSCAD). This grew out of anEconomic Recovery and Structural AdjustmentProgramme, in 1988, and was assisted by internationalagencies. Despite important achievements, theEconomic Recovery and the PAMSCAD have had vir-tually no impact on disabled people, particularly thoseliving in rural areas.

3. Prior and ongoing assistance

Internationally, there were moves afoot to recogniseand help meet the rights and needs of disabled people.The UN General Assembly declared 1981 the"International Year of Disabled Persons" and in 1982adopted a World Programme of Action ConcerningDisabled Persons. The purpose of the WorldProgramme of Action is to "provide effective measuresfor prevention of disability, rehabilitation and the resto-ration of the goals of full participation of disabled per-sons in social life and development, and of equality".

This means ensuring that the opportunities available todisabled people are equal to those available to everyo-ne else, and that disabled people have an equal share inthe improvement in living conditions resulting from"social and economic development".

In 1988, the Government of Sweden gave UNDP extrafunding to enable it to support the planning and coordi-nation of international technical assistance for coun-tries implementing measures recommended in theWorld Programme of Action.

At the request of the Government of Ghana, aninter-agency team, under the UNDP Inter-regionalProgramme for People with Disabilities, visited thecountry in April 1991. The purpose of the team's visitwas to advise the Government on the development of aCommunity-based Rehabilitation Programme forpeople with disabilities.

Participating in the visit were representatives fromILO, UNESCO, WHO, UNOV, the programme coor-dinator and consultant, and the Secretary General ofthe Swedish Organisation of the Handicapped,International Aid Foundation (SHIA).

Soon after the visit, and following the circulation of theteam's report, the Norwegian Association of theDisabled (NAD), which was already active in Ghana,expressed interest in supporting the launch of the plan-ned CBR programme. The government accepted theinternational team's recommendations and the stagewas set for the implementation of the Community-based Rehabilitation Programme in Ghana

In February 1992, an agreement was signed betweenthe Government of Ghana and NAD. The agreementprovided for NAD inputs to the establishment of theCBR Programme over a two-year period. A similaragreement was also signed in June 1992 between SHIAand the Government, providing for supplementaryinputs to the programme for the same two-year period(June 1992 - June 1994).

In October 1993 a further agreement was signed bet-ween the UNDP and the Ghana Government under theProject Title: "Human Resources Development forC o m m u n i t y-based Rehabilitation of People withDisabilities". This project has been designed to streng-then the existing CBRPthrough technical guidance, trai-ning of personnel, and the establishment of a trainingcapacity within the CBRP. It will also strengthen thetechnical and training capacity of collaborating NGOs,an essential development if the CBRPis to be eff e c t i v e .

4. Essential features of the three agreements

i) Working within existing structures

Each of the three agreements stressed the need to usethe Government's existing structures in the implemen-tation of the CBRP. These structures are outlinedbelow:

- the Ministry of Employment and Social Welfare(MESW) is the lead ministry within the Governmentfor matters pertaining to persons with disabilities inGhana. Within the ministry, the Department of SocialWelfare is charged with promoting the advancementof individuals, including the integration of disabledpersons in society, and safeguarding the rights of theunder-privileged

- the Ministry of Education and Ghana EducationService are responsible for running the educationsystem. A Division of Special Education and

3

College of Special Education supervise the provisionof special education and the preparation of specialeducation school teachers, respectively;

- there are also disabled people's associations, whichare for self-help, advocacy and to increase publicawareness of disability. Together, these associationshave formed an umbrella organisation called theGhana Federation of the Disabled (FODA), the pur-pose of which is to represent the interests of all disa-bled persons. In addition, several NGOs provide ser-vices for disabled persons, e.g. Ghana Society for theBlind, Ghana Society for the Deaf, etc;

ii) Common strategies

All three agreements also have common strategies toimprove the conditions of people with disabilities.These include:

- human resource development, including the streng-thening of social infrastructure and services;

- decentralisation of planning and decision-making,with greater participation of people at grassroots levelin development decisions;

- development of institutional capacity in the servicedelivery system.

THE COMMUNITY-BASEDREHABILITATION PROGRAMME

FOR PEOPLEWITH :DISABILITIES

1. Aims

The aims of the CBRP in Ghana are:

- to raise awareness and mobilise resources at villagelevel, thereby enabling parents to be more effective inhelping their disabled children to attend school, learnskills and participate productively in family and com-munity life;

- to establish links between service providers in health,education, community development and social welfa-re at district level, thereby meeting the needs of disa-bled individuals more efficiently and effectively;

- to strengthen associations of people with disabilitiesto enable them to play a role in the mobilisation ofthe community, implementation of village level acti-vities, and the management of the CBR Programme;

- to promote the human rights of persons with disabili-ties.

It has to be emphasised that these aims reflect thedevelopmental objectives and policies of theGovernment of Ghana. The programme is intended tobenefit babies, children, young people and adults withphysical disabilities, visual and hearing impairmentsand learning difficulties. Their families and the localcommunities are also expected to benefit from the pro-gramme.

Recipients of project inputs will include personnel insocial welfare, health and education departments in theGovernment structure and personnel from the disabledpeople's organisations.

2. Initial preparations

i) Staffing

In January 1992, three senior members of staff of theDepartment of Social Welfare were posted to Accra toform the management team for the CBR programme.There was one programme manager and two deputyprogramme managers. Two expatriates from NAD joi -ned the team as programme advisers whose role was toassist the local team in the planning, co-ordination andmonitoring of the programme.

ii) Selection of target districts

In April 1992, the management team, assisted by a pro -gramme officer from the UNDP Inter-regionalProgramme for Disabled People, embarked on a scou -ting mission in the Southern sectors of the country toselect two districts from each of five targeted regions toparticipate in the new programme. Before embarkingon the exercise, criteria and models for selection wereworked out in consultation with the disabled people'sorganisations. The criteria for selection included thefollowing:

- likelihood of having volunteers to serve as localsupervisors to support families in the various commu-nities in the district;

- existence of or prospects for creating a local organi-sation of people with disabilities;

- effective execution of community-initiated projects;the extent of the involvement of the district authori-ties and chiefs in Community DevelopmentInitiatives;

- availability of personnel from Social Welfare,Education and Health sources at the district level;

- proximity of districts for effective monitoring andevaluation.

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Two districts were elected from each of the GreaterAccra, Eastern, Volta, Ashanti and Brong Ahaforegions

Target district in the CBR-Programme

Soon after the selection of the districts, both theDepartment of Social Welfare and Special EducationDivision posted staff to the target districts who wereattached to the programme. The personnel included 13district Social Welfare Officers, one of whom was arepresentative of FODA, and 18 specialist teachers(peripatetic teachers) to begin the implementation ofthe programme at district level.

3. Training of District Social Welfare Officers

A three-month basic training course in the CBR wasestablished in June 1992 for the District SocialWelfare Officers (DSWOs) and the CBR managementteam. The course was delivered in Somanya, one of thetarget districts.

Three expatriate resource persons, including aco-author of the WHO manual Training in theCommunity for People with Disabilities, helped to runthe training programme in cooperation with localresource persons

Major areas covered during the session included:

- training in the community for people with disabilities;- socio-cultural factors in rehabilitation in Ghana; - the concept of primary health care; - early interaction and intervention with babies and

children; - community mobilisation.

The main responsibilities of the DSWOs are the mobi-lisation of and support for communities within theirrespective districts and the monitoring of integratedprogrammes for people with disabilities.

At the end of the training session, the officers wereprovided with a motorcycle each and a WHO Manualto facilitate their work in the communities. The officerswere also required to scout, sensitise and select bet-ween four and eight communities to begin the pro-gramme.

Communities wanting to start the programme wererequired to form a Community RehabilitationCommittee comprising a cross-section of members ofthe community, including people with disabilitiesand/or their family members. The communities werealso each required to appoint two people to be trainedas local supervisors by the DSWOs to support disabledindividuals and families with disabled members. Oneof the committees' roles was to find ways and means ofmotivating their local supervisors.

After a vigourous 'sensitisation' programme, each dis-trict managed to select four communities. The districtof Offinso actually selected eight communities owingprimarily to its large geographical area and the fact thatmost of its communities were prepared to embrace theprogramme.

The number of participating communities was limitedto four (or eight) to enable the DSWOs to monitor theprogramme effectively.

4. Training of peripatetic teachers

The need for the involvement of specialist teachers forchildren with special educational needs in the integra-tion of such children in mainstream schools cannot beover-emphasised. Integration of people with disabilitiesin community life can only be meaningful if opportuni-ties are created early enough for them.

In line with this objective, 18 peripatetic teachers, whowere to be posted to the target districts, followed afour-week course, later supplemented by a three-weekcourse on CBR-oriented education.

The main objectives of the course were:

- to make the teachers multi-disability oriented and toassist mainstream school teachers in the integrationof children with specific educational needs in theordinary classroom;

- to help the teachers to assist the local supervisors intheir respective communities in home-based trainingfor pre-school infants;

- to enable the teachers to work in close collaborationwith the DSWOs in the monitoring of the CBR pro-gramme in the district.

This seven-week training programme was later aug-mented with a further one-week orientation in interac-tion with children with special needs. The course wasorganised by an expatriate resource person, MrsAnupam Ahuja, from India. Ten other mainstreamschool headteachers/teachers also participated in thetraining programme. Each target district was given amotorcycle to facilitate the work of the teachers withinthe communities.

5. Orientation in the target communities

The local supervisors are expected to identify andassess the needs of people with disabilities and assistfamilies to support their members who have disabili-ties. A two-week orientation programme was organisedfor local supervisors. There were 29 females and 55males. The orientation which was organised by theDSWOs and the peripatetic teachers focussed on theuse of the WHO manual, Training in the Communityfor People with Disabilities. The two-week orientationwas preceded by practical work in the communities.

The local supervisors have been exposed to the variousreferral levels in their respective districts, includinghealth, social welfare, education and community deve-lopment facilities. Each supervisor was given a WHOManual and a kit box.

The peripatetic teachers have similarly organised athree-day orientation course in the various target dis-tricts for mainstream school teachers in the selectedcommunities. The purpose of the orientation is to movethe teachers towards the acceptance and inclusion ofchildren with special needs in the mainstream schools.Discussions have centred on identification of childrenwith special needs, classroom management and theinvolvement of parents and the community in the edu-cation of children.

SIGNIFICANT LESSONS LEARNTIN IMPLEMENTING

THE CBR PROGRAMME

1. Community level

Community Rehabilitation Committees (CRCs) havebeen set up in the target districts. It is significant thatsome committees have initiated projects to improveconditions for people with disabilities and for thewhole community.

In one such community, in the Akatsi District of theVolta Region, local people have, through self-help,managed to erect a school building to facilitate theeducation of children in the community. The DistrictEducation Office is sending teachers to establish theschool. Before the CBR programme, children in thiscommunity used to walk a distance of 5 km to attendschool. This situation could have prevented childrenwith physical disabilities and visual or hearing impair-ments from attending school.

In Adorobaa in the Bechem District, the committee hasacquired a piece of land to be used as a playground forchildren in the community. The local supervisorsintend constructing functional training aids such asparallelbars, ramps and swings which could be used bychildren with physical and other disabilities. This couldalso enhance interaction between non-disabled childrenand children with disabilities by providing a spacewhere they can play together.

Some other committees have also embarked onincome-generating activities, particularly in the area offarming, to provide income for people with disabilities.

2. Individual level

As at September 1993, the programme has identified677 people with various disabilities. Of these, 438people needed some kind of service, ranging fromfunctional training in activities which are part of dailyliving, to income generation. Seventy persons werechildren of school age.

Most of these people's needs were met within the com-munity through the CRCs, local supervisors, schoolteachers and other community structures.

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For example, in Okwenya, in the Somanya District ofthe Eastern Region, a child suspected of having cere-bral palsy who has difficulty in walking and speaking,has been trained by the family and the local supervi-sors to stand and walk some few steps.

In Atukpai, a ward in James Town of Accra, a six-yearold girl called Emo, with speaking and learning diffi-culties was placed in a local school. Within a period oftwo months, she started forming words like Ma-ma,ba-ba etc. Hitherto, the girl had not made any effectivecommunication in the household.

In Penyi in the Ketu District of Volta Region, an elder-ly man who has difficulty in seeing had not had theopportunity to move outside his house since he becamevisually impaired some 14 years previously. He is nowbeing assisted by the family to attend some communityactivities. The local supervisors have started somefunctional and mobility training with the man and hisfamily to make him less dependent on others for mobi-lity.

Quite a number of individuals with disabilities haveexpressed satisfaction with the support being providedat community level. The disabled people's organisa-tions are presently being encouraged to devolve theiractivities and recruitment campaigns to the districts.This would enable the organisations to support pro-grammes at both district and community level, andhelp to build confidence among the large number ofdisabled people being assisted by the programme.

3. National level

A Community-based Rehabilitation ProgrammeAdvisory Committee has been constituted at the natio-nal level. The Committee comprises representativesfrom the existing government institutions providingservices for disabled people, the Disabled Persons'Organisation and the University of Ghana. The CBRPAdvisory Committee is responsible for the co-ordina-tion of the overall programme and ensuring the sustai-nability of community involvement.

Future plans for the programme include the introduc-tion of CBR in the curriculum of the School of SocialWork, and a component on the education of childrenwith special educational needs in the teacher trainingcolleges.

In view of its modest but significant achievements, theprogramme intends extending to seven more districts inthe Northern, Upper West and Upper East Regionsduring 1994.

MAJOR CONSTRAINTS FORTHE CBR PROGRAMME

1. The local supervisors

One of the major constraints on the implementation ofthe programme has been the commitment and interestof some local supervisors, particularly in the urbancommunities. The local supervisors in these areas areoften unemployed when they are recruited and areusually motivated at least in part by monetary consid-erations. However, the supervisors' initial commitmentto and interest in the programme appeared to decreasewhen the renumeration did not meet their expectation.

The situation in most of the rural communities looksslightly different. Despite relatively low incomes inthese areas, the local supervisors appear to be morecommitted to the programme, largely, it would seem,owing to traditional bonds, a communal spirit and atradition of voluntaryism. Local supervisors in theseareas make less demands on the CRCs and seem verypleased with the various forms of incentives, rangingfrom social recognition to the occasional provision offree food items, free transport etc. from the community.

The situation in the rural areas notwithstanding,addressing the issue of motivation could further streng-then the programme at the community level.

In the urban areas, a little more 'sensitisation' workneeds to be done, and the background of prospectivelocal supervisors examined. It would be appropriate toconsider such factors as age, current and previousemployment, status and previous involvement in othercommunity activities. Unemployed young people, forexample, might consider a position on the programmesolely as a potential source of income. Voluntary orga-nisations and local churches could also encourage theircommitted members to be engaged as local supervi-sors.

Generally, the CRCs should be encouraged and suppor-ted to go into profitable income-generating activities tosupport programmes at the community level, whichwould include discussions on various forms of motiva-tion for the local supervisors. In Ghana, the programmehas started collaborating with a local community deve-lopment consultancy to help train the DSWOs andother community workers to support the committees inthis direction.

2. Collaborative working

One other constraint has been the collaborationbetween the programme and the Ministry of Health atthe national level. This, however, appears to be prima-rily an organisational problem. With the CBRPAdvisory Committee constituted, and a representativeof the Ministry serving on it, it is hoped that this pro-blem will be resolved.

CONCLUSION

Although the structures being created in the communi-ties seemed a little fragile at the beginning of the pro-ject, there is every indication that this problem will beovercome. Effective monitoring and assessment, and astrengthening of opportunities at community level will,ensure that a majority of people with disabilities areable to benefit from the services being provided. Thiscan only have a knock-on effect for other developmentissues.

REFERENCE

Helander, E., Mendis, P., Nelson, G., and Goerdt, A.,Training in the Community for People withDisabilities, Geneva: WHO 1989

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BACKGROUND

1. Identifying the problem

This story begins with a visit by a neighbour to thehome of one of the writers of this paper. She came toask if he knew of any help that was available for herseverely disabled daughter. He had known the familyfor a number of years, their children played together,but he did not know that there was another child in thehome who did not go out.

The neighbour had visited a nearby rehabilitation centreon a number of occasions, but now her daughter wassimply too heavy to be carried on and off public trans-port, so she could no longer travel to the expert facili-ties. In frustration, the neighbour began to withdraw andbecame depressed about her daughter Nalini's future.She saw no point in discussing her situation, even with aneighbour whom she knew was working in the field ofspecial education. The experience of the writers of thisarticle, an educational psychologist and a physiothera-pist, was that there were thousands of other children likeNalini across Guyana. The education of children withspecial educational needs in Guyana is largely based inthe capital city. In rural areas, there is, therefore, a signi-ficant gap between the needs of children with specialeducational needs and the available provision.

2. The need for new approaches

The neighbour's visit came mid-way through the'Decade of Disabled Persons'. It seemed, however, thatmuch of the time had been spent highlighting theinadequacies of existing service models in the areas ofspecial education and rehabilitation, rather than resear-ching and developing innovative alternatives. It wasclear then, as it is now, that parents the world overwere not receiving enough help with the care, educa-tion and training of their disabled children. In many ofthe poorer developing countries, the parents often findno help at all.

There is an urgent need for a reappraisal of the conceptof staffing, the models of training and the nature of ser-vices offered in the areas of rehabilitation and specialeducation. A major reason for the lack of progress overthe past decade is the adoption of inappropriate modelsof service delivery. The 'modernisation mirage' whichfosters the illusion that Western skills, knowledge andattitudes need to be transmitted to people in developingcountries, has yet to fade. In a blinkered desire to imi-tate a Western model of service provision, the develo-ping countries have lost sight of the true magnitude ofthe problem. The official justification for this 'policy' isto 'maintain standards'. However, for the 98% of fami-lies which are presently receiving no assistance, theargument concerning standards of service provision hasno relevance.

Involvement of volunteers, parents and community members with children with special needs

by BRIAN O'TOOLEDirector, CBR Programme and Geraldine Maison HallRehabilitation Education Officer, GAHEF

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The past decade, however, has also seen a change inthought and action concerning innovation. There is anincreasing realisation that change will be impossible ifthe people who are supposed to benefit from 'develop-ment' do not cooperate with those who wish to promotethe development process. The authorities view asessential the active participation of the "subjects" ofdevelopment, at all phases of the development process.One of the major challenges is to guide individualswho have traditionally been led by others, to enablethem to take charge of their own affairs. Special educa-tion and rehabilitation can no longer be seen as pro-ducts to be dispensed; the services must be offered as aprocess in which all the participants are actively invol-ved.

3. Community-Based Rehabilitation

Community-Based Rehabilitation (CBR) has been offe-red as one response to this emerging philosophy. Thegoal of CBR is to demystify the rehabilitation processand give responsibility back to the individual, familyand community. Someone from the community, a heal-th worker, teacher, social worker, or volunteer, isrecruited and trained. This worker then works withfamilies to develop an education and training program-me. In this way, simple rehabilitation tasks

are delegated to auxiliaries or volunteers, whose workis supported by a rehabilitation therapist. An essentialingredient of CBR is the involvement of the commu-nity in the planning, implementation and evaluation ofthe programme.

This new philosophy is immediately persuasive, butcan it be translated into practice? Do the parents wel-come the opportunity to assume a training role withtheir children? Is community development in this arearealistic? Are there people in rural villages who wouldwish to offer their services in such a programme?Community participation has become fashionable. Thechallenging reality of translating these principles intopractice is not always understood or expected. It isoften unclear what "community involvement" means inpractice. What means of expression are available to thecommunity? How can the community become invol-ved? Rehabilitation therapists may have technicalskills, but most do not have training in organisational,social and political skills. The coordinators need todevelop skills in facilitating community development.A recurring problem has been a lack of understandingabout the process of innovation itself.

A pilot study of CBR was carried out with disabledchildren in two rural areas of Guyana from 1986 to

4

1988, in an attempt to analyse the process of innova-tion and understand something of the dynamics ofcommunity participation.

The pilot programme was financed by the Universityof Guyana and the Canadian InternationalDevelopment Agency (CIDA). On the basis of the pilotstudy experience, a more extensive, three-year CBRprogramme is now in operation in five rural areas ofGuyana. This project involved 300 disabled childrenand their families from 1990-92. The programme wasfunded by the European Community and Amici diRaoul Follereau (Italy), in collaboration with Action onDisability and Development, and the NationalRehabilitation Committee of Guyana. Early applica-tions were submitted for a further three-year extensionof the programme from 1993-96 to try to ensure conti-nuity. This article therefore draws on experience fromthe CBR projects in the five regions of Guyana invol-ved in the first three-year programme. It is not the pur-pose of this paper to examine the effectiveness of theCBR intervention in Guyana as a whole, and a moredetailed evaluation is available elsewhere (O'Toole,1989). This paper focusses on the involvement ofparents, volunteers and community members in CBR.

THE PROJECT

1. Preliminary planning

The planning process for the programmes in each ofthe rural areas has been similar. Before the projectbegan, a series of meetings was held with Ministry per-sonnel, parent groups, rehabilitation professionals andservice organisations. The project received fairly exten-sive media coverage with a number of items on thenational television news and programmes on the radio.In additions announcements about the programme weremades in churches, mosques, and Hindu temples withina l5 mile radius of each training programme. All theschools and health clinics in the areas were alsocontacted. For each programme, over 120 posters weredisplayed in shops and public buildings.

2. Utilisation of personnel within the community

CBR programmes have now been introduced in fiveregions of Guyana; four are coastal areas and one isinland. In each case, the coordinators have identified

the most practical infrastructure through which towork.

In the two regions involved in the pilot study, the wor-kers in one region were nursery school teachers and theprogramme was run in collaboration with the Ministryof Education; in the other region, the workers werevolunteers from the community. Of the three newregions joining the extended programme, two on thecoast have used community volunteers, while anotherregion, deep in the interior of the country, will run theCBR programme in collaboration with the Ministry ofHealth, and will offer the CBR training to existingcommunity health workers. There has necessarily beena very flexible approach to developing the variousCBR programmes in Guyana.

In the three regions using volunteers, the training waso ffered as part of the outreach programme of theInstitute of Adult and Continuing Education (PACE) atthe University of Guyana. The aim of the CBR program-me in these three regions complemented the philosophyof IACE, ie. to reach out into rural communities andassist the villagers in becoming more active participantsin their own development process. The three volunteertraining programmes have been significantly more eff e c-tive in mobilising community involvement than the nur-sery school programme. The programme working withcommunity health workers is only just beginning, and assuch no comparisons can be made as yet.

The training programme for the volunteers was widelyadvertised in the media and in the community. In each ofthe three regions, three to five times more people appliedfor the training than there were places. No academic qua-lifications were required for acceptance on the program-me, and the volunteers did not have to pay for the course.Those selected came from a wide variety of backgrounds,including people who had teaching, nursing, clerical andtechnical jobs. Ty p i c a l l y, about a quarter of each grouphad a family member with a disability and an equal pro-portion were housewives. For over half the volunteers,the desire to be of service to the community and a generalconcern for the well-being of children were the main rea-sons for them wishing to be part of the project.

Similar training was given for each of the CBR pro-grammes. Training inputs were provided by a widerange of rehabilitation therapists working in Guyana.Each participant received between 120 and 150 hours'training over a one-year period. To date, 176 disabledchildren, with a wide range of disabilities, have beeninvolved in the extended programme. In each case,the CBR worker identified someone in the child'shome through whom it would be possible to introducethe training programme. The enthusiasm of the

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volunteers was such that, on each programme, extratraining sessions were requested.

There may never be enough money to train all the wor-kers needed, and a re-examination of who the workersmight be is now necessary. Experience suggests thatvolunteers from the community, if effectively trainedand supported, can play a meaningful role in helpingdisabled children and their families. More imaginationis needed concerning the recruitment and deploymentof volunteers from the community.

The utilisation of human resources from within thecommunity has potentially far-reaching consequences.A number of the volunteers reported that the CBRexperience had impacted on their lives, increasing theirconfidence, self-respect and feelings of personal signi-ficance because it had made them realise that theycould contribute something of value. It may not beunreasonable to suggest that this process has contribu-ted towards an awakening of human potential, and thismodel could have far-reaching implications.

As the various programmes developed, it became clearthat the volunteer input is only the beginning of theprocess and that if the programme relies solely onvolunteers, the benefits of the programme areshort-lived. By definition, the involvement of volun-teers will be of limited duration. The foundations laidby the volunteers need to be built upon, either via theexisting infrastructure or through the creation of a newone.

3. Involving the wider community

An effective innovation needs a well-informed andwell-prepared community, and time was therefore spenton developing community awareness. Coverage in themedia at different times during the project has donemuch to enhance the status of the programme and hashelped to give the volunteers and families the feelingthat they are part of an important project. This has beenaugmented by the announcements concerning the pro-ject in places of worship, health centres and schools inthe region.

Before each programme begins, the coordinators meetwith professionals from the area, including the ServiceGroups, Ministry personnel, political and communityleaders, to discuss programme objectives and to deve-lop a process of active local involvement. Such mee-tings have helped to present the project as a jointundertaking, rather than one which is being imposed byan external body. The support from overseas in theform of finance and visiting professionals helped tofoster a feeling among

participants that they were part of an international part-nership.

Community awareness was enhanced by a CBRcolumn in the Sunday newspaper which ran for 16weeks. A series of puppet shows was presented by theparticipants to schools, a village meeting and a publicfestival. The Canadian International DevelopmentAgency (CIDA) helped to finance two visits by Dr RoyMcConkey, who assisted in the development of videotraining materials. The volunteers and the familiesplayed a major role in the development of theseresources and had a genuine sense of ownership oftheir production. The video programmes were sponso-red by local companies and have now been shown onnational television. The combination of the newspaperseries, the puppet shows and the series of 10 pro-grammes on television has assisted in sensitising thecommunity to the needs of people with disabilities.

4. Community action: an example

In the original pilot study, a number of parents, volun-teers and community leaders had organised themselvesinto a group called the Village Health Committee(VHC). Through its involvement in the project, the V H Cbecame a more dynamic organisation. It became a voicefor the hopes and aspirations of the parents of disabledchildren in the area. The VHC adopted the CBR projectand thereby ensured that the project would continue.

In the village with the VHC, the volunteers and theVHC planned a joint survey. About 4,500 people werecontacted. Approximately l.5% of the children in thevillage were found to be in need of special help becau-se of their disability. As a result of the survey, the VHCbegan to develop a Resource Unit in the village tomeet the needs of these children.

The VHC needed to liaise with a number of communi-ty groups to create the Unit. The Unit is housed in abuilding loaned by the local Hindu community. Thebuilding has, however, been extensively renovated andequipped with materials obtained by an ExpatriateWomen's Group and by the VHC, from local resources.In recognition of this successful grassroots initiative,the Ministries of Health and Education agreed to sup-ply the staff for the Resource Unit. This was a high-light of the pilot project, with a high level of communi-ty involvement and a community group eventuallytaking responsibility for the continuation of the project.

The VHC proved to be very effective in the early daysof the project. The parents and community leaderscould easily relate to the material needs for paint, zinc,cupboards, furniture etc. This was part of their

experience and offered an immediate and practical acti-vity. Moreover, when the Unit first opened, everyone,parents and professionals alike, was learning about theservice. Now, five years later, some of the needs aremore subtle; there is a particular need for training andsupport for the staff, and for clarification of the philo-sophy and purpose of the Unit.

Over the past couple of years, the Resource Unit hasmoved towards delivering a more professional service.Some of the volunteer teaching inputs have declinedand there has been an attempt to organise the Unitalong 'Ministry lines'. There is now a plan to expandthe Unit into a regional school. This plan has beenenthusiastically adopted by the Expatriate Women'sGroup. In the process, there may be a danger that theservice is shaped by the professionals in the Unit andthe Expatriate Women's Group which wants 'to help',rather than by the people in the village and their needs.As the Unit has developed, so the input of the VHChas declined.

An attempt has therefore been made to help the com-munity reflect on its own needs and a CBR committeehas recently been formed to serve the village and itsregions. Its members are parents, community

leaders, CBR volunteers and a member of staff fromthe Unit. The hope is to create a body which willo ffer a coherent voice for the clients in the area andprovide a forum through which the needs and hopesof different groups can be openly discussed. Over thepast year, approaches have been made to fundingagencies to finance the development of the Vi l l a g eResource Unit into a school for the whole region. Todate, the major parties in the discussions have beenthe Expatriate Women's Group and the Unit staff. T h ehope is that the newly-formed CBR Committee willbe able to play a significant role in these discussionsand that the funding agency will listen to people fromthe community, and not simply those who wouldspeak on their behalf.

The other pilot programme, which involved the nur-sery school teachers, did not stimulate a comparabledegree of community involvement. This is a signifi-cant point of comparison between the two diff e r e n ttypes of programme. The volunteers were very invol-ved in the project and gave more time to the inter-vention than was originally envisaged; by contrast,the nursery teachers as a group, appeared to be wei-ghed down by their various responsibilities andregarded the CBR programme as something in

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which they had been obliged to take part by theMinistry. Consequently, they invested only what wasabsolutely necessary. It will be interesting to comparethe nursery school experience with the current attemptto work through the community health workers in thearea on the Brazilian border. This experience will haveimplications for incorporating the CBR activities intoan existing infrastructure. It may be that where existingprofessional groups absorb CBR into their normalwork activities, their commitment decreases and theprogramme begins to do less well.

5. The challenge for the coordinators

Recent developments have reminded the coordinatorsof the programme that their role is to inspire, adviseand support and not to make unilateral decisions. Theirchallenge is to help the villagers as they attempt toexpand and consolidate the gains they have made. Thecoordinators must ensure that the community appre-ciates that external forces alone will not resolve theissues.

The coordinators have to help the community to iden-tify its own problems and assist in the formulation ofcreative responses to these problems. It is important toknow when to stand back, allowing the clients to takethe programme in a direction that is valid and helpfulfor them. The coordinators need the humility and thewisdom to allow the community to take charge. Thevillagers will need both assistance with articulatingtheir vision and support in developing the confidenceto present the plan to school staff and other interestgroups which may have a different perspective. Thislevel of community involvement is essential if the pro-gramme is to be a community-based project and notsimply a programme based in the community which ispiloted by external forces.

CONSOLIDATION AND EXPANSION

1. A Committee structure

On each of the programmes, the volunteers work on aweekly basis with between one and three families withdisabled children. A CBR Committee is being createdin each region of the country that has a CBR program-me. One such committee was recently formed in theEast Coast of Demerara (ECD) and has seven mem-bers. Three are CBR volunteers elected by the wholeCBR group, three are parents nominated by the coordi-nators and accepted by the CBR group, and the seventhmember is one of the full-time CBR workers. After oneyear of the programme, 10 of the volunteers wereasked to continue working with the families for a fur-ther six months.

The East Coast Demerara CBR programme entailedworking through 32 volunteers with 65 families in 23villages. The CBR Committee for this region has nowdeveloped three resource centres as a way of offeringhelp and support to the families. These centres haveonly recently been appointed and are in a very rudi-mentary state at present. Two of the resource units arebased in nursery schools and the third is housed in ahealth clinic. A CBR volunteer is working in each ofthese three centres. The centres have been providedwith a limited supply of books, manuals and videos todevelop a simple lending library. It is planned to opena toy lending library in the near future. Once a week,parents are invited to bring their disabled children tothe units. During this time, the CBR volunteers workwith the children and offer advice and support to thefamilies. These weekly visits provide the opportunityfor the families to meet others who face similar diffi-culties. The CBR worker at each of these units is deve-loping a programme which includes monthly visitsfrom guest speakers who share information with theparents. The units are all overseen by the RegionalCBR Committee, along with the Coordinators of theGuyana CBR programme. The Regional CBRCommittee meets regularly each month and is in theprocess of developing a proposal to one of the fundingbodies in Guyana to expand its service.

The CBR Committee is struggling to articulate theneeds of its area and is accepting responsibility for hel-ping to determine the direction that service deliverywill take in their region. The committee is beginning torealise that, as members clarify their own hopes anddesires, professionals, funders and Ministry personnelwill begin to respond to their lead rather than simplyexpecting them to accept what is offered, as has oftenbeen the case in the past. The hope is that the CBRcommittee members will become active planners ratherthan passive recipients, and realise that their ideas arelistened to, respected and acted upon. They are nowchallenged to he creative and imaginative as they havebeen given no script to follow. A crucial role for thecoordinators is to help facilitate this process, whileaccepting that they should not he trying to direct everystep of the CBR committee.

2. Parental involvement

It is now recognised that many of the social and emo-tional needs of parents can best he met by participationin an informal voluntary association with other parentsof children with special needs. The nature of this part-nership must emerge from the parents and reflect theirneeds and interests.

Few of the parents in the Guyana CBR programme hadmet other parents of disabled children before the pro-gramme began. The great majority who took the oppor-tunity to meet other parents found this contact veryhelpful and they found comfort in the knowledge thatthey were not alone. The CBR committees are trying tofacilitate the development of a local network of fami-lies who could provide mutual support for one another.Such a network could provide a formidable force inworking for change in developing countries.

Effective participation cannot he brought about bypolitical pressure or insistence from external providers.People will become involved only if they feel that theyare genuinely being consulted about their needs.Effective consultation may he the key to change as thecommunity learns to solve its own problems. Themembers on the various CBR committees need toimprove their skills in consultation, develop theirmanagement ability and become more sensitive, asthey listen to others.

CONCLUSION

Follow-up research is necessary in order to prove thesignificance of the CBR programme in achievinglong-term development. However, the CBR programmehas already demonstrated what can be achievedthrough using available resources to create betteropportunities for children and a sense of hope forparents, who begin to realise that they can play a signi-ficant role in the development process. The communi-ties have become more aware of disabled people intheir midst and have begun to play a meaningful role inplanning ways of meeting their needs.

Now, five years after the project first began, our neigh-bourís daughter Nalini still cannot say very manywords, but her neighbours know she exists and themother feels comforted by progress she perceives inthe child's mobility and general behaviour. To a casualoutsider, the gains may appear insignificant. To Nalini'sfamily, and to others involved in her care, involvementin a CBR programme has been a meaningful experien-ce and has offered a challenge to achieve more in thefuture.

REFERENCE

O'Toole, B .J . (1988), Development and evaluation ofa community Based Rehabilitation programme withpre-school children in Guyana. International Journal ofRehabilitation Research, 11 (4), 323-334.

4GUYANA

Introduction

This paper introduces a three-stage development inteacher education in India, which has aimed to enableteachers to meet the needs of children with special edu -cational needs more effectively. The first phase of theproject involved the Project Integrated Education forthe Disabled (PIED), of which teacher training was thekey component. Following on from this, in 1989, theauthors were invited by UNESCO to coordinate anadvisory team which would review and select materialsfor a teacher education resource pack on special needsin the classroom. This led to membership of the inter -national team working on the development of the pack(phase two). Phase three of the initiative, currentlyunder way, is a national, multi-site, action-researchproject which is evaluating the effectiveness of the tea -cher education resource pack in India.

BACKGROUND

1. Political context

The last decade, and the second half of it in particular,has been significant for educational development inIndia. In 1986, the National Policy on Education priori-tised 'education for all'. Over thirty years of planneddevelopment for education had marginalised the educa-tion of children with special educational needs; 'educa-tion for all' ensured that meeting their

educational needs came to be recognised as an integraland essential part of education provision. A c o n c o m i t a n tof this was a concern to reform teacher education toensure that the aim of 'access for all' could be realised.

As India is a developing country, it seemed inevitablethat children with special educational needs wouldhave to be educated within the mainstream school sys-tem if 'education for all' was to be realised within areasonable period of time. This seemed a feasible goalbut it was clear that the model for change would needto be developed within the socio-cultural and economiccontext of India. It was also apparent that the key tothe success of the initiative was teacher development.Furthermore, that development needed to be both theo-retically sound and achievable, given the resourcesavailable. This has been the goal of the work describedhere.

2. Project Integrated Education for the Disabled (PIED)

This project was initiated by the National Council ofEducational Research and Training (NCERT) andreceived financial support from the Ministry of HumanResource Development (MHRD) and UNICEF. Theproject aimed to develop models for educating childrenwith special educational needs in mainstream schools.These models would focus particularly on teachingmethods appropriate to classes of children with a widerange of abilities.

Teacher training was a key strand of the PIED. Aspecial training programme with three levels wasdesigned for the project.

Teacher development initiative (TDI) to meet special needs in the classroom

by N.K. JANGIRA and ANUPAM AHUJADepartment of Teacher Education and Special Education, National Council of Educational Research and Training, Sri Aurobindo Marg, New Delhi.

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Level one:

all participating teachers attended a one-week orienta-tion course covering special needs and equal opportu-nities in education; curriculum adjustment and adaptingteaching styles; special aids to improve access to thecurriculum for children with special needs; classroommanagement; and adapting evaluation and assessmentprocedures.

Level two:

six-week training for about 10% of the teachers partici-pating in PIED, covering areas such as: reading andwriting braille; daily living skills, speech and languagetraining, orientation and mobility etc.

Level three:

a one-year course covering a wide range of specialeducational needs was undertaken by about ten tea-chers who then provided support to a cluster of localprimary schools. These teachers also taught extra-curri-cular skills to children with special educational needs.In 15-18 months, this model provides an area withenough local, trained professionals for it to be self-suf-ficient in the delivery of special education. (Jangira,1989).

The PIED initiative had several significant outcomes:

i) education administrators and teachers were moreconfident about educating children with specialeducational needs in mainstream schools;

ii) teachers in rural areas increased their status withinlocal communities because, in many cases, theywere providing the only services available to chil-dren with disabilities;

iii) in the project areas, administrators and teachershad a more positive attitude to working with chil-dren with special educational needs (Jangira andSrinivasan, 1992), with the traditional resistance tospecial education slowly being worn down;

iv) there has been a better-informed approach to theimplementation of programmes in the participatingstates and union territories;

v) teaching and other resource materials have beenproduced which focus on meeting special educatio-nal needs in the developing countries and, morespecifically, in India;

vi) the demonstration of special education practice hasincreased community awareness and support.

Through observation and evaluation during the project,the team became aware that PIED had several limita-tions. Despite the focus on integration, the categorisa-tion and labelling of the children continued. The with-drawal of children for some activities was common.Although the enrolment of children with special educa-tional needs increased, more and more children werebeing identified as having special needs. The extra fun-ding and resourcing available for these children couldhave encouraged schools to label children who wereborderline cases as having special educational needs.This begs the question: are we meeting children's spe-cial educational needs or are we creating the specialneeds to inflate our own achievement as providers?Another problem was that, despite efforts to make theteacher training learner-centred, there was still a signi-ficant level of formal teaching input. The three-levelteacher training programme was not very cost-effecti-ve, given the number of teachers involved and the pro-ject's limited resources.

3. The UNESCO teacher education resource pack: special needs in the classroom

During this time, as PIED's limitations were becomingc l e a r e r, the authors were invited to act as coordinators ofthe advisory team which was reviewing and selectingmaterials for the UNESCO teacher education resourcepack on special needs in the classroom. A h e a d t e a c h e rand primary school teacher worked alongside theauthors on the advisory team. The philosophy behind thepack's development and the approach to the project see-med to address some of the issues arising from the PIEDexperience and the work undertaken by the team in hel-ping to create the pack formed the first part of phase twoof the teacher development initiative (TDI).

The India team became part of the international teamdeveloping the UNESCO pack. The pack was trialledin a range of teacher education contexts; this being thesecond part of phase two of the TDI. Since then amulti-site, action research project has been establishedin many different areas of India. The project involves avariety of teacher education institutions and aims tostudy the effectiveness of the strategies in the teachereducation resource pack in changing teachers' andpupils' attitudes to teaching and learning and to pupilachievement. This project represents the third phase ofthe TDI to meet special needs in the classroom.

THE PROJECT

1. Aims and objectives

The project aims to equip teachers to organise theirschools and their teaching to meet the educationalneeds of all children. Its rationale is that teachersshould be able to respond to the diversity of educatio-nal needs in the classroom; it recognises the need forsignificant shifts in the teachers' attitudes to teachingand learning if this aim is to be met. Changing attitudessignal a move away from basic skills training towardsteacher development. Teacher development initiativeswill encourage teachers to learn from their own profes-sional experience, to experiment with new approachesand to develop new materials which will stimulate thelearning of each child in the classroom. This form ofdevelopment must become an integral part of the pro-fessional life of teachers.

The project has three specific objectives which grewout of a consideration of the current international pers-pective on teacher development and the nationalcontext in India. The objectives are as follows.

1. To assist UNESCO in the development of the tea-cher education resource pack on special needs in theclassroom, as members of the international team.

2. To study the pack's effectiveness in changing tea-chers' and pupils' attitudes to teaching and learningand to pupil achievement.

3. To develop human and instructional resources tofacilitate the use of the Indian version of the resourcepack in reforming teacher education to meet the educa-tional needs of all children in the school system.

The project is located within the National Council ofEducational Research & Training (NCERT) and is fun-ded jointly by NCERT and UNICEF.

2. The teacher education resource pack: a startingpoint (phase two)

i) Content

The draft teacher education resource pack on specialneeds was ready in early 1990. It is based on the fiveprinciples of effective learning, namely:

- active learning - negotiation of objectives - demonstration, practice and feedback - continuous evaluation- support.

The pack contains study material, stimulus sheets fororganising learning activities and the course leaders'guide for organising training programmes (see UNES-CO, 1990).

ii) Learning to use the pack

UNESCO ran a workshop and seminar in Zimbabwefor a pair of coordinators from eight countries, prepar-ing them to use the resource pack. The coordinatorsproduced plans for trialling the material in initial andin-service training in their own countries. The

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coordinators also discussed the pack's contents andsome revisions were made as a result.

On returning from the course, the Indian coordinatorspresented materials and strategies from the pack to 46teacher educators, as a preparation for working withteachers. It was a thrilling experience. The responsefrom the teacher educators was far more positive whenusing the pack's approach than when using the conven-tional training approach (Jangira and Ahuja, 1992).This session gave the coordinators ideas for the designof the pilot programme with teachers.

3. The resource pack: pilot programme with the teachers

In planning the pilot programme, the coordinators wor-ked with in-service (practising) teachers, asking:

- how do teachers react to the content, process and out-comes of training and the materials used therein?

- is what is learnt during training translated into theteachers' classroom practice?

- if what they learn is transferred to the classroom, howdo pupils react to this change?

This initial course spanned eleven weeks, and compri-sed four full days, followed by one half-day session aweek, for four weeks. In between sessions, the teachersimplemented the new teaching and learning strategiesin their classrooms, sharing their experience with col-leagues at subsequent sessions. Teachers shared ideasin small and whole-group discussion and via readingeach other's journals, focusing particularly on how theyhad adapted strategies learnt during training sessionsfor use in their own classrooms. The teachers were ini-tially uncomfortable and reticent with this approach,but soon became highly motivated. One teacher wrote:"I started thinking more about learners and individuals,and new ways and means of approaching each child".

A similar pilot was conducted with trainee teachers in aDistrict Institute of Education and Training. They weretaught teaching strategies which they tried out duringtheir teaching practice. They were very enthusiasticabout learning new strategies and discovering newmaterials: "we learnt about the educational needs ofchildren and realised that each child has his or her ownspecial needs to be met in the classroom."During thispilot, the coordinators discovered that some of the ins-tructions on the stimulus sheets needed modification.Most importantly, they uncovered more ideas for thedesign of the training and enriched the material itself.A training video was developed, called LearningTogether - A Cooperative, Learning-based A p p ro a c h .The 'simultaneous training transfer design'

was also developed, in which what is learnt duringeach module of the training is immediately transferredto the teaching situation. The cumulative transfer desi-gn is another approach where transfer of what is learntduring training is planned after the training has beencompleted (see Jangira and Ahuja, 1992).

In the course of this exercise UNESCO organized asub-regional seminar workshop in Delhi for 17 parti-cipants from nine countries. This provided opportunityfor valuable feedback on the use of the teacher educa-tion resource pack.

4. The action research project (phase three)

This project was planned to study the effectiveness ofthe teaching strategies embodied in the version of theUNESCO teacher education resource pack which hadbeen adapted for use in India. Effectiveness has beenmeasured by changes in teacher and pupil attitudes toteaching and learning and to pupil achievement.Tw e n t y-two institutions and organisations from all overIndia have joined the project, which is expected to deve-lop the skills of teacher educators in encouraging andfacilitating the implementation of the new materials andstrategies. After a year, the project should become anintegral part of the institutions' programme. It is envisa-ged that the participating institutions will become chan-ge agents for the reform of teacher development, tryingto ensure that programmes are working towards thee ffective teaching of all children in the classroom.

i) Training the coordinators

The training for the action research project's coordina-tors took place over eight days in November-December1991 at the Regional College of Education, Mysore(see Jangira et al, 1992). Those taking part in the trai-ning produced feedback on the course and some speci-fic points emerged:

- the design of this training had improved substantiallyin the light of feedback from the two previous inter-national workshops. The simulation exercise whichinvolved introducing new modules was particularlyuseful;

- the training was conducted in English which presen-ted difficulties for some participants. Special strate-gies were designed to help overcome this, includingcartoon-drawing, poster-making, use of conceptualdiagrams etc;

- a 'jigsaw' format for group work was developed, toensure that groups and individuals were able to shareideas within time-limited. sessions;

- practice in giving and receiving feedback withinsimulated collaborative teaching situations

5

was organised, to ensure that participants were confi-dent in presenting and transacting new training mate-rial. This work enabled them to run similar sessionsin their own institutions;

- collaborative learning, teaching and problem-solvingwere effectively demonstrated;

- instructions to course leaders were made fuller, to helpthem organise and run their work more effectively;

- as part of the course, each institution prepared its ownaction research proposal for implementation. A sche-dule of activities was produced and a midyear reviewplanned. A further workshop to share findings wasscheduled for early 1993.

A report was written about the course at Mysore, whichwas discussed by the participants and the internationalteam working on the dissemination and implementationof the teacher education resource pack.

ii) Progress

The pack has been adapted for use in large schools.The adapted version of the pack included materials andinformation on designing and carrying out actionresearch in school. This has been piloted in a largeschool, with teachers working collaboratively to learnteaching strategies from the pack, implementing themin the classroom and evaluating their work, withoutexternal input.

A newsletter has been launched entitled EffectiveSchools for All, which aims to promote interaction bet-ween the participating institutions.

A number of tools have been developed and pilotedwith teachers and pupils, including:

- Pupil Perceptions of Learning/Teaching (Inventory) - Teacher Attitudes towards Teaching and Learning

(Scale).

The adapted resource pack material was sent recentlyto all the participating institutions with a small finan-cial grant of Rs.3500 ($140) to help meet theirexpenses.

iii) The future

The TDI project is exciting. It has not only generated adesire to meet special educational needs in the ordinaryclassroom, but it has also made a significant contribu-tion to the organisation and development of the provi-sion of effective schools for all. It is an exemplar of achild- and learner-centred approach to teaching andlearning, one of the goals of the National Policy onEducation in India. TDI provides a direction for tea-cher education reform with built-in mechanisms forwhat is learnt in training to be transferred to the work-place, influencing directly the learning of the 'enduser': the child. The content, process, materials andresearch output thus far have enriched the experienceof the coordinators and the participants. It will continueto do so for many more teacher educators and teachersas they join the initiative.

INDIA

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REVIEWING THE PROJECT

1. Positive outcomes

A number of positive factors have emerged from theTDI experience in India.

1. The teachers have very few reservations about mee-ting special educational needs in the ordinary class-room, if they are provided with the necessary trai-ning and support. This finding supports one of thefindings in the 1988 UNESCO study (UNESCO,I988).

2. The training and development process, and the mate-rials used, encourage the teachers to become morereflective and to be problem-solvers, not just in rela-tion to special needs issues but in all aspects of theirwork.

3. Simulation exercises which include practicefeed-back sessions are invaluable in training the trai-ners in using the strategies in the resource pack.

4. TDI has motivated teachers and pupils to learn andto take responsibility for their own learning.

5. The action research model for disseminating thepack's innovative approaches is very effective ininfluencing teacher education. This model is helpingto develop centres of excellence which can be usedto extend the use of these approaches. It is envisa-ged that the action-research model will, with time,become more accepted in the school system.

6. The keeping of a daily 'learning' journal makes theteacher more 'alive' as a professional. As s/hereflects on and shares its contents, problem-solvingskills develop which can improve teacher effective-ness in the classroom.

7. The teachers have learnt the value and usefulness ofcollaborative approaches to organisational mattersand to teaching. The same spirit of collaboration isthen passed on to the pupils, who learn from seeingthe benefits of a team approach.

8. Independence in learning develops initiative; this istrue for both teachers and pupils.

9. The teachers realise that within the relative inflexi-bility of the school system they can exercise reaso-nable autonomy in curriculum delivery, while stillachieving the prescribed goals. Transformation ofthe curriculum by the teachers who deliver it will

help achieve the National Policy on Education's goalof effective schools for all children.

2. Problems encountered

In carrying through the innovative TDI to meet specialneeds in the classroom, there have been some difficultissues and problems to solve.

1. The long, prescriptive and examination-oriented cur-riculum places demands on teachers which dis-courage them from innovation and trying to meet theneeds of every child in their class. This affected theproject, making it difficult for teachers to implementfully the new approaches they were learning. It takespatience and perseverance for the change agent to dothis.

2. The most serious barrier to the project has been theattitude of administrators who have insufficient timeand patience to learn about and understand its objec-tives. For such a programme to succeed on a largerscale, a similar training programme would need tobe developed for the administrators. Although thisproject made some progress in persuading the admi-nistrators of the value of the work, a more concertedand planned effort is required.

3. Innovative projects like this do not fit easily into thenormal system of financial rules and procedures. Itwas determination and a willingness to take risksthat carried the coordinators through the project, notthe support of the administrative and financial sys-tems. It would have helped considerably hadNCERT had its own financial systems and rules,rather than following those more suited to thebureaucracy of government than research and deve-lopment projects.

4. The level of competence in spoken and writtenEnglish varied greatly among trainers as well as tea-chers. India is multilingual and the language diffi-culties have been just as great at regional as at natio-nal and international level. Spoken and written lan-guage had to be modified frequently during trainingsessions and alternative (often visual) means ofcommunication were introduced.

5. The pedagogical knowledge of both trainers and tea-chers was of a lower level than anticipated.Consequently, instructions in the materials and thecourse leaders' guide had to be elaborated upon. Theproject's work in this area may be of use to otherdevelopment countries.

5

6. The coordinators (the authors) had commitments to anumber of other programmes and were therefore notable to give hands-on support to colleagues par-ticipating in the multi-site action research project. Ameeting was organised for participants to shareexperiences and provide mutual support, but thiswas not as useful or effective as on-site support.

7. The furniture in most of the classrooms was unsui-table for the varied learning experiences the teacherswished to provide. It was usually heavy or fixed,which meant that it was difficult to adapt the lear-ning environment.

8. The project had one significant flaw: it expectedtoomuch, too soon, in the reform of teacher education.Time is crucial. The schools' infrastructure is exten-sive with over four million teachers in more thanhalf a million schools. Teacher development isthe key to the success of the National Policy onEducation; the project reflects the urgency of theneed to reach as many teachers as possible, asquickly as possible.

3. Advice to others

The advice below is given on the basis of experienceand is directed at colleagues working at both nationaland international level who may be trying to undertakesimilar work.

1. Involve the school administrators from the outset.Advocacy is crucial at this stage: you need them.Continue to involve them throughout the project.

2. It proved vital to equip teachers in habilitation andrehabilitation skills for working with children withphysical disabilities, visual and hearing impairmentsand learning difficulties. The health and welfare ser-vice infrastructure is, at best, inadequate and oftennon-existent. Often teachers are the only professio-nals who are available to undertake this work. Themessage for developing countries is that these skillsare essential; this work must be done, before thechildren can be educated.

3. Check the pedagogical knowledge and languagecompetence levels of teachers and make the neces-sary modifications in project materials, before laun-ching the project.

4. Do not rely solely on one-off training sessions orcourses to disseminate your innovative practice. Tohelp consolidate the training, and for continuity,explore the possibility of using simultaneous trai-ning transfer models, perhaps using action researchwhich motivates and sustains the interest

of teachers over a longer period of time. The impactwill then be more significant. This model can be stu-died in Jangira and Ahuja, 1992.

5. Practising feedback in simulated situations givestrainers and teachers confidence in using thisapproach in their daily professional practice.

6. The ability of the education system to meet chil-dren's special educational needs relies on teachereducation and curriculum development. It is essen-tial to concentrate on teacher development if changeis to be effected.

7. Read and reflect not only on the materials, but onthe work of the teachers and pupils with whom youare working to transform teaching and learning. Beresponsive and supportive. Every problem is anopportunity and a challenge to find new ideas andapproaches to improve education for all children.

8. Patience, perseverance and commitment are the keysto the success of any innovation.

CONCLUSION

The authors firmly believe that the approach to tea-cher development outlined in this paper will helpcreate reflective teachers who adopt problem-s o l v i n gapproaches in the classroom. It will also developl e a r n e r-centred teaching. Ultimately, through teachereducation and curriculum reform, this approach willfacilitate the meeting of special needs within thegeneral school system and ensure that this is accep-ted practice. The authors hope that this approach,including the materials, will be absorbed into theteacher education system in India with support fromthe Ministry of Human Resource Development andstate governments during the current Five Year Plan.It is the only way to realise the goal of education forall, including those children who have special educa-tional needs.

INDIA

40

REFERENCES

Jangira, N.K., Education of the Disabled: Implicationsfor Teacher Education, NCTE Bulletin, Vol. l, No. l,March, 1991, NCERT, 1991.

Jangira, N.K., Ahuja, A., et al, Effectiveness ofResource Pack Based Teacher Training Strategies inTerms of Teacher and Pupil Attitudes to Learning andTeaching and Class Achievement - A Multi-siteCollaboration Action Research Project, (mimeo),NCERT, 1991.

Jangira, N.K., Ahuja, A., Special Needs in theClassroom: Evaluation Report of UNESCO ResourcePack Pilot, NCERT, 1991.

Jangira, N.K., Ahuja, A., Effective Teacher Training:Cooperative Learning Based Training NationalPublishing House, Delhi, 1991.

Jangira, N.K. and Srinivasan Anuradha, Attitudes ofEducational Administrators and Teachers TowardsEducation of the Disabled, Indian Journal of Disabilityand Rehabilitation, Vol.5, No.2, July-December, 1991.

Jangira, N.K., Responsive Teaching, Delhi: NationalPublishing House, (in press a).

Jangira, N.K., A to Z of Effective Teaching, Delhi:National Publishing House, (in press b).

UNESCO, Review of the Present Situation in SpecialEducation, Paris: UNESCO, 1988.

UNESCO, Teacher Education Resource Pack onSpecial Needs in the Classroom - Paris: UNESCO,1993.

BACKGROUND

1. History

The programme described in this paper grew directlyout of the government-sponsored Early StimulationProject (ESP) of the Jamaican Council for theHandicapped, which began in 1978. The ESP was esta-blished in one of Jamaica's 14 parishes, the parish of StCatherine. Funding the project ran out after just fouryears, but local parents from the Saint Catherine'sParents' Association for Handicapped Children weredetermined to keep the spirit of the project alive. Theymanaged to maintain the community clinics and deci-ded to embark on a parent education programme. TheParents' Association applied for a CommunityEducation Grant from the Jamaica-Western New YorkPartners which was awarded in July 1983. This enabledthe Association to run four parent training courses inthe parish which were attended by over 50 parents andmany other interested people. As a direct result of thecourses, the Association expanded, with a rapidly gro-wing membership.

At the Annual General Meeting in August 1984, mem-bers agreed that a Community-based Rehabilitation(CBR) Programme should be established. Grant appli-cations to the Christoffel Blinden Mission in Germanyfor the CBR programme and to the NorwegianAssociation for the Mentally Retardedfor development of the Association were bothsuccessful, and 3D Projects began in February 1985.

'3D' stands for 'Dedicated to the Development of theDisabled'. 3D Projects is a CBR programme servingthree types of disability: sensory, motor and learning. Ithas three dimensions: educational, social and econo-mic.

2. What is CBR?

CBR is to traditional rehabilitation as primary healthcare is to hospital medicine. It comprises several essen-tial features:

i) Clear distinctions are made between the terms"impairment", "disability" and "handicap"(Helander 1984). "Impairment" is reserved for thestructural abnormality that occurs in a part of thebody, as a result of an injury or disease, eg. loss ofa leg. "Disability" is the functional loss or problemresulting from the impairment, eg. difficulty inwalking. "Handicap" is the social dysfunction thatmay result from disability, eg. the inability to go toschool or work. Handicaps may frequently occur asthe result of an unfavourable environment or atti-tudes.

ii) The breaking down of rehabilitation strategies intosimple tasks, carried out in small steps, accompa-nied and facilitated by the use of appropriate, sim-plified literature and aids and appliances, ie. taskanalysis.

iii) Home programmes carried out by family membersof the handicapped person and supervised bycommunity level workers with minimum levels ofe d u c a t i o n .

Early intervention and education initiatives in rural areas.

by M.J. THORBURN

6JAMAICA

42

iv) The site of rehabilitation activities mainly in thehome or in community facilities.

v) The expansion of rehabilitation to include not onlyhome training and therapy, but educational and jobplacements and development of income-generatingprojects to employ disabled persons and their fami-lies.

vi) CBR covers all ages and all disabilities.

3. Organisation

The St Catherine's Parents' Association funds 3DProjects. The Association's executive appointed aBoard of Management and 3D Projects was registeredunder the Companies Act in 1987. Parent training inthe neighbouring parish of Clarendon (population230,000), led to the opening of the first 3D Projectsbranch, the Clarendon Group for the Disabled, whichwas registered in 1988 with its own Board of Directors.Since parents in the parishes of Manchester and StThomas were trained, new parents' organisations havebeen formed there, and small CBR programmes esta-blished. The main 3D Projects office is in SpanishTown, which is 15 miles from Kingston and has arapidly increasing population of about 100,000.

4. Finance

3D receives support from a variety of agencies cover-ing different aspects of its service. For example, theNorwegian Association partners 3D in parent trainingand development, while the Christoffel BlindenMission funds the CBR work. The government's Socialand Economic Support Programme funds a WorkExperience Programme which provides three months'training for school leavers and adults, followed by pla-cements, in groups of six to eight, with local busi-nesses. The building of an adaptive aids workshop, apuppetry project and income-generating projects forparents and disabled adults have all been assisted bylocal agencies. The Ministry of Education provides tea-chers for two classrooms at one of the 3D clinics.

5. Planning

Planning for 3D occurs on three levels. Management isthe responsibility of the Board of Directors; policy dis-cussions take place at parent level, ie. via theAssociations; and the detail of the work programmes isplanned at staff level. There is continuous and openreview and evaluation, with everyone involved sharingtheir ideas, mistakes and successes.

6

Future plans involve extending 3D to another fourparishes over the next five years, with new parents'associations and CBR services. A collaboration with aUNICEF programme for the development of communi-ty-based services is also planned.

THE PROJECT

1. An overview

3D Projects is a group of Community-basedRehabilitation (CBR) Programmes. CBR s model ofhome-based early intervention and rehabilitationincludes the following steps:

i) identification of disability

ii) assessment of disability;

iii) assessment of 'handicap' (special needs or problems);

iv) diagnosis of the cause of disability and any medical treatment if necessary;

v) prescription of an intervention or rehabilitation plan;

vi) implementation of the plan in the community;

vii) evaluation of progress.

CBR aims to provide people of all ages with a home-based service appropriate to their needs, delivered byCommunity Rehabilitation Workers (CRWs). About30% of children with disabilities in Jamaica need thistype of service. In the oldest age group, the mainclients are people recovering from strokes.

The parish of St Catherine has a population of 350,000but when 3D Projects was established, there were onlytwo small schools for children with severe learning dif-ficulties. The most pressing demand was for trainedworkers and the project's first initiative was the trai-ning of eight community workers as home tutors, orcommunity rehabilitation workers (CRWs).

2. Staffing

The staffing structure of 3D is based on the CanadianManpower Model. It has four levels:

- level one, comprising the CRWs (75% of the pro-gramme staff)

- level two, comprising the supervisors (promotedCRWs)

- level three, comprising the professional coordinators,including a doctor, nurses, physiotherapist, socialworker and special educationalist. These staff haveprogramme, as well as clinical, responsibilities;

- level four, comprising the director and his/her deputy.

Probably the most important people in 3D are theparents. Most of the CRWs are parents, and 3D is runby the Parents' Associations and their Boards.

The CRWs have all received 12 weeks' training. Theyspend three and a half days a week in the communityand one and a half days undertaking clinic-andoffice-based activities. The CRWs' main tasks are toidentify clients in the community, assess disability andhandicap using specific screening questions, attend cli-nics when their clients have appointments and to takeresponsibility for implementing the individual pro-grammes in the clients' homes.

3. Training

New CBR programmes have been starting regularlysince 1985, so CRW training has been conductedannually and there is an ongoing in-service trainingprogramme. In any one year, there is a minimum ofone three-week basic training course, and a week's trai-ning in each of: Denver Developmental Screening Test,teaching techniques, child-rearing skills, making adap-tive aids and basic physical therapy. There are also twoweeks of training on Portages1. Training in stroke reha-bilitation is also available.

More recently, 3D Projects began a training program-me to upgrade supervisors and broaden the knowledgeand skills of the professional coordinators. TheIntermediate Level CBR Training Course is a two-year,part-time course with trainees attending for four daysin every month. Of the first cohort of students, 11 havecompleted the course, with others entering and leavingat various stages.

1. The Portage Project is a systematic programme of home tea-ching, where parents of pre -school children with special edu-cational needs work with a specialist to help teach their chil-dren at home.

JAMAICA

44

The Work Experience Project referred to earlier wasestablished a year ago and includes two weeks' trainingfor counsellors and a three-month course for the youngpeople with disabilities. Twenty-four students wereenrolled in the original course, and 15 are nowemployed by four local companies.

Parent training is an important part of 3D's work. Thereare introductory one-day orientation courses forparents, sessions at parents' meetings, nine-day orienta-tion courses, annual conferences in each of the parishesand leadership training courses every two years. 3Dalso hosted the Fourth International PortageConference which was attended by over 120 parents.

4. Research and the developmentof materials

The development of materials is an essential elementof the project. 3D is using some existing materials,such as the Denver Developmental Screening Test andthe Jamaica Portage Guide to Early Education. 3D hasalso adopted modifications of the World HealthOrganisation (WHO)/ CBR training packs. 3D wasactively involved in the International EpidemiologicalStudy on Childhood Disability (IESCD) in 1987-89.This led to a number of developments, including: anew validated screening test; the Ten Questions forassessing disability and handicap; testing of the WHOquestionnaire on handicaps; the use of standardised cri-teria for type and severity of disability; and standardi-sed professional assessment procedures. As a result, 3DProjects' staff are able to carry out consistent, reliableidentification and assessment with only a minimum ofprofessional expertise.

Other research has been undertaken on issues relatingto parental involvement. There has been a parents' eva-luation of CBR, an in-depth study of parent participa-tion and parental attitudes to disability, and the measu-rement of burden of care. The IESCD also provided 3DProjects with information on the prevalence of child-hood disability and the service needs of children, aswell as comparative studies of the effectiveness of dif-ferent approaches to the identification of disability andhandicap.

Future research will focus on case studies in otherparishes and on adaptations and the evaluation of inter-vention procedures.

LESSONS LEARNT

1. Problems encountered

i) Staffing

Finding professionals who are willing to work in CBRis difficult and it is even harder to keep them. As anon-profit making, funded organisation, the salariesoffered by 3D Projects are necessarily low, and long-term job security is poor. The job descriptions cover anunfamiliar and more challenging set of responsibilitiesthan those for more traditional teaching and clinicalposts. Finding parents to become CRWs, however, isnot a problem and, once trained, they becomehighly-motivated workers. Although CRWs are other-wise enthusiastic, many do not like the record-keepingand documentation aspects of the project.Consequently, records tend to be poorly kept and needto be monitored constantly.

6

ii) Parental and community involvement

Home-based early intervention and CBR depend onparent participation, but it can be difficult to mobiliseparents in times of economic stress, a situation Jamaicais currently experiencing. Generating parent supporttakes considerable time, patience and caring. Although3D offers parent training, only about 50% of theparents attend.

Not enough attention has been paid to communityinvolvement in 3D Projects. As a result, the local fun-ding base is small, although it is now beginning togrow, albeit slowly. Fundraising is a competitive busi-ness and group income-generating initiatives havegenerally been unsuccessful. The organisation stillrelies heavily on funds from agencies overseas.

iii) Future directions

Of these problems, staffing and community involve-ment are the most difficult and persistent; sustainingthe financial base of the programme is the most perva-sive. As the programme expands to meet growingdemand, costs increase and management of the organi-sation becomes more difficult, requiring better-trainedmanagers.

3D is currently considering whether to become anisland-wide network. The alternative is to continue inan initiating and stimulating role, helping to set up newprogrammes, but then withdrawing to allow othergroups to run them and develop them further. Anotheroption is to hand over the project to the government,which may not be able to administer it efficiently,under-finance it and possibly even withdraw if the eco-nomic situation worsened. Whatever the outcome, 3Dis committed to one goal: to see active parents' organi-sations in every parish in Jamaica.

2. Advice to others

Those who would like to set up a similar project mightfind the following guidelines helpful, but it is impor-tant to establish that this model is appropriate to theculture and needs of the people who wish to beinvolved and that it is viable given the existing serviceprovision they enjoy.

The Guidelines

1. There should be strong motivation from a voluntarygroup to start and maintain a project.

2. It is important to have a defined set of clients in adefined geographical area. If no clients, or just afew, have been identified, a survey of the area maybe necessary to determine needs, unless it is possibleto obtain referrals from key informants.

3. A planning/management committee is needed, prefe-rably multi-disciplinary, whose members have goodknowledge of and contacts with existing services.

4. A project coordinator is essential - a trained andexperienced human service professional (health,education, social work, psychology, therapy, etc.)with dedication, competence, organisational and pro-blem-solving skills. This person must provide conti-nuity, supervision, coordination, advice and adminis-tration.

5. Field workers should be motivated, stable, patient,emphathetic, And a ratio of one worker to 15 clientswould be satisfactory for full-time workers, less ifthey are part-time.

6. A programme model should be developed whichincludes methods of detection, assessment, evalua-tion, programme-planning, curriculum content andteaching.

7. An office is needed, in which to keep records andmaterials, see clients, meet staff. It must be acces-sible to the clients via public transport.

8. Materials will be needed- tests, forms, case files, sta-tionery, toys, educational materials, adaptive aids,filing cabinet, records.

9. A budget for stipends, honoraria, travel, materials,typing assistance, training, etc. will be required.

10. Straining for supervisors and field staff is crucial.The type and amount of training offered will dependon the model, but there should be at least six weeks'training for field staff and a month for the coordina-tors, depending on their background.

11. A register and records of clientele must be kept.

12.A back-up referral system of agencies/professionalswill be needed to refer or receive referrals.

13.Resource materials - books, films, etc. for trainingand public awareness are essential.

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CONCLUSION

While parents' associations may not be essential ing o v e r n m e n t-supported projects, 3D Projects wouldnever have started or maintained its momentum withoutthem. Parental involvement and participation is essentialto the success of early intervention. Certainly it seemsmore likely that the programme will meet the real needsof the clients, if parents are actively involved in settingpriorities, running and monitoring the project. This isessential if parents are to free themselves of the negativeattitudes and dependency which usually occur when theyhave a disabled child. It can result in a positive lifetimecommitment to their children.

The role of institutions in Community-based Rehabilitation and in Community-based Special Education

BY BROTHER ANDREW L. DE CARPENTIERCDC-Director, The Holy Land Institute for the Deaf, Salt, Jordan

7JORDAN

Introduction

This paper takes as its starting point the outreach pro -gramme at my school, the Holy Land Institute for theDeaf in Salt, Jordan. The Institute's involvement inCommunity-based Rehabilitation (CBR) provides thefocus for a broader discussion of the potential role ofinstitutions in CBR programmes for and with disabledpeople, with particular emphasis on deaf children andyoung people.

BACKGROUND

1.The inspiration

"What are we doing for others?" This was the questionasked by the Director of a large school for the Deaf at aworkshop on deaf education taking place in 1987, inCyprus. His school, after a period of turmoil through aCivil War and its aftermath, was now stable and success-ful. He felt a need to reach outside the school gates, toreach out to others who were unable to enjoy the bene-fits offered by his school. His comments inspired me asthe Director of the Holy Land Institute for the Deaf inSalt, Jordan, to develop the work of my own school,Established in 1964, it was working with 100 deaf chil-dren but potentially had the resources to work withmore. There were thousands of children in Jordan whostill had little or no education and many, many more deafchildren and young people across the Arab world with

a right to education, but no access to it. The school hadhad some involvement in the development of CBR pro-grammes since 1982. Prompted by this experience andthe Cyprus workshop, the Institute formulated a policywhich committed 10% of its budget to outreach activi-ties undertaken as part of the CBR programme. Writinga policy was an important first step, to ensure that theInstitute was clear about its aims and the underlyingphilosophy. From the outset, it was considered essen-tial to avoid an institutional approach to the outreachprogramme and the policy stated clearly that this initia-tive was about 'community'.

2. Community-based Rehabilitation (CBR)

One of the first questions that the school had to askwas whether the aim was to rehabilitate or educate.An emphasis on rehabilitation implies that the aim is toachieve 'normalisation' within a hearing world.Education is part of the process of normalisation but inthis context it is not a goal in itself. Education of theDeaf, however, aims simply to educate; to developskills, knowledge and values. Deaf education also pro-motes equal opportunities for deaf people in the hea-ring world, but recognises the distinct qualities of localdeaf communities as (language) minorities with theirown (Deaf) culture. The philosophy of CBR embracesboth rehabilitation and education. CBR seeks a demo-cratisation of the provision of services but their imple-mentation is quite different.

C o m m u n i t y-based Special Education (CBSE) is acomponent of, but distinct from, CBR. The conceptand practice of CBSE has been developed because

48

if the education of deaf children is placed under CBR,i) Human resources: with the emphasis on the ultimategoal of rehabilitation, then deaf children are being edu-cated to be rehabilitated. All over the world, many deafpeople, and the professionals who work in deaf educa-tion, now believe that it is wrong to try to rehabilitatedeaf people, because it implies that deafness is a handi-cap rather than a feature of a distinct community andculture. If CBR is valued and if democratisation is anagreed aim, then the providers must address the issuesthat are of concern to the deaf communities.

COMMUNITY-BASEDREHABILITATION

(SPECIAL EDUCATION)

1. Introducing CBSE

Community-based Rehabilitation (Special Education),or CBSE, is an approach to the provision of servicesfor disabled people within their local community whichinvolves the community in a spirit of partnership andcooperation. The view is that if the disabled people arehandicapped within the community, then that commu-nity is handicapped.

This approach is about developing a sensitivity to theneeds of disabled people in a community and the natu-re of their handicap(s). Once needs have been recogni-sed, a major input is expected from the community inmeeting those needs through the provision of relevantservices. This input is required at all levels and stages,from policy-making to implementation and review. The'community' includes the potential users of the ser-vices, which makes the democratisation process morecomplete. Another important feature of the process isthat communities are empowered to say 'no' to helpoffered from outside when it has not been requested;independence and self-sufficiency are encouraged, withservices being developed primarily at grassroots level.

2. CBR Resources

The most important resource for CBR activities is thelocal community, within which lie the people, the insti-tutions, the materials and the money which enableCBR to function and grow.

i)Human resources :- the target group ie. the disabled people themselves- parents, extended family, peers- professional people working in the community, inclu-

ding doctors, nurses and teachers- other people in the community, including business

people, students, etc.

ii) Institutional resources:- local schools- health clinics- clubs and societies.

iii) Materials:- local businesses- local natural resources.

iv) Financial resources:- family and peers- local benefactors.

v) Government services:These are also part of the local community and as suchcan provide resources in areas of service provision,including health, education and social services.

vi) United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA):

In Jordan, UNRWAfunctions as a semi-governmentalagency. Its local offices and facilities are very muchpart of the communities in which they are located.

3. CBR and Institutions

Local communities with small populations are gener-ally unable to support a hospital, college or university.However pooling resources at regional level ensuresthat these and other specialist organisations are avail-able for use by the contributing communities if andwhen they are needed. Special schools and centres forthe handicapped are particularly important in CBR andshould be seen as resources by the communities theyserve. There has been a tendency to see such institu-tions as being irrelevant to CBR programmes. It is vitalthat their role is considered and their resources used tohelp CBR activities. As specialist agencies with aconcentration of knowledge and expertise, they shouldbe encouraged to serve a wider community.

7

INSTITUTIONS

1. Changing roles

'Institutions' in this instance refers to those establish-ments which provide direct health, education or socialservices within a defined catchment area. They have alimited advocacy and awareness-raising role in relationto highlighting the needs and rights of disabled peoplein their catchment area. The emphasis of their activitiesis often, however, on the direct needs of their particularinstitution and its immediate 'clients'. They are institu-tion-oriented.

This paper argues that these institutions should bemore outward-looking and in particular that theyshould undertake to:

- educate society on its role in preventing those of itsmembers with disabilities from being 'handicapped'by those disabilities;

- develop a greater awareness in society of the presen-ce and special needs of disabled people;

- expose society to the potential of disabled people, aswell as their needs;

- educate society on its role in the provision of servicesfor its disabled members.

In order for the institutions to develop a role in CBR,they will need to aim to:

- extend their activities by providing services for disa-bled children in the local communities (where theyare most needed), mobilising local human and physi-cal resources as much as possible;

- invite and encourage the involvement of disabledpeople in the provision of these services.

Such an approach would enable the institutions tobecome facilitators for community-based services, the-reby assuming a role within the community whichwould enable them to share their resources and experti-se. Provided the work of the institutions is of high qua-lity, they can dramatically improve the service provi-sion in the surrounding communities. With one excep-tion, the CBR services in some 20 developing countrieshave all been established only after the identification ofan existing special school or centre which could serveas a base and resource centre for the CBR programme.Where no such institution existed, the CBR programmewas established only following the opening of a newschool or centre. The one exception is in Gaza, wherethere are serious problems in running CBR because thereis no resource centre and therefore no nucleus of profes

sionals. The Holy Land Institute, together with col-leagues from other institutions, is trying to help meetthis need. More institutions are needed, more mustbecome involved, if CBR programmes are to expandand progress in developing countries.

2. Rethinking the patterns of provision: institutions as CBR resource centres

The institutions are actively engaged in the provisionof services. They bring groups of disabled children,young people or adults to an institution whereresources and expertise are located: provision is centra-lised. The CBR philosophy advocates reversing thispolicy and encouraging the institutions to move to theclients. The ideal would be to have movement bothways, with the institutions running outreach services inlocal communities where it was feasible to do so, andclients travelling in to the institutions for the specialservices that still could not be provided locally.

The institutions can assist the development of localprovision in a number of ways.

i) Awareness raising

Local communities often lack the necessary aware-ness of and sensitivity to the special needs of parti-cular groups of people. The institutions can educatecommunities about the special needs of its disabledm e m b e r s .

ii) Empowerment

Any community that embarks on a community deve-lopment programme and seeks to democratise the pro-vision of services will discover that it needs to beempowered. The institutions have a useful status withinthe system, which can assist a community in establi-shing both a voice and a power-base from which it canbegin to develop. In some cases, the institutions them-selves will need to be persuaded to listen to the localcommunity and to recognise that sometimes local solu-tions may be better than their own.

iii) Confidence building

Local communities will develop more self-confidencewhen they know that their views are respected and sup-ported by the institutions which they perceive to beseats of learning and expertise. This is true whether'local community' denotes a group of concernedparents, a self-help group of, say, deaf people or aneighbourhood action group. Self-confidence can makeall the difference to the success of such groups

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and the institutions can help in fostering a sense ofself-worth amongst their members and local commu-nities.

iv) Training

The institutions, including special schools, have theresources to train teachers and rehabilitation workers.General management training and more specialist trai-ning in particular areas of special need, are always indemand, and the institutions could make their trainingresources available to those outside the professionswho needed them.

v) Identity

Institutions such as schools often provide children andyoung people with a sense of identity, and this is usual-ly even more the case for disabled children and youngpeople. Their school is an unrivalled source of friend-ship and support, and makes them feel part of some-thing important. This happens frequently in the educa-tion of deaf children and the schools, especially if theyare boarding schools, become transmitters of Deaf cul-ture, reinforcing the identity of deaf people as a group.This sense of belonging enhances their self-confidence,and thus their ability to function within both the deafand the wider community. The role of the institutionsin developing 'identity' is an interesting one. The stron-gest resistance to integration comes from the deaf com-munities precisely because they feel it will underminetheir identity and culture. It remains to be seen how theinstitutions might resolve this tension.

vi) Role models

The institutions provide a role model in several ways. Inworking with disabled children and young people whoare often marginalised by society, schools show thatthese children are valued and worth educating. Schoolsalso give disabled young people the means to succeedand that success can help them to assume central roles ins o c i e t y, rather than staying on the fringes. This encou-rages others to believe in the value of educating and trai-ning disabled young people. However, morel o c a l l y-based initiatives may lack money and resources.It should be incumbent upon the institutions to encoura-ge these initiatives and to help the organisers attain arealistic level of resourcing for their project, while ensu-ring that any feelings of inadequacy are minimised. Ac h i l d-and community-centred approach is the key toCBR work, and the institutions should support this.

vii) Specialist human resources

Community programmes are usually under-resourcedand have no money, especially when they are first esta-blished. They often cannot locate specialists to helpdeliver their programmes and even if the specialists areavailable, they are often too expensive. Larger institu-tions may be in a position either to train more peopleand/or to second specialists to work as part of a com-munity programme.

viii) Disabled people as a resource

It is strange that so few disabled people themselves areinvited to become actively involved in the provision ofservices for their peers. The support necessary toenable them to do this is rarely available. But they areamong those best placed to work with disabled people,as they have expertise based on experience. It makessense to show confidence in and give responsibility tothose who have been trained and educated to reachtheir full potential. Thus, disabled people should beinvolved not just as beneficiaries but as benefactors,helpers and supporters. They should be employed inappropriate jobs, participating fully in the provision ofservices to disabled people.

3. Advantages of the link between institutions and other CBR services

Involvement in a CBR programme can benefit institu-tions by counteracting some of the problems theyencounter. Some examples of these are given below.

i) Isolation

Institutions can easily become 'asylums' where 'diffe-rent' people are isolated from the mainstream of life.An open-door policy towards the local community andinvolvement in community-based programmes can helpto counter this tendency.

ii) Control

The very nature of institutions leads them to exercise ameasure of control over their 'clients' lives, which caninhibit their development and stop them reaching theirfull potential. A commitment to CBR work with itsattendant principles of democratisation and empower-ment can help institutions to be more aware of thepotential dangers of 'institutionalising' lives.

iii) Rigidity

Once institutions have established a structure and suc-cessful ways of working, they can become very rigid intheir adherence to these 'proven' approaches.

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They are confident about their policies and strategies tothe exclusion of new ideas and are concerned primarilywith continuity. Working in CBR encourages flexiblethinking and can foster an openness to new ideas.Institutions involved in CBR are more likely to changeand experiment, an approach which will ultimately beof benefit to their clients.

iv) Financial

Most institutions could serve more people, withoutincurring too much extra expense, by using their exper-tise, equipment and materials more intensively andeffectively. Many institutions have limited financialresources and could not envisage expansion of theirorganisation. However, CBR programmes are acost-effective way for institutions to reach morepeople, as the CBR services generally cost less perhead than those provided on-site at an institution. Thismeans that MORE can be done, more children, youngpeople and adults can be reached, with proportionallyLESS money. CBR enables more people to be reachedwithin the limited resources available.

THE HOLY LANDINSTITUTE FOR THE DEAF:

ONE EXAMPLE

1. Initial involvement

The Holy Land Institute for the Deaf entered a CBRprogramme in 1982/3. It put its resources at the dis-posal of the community centres which were developingwithin the refugee camps. The Institute initially

became involved in a wide range of activities that hadlittle or nothing to do with deaf education because thecommunity with which it had chosen to work had dif-ferent priorities. The Institute chose to work with thecommunity on its priorities but slowly introduced theidea of developing services for the Deaf. The Institute'swork included:

- the provision of wheelchairs and braces; - helping develop services for physically disabled

people; - developing special education units for children with

learning difficulties.

If the Institute was unable to help, it was always honestabout its limitations. It always shared responsibilitywith the community, mobilising local forces wheneverpossible. The Institute benefited because the staff learntto think outwards from the Institute and to considerother forms of service provision. The community withwhich the Institute was working received encourage-ment, gained respect and grew in self-confidence.

Since the partnership began, two larger local organisa-tions have been drawn into the CBR programme,seconding specialists to the projects. The first to beco-me involved was The King Hussein Society for theWelfare of Physically Disabled People which, as aresource centre, provides a specialist to coordinate thephysiotherapy, occupational therapy, parent training,staff training, educational equipment and materials andso on. More recently, the Swedish organisation forIndividual Relief was recruited. It runs the "SwedishHome", a large school for children with severe learningdifficulties. Through a specialist seconded to the com-munity programme, it provides staff development,parent training and materials. Occasional support isreceived from several other local institutions.

2. Training

The Holy Land Institute for the Deaf runs in-servicetraining for teachers of the Deaf. It holds weekly ses-sions at the Institute for teachers from the communityprogrammes as well as the schools. Many of the trai-nees are involved in CBR work on a voluntary basisand turnover is high, which can make it difficult toachieve good results. However, many people receive atleast a rudimentary training, developing a greater awa-reness of the needs of disabled people. The trainingprogramme has grown to include trainees from severalother Arab countries.

Weekly visits are made to all the staff in the commu-nity centres to discuss their problems, undertake

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centre-based in-service training and to help plan les-sons and activities.

3. Financial considerations

The Holy Land Institute has 130 students from kinder-garten through preparatory school to vocational trai-ning. The cost per head for each student is approxima-tely US$ 150 a month. The Institute is currently alsoeducating about 75 deaf children in units established inCBR centres in five refugee camps. This programmeemploys two full-time staff (with transport) and is pro-vided with some special equipment. The other staff arevolunteers. The cost per student is approximately US$10 a month. It is envisaged that some of these deafchildren will shortly be moving to local mainstreamschools where they will be integrated on an individualbasis or placed in 'units' within a school, to enjoy aneducation like any other child.

This integration is planned for three camps. The specialclasses, or 'units' will be staffed by teachers from themainstream schools of which they are part. TheInstitute will initially provide extra funding for staf-fing, but aims to withdraw once the units are establi-shed; support for training and technical resources willcontinue. More units in mainstream village schools areplanned for 1993. Some of the students will remain inthe CBR centres because they have difficulties in inte-grating them in the mainstream Peg. those with com-plex/multiple disabilities. Specialist staff for these stu-dents will be provided by the Institute, with additionalhelp from voluntary staff from the local communities.In total, the Institute will provide a coordinator, twoperipatetic teachers (trainers) and perhaps one or twofull-time staff to assist where there are, as yet, no tea-chers available. Apart from the costs of transport, thereare few of the overhead expenses which make institu-tionalised provision so expensive. The cost per studentin these integration programmes is expected to be nomore than US$ 25 a month. It is calculated that the fullimplementation of a Community Based SpecialEducation programme would be no more than 30% ofthe cost of providing institution-based education for thesame number of students.

Integration, or 'mainstreaming' of individuals is alsocheaper in the long run, although initial costs may behigher because of the need for high staffing levels, thedifficulties in placing volunteer staff in specialist roleswithout training and the need for parent training.

4. Deaf people as partners

There is a strong and active deaf community in andaround the Institute in Salt, Jordan. Of the staff, 20%are deaf. They are qualified (many having graduatedfrom the Institute) and have a greater understandingof the deaf children's needs than their hearing col-leagues. They include vocational training instructors,o ffice assistants and classroom assistants. As yet, theInstitute does not have deaf qualified teachers, whichis a longer-term aim. The deaf people on the staff arethe 'carriers' of the local Deaf culture. As successfulyoung deaf people, they are role models encouragingthe deaf students and their parents and families andby showing that deaf people can succeed.

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PROBLEMS ENCOUNTERED

Some of the problems inherent in the development of aCBR profile for a special school or institute have alrea-dy been outlined. The most problematic areas are outli-ned below.

1. Attitude

One of the great dangers accompanying the involve-ment of a school or institution in a CBR programme isthat the community can perceive the organisation asomnipotent. The community can come to rely more,rather than less, on its local institutions, and can beco-me more dependent on the institutions' services ratherthan developing its own.

2. Patterns of provision

Many potential CBR workers have training and/orwork experience in the institutional provision of educa-tion and/or care. Some have become used toinstitution-oriented thinking and find it difficult toconsider alternative patterns of provision, the conceptat the heart of CBR.

3. Partnership

CBR is development-oriented and operates on the basisof partnership. Traditionally, special schools and insti-tutions have been service providers, the specialist bene-factors providing help for disabled children and/oradults, the beneficiaries. This is a charity-orientedapproach and a major problem for CBR is to reeducateboth the benefactors and the beneficiaries to adopt adevelopment approach. Training is essential and pro-gress is being made in this area with those directlyinvolved as providers and/or clients, but to convincethose in positions of authority, the decision-makers, isdifficult. They too need training to become develop-ment - rather than charity - oriented in their thinkingabout services for disabled people.

CONCLUSION

The Holy Land Institute for the Deaf has been enrichedby its involvement in outreach work. The programmehas been a valuable experience for all its staff, and hasbenefited a large number of deaf children, and theirfamilies and local communities. The Institute hopesthat other institutions will be inspired and motivated todevelop outreach programmes. All institutions have theopportunity to extend their responsibilities beyond theirgates into their local communities. They can servethose communities better by becoming involved inCBR (CBSE) activities, working in partnership withthe disabled and non-disabled members of thosecommunities to reach the thousands who are still depri-ved of the opportunity to develop, to learn and to parti-cipate. This can be achieved if the institutions rethinkpatterns of provision in partnership with local deafpeople and the wider community. It can be done. Itmust be done.

JORDAN

The Resource Room at the Amman National School

by HALA T. IBRAHIM

8JORDAN

Introduction

The Resource Room at the Amman National School inAmman, Jordan, is one school's answer to meeting thespecial educational needs of its students with learningdifficulties. The Resource Room is a separate class, butthe students who attend are members of an ordinaryclass, and are withdrawn only when necessary. Thispaper outlines the underlying philosophy of theResource Room, its role within the school and how itfunctions on a day-to-day basis.

BACKGROUND

1. The school

The Amman National School is a small, private schoolwhich opened in 1985. It has approximately 600 stu-dents; 100 in the kindergarten and 500 from grades oneto ten. Each grade has two classes with 25-29 studentsin each class. The school continues to expand.

Since the school opened, it has operated a principle ofopen access, so students are not selected on the basis ofability. The school's principal believes strongly that aschool should reflect, and be representative of, society.This policy means that the students in the school are ofmixed ability. The school tried to find teaching meth-ods which would help staff meet the needs of all thestudents, but some of the students were still unable tocope with the standard curriculum for their grade.

2. Organisation and Finance

In the school year 1989-90, the school accepted anoffer of help from a special education teacher whocame to work in the school and subsequently set up theResource Room. The Resource Room was initially res-ponsible for five students. The following year, the tea-cher left, and two other teachers were taken on to workwith seven students in the Resource Room. At present,the school employs three teachers to work there witheleven students who have learning difficulties. Thereare currently six children in the school with hearing orvisual impairments. They are fully integrated into ordi-nary classes anal receive no support from the ResourceRoom.

The school set up the Resource Room on its own ini-tiative and does not receive any financial support fromthe government or any other organisation. When it firstopened, parents of students attending the ResourceRoom paid the same fees as the other parents.However, the cost of running the Resource Room ishigh, and could not be maintained without additionalincome. Consequently, it was necessary to increasefees for the students with learning difficulties. Despitethe increased fees, the Resource Room is still heavilysubsidised by the school.

3. Rationale

The school believes in the integration of students withspecial educational needs but has been unable to meetthe needs of some of these students in the ordinaryclass. There are two factors which contribute to this.

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1. All schools must, by law, teach the NationalCurriculum. There is no flexibility in how this isdelivered. It is very full, and teachers find it difficultto complete the programmes of study with their stu-dents.

2. Not all teachers are able to teach students who havespecial educational needs. Some teachers manage toadapt sufficiently well to meet the needs of studentswith mild learning difficulties, but when they have astudent whose level of functioning is much lowerthan the rest of the class, they are unable to cope.Since the school believes that it should provide thesestudents with a full education, it opened theResource Room, where they are able to study themain academic subjects at their own level.

THE RESOURCE ROOM

1. The students

i) A range of special educational needs

There are currently eleven students attending theResource Room, ranging in age from first to tenthgrade. Some have mild or moderate learning difficul-ties; a few having more severe learning difficulties.Two of the students also have cerebral palsy, one hasscotopic sensitivity syndrome and two have behaviou-ral difficulties.

ii) Selection of students

When a teacher feels she has a student she is unable tohelp academically, she refers the student to the school'sinstructional supervisor who assesses the student's abi-lities and level of attainment. The supervisor, the tea-cher and the school principal then discuss whether thestudent would benefit from attending the ResourceRoom. If they decide that the student would gain morefrom staying in his/her class, then the teacher(s)concerned will be given guidance on how to help thestudent. If, on the other hand, the team agrees that thestudent should attend the Resource Room, they meetwith his/her parent(s) who must give their consent.Occasionally, parents choose not to allow their child toattend the Resource Room (See Problems encountered,page 58).

The school believes that students with special educa-tional needs should be enrolled in an ordinary class inthe correct grade for their age. The school aims to

ensure that these students are with the ordinary class asmuch as possible, and they are withdrawn only whennecessary.

2. The teachers

There are three full-time teachers in the ResourceRoom. One teaches mathematics and science, oneteaches Arabic language and provides support forsocial and religious studies and one is responsible forsensory and fine motor skills development as well asteaching mathematics and language to the younger stu-dents.

Two of the teachers were trained in school by the ins-tructional supervisor, who has a master's degree in spe-cial education. During their first year, the supervisorprovided a considerable level of training input, but bythe second year, his role was more supervisory. Therewere regular meetings to discuss the teachers' workincluding their development of learning and behaviou-ral programmes, projects etc. In this, the third year, ithas only been necessary to hold meetings at the begin-ning and end of each term to discuss these areas, withother occasional meetings arranged to address issues asthe need has arisen. A third teacher joined the staff thisyear. She has a degree in special education but littlerelevant teaching experience, and she has needed gui-dance in how to apply her theoretical knowledge in theclassroom.

3. Teaching and learning in the Resource Room

Each student in the Resource Room is there on awithdrawal basis. Usually, those from first to fourthgrade are withdrawn from Arabic and mathematics,and those from fifth grade to tenth grade may also bewithdrawn from science. The total number of lessonperiods a student spends in the Resource Room willdepend on his/her needs in specific subject areas andany other instruction s/he receives. For example, oneof the younger students may have a total of 14 per-iods in the Resource Room covering tuition in A r a b i c ,mathematics and fine motor and sensory skills. A nolder student coming for 18 periods will learn A r a b i c ,mathematics and science and will receive support forsocial and religious studies which s/he learns in theordinary class.

When the student first comes to the Resource Room,there is a period of assessment to identify his/herstrengths and weaknesses, both academically andb e h a v i o u r a l l y, An instructional programme is thencreated to meet his/her specific needs (an individuallearning programme). Every semester (or school

8

term), the student is set specific objectives in each sub-ject area. When the objective is achieved, it is recor-ded, and new objectives are added. Each student has aseparate file which includes details of his/her indivi-dual learning programme.

For assessment purposes, the Resource Room studentshave the same report cards as the other students. T h e yare assessed according to their own achievements ande fforts and not in relation to their peers. However, thereare grades which have to be registered officially with thegovernment. For these, the students are given a 'pass'with a note indicating that they are a special student.Thus, a student will move up a grade each year, eventhough s/he is not completing the National Curriculum.This is one of the first concessions the government hasmade to students with special educational needs.

There are five key principles upon which teaching inthe Resource Room is based.

1. What is being taught is 'task analysed' in order toensure that there is gradual movement from simpleto more complex tasks.

2. The same applies to the teaching of concepts, whichare taught first with tangible, concrete examples,gradually moving on to the abstract.

3. All areas of learning are integrated and applied tothe skills of daily living. This is achieved throughsetting a project in which each student participates athis/her own level. One or two periods a week areallocated to work on the project, which may lastfrom two to eight weeks.

4. The student is returned to the ordinary class whene-ver possible. For example, one student attended theResource Room only for mathematics tuition.During her third year, she was integrated back intoher ordinary class for mathematics, receiving assis-tance from the Resource Room teacher when sheneeded it. Now, the only extra support she receivesis from a tutor who visits her at home twice a week.

5. All students are helped to learn non-academic skillsthrough project work, which is mostly crafts-basedand might include carpet-making, embroidery orpainting. The student decides, with the help of theteacher, which skills s/he is interested in developingthrough the individual project work. The student isallowed to spend time on the project when otherassigned work has been completed satisfactorily.

4. How the Resource Room is arranged

The Resource Room is divided into discrete areaswhere different aspects of the programme are taught.There are individual desks near the blackboard, and alarge table for group work. The younger students sit atthe two smaller tables. There is a carpeted area for rea-ding and playing educational games. There is also a'solitary corner' for those who need to work alone attimes and for 'time out' sessions if they are needed.

5. The Resource Room and how it relates to the rest of the school

At the start of every school year, all the teachers in theschool receive information about the students with spe-cial educational needs, whether they have health pro-blems, visual or hearing impairment or learning diffi-culties. The teachers in the Resource Room know theirstudents well, and are a good source of information forthe other teachers who may need to know about a stu-dent's behaviour, personal development or academicability. The Resource Room staff have an importantrole in explaining to the other teachers what can beexpected of the students with learning difficulties.

The relationship of Resource Room teachers with thefirst to fourth grade class teachers has generally beenbetter than that with the subject teachers from fifth totenth grade. With the latter, more monitoring and fol-low-up is needed, particularly over issues like howmuch homework is given, encouraging participation inclass and the need to prepare separate tests for the spe-cial needs students. Many of the class and subject tea-chers are cooperative, although new teachers need sup-port. Those teachers who took a UNESCO course onspecial needs in the classroom have been especiallywilling to work with their Resource Room colleagues.They now have some understanding of the children'sneeds and are therefore happier to try new approaches.This highlights the importance of training for mains-tream teachers in special educational needs.

6. Parental involvement

The decision to withdraw a student to the ResourceRoom is taken only with the full agreement of theparents. Once a student has joined the Resource Room,the initial assessments have been made, and learningand behavioural objectives have been set, the parentsvisit the school to meet the teachers. The teachersexplain to the parents what their child will be learningand what progress they should expect. Parental supportfor the child is also discussed to help

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parents provide follow-up assistance at home. Ifparents have any specific problems in dealing withtheir child, guidance is offered. After this meeting, theparents are treated in the same way as parents of chil-dren not attending the Resource Room. That is, theyattend parent-teacher conferences and are asked to theschool only when a specific problem arises.

LESSONS LEARNT

1. Problems encountered

i) Parents

Parents are not always willing to recognise that theirchild has learning difficulties and/or do not reallyunderstand the nature of the problem. Sometimes theparents refuse to take the school's advice, either remo-ving their child from the school, or employing hometutors to provide extra tuition. In one case, where ano-ther school insisted on a child repeating grades with novisible signs of progress, the parents returned with theirchild to the Amman School requesting a place in theResource Room. There are some parents who continueto expect too much of their child. This exerts unneces-sary pressure on the child and can cause more pro-blems. There are also some parents who do not helptheir child at home, which can inhibit progress.

ii) Teachers

Teachers who are new to the school often object tohaving a student with special educational needs in theirclass. Often this is because they do not understand theneeds of these students and simply do not know whatto do. The philosophy of the school, together with thehelp of experienced teachers, can bring about changesin attitude, but this often takes some considerable time.The school takes seriously responsibility to change atti-tudes and put into practice its theories on integrationthroughout the school.

The Resource Room teachers object to the fact thatthe other teachers view their work with a small num-ber of students in the Resource Room as being easierthan teaching a full class. The other teachers do notrealise how demanding and time-consuming the workis. To help combat this 'image' problem, the ResourceRoom staff gave a presentation at a staff meetingwhere they talked about their work and what iti n v o l v e s .

If a teacher leaves the Resource Room, it is inevitablydifficult to recruit a replacement. There is no govern-ment training for teachers of children with learning dif-ficulties, and therefore new staff have to be trained inschool, on the job. This is a slow process and affectsthe progress of work in the Resource Room.

iii) Students with emotional and behavioural difficulties

There have only been a few students at the school withemotional and behavioural difficulties, but they havepresented the most problems for the staff, owing totheir disruptive behaviour in class. The school lacksexpertise in how to work with these children and doesnot have access to specialist advice, which makes itdifficult for the staff to work successfully with them.

iv) The Resource Room timetable

Withdrawal of students from ordinary lessons makestimetabling for the Resource Room very difficult. Thestudents who can be grouped together do not alwaysvisit the Resource Room at the same time. It is easierto group with grades one to four because the ordinaryclass timetables are more flexible. It is much harder toarrange for students from the fifth grade upwards toattend the Resource Room together and therefore orga-nising groupwork for them is a major problem.

Sometimes there are too many students in the ResourceRoom, with all three teachers teaching at the sametime. This is distracting and makes learning difficult.

Again, because students span the whole age and abilityrange, one teacher may have to teach a group of stu-dents who are from different grades and working atdifferent levels. The older students do not like to be inthe same class as the younger students. Additionalspace would solve this and one or two of the other pro-blems.

v) Instructional materials

Educational games and craft materials are provided bythe school. However, instructional programmes andmaterials are designed and made by the teachers. Verylittle is available in Arabic, so the teachers use foreignresources which have to be translated and adapted.This is very time-consuming.

vi) Demand for places

As only a handful of schools have attempted to workpositively with Heir students who have special educa-tional needs, there are many parents who would liketheir children to attend the Resource Room at the

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Amman National School. The school receives manymore applications than it can accept. Students with spe-cial needs are only enrolled at the school if there is aplace in an ordinary class in the grade appropriate totheir age and if there is a place in the Resource Room.

The Ministry of Education has now begun to acknow-ledge the special educational needs of some students,but it has not yet ruled that other schools should provi-de for these students. Neither has the Ministry develo-ped training to equip teachers to work with studentswith special educational needs.

2. Positive outcomes

A clear philosophy of integration and acceptance ofstudents with different abilities encourages the teachersto accept a wider range of differences between stu-dents. For example, when two students who would beattending the Resource Room arrived at the AmmanNational School, they were taught in their ordinaryclasses on a full-time basis for the first few weeks toallow them time to adjust to their new school. Bothclass teachers decided that, contrary to the assessmentof staff in the students' previous schools, the studentswere not 'failures' and could be taught in class full-timewithout being withdrawn to the Resource Room. Thestudents are now fully integrated in their classes.

This supportive environment affects the students too.When students observe that their teachers are acceptingand supportive of those who could be termed 'diffe-rent', they too become more accepting. The studentsencourage, help and interact socially with their peerswho have learning difficulties. There are manyexamples of the school's success in integrating thesestudents.

One example is that of a tenth-grader with cerebralpalsy who has been at the school for three years. Herclass was enjoying a basketball match when studentsfrom another school began making fun of her, and ofher classmates for being with her. It was testimony tothe Amman School's work that her friends leapt to herdefence, mocking the others for not knowing better andbeing unable to accept someone 'different'.

Being in such an atmosphere helps to build theself-confidence of the students, something the parentsalways notice. Understandably, the children attendingthe Resource Room sometimes wish they did not needto, but they enjoy going because they can achieve thereand feel that they are really learning something Theyalso have teachers who listen to them and supportthem.

CONCLUSION

Despite the problems encountered in running theResource Room, the positive outcomes far outweighthe difficulties. Since the Amman National Schoolestablished its Resource Room, two other privateschools have undertaken similar projects. T h eMinistry of Education has also begun to recognisethat there should be some provision for children withspecial educational needs. The Resource Roommodel does not necessarily provide the "best" way ofeducating students with learning difficulties but it isone school's attempt to find a feasible, workablesolution within the difficult circumstances which faceeducational establishments in Jordan.

The success of the Resource Room at A m m a nNational School may be partly attributable to the factthat it began on a small scale and has developed gra-d u a l l y. An important next step could be the bringingtogether of others working on similar projects toshare their experiences, to learn from each other andto plan for the future.

JORDAN

Individual integration of children with Down's Syndrome in ordinary schools

by TRIJNTJE DE WIT-GOSKER

9NETHERLANDS

Introduction

This paper demonstrates what can happen when par -ents and teachers join forces to lobby for change.

The Vereniging voor een ge Integreerde op voeding vanMongoloïde Kinderen (Association for the Integrationof Mongoloid Children) grew from an initial meeting ofa small group of parents of children with Down'sSyndrome. Some of the children were attending mains -tream nursery schools and the parents wanted to chal -lenge a system which prevented their children fromtransfering to a mainstream primary school, the requi -rement being that they enrol instead at a specialschool.

In June 1986, these parents and supportive local pri -mary school teachers formed the Vereniging voor eenge Integreerde op voeding van Mongoloide Kinderen(the VIM) to lobby for the support and integration ofchildren with Down's Syndrome into mainstream edu -cation. Six years later, in June 1992, the VIM hadgrown to a membership of 340 families and 194 pri -mary schools.

The VIM argues for better state support for integratededucation, lobbying the Dutch Ministry of Educationfor extra resources. It organises training for teachersand parents, and has an advocacy role in promotingthe views of its members to educationalists, policymakers and the general public.

THE VIM AS AN ASSOCIATION

1. Historical and political context

In the years immediately preceding the forming of theVIM, the education of a child with Down's Syndromein the Netherlands was clearly mapped through an esta-blished system of special care and education. The nor-mal route was from a special day-care centre, to a spe-cial school, and then on to a place in a sheltered work-shop or a day-care centre for adults. Very occasionally,children with Down's Syndrome were given a place ata mainstream nursery school, but the system preventedany child with Down's Syndrome from attending amainstream primary school.

Some parents of children with Down's Syndrome werenot satisfied with the existing provision which segrega-ted their children. They wanted their children to beintegrated into mainstream day-care and schooling,with the possibility of proper employment and a fulllife as part of the community when they reached adul-thood.

However, in August 1985, an Education Act was pas-sed which merged existing nursery schools and prima-ry schools to create new primary schools for 4-12 yearolds. This was seen as a breakthrough

62

for parents of children with Down's Syndrome whosechildren were already attending nursery school.Transfer at the end of nursery school was no longernecessary, as the nursery now formed part of the pri-mary school. Consequently, the onus was now on theschool to explain why a child with Down's Syndromeshould be dismissed rather than continue his or hereducation in the same school.

A core group of parents invited teachers at their localprimary schools to discuss the implications of theirchildren attending mainstream primary schools, inclu-ding the need for in-service training for the staff andextra school-based resources. This meeting led

to the formation of the VIM, which runs the project:"Individual Integration of Children with Down'sSyndrome in Ordinary Schools."

2. Organisation and Finance

The VIM is a national association based in Utrecht,where it was founded. It works for its membership andis therefore active wherever it has members. It worksin partnership with the Seminarium voorOrthopedagogiek, a training college for special educa-tion, which is also based in Utrecht and runs studydays and courses throughout the Netherlands.

The integration project looks like this, operating within society and interacting dynamically with it.

MEDIA

MINISTRYOF EDUCATION

SCHOOL BOARD

TEACHERS INPRIMARY SCHOOL

THE CHILDWITH

DOWN'SSYNDROME

WORKERS IN DAYCARE CENTERS

SCHOOLCOUNCELLORS

OTHERPOLICY MAKERS

MEDIA

PARENTS PEERS

FURTHERFAMILY NEIGHBOURS

TEACHERTRAINERS

STAFF

9

The VIM's project for placing children with Down'sSyndrome in mainstream schools is supportedfinancially by the Dutch Ministry for Educationthrough the provision of support teachers for everyschool which enrols a pupil with Down's Syndrome.Funding for the administrative costs of the VIM ismore difficult to obtain. The VIM is the first joint asso-ciation for parents and teachers in the Netherlands andit would appear that the normal sources offunding for parents' organisations and teachers' organi-sations are not available. The VIM currently surviveson the voluntary input of parents and teachers, occasio-nal gifts and project funding.

For example, the Ministry of Education has alsotaken financial responsibility for one particular VIMproject, the "Support Schools Project", which beganin 1989. This funding has greatly enhanced the devel-opment of the project at regional level. Four primaryschools in any one region are allocated four extrahours of staff time in a week, to support otherprimary schools in their region which have a pupilwith Down's Syndrome. This project is coordinatedby the Seminarium voor Orthopedagogiek whichalso receives four hours of staff time per week for therunning of the project.

Meanwhile, the VIM continues to explore potentialsources of funding with the government and variousagencies such as the Federation of Parents'Organisations.

3. The partners

The integration project initiated by the VIM currentlyinvolves the following groups in active roles:

- parents of children with Down's Syndrome - teams ofteachers in primary schools with one or more pupilswith Down's Syndrome

- teams of workers in mainstream day-care centres witha child with Downs's Syndrome

- the Seminarium voor Orthopedagogiek (Institute forfollow-up training for Special Education)

- the Ministry of Education - Dutch Federation of Parents' Organisations (specific

aspects of the project only).

The integration project looks like this, operating withinsociety and interacting dynamically with it. (See dia-gram)

A major task for the immediate future is to involvemore organisations in the project and the VIM is wor-king hard to achieve this. The VIM is especially keento involve:

- the Ministry of Public Health and Culture and theFederation of Parents' Organisations (both for finan-cial support)

- teams of teachers from schools for children with lear-ning difficulties (to work with teachers from mains-tream schools)

- specialists from the schools' advisory services (eg.educational psychologists) to provide school-basedassistance to primary schools.

INTEGRATION PROJECT

1. The VIM's view of integration

Parents of children with Down's Syndrome are notdenying that their children have a disability when theyargue for integration. They recognise that much hasalready been achieved through the special educationsystem but feel that it is time to take the next step andto explore what people with disabilities can achieve inour society.

The VIM is concerned with the integration of peoplewith Down's Syndrome, not with the condition itself. Itis not interested in promoting claims about the 'excep-tional' qualities of children with Down's Syndrome, nordoes it aim directly to counter negative views of them.The VIM is not looking for new labels but for integra-tion. It has chosen to use the original term Mongol' or'mongoloid' rather than adopt the current official term'Down's Syndrome'. Both labels continue to imply thatthe problem lies within the child. Changing from anineteenth-century anthropological label to atwentieth-century medical label only suggests thatpeople with this disability should shun the old-fashio-ned psychologist and that they now need to see a doc-tor. They do not need a doctor. What they need is agood teacher.

The VIM takes the view that the mongoloid child mustlearn to live with his or her disability within an opensociety. The VIM believes that teaching the child touse the term Mongol' to describe his or her disabilitycould lead to the word losing its negative connotations,as the people it is meant to describe would be using itin a natural, positive way.

The VIM believes that families with disabled childrenshould be able to make their own choices. Such fami-lies will want their children to live in a stimulatingenvironment where they can learn about life as well asschool subjects. Integration can give people with lear-ning difficulties the opportunity to develop their

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potential within an environment shared by their peers.The responsibility for integration should lie with socie-ty as a whole and in particular, the VIM focuses on theneed for change in the legal and political organisationof the education system to facilitate integration. Theprinciple of integration extends to the VIM's structureand membership. In the VIM, the concerns of parentsand teachers are addressed; both are united in their aimof achieving integration.

2. Planning and growing

The VIM's project grew from direct needs identified bythe teachers and parents of children with Down'sSyndrome. It is run by the people involved, who star-ted with a clear idea about integration on an individualbasis, but had no money to organise it. The initialstages of planning focused on the need to convince therelevant authorities of the value of such an initiativeand to secure their support.

The VIM contacted the Ministry of Education, success-fully arguing the case for funding to assist primaryschools which were willing to enrol pupils withDown's Syndrome. As a result, every school enrolling apupil with Down's Syndrome in the 6-14 age group isentitled to funding for eight hours' support teaching aweek. Where there are clear difficulties for the schoolin supporting a child in the 4-6 age group, then theMinistry will provide for four hours' support teaching.

The VIM also negotiated with the Seminarium voorOrthopedagogiek to organise "follow-up" training on apartnership basis in conjunction with the VIM. A closecooperation of the VIM and the Seminarium was theresult.

It became clear in 1989 that the school counsellor sys-tem was not yet ready to take on the counselling of pri-mary schools with a pupil with Down's Syndrome.Therefore the VIM contacted the Ministry of Educationagain, asking for a number of support schools to beidentified and funded to undertake this type of counsel-ling during the following three years. The Ministryagreed to help.

In addition to financing the work of the supportschools, the VIM obtained funding from one of theparents' organisations, VOGG, to provide for docu-mentation to enable the support schools to support col-leagues and students. The above milestones in theVIM's development, and that of the project, are inclu-ded in the outline of the VIM's growth as an associa-tion given below.

1986-87:"Asking for support for a new idea "

- The VIM organised meetings for parents and profes-sionals to discuss problems concerning integration inschool and to identify ways forward.

- The VIM asked the Ministry of Education for additio-nal facilities for primary schools working on the inte-gration of a mongoloid child. The request was suc-cessful.

- The VIM asked for in-service training for teachers inprimary schools. The Seminarium voorOrthopedagogiek organised several courses andconferences in partnership with the VIM.

- The VIM asked parents, teachers, education profes-sionals and school counsellors, as well as reporters,to write articles about integration. Many articles werepublished.

- The VIM also produced and distributed a special fol-der with information about its goals and activities.

1988-89:"Support is offered"

- Both the parents' organisations and professionals inthe field of special care asked for more contact withthe VIM. One of the results of these partnerships wasthe international conference, "Just do it", held in theNetherlands in 1991.

- The Ministry of Education gave public support to theidea of integration by stating that integration initia-tives were in line with the policy of the Ministry.

- The Seminarium voor Orthopedagogiek proposed toproduce a video film about the possibilities for inte-gration in mainstream schools. The result was thefilm "Ellen".

- The VIM published a book entitled "Ja kun je krij-gen" ("You can get it if you want it") which containssix contributions dealing with some of the educatio-nal and practical aspects of the integration of a mon-goloid child in a primary school.

1990-91:New projects

- The VIM started its own quarterly magazine calledVIMfo. Readers of this magazine include teachers,parents, school counsellors, speech therapists etc.

- The Ministry of Education started the "VIM sup-p o r t-schools project". Four primary schools wereselected to work in cooperation with theSeminarium voor Orthopedagogiek to supportother schools within their region in integratingpupils with Down's Syndromes The selectedschools are called "VIM-support schools". T h i sproject was scheduled for completion in 1993.

9

- In 1991 the Seminarium voor Orthopedagogiek publi-shed a handbook for teachers and parents called "DeVIM-GIDS, deel A". It describes and analyses possi-bilities for integration in school.

- The Seminarium voor Orthopedagogiek startedcourses for parents, teaching them how to select aschool and maintain good contact with the teachers.

- The VIM set up a system of "support parents", whosetask is to talk to other parents about integration.

- The media contributed substantially in influencingpublic opinion in favour of integration. In 1991 fivedifferent television programmes about the integrationof children with Down's Syndrome were broadcast

1992-93: Integrating the project into the professional education system

- The dialogue with colleagues of schools for childrenwith severe learning difficulties is now under way.Teachers from primary schools are visiting specialschools, while teachers in special education aretaking more of an interest in what is developing inthe mainstream schools.

- The counselling by the support schools will come toan end in 1993. The VIM is in discussion with theschool counsellors' service, hoping that these profes-sionals will be able to take over the role of the sup-port schools post-1993.

- The Seminarium voor Orthopedagogiek broadened itsprogramme of teacher training to include teachersworking with pupils with learning difficulties in anordinary primary school, thereby including disabili-ties other than Down's Syndrome.

The future

- The Seminarium voor Orthopedagogiek and the VIM areworking hard to have the "De V I M-GIDS, deel B" publishedsoon. It will be the second part of the handbook. It containsmany ideas for the teacher and his/her class: how to org a n i s e ,how to set up an individual learning programme, how torespond to behavioural difficulties, how to use particular tea-ching methods, how to find practical solutions to practicalproblems, how to support the emotional development, motordevelopment etc. of children with Down's Syndrome.

- As mentioned above, funding for the VIM supportschools will come to an end in 1993. It is not yetclear who will take over this support-system. Itdepends on the results of the project and the responsefrom the Ministry of Education.

- The VIM will start a new project, focusing on thetransition from primary to secondary school, andagain, this project will have its roots in needs identi-fied by parents and teachers.

- Ultimately, the VIM will become superfluous, becau-se other organisations will be able to take over theseand other projects. It is hoped that

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66

the close cooperation of all those involved, particu-larly between parents and professionals, will bemaintained. This must continue to be the first condi-tion for a worthwhile project on integration.

3. The project in practice

i) The VIM's overall role

Any parent of a child with Down's Syndrome whowishes their child to have an integrated education canobtain guidance from the VIM. Similarly, a primaryschool receiving an application from a parent for aplace at the school for a child with Down's Syndromecan find assistance through the VIM. There are variousresources, including a film, a handbook for teachers,designated support schools and occasionally, directassistance from the VIM to support staff and parents inmaking the case for integration to a reluctant schoolboard. The VIM never acts as a mediator betweenparents and a school. It tries to advocate integration atan individual level, but it is only the school and theparents who can really decide about an individual childand his or her specific needs.

The VIM believes that, in principle, all integration pro-blems should be solved by those directly involved.Contrary to the policy or practice of some other organi-sations, the VIM will not take on either the family'sproblems or the problems of the school. The VIMexists to try to create possibilities on a general basis:negotiating with the government or other institutions toget facilities and other support for parents and schools,or by exerting an influence on society through usingthe media. The VIM wants to create a situation whereparents have the chance to make their own choicesconcerning the education of their children. The VIMwill not take over the tasks of other organisations suchas parents' organisations, institutes for school counsel-ling or teacher-training institutes. It will only pushthese organisations to take integration seriously.

ii) Materials

The VIM provides a folder giving general informationabout the association and its activities. Its practicalresources focus on providing schools with the informa-tion they need when considering whether to admit achild with Down's Syndrome. A video and severalbooks help schools (and parents) through thedecision-making process. Details of these publicationscan be found in Appendix.

iii) Training

Teachers in mainstream primary schools with one ormore children with Down's Syndrome need in-servicetraining to prepare them for working with these pupils.Initially, the VIM itself organised study days for suchteachers but felt that this was not its intended role. Itthen approached the Seminarium voorOrthopedagogiek to organise in-service training on apartnership basis, which the Seminarium agreed to do.In addition, the Seminarium organises several confe-rences a year, which take the form of five-hour"study-days", comprising lectures and seminars whereparticipants can discuss and exchange experiences,methods and materials. The conferences are usuallythemed.

Past themes have included:

- social and emotional development - communication and speech therapy - motor development - orientation in space and time - language development and reading - the computer as a learning tool - composing an individual learning programme for

some topics.

Teachers attending the conferences are also able toinvite parents to the day if they wish to do so.

Apart from these conferences, teachers have a numberof options if wishing to take courses in the fields ofspecial education, remedial teaching or internal coordi-nation. These courses have been developed for teachersin special education, but more and more teachers frommainstream schools are finding the courses of benefitin their teaching.

9

LESSONS LEARNT

1. Problems encountered

i) People have sometimes accused the VIM of beingexclusively concerned with the integration of chil-dren with Down's Syndrome and doing nothing forother children with learning difficulties. TheAssociation was formed by parents and teachers onthe basis of their own experience of the needs ofthose children. If parents and teachers of childrenwith other disabilities wish to form similar associa-tions, then the VIM and the Federation of ParentsOrganisations can give them the help they need.

ii) The dialogue with schools for children with severe lear-ning difficulties, where until recently all children withDown's Syndrome were placed, has to be handled withthe utmost care. There are many prejudices surroundingthe integration project in the Netherlands. The first twoyears were characterized by denial from special schoolteachers and educationalists who felt that: "Yes, thattype of 'integration' happens at some places in the coun-t r y, but it is an incidental, transient phenomenon".

In 1989 the VIM went public with its own book andthe film "Ellen" and there was much favourablepublicity in the media. The newspapers and televisionpraised the initiative, but colleagues in the specialeducation sector reacted with incomprehension andeven anger. They criticised the VIM for not consul-ting them first, for taking the best pupils away fromthem and not considering the pain felt by the parentsfor whom integration is not an option. After these ini-tial reactions, more serious questions were asked:" Won't children with Down's Syndrome be isolated atan ordinary primary school?" and "What are we doingwrong if you won't enrol your children in ourschools?" But special schools are not doing anythingwrong. The VIM is concerned that the special envi-ronment of the special school creates more social iso-lation for a child than she needs to experience.

Dialogue with colleagues from schools for childrenwith severe learning difficulties is now under way,although progress is slow. Teachers from primaryschools visit special schools, while teachers in spe-cial education are developing

more of an interest in what is happening in the mains-tream schools.

iii) It is as yet unclear what level of assistance teach-ers working with children with severe learning dif-ficulties can give to their colleagues in mainstreamschools and what the nature of it might be. T h eadvice of those teachers often does not provide thekind of help their mainstream colleagues need.The greatest need in the mainstream schools is foradapted teaching programmes, but schools forchildren with severe learning difficulties are onlyjust emerging from a period in which training insocial skills took precedence over cognitive lear-ning. The learning of social skills is less of a pro-blem for the primary schools, however. Childrenwith Down's Syndrome can learn social accom-plishments by imitating in many situations and theintegrated environment of a mainstream primaryschool easily promotes this.

iv) When problems arise at school, the teachers as wellas the parents can ask for advice from the VIM. TheVIM, however, never takes the initiative to becomethe mediator between the two. When the schoolssays: "We can't help your child any longer", andparents have the feeling that the school did not tryeverything to make integration successful, theseparents very often will not accept the school's viewthat they should enrol their child in special educa-tion. In such cases, parents sometimes ask the VIMto start discussions with the school. However, theVIM cannot give advice without being asked by theschool itself. It cannot be the task of the VIM to putpressure on schools, only to help them. It is some-times difficult to explain to parents that the VIMcannot take the side of only one party in such cases.

v) It is now vital that the VIM considers the develop-ment of its integration project beyond the primaryschool. The VIM hopes that the project will extendto include secondary schools, and there is muchdebate about the extent to which integration is pos-sible for teenagers and the form it should take.

vi) It is difficult for the VIM to cooperate with the tra-ditional parents' organisations. They too promoteintegration but only from the parents' point of view.They do not approach integration as primarily asocial problem as the VIM does, a problem thatshould be solved by all those involved. This makesit difficult to identify common strategies.

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2. Mistakes and risks

i) The VIM wished to establish a high standardquarterly magazine, VIMfo, which looked at integra-tion issues. VIM soon realised how difficult it is torun such a magazine without enoughfinancial support and with only a very small groupof voluntary workers. Recently the VIM decidedto change the format from magazine to a shortnewsletter.

ii) The VIM was not able to gain sufficient financialsupport to run the project with paid workers,because as an association of both parentsand teachers, it does not fit easily into the systemof governmental subsidies in the Netherlands.At the moment, the VIM is negotiating for closercooperation with the Federation of Parents'Organisations in order to have better access topublic financial resources, though the price maybe the risk of losing the VIM's basic identity asan organisation for parents, as well as for teachers.

iii) The VIM has not been able to promote its ideasclearly enough to the new generation of parents,:who appear to think that integration is now wellestablished and easy to achieve in every school.They expect too much from the VIM, treatingit as an institution, and so they tend to make lesscontribution themselves. There is a continuousrisk of 'contributors' becoming only 'customers'.

3. Positive factors

i) The VIM opened doors in the world of officialsand professionals which would have remainedclosed if it had immediately started to lobby forfacilities for all children with learning difficulties.The Federation of Parents' Organisations is nowcreating new educational opportunities for allsuch children.

ii) Society is becoming more "normal" becausemany more children are learning to live togetherfrom an early age, to help each other and to takeresponsibility for each other. There is moreunderstanding of the experience and potentialof children with disabilities.

iii) Teachers in mainstream schools are learning newskills and developing new approaches to teachingand learning in the classroom.

iv) Teachers in primary schools having a policywhich refers pupils with moderate learningdifficulties to special education, often review

and even change this as a result of teaching a childwith Down's Syndrome.

v) Teachers in special education are themselves startingprojects for integration, eg. creating more and moreopportunities for their pupils to undertake workexperience.

vi) Experts in special education are working hard todevelop adapted teaching programmes for language,elementary arithmetic and orientation in time andspace. Thus, special education expertise is extendingto provide sound support for cognitive work inmainstream schools.

vii) Parents are becoming more assertive.

4. Advice to those who are interested in adopting the VIM model.

i) The need for allies and supporters is paramount.Work together with partners in the field of educa-tion, with individuals as well as organisations andpolicy-makers.

ii) Create a good balance between parents and teachersin mainstream education. Together they are strongenough to influence policy, the community and theirown school board. Together they are strong enoughto go on with integration, even when there is a nega-tive response from colleagues in special education orfrom school counsellors.

iii) Let all information about achieving individual inte-gration be accessible to all those involved, to parentsas well as teachers. Give teachers the opportunity toinvite "their" parents to teacher

9

training and give parents the opportunity to invite"their" teachers to parents' meetings.

iv) Be patient with people (and organisations) who say that they are prepared to promote integration,even if you know that their interest in integrationis for political reasons rather than as a result of agenuine belief and commitment. They will learn.

v) Initially avoid contact with organisations whichoppose your views and strategy for achievingintegration. It is hard to achieve real dialogue inthese circumstances. It takes too much time andenergy to convince unwilling people. It is moreeffective to prioritise working towards goodpractice, which will then be the best means ofpersuading others.

vi) Use the media as much as possible. It is importantthat a community keeps talking about the subjectof integration over and over again.

APPENDIX

1. Resources

i) "Ellen" (1985). A 25-minute colour VHSvideo,published by the Seminarium voorOrthopedagogiek. Available with Englishsub-titles.

The film is about an eight-year old girl calledEllen, who has Down's Syndrome, and is beingeducated in a mainstream school. The film isused to help primary schools through theirdecision-making process when dealing withapplications for places for children with Down'sSyndrome. The film raises and helps schools toanswer the important questions so that if a childis accepted, the school is well-prepared.

ii) "Ja Kun ye Krijgen" (You can get yes if youask for it), 1989, published by VIM. A bookcomprising six articles about integration. Onlyin Dutch.

iii) De VIM-GIDS, deel A (1991), published by theSeminarium voor Orthopedagogiek. A handbookfor primary schools and parents. This bookprovides primary schools and parents. This bookprovides primary schools with the informationthey need before admitting a child with Down'sSyndrome and it contains a step-by-step plan for

parents looking for a primary school for their child.Only in Dutch.

iv) De VIM-GIDS, deel B (1993) contains a long listof course material items, ie. a list of everything thata Down's Syndrome pupil could learn at primaryschool. It also contains a number of items about thematerials presented or gathered at the training confe-rences for teachers. Only in Dutch.

2. Addresses

VIMVereniging voor een ge Integreerde opvoeding van

Mongoloide Kinderen (Association for the Integrationof Mongoloid Children) Meester Koolenweg 3 8042GB Zwolle The Netherlands Tel: (00 31) 38 - 226916

Seminarians voor Orthopedagogiek(Institute for Special Education)Archimedeslaan 16PB 140073508 SB UtrechtThe NetherlandsTel: (00 31) 30 - 547378Fax: (00 31) 30 - 540349

Federation of Parents' OrganisationsMaliebaan 71LPB 852763508 AG UtrechtThe NetherlandsTel: (00 31) 30- 363767

NETHERLANDS

In harmony we learn

by MARNA MOE

10NORWAY

Introduction

This is the story of an integration project in one com -munity, Asker, in Norway. The paper explains how therebuilding of an old primary school led eventually tothe development of integrated education provision forall children with special educational needs in Asker.

BACKGROUND

1. Historical and political context

When the project began in 1984, Norwegian law sta-ted that every child had the right to an education. A tthat time, children with special educational needswere educated in special schools and had little or nocontact with their peers in mainstream schools.Pupils with special educational needs often had totravel long distances to reach their nearest specialschool and if the school was too far away, had toattend boarding school.

In Asker, an old primary school was being rebuilt andthe local school board decided to incorporate facilitiesfor a group of children with severe learning difficulties.At the same time, the Norwegian Government passednew legislation confirming a citizen's right to live, beeducated and to have employment in his or her birth-place, regardless of factors like disability.

This prompted politicians in Asker to pass a new reso-lution for their community. The main principles of theresolution were:

- everyone should be able to attend a school in theirlocal community, preferably their nearest school;

- groups of pupils with special educational needs maybe taught in a separate place but will have the oppor-tunity of linking with a mainstream school;

- in specific cases, staff from schools outside Askerwith the relevant knowledge or expertise may beinvited in to Asker to provide guidance.

The guiding principle of this system is that everyonehas the right to the same education. This implies thateach pupil should follow a curriculum which is mat-ched carefully to his/her ability. A minimum demand isthat a pupil will develop through the education shereceives, and that she is able to feel a sense of achieve-ment in reaching specific goals.

2. Separate but segregated

In the autumn of 1984, seven or eight children withsevere learning difficulties moved into Vettre School,the new elementary school in Asker. These pupils wereplaced in a Special Unit which had a separate budget, aheadteacher and a full staff. The pupils in the Unitwere linked to mainstream classes in their own yeargroup, so they were teamed with children of the sameage.

The main challenge has been to establish a modelwhich facilitates a harmonic relationship between thechildren with learning difficulties and the other

72

pupils in the class. This has been achieved in some les-sons, but there is a need for better cooperation betweenteachers from the Unit and the mainstream part of theschool. Integration is socially beneficial to the wholeschool, including staff, and is not just for the benefit ofthe children in the Unit. It fosters an atmosphere ofteamwork amongst the students and, ideally, betweenstaff.

THE VETTRE INTEGRATIONPROJECT

1. Aims and approaches

As the integration project began to develop, the aimsbecame clearer. The integration scheme at Vettre aimsto offer each and every student a suitable and relevanteducation. The school aims to ensure that children andyoung people with disabilities are not hidden away, butare seen taking part in life. Vettre wishes these childrento be integrated in other schools too, and to be accep-ted by society, establishing principles of 'normalisa-tion'. The school aims to develop responsibilityand tolerance, establishing models to help studentsinteract and focussing on social behaviour.

The curriculum is organised to enable pupils to achieveand to feel a sense of achievement. All the activitiesare geared to developing self-confidence and encoura-ge each pupil to contribute in a group

situation. Special attention is given to activities whichcan also be enjoyed in leisure time with friends andfamily.

2. Integrated teaching and learning

The teaching programme is organised to help Vettreachieve its aims. A pupil may experience any or all ofthe following learning situations:

i) a whole class sharing common activities, witheach student participating at the appropriatefunctional level. The children with special edu-cational needs are obviously members of theclass and in this way integration is 'visualised' ormade apparent;

ii) a whole class in which the learning programmes aremore individualised, with students following indivi-dual work programmes alone or in small groups;

iii) groups sharing common activities where the maintask of the mainstream students is to assist the stu-dents with special educational needs to participate inthe activity;

iv) groups where each student works at his/her ownlevel, either within small units or in a whole-classsituation.

The groups will either be located in separate roomsconnecting with the rest of the class or in the Unit forthe students with special educational needs.

10

3. Breaks between lessons: a project model

In 1985/6, Vettre ran a project called 'The breaks bet-ween lessons', which aimed to create a better environ-ment of tolerance and safety for all. For the childrenfrom the Unit, it provided an additional opportunity tointegrate socially.

Two teachers were assigned to the project for sevenhours a week. They were to address the followingissues:

- what activities are the students involved in? - whichpart(s) of the schoolyard and its surroundings areused the least?

- are the mainstream students seeking contact with theintegrated students?

- are some students deliberately kept out of games?

From initial observations, it was decided to modify theoutside area, purchase play equipment and to introducea number of specific games to the children. The stu-dents who were being left out of the other children'sgames were given extra adult contact. Involving thechildren with special educational needs in the outsideactivities took longer than expected. It was the main-stream students who sought contact with the adultsrather than the special needs students, which inhibitedthe process of integration at play time.

Two activities were eventually accepted by the childrenand some special events were also organised. The tworegular activities were ball games and tobogganing. An'Activity Day on the Ice' performance was organisedwith children in sledges, toboggans, skates and wheel-chairs. The Asker Sled Dog Club helped arrange a dayfor the children playing on their dog sledges, withmainstream students helping the drivers and the stu-dents with special educational needs riding in thesledges. On these occasions and for organised trips, theteachers have extra helpers to ensure that the studentswith special needs are able to participate.

There are fewer conflicts now when the children areoutside and the children with special educational needshave extended their field of experience. Being with themainstream students pushes them through what theirteachers previously considered to be fixed barriers.

INTEGRATION IN THECOMPREHENSIVE SCHOOL

1. The transfer from primaryto secondary school

In the autumn of 1986, the first of the integrated stu-dents from the Vettre School was due to transfer to thelocal comprehensive school (13-16 years). The studentwas, however, a wheelchair user and the comprehensi-ve school buildings were not wheelchair accessible.The student was forced to remain at Vettre for anotheryear while the comprehensive school's buildings wereadapted to include ramps and a wheelchair lift. Inautumn 1987, he was able to transfer to the school.

For those involved in the Vettre project, it was vitalthat the students with special educational needs transfe-red to the local comprehensive school with their peers.The right to a place there is implied within Norwegianlegislation and the position for children with specialeducational needs should not differ from that of theirpeers. The local resolution, passed by the SchoolBoard, which clarified the need to find a model todevelop harmony between mainstream students andthose with special educational needs, did not mentionspecifically an extension of the principle to the secon-dary sector. However, it would be a pedagogic andmunicipal defeat not to complete the process and inclu-de comprehensive education. Besides, Vettre does nothave the room to continue the integration programmefor students old enough to transfer and therefore deli-very for older students has to be based at the compre-hensive school.

The staff involved in the Vettre project identified a newaim: within three years they aimed to develop harmo-nic models between children with special educationalneeds and mainstream students in the comprehensiveschool. It was a challenge to which everyone in theproject was committed.

2. Finding the right approach

The starting point was a set of conclusions drawn fromthe Vettre project, which led to the following observa-tions:

- it is unrealistic to aim for full integration in a com-prehensive school;

- continuous, formative evaluation of the pilot integration project at the school is essential;

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- the school represents only one aspect of the munici-pal undertaking to provide the young person withspecial educational needs with a full service withinhis or her local community; - the chief education offi-cer for schools and social services should establish aninter-disciplinary working group to attend to theneeds of these young people;

- as they learn and socialise together at school, bothmainstream and integrated students will become moreconfident about associating with each other;

- it is particularly important to teach comprehensiveschool students about the whole of society and all itsmembers, and to give them a better understanding ofwork with young people with special educationalneeds; - guidance and help from special school tea-chers is essential in encouraging mainstream teachersto take the initiative;

- specialist care service providers, including the medi-cal professions, need to understand better the benefitsof integration for all young people.

It was decided that, in the comprehensive school,groups of two or three mainstream students wouldwork with one, or perhaps two, students with specialeducational needs. A special needs teacher should beavailable to the integrated students, as well as theirown class teacher. Also, the student with special edu-cational needs and the mainstream student both need tolearn about alternative means of communication, suchas Sign Language, the Bliss Symbol System etc.

The above points are all equally important. Mostconcern the pedagogic arrangements for integration ina comprehensive school. However, the organisationalarrangements, such as adapting/decorating buildings,after-hours use of school premises etc. can affect peda-gogical decisions.

3. Planning for success

The success or failure of the project was also dependent on:

- the flexibility of the school's systems; - the school's way of organising its education provi-

sion; - the school's way of approaching subject learning, and

its curricula; - the relationship with parents and the local communi-

ty; - the extent to which staff on the integration project are

involved in the school's development planning; - the school staff's attitude to the new challenges and

tasks introduced by the project;

- the school's priority for the social education of itspupils, which should encourage them "to get involvedwith and take responsibility for others".

These factors mostly concern the pedagogical philos-ophy of the receiving school and the willingness toadopt new teaching styles which are appropriate to theincoming students with special educational needs.In-service training for the teachers can help enor-mously and minimises the feelings of insecurity thatcan arise when people are asked to change their way ofworking.

The subject-focused curriculum of the secondaryschool does not easily accommodate the individuallearning programmes required by students with specialeducational needs. Shared learning activities are moredifficult to organise and opportunities for learningtogether in subject-based lessons are much more limi-ted than in primary schools.

Information-sharing between parents, teachers and stu-dents is essential to the success of a project. Any infor-mation recorded or exchanged about a student isagreed with that student wherever possible. If the stu-dent is unable to express a view then his/her parentsare consulted.

Cooperation between mainstream students and studentswith special educational needs is a key target in anintegration project and can occur in two ways. The firstis called 'visualising' where the integrated student ispresent in a group and the situation has not been 'orga-nised'. The cooperation occurs by chance and is mani-fest in mimicking, greeting, smiles, informal chatteretc. It takes place throughout the day and happensnaturally. The second form of cooperation occursthrough specially organised activities where the stu-dents are actively following a planned process. Thistype of cooperation is generally only successful withsmall student groups, either in a room separate fromthe main class or outside school altogether on riding,swimming or other trips. These observations matchedthose made at the primary school; age appears not tomake a difference.

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THE PROJECT EXPANDS

1. New arrangements

In autumn 1992, a new primary school opened in A s k e r.The Arnestad School absorbed another primary school,Gisle School, and the Special Unit from Vettre School.Arnestad has a central administration, but the SpecialUnit has a separate manager and has retained its ownbudget and staff. There are, however, joint activities bet-ween the unit and the mainstream part of the school.

The Unit has large, comfortable, adapted premises andhas 10 permanent students. The staff have respon-sibility for the learning of four other students located inthe mainstream section of the school. The Unit alsoprovides after-school supervision for five 4th-6th gradestudents. Six students from the comprehensive schoolare taught at the Unit for two days a week.

Being in a new school meant that the integration pro-cess had to begin afresh, but progress has been rapid.The former Gisle school pupils are used to working ingroups and respect each other's endeavours. AtArnestad, the managers, staff, parents and

students are all working together to achieve a sense ofidentity for the school as a whole.

The integration project has been expanded and theneed for alternative approaches to educating all chil-dren is increasing. Staff in the Unit at Arnestad donot want more students. It would be better to establi-sh another school like Arnestad,in A s k e r.Comprehensive school provision for integrated edu-cation is also to expand, with a second comprehensi-ve school opening its doors in 1997. In the meanti-me, there will be a base in a building not far fromA r n e s t a d .

2. Guiding principles

When making a decision on whether to integrate a stu-dent with special educational needs, the following willneed to be considered very carefully:

- legislation - the school's pedagogical views - the teachers' work conditions - the potential benefit to the student.

Norwegian legislation states that, wherever possible,students should attend a school in their local communi-ty. In Asker, this is now a real possibility.

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Experience has taught the project staff that there aresome principles and observations which are central tothe development of integration models:

- students with special educational needs must be realmembers of their mainstream class;

- admittance to a mainstream class will be dependenton the nature of a student's special educational needs;

- for some of the integrated students, it is better toarrange joint activities in small groups comprisingtwo or three mainstream students and the integratedstudent;

- membership of the above groups should rotate everythree or four weeks so that as many mainstream stu-dents as possible work with the students with specialeducational needs;

- the students with special educational needs should betaught in the class or group rooms for at least someof the time;

- the class teachers should have close contact with theintegrated student(s);

- the special education teacher should endeavour to bea resource for the whole class;

- the mainstream students must be guided in their inter-actions with the students with special educationalneeds to foster a positive learning and social environ-ment. They should also be shown how to assist theintegrated students;

- integration is positive for mainstream students, whogenerally discover that students with special educa-tional needs are like other young people, and for inte-grated students who feel pleasure and satisfaction atbeing part of the mainstream class.

None of these concepts differs from pedagogical prin-ciples being followed throughout the Norwegian schoolsystem. The integrated teaching approach provides stu-dents with both individual teaching and the opportunityto participate in shared activities. This is a right forevery child of school age and is enshrined inNorwegian law. Striving to realise this right is excitingand challenging. At Vettre, where the variety of specialeducational needs among the students was especiallygreat, the pedagogical challenge offered good opportu-nities to develop new approaches

to teaching and learning.

3. Benefits to children who do not have special educational needs (mainstream students)

Integrated education also benefits mainstream stu-dents. To date, the emphasis has been on the devel-opment of qualities and inner resources which willmake them more 'complete'; patience, tenderness,care, tolerance towards 'difference', responsibility

for social care, the ability to use alternative ways ofmaking contact and communicating.

This teaching is organised through the involvement ofmainstream students in real and practical initiativeswith specific aims for the students in the Special Unit.The project is already in a position to deliver the legis-lative requirement to provide all students with 'practi-cal, social and cultural' experience, across all subjectareas.

The models for 'harmony' between all groups of stu-dents and their teachers and parents have been develo-ped through painstaking, thorough work and thepatience of many. Close cooperation has been essentialat every stage and on every level.

EVALUATION:LESSONS LEARNT

1. Project evaluation

There has been continuous review and evaluationthroughout the project. As mistakes were made,methods were adjusted and new approaches tried. Asupport team of highly-skilled professionals has provi-ded strong guidance and advice on the project.Management support has also been crucial.

If a project such as this is to contribute to future plan-ning and development, it is important that:

a) the experiences of the participants are documentedand shared so that they can help other schools withstudents with special educational needs;

b) that the evaluation process is as objective and rigo-rous as possible and the report as truthful as pos-sible. Positive and negative experiences should beincluded and those questions to which answers werenot found should be left unanswered.

2. Conditions for a successful project

i) Physical limitations

Special toilet and washing facilities are needed fordisabled students, without which they cannot attendmainstream schools. Classrooms too need to have ade-quate space for storing special equipment and medicalsupplies. Buildings need to be adapted to accommodatewheelchair users, as all students must have access toschool buildings and the grounds/playgrounds.

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ii) Student participation

Mainstream students need to accept the integrated stu-dent as a full and legitimate member of their class. It isimportant too that they accept some responsibility forthe student being able to participate fully as a classmember. There may, however, be frustrations formainstream students when trying to include a studentwith severe or complex special needs in class activitiesand this could be a factor in deciding whether or not astudent is suitable for integration within a particularclass. The mainstream students are more egoistic in theseventh and eighth grades than in the ninth and tenthgrades. They are also always concerned about subjects,examinations anal assessment grades. It is during theseyears that it is most difficult to achieve a balance bet-ween encouraging academic ambition and developingthe sense of social responsibility necessary to assist theintegrated students.

iii) Teachers

One very obvious factor in developing successful inte-gration programmes is the teachers and other person-nel. They need to be positive, committed and willing tocooperate with each other on a daily basis. It is theirdaily responsibility to deliver the integration program-me and it is their skill and willingness to developwhich will contribute most to its success.

iv) Management

The managers of the project must operate within anagreed framework and have a common understandingof the aims of the project. They need to meet fre-q u e n t l y.

v) Pedagogical Psychological Service(PP Service)

The PP Service should have a coordinating role parti-cularly in relation to school-based activities andschool/parent relations.

vi) The local school administration/politicians

To ensure that a project gains support fromdecision-and policy-makers and funders, the schooladministration and politicians should be briefed regu-larly and asked to resource the project as appropriate.They should also monitor the use of resources.

CONCLUSION

An integration project should be about developing theconcepts of normality, responsibility and toleranceamong all students. It can aim to promote integratedgroup (or team) work but may equally well aim toensure that students with special educational needs are'visible' in mainstream schools. It is important for eve-ryone to learn that some human beings are 'different'from the 'norm' and use alternative means of communi-cation and languages.

Those people with severe learning difficulties can learnby imitation, by rote, or by learning 'models'. They dothis by seeing and being with others. They can also becorrected by adults setting rules and limits for them.The motivation to learn can be stronger for youngpeople with severe learning difficulties if they are withtheir peers from mainstream schools than if they arealone with their teacher. A project like this can increasethe opportunities for the shared activities which somotivate those students.

From 1991, all students are entitled by law to an edu-cation within their local community. Not everyone willchoose this and in some cases it will be better to use a"base model" (Unit model) as this project has done. Itis hoped that this paper has inspired others to try thesame.

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INITIATIVES for Deaf Education in the Third World

by BROTHER ANDREW L. DE CARPENTIER

11INTERNATIONAL

Introduction

INITIATIVES for Deaf Education in the Third World(INITIATIVES) is a network of deaf people, parents ofdeaf children and professionals providing educational,social, medical and paramedical services for deafpeople in developing countries. There is a particularemphasis on work with deaf children.

The need for such a network was first identified duringthe XVIth International Congress on the Education ofthe Deaf, held in Manchester in 1985. The developingcountries were under-represented at the Congress, butthose delegates who were representing developingcountries met to discuss their particular needs and howthese were being addressed by the conference. A subse -quent meeting concluded that there was a general lackof understanding of the problems peculiar to develo -ping countries, as well as an apparent lack of interestfrom other delegates. The meeting also identified theneed for professionals from developing countries topresent the issues that concern them more clearly. Themeeting therefore decided to try to establish a mecha -nism for bringing together professionals from develo -ping countries to discuss their problems, achievementsand failures within an atmosphere of mutual support. Aresolution was proposed to the Congress which subse -quently became the mandate for the group to form INI -TIATIVES. The resolution was as follows:

- "This congress endeavoured to be meaningful to thecountries of the Third World;

- It recognises that it has not really addressed theimmediate problems of the developing countries;

- It resolves to support a small group of people whohave made a commitment to find ways and means toaddress the problems at the level of the needs;

- It fully supports an attempt to organise a conferencethat will focus on the needs of the Third World."

This paper outlines the background to the formation ofINITIATIVES and charts its activities and growth overthe past nine years.

BACKGROUND

1. Historical and social context

INITIATIVES developed from a growing awareness ofthe need for change and development in the provisionof education for deaf people in developing countries.Four key observations about the education service indeveloping countries led to the formation of INITIA-TIVES:

i) that there were increasing demands on the welfareand education services to meet the needs of deafchildren and young people;

ii) that the interest of the developed countries, inclu-ding the professionals directly involved with theeducation of deaf people, is often quite

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superficial. The aid programmes are inadequate andare often inefficiently administered and inappropria-tely targeted;

iii) that the developed countries often assume thatdeveloping countries are unable to solve their ownproblems, lack expertise and have nothing to contri-bute to discussion;

iv) that there are resources in developing countrieswhich, properly utilised, could contribute much tothe development of education for deaf people.Professional expertise in developing countries is toooften over-looked, not just by the developed coun-tries, but also by the developing countries them-selves.

2. The developing countries

Within the developing countries, there are a number ofmisunderstandings and misconceptions relating to thecurrent range of activity, the standards of provision andthe availability of professional expertise in deaf educa-tion.

i) Many government authorities are still unaware ofwhat is involved in providing education for deafchildren and can be under the misapprehension thatprofessionals from developing countries, includingtheir own, are less well qualified and skilled thanthose from developed countries. There is a need tochallenge definitions of success which rely onmodels more appropriate to developed countries.

ii) Owing to the size of many developing countries andpoor transport and communications infrastructures,people working in an area like deaf education areoften unaware of the achievements of colleagues inneighbouring countries. This professional isolationdoes not aid development, nor does it promoteconfidence within a professional group.

iii) Many people, including the professional workers,have a charity-oriented approach, rather than onewhich is about self-help and development. This hasfostered the attitude that anything coming from'without' is better; that all good things are given,rather than achieved through hard work and bytaking a fresh approach to problem-solving anddevelopment.

3. The developed countries

i) The developed countries generally display a pro-found lack of awareness of what is happening indeveloping countries and of their needs and the pro-blems they encounter. This is primarily because toofew of the professionals from those developingcountries are integrated into the professional circuit.Furthermore, those professionals fail even to achieverecognition at regional and national level in theirown countries.

ii) Deaf people themselves, despite any knowledge andexpertise they may possess and what they couldoffer to both the deaf and wider communities, areconsistently poorly treated and mis-represented.Their needs are great, interest from the authorities isoften poor, and deaf people are rarely given theopportunity to contribute to their own educationalprovision or, indeed, to any of the services that theyrequire. In developing countries, the picture is farworse.

4. The need for INITIATIVES

Professionals living and working within the developingcountries felt that the time had come for them to beginto take a clear and conspicuous role in the developmentof policies and strategies to solve their specific pro-blems in providing services to deaf people. They hadthe necessary qualifications and expertise; most impor-tantly they were in the best position to observe andanalyse existing provision in their own countries andhad the confidence to try to solve some of the pro-blems they had identified. The developed countrieshave been invited to provide support in the form ofadvice, technical expertise and financial aid, within thedevelopment programmes established by the develo-ping countries themselves.

INITIATIVES seeks to facilitate developments in deafeducation, bringing together professional people inpractical partnerships. Policy-making, initiating andimplementing projects and long-term planning are theresponsibility of the INITIATIVES 'Partners' workingin developing countries, with the developed countrieshelping as outlined above.

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THE PROJECT

1. Aims

INITIATIVES has five main aims:

1. To disseminate information of a professional natureto all Partners.

2. To facilitate and, where possible, support trainingand other activities devised by, and shared by,Partners.

3. To provide a limited amount of materials includingtechnical equipment.

4. To support the Partners - professional and parent,hearing and deaf - in their attempts to increasepublic and government awareness and involvementin the needs of the hearing impaired.

5. To respond, from time to time, to requests fromPartners.

The overall purpose is to facilitate the "mainstreaming"of the Partners by helping them to broaden their pro-fessional horizons. An important function of the net-work is to give the partners access to information

which is readily available in the developed countriesbut difficult to obtain in their own, developing,c o u n t r i e s .

2. Organisation

The network consists of professionals, parents and deafpeople, most of whom are Partners. The network alsoincludes others involved in the provision of services todeaf people in developing countries, who aim to shareinformation and provide support for each other.

There is a Secretariat based in the UK. This locationwas chosen for its good communications network andbecause English delegates at the Manchester Congresshad shown strong support for INITIATIVES. INITIA-TIVES is registered as a charity, with four trustees, allof whom are based in England. There is also a volunta-ry secretary.

A 'General Partners Meeting' is held at least everythree years, where decisions are made about policyand general business is conducted, including the elec-tion of a President, Treasurer and Secretary. T h eGeneral Meeting also elects a General Field

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Coordinator and Regional Coordinator(s) who helpkeep channels of communication open betweenPartners, and between Trustees. The Coordinators arealso directly involved in policy development, planningand implementation.

Partners who have retired from active professionalwork become Honorary Partners of INITIATIVES. Thenetwork also has Associate Partners who differ fromPartners only in that they are not eligible for free atten-dance at workshops and conferences.

The number of Partners is limited by the level of finan-ce available, but it is envisaged that eventually thePartner for a specific country will be selected (possiblyon a rotation basis) from among the Associate Partnersin that country.

INITIATIVES, despite its administrative structures, is amovement, not an organisation. It is a fluid network ofpeople concerned with deaf education and has greatpotential for development.

3. Finance

INITIATIVES does not receive core funding fromgovernment or other sources. The Trustees and theSecretary raise funds to support the network's activi-ties, assisted by Partners who are in a position to help.Most of the money raised is used to finance informa-tion packs and attendance at workshops for thePartners, who are not expected to contribute financiallyto the network.

The main areas of expenditure are:

i) running expenses, including preparation and distribu-tion of the information packs;

ii) the regular workshops which receive funding from awide range of funding agencies, including a smallnumber of European NGOs, grant-making trusts andfoundations and charities, most of which are basedin the UK;

iii) a limited number of donations of equipment andmaterials to Partners to assist them in their work.

There is an ongoing programme of fundraising eventswhich includes street and church collections, talks andlectures and the sale of stamps, postcards and so on.

4. The INITIATIVES programme

i) Information packs

These packs are compiled by the Trustees and theSecretary and contain information and materials theyfeel will be of interest to the Partners. There are fourpacks a year, which are sent to Partners and AssociatePartners.

ii) Recognition for professionals

Membership of an accepted international network canhelp Partners achieve greater recognition as pro-fessionals at both local and national level. This hasobvious benefits for career development and is a clearexample of how 'mainstreaming' into international acti-vities can occur.

iii) Dissemination of information

The work of INITIATIVES and its partners is dissemi-nated via talks, exhibitions, written articles and visitsby the Trustees to a wide variety of organisations andconferences.

iv) Resources

INITIATIVES acts as a resources centre for informa-tion about work for and with deaf people in developingcountries. Inevitably, many of the requests for informa-tion come from Great Britain, where the Secretariat isbased, but requests do come from many other develo-ped and developing countries.

v) Sharing and exchange

A vital part of INITIATIVES' work is in facilitating thesharing of information, knowledge, expertise andconcerns between Partners in the developing countries.This happens in the following ways.

a) Exchanges of experiences and expertise between thePartners: Partners share on an individual basis and viaa Newsletter. They also come together for the work-shops which are held every two or three years.

b) Small-scale projects often involving a transfer ofexpertise across member countries. For example:

- a deaf earmould technician from Jordan conducted atraining course in New Delhi, India;

- an Indian ENT/hearing aid specialist conducted a trai-ning programme for parents of deaf children in Meru,Kenya.

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c) Development projects at local and national level:Partners are inspired by the work of colleagues to esta-blish new initiatives. For example:

- parent programmes - earmould laboratories - hearing aid dispensaries - educational and community

awareness programmes.

d) Research concerned with the provision of high qua-lity, low-cost hearing aids and earmoulds. This hasbeen undertaken by Partners in collaboration with otherorganisations and has covered training, technology,organisational structure and the potential for collabora-tive work between developing countries.

e) Curriculum development: partners are developingcurricula for deaf children which will have directimplications for teacher and parent training.

vi) Workshops

The organisation of workshops and conferences for thePartners is a major part of INITIATIVES' work. Thepurpose of the workshops is to enable the Partners tomeet together to learn from each others' practice andexperience. The workshops also aim to "leave behindsomething of practical value" in the host country.

Each workshop has a focus or theme relating to theinterests of a particular group. In previous years, thesegroups have included: parents of deaf children;under-privileged deaf children in rural areas; deafpeople and their relationship with 'professionals' andtheir role in the provision of services.

For each workshop, the Partners are asked to extendinvitations to representatives from the relevant interestgroup(s) in their respective countries. Invitations are alsosent to organisations in the host country, whose coopera-tion is often crucial to the success of such events.

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Invited speakers, Trustees and delegates fromnon-developing countries do not participate in discus-sion sessions unless requested to do so. This helpsensure that discussions are relevant to the Partners 'sneeds and also encourages Partners to contribute.

vii) Partner requests

INITIATIVES provides technical equipment in respon-se to requests from Partners. The assistance available,however, is extremely limited, owing to a lack offinancial resources.

viii) Future plans

In the short term, INITIATIVES is planning a work-shop on 'Training for Partnership' to be held in Delhi inSpring 1994. Medium term plans concentrate on theregionalisation of the network. In 1994, anAfrica/Middle East INITIATIVES and an Asia/PacificINITIATIVES will be launched. The international INI-TIATIVES will ensure coordination and coherenceacross the groups. Further regionalisation is planned.

LESSONS LEARNT

INITIATIVES has been faced with the need to developworking structures across and within developing coun-tries. Most of the 'problems' still exist: the lack ofinfrastructure, a dearth of funds, and poor communica-tion and transport networks all contribute to the diffi-culty INITIATIVES has experienced in trying to achie-ve its aims. INITIATIVES has realised that quick andeasy solutions are not possible. Often, the problems areso deep-rooted and complex that recognised'problem-solving techniques' are in appropriate and amore flexible approach is needed.

1. Administrative difficulties

i) When INITIATIVES was formed, the Trusteesappointed a Committee to assist with the running ofthe network. There were lengthy discussions aboutthe role of the Committee and whether it should actas an executive, standing or advisory committee.

The Partners began to object to the Committee whichwas becoming increasingly influential, and appearedto be over-ruling the Partners and the decisions ofthe General Partners' Meetings. Eventually, aPartners' Meeting recommended that the Committeebe disbanded although this has inevitably led to anoverload of responsibility and work for the Secretaryand the Trustees, who currently rely on voluntaryhelp.

ii) INITIATIVES also had to make a decision aboutwho should be the official representative of the net-work. Initially, it was assumed that the Chair of theTrustees would adopt this role, but it was soon reali-sed that this placed the 'powerbase' firmly in theUK, thereby undermining the aim of transferring thepower to the developing countries It was decided tocreate the title of 'President', a role to be undertakenby a Partner representing a developing country.

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2. Partners

The selection of suitable Partners is problematic, pri-marily because many professionals working in develo-ping countries have not been 'identified'; many peoplewith a considerable level of expertise are not known tothe system and poor communication networks exacer-bate the problem. Ironically, this is one of the issuesINITIATIVES wishes to address, but it needs morePartners to do so effectively. In particular, more femalePartners are needed; there are currently far more malePartners than females, but there are many more menworking in the field of deaf education than women.Similarly, there is a serious imbalance between thenumber of hearing and deaf people, again largelybecause as yet, there are few professional deaf peoplewith the necessary education, training and status withinlocal organisations to enable them to contribute to andbenefit from INITIATIVES. These difficulties withrecruiting suitable Partners mean that INITIATIVESrisks selecting only the elite, while trying to be a net-work providing assistance and training for people atgrass roots level.

3. Communication

Having Partners from countries all over the world, INI-TIATIVES grapples daily with maintaining good com-munication between the Partners and the Secretariat inthe UK. Poor communication and transport infrastruc-ture are the main problem, with lack of telephones, faxlines and reliable postal systems, and poor roads andlong distances in many developing countries. There,people rely more heavily on face-to-face meetings andoften prefer this method of communication. The INI-TIATIVES workshops provide this personal contactand for this reason are a vital element of the network 'sprovision.

4. Finance

INITIATIVES operates from the UK, but works inmany developing countries. It is not a national, but aninternational organisation, and because of this has diffi-culty in securing funding from funding agencies, whichtend to budget by region or country. Money is neededfor basic costs, such as travel, and support for theseareas is neither interesting nor relevant to many NGOsand other funding agencies.

CONCLUSION

The INITIATIVES network has proved valuable notonly to those directly involved in its activities but to awider community of deaf people and professionalsinvolved in deaf education.

INITIATIVES is effective because it has its roots inlocal communities building on the practice of profes-sionals and experience of deaf people at the local level.The network aims to meet local needs using localresources, but the implications of its approach to pro-blem-solving, which is often unorthodox and creative,are much broader. The small-scale and very 'human'approach of the INITIATIVES network is a key factorin its success: all the Partners are valued and expectedto contribute to INITIATIVES' work.

The inter-disciplinary and inter-cultural approach fos-ters understanding and partnership between differentservice-providers, developing and industrialised coun-tries, and hearing and deaf communities etc. More net-works like INITIATIVES operating at national andregional level would encourage greater harmony bet-ween nations, professionals and deaf people, leading tobetter provision of services, and a greatly enhancedquality of life, for deaf people.

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President (1991)Prof. George W. Brobby, Ghana

Partners (1991)

Br. Andrew de Carpentier, JordanField Coordinator

Dr. Prem Victor, India (Central)Regional Coordinator

Mrs A. Ekpemma-Jackson, NigeriaDr Sergia Esquerra, PhilippinesMr Albert Gwitma, ZimbabweMr Michael Hara, MalawiDr Madge Hall, JamaicaMr John Jatta, GambiaMr Ezra Kirima, KenyaMr Ivan Matovu, UgandaMr Dumisa Matsebula, SwazilandMr McKenzie Mbewa, ZambiaMr Vassos Meraklis, CyprusMr Eliakunda Mtaita, TanzaniaMr Sajjad Munir, Pakistan / UKMr Ashmelash Ogbamikael, EthiopiaMr Mathew Philip, India (South)Mrs Rekha Roy, India (East)Mrs Motsidisi Toto, BotswanaMr Arif Yaqub, Pakistan

Associate Partners (1991)

Mr Philemon Akach, KenyaMrs Elizabeth Anbesaw, EthiopiaMs Antoinette Galea, MaltaMrs Amal Nahas, JordanMr Alfred Sichula, ZambiaMr Alex Borg, Malta

TreasurerMr George Horgan, UK

SecretaryMiss Doreen Woodford, UK

9 Church WalkMuch WenlockShropshire TF13 6ENEngland

Tel: 44 952 728087Fax: 44 952 728124

APPENDIX:

All the Partners (as well as the Trustees) are professional people providing services for deaf children and youngpeople, parents of deaf children, and representatives of deaf organisations. They are both hearing and deaf. Thereare teachers, audiologists, ENT surgeons, teacher trainers, lecturers, administrators, heads of organisations of theDeaf, parents of deaf children, Sign Language interpreters, etc.

Name

Rutte, Volker

Holdsworth, Janet

Lawrence Ofori-Addo

O'Toole, Brian

Jangira, N. K.

ANNEX

Addresses of contributors

Address

Nibelungasse 38010 GrazAustria

Save the Children Fund Anhui Province 261 Jinzhai St. Hefei 230061 P.R. China

Ghana CBR Programme Dept. of Social Welfare P.O. Box M 230 Accra, Ghana

Director Community-based RehabilitationServices c/o European Economic Commission P.O. Box 10847 Georgetown Guyana

National Council of Educational Research and Training Sri Aurobindo MargNew Dehli 110015 India

fax

(43) 316-38 25 00

(86) 551-245749

(233) 21-663 615

(592) 2-62615

(91) 11-6868419

88

Name

Thorburn, Molly

Andrew L. de Carpentier

Ibrahim, Hala

Wit-Gosker, Trijntje de

Moe, Marna

Address

3D Projects Ltd 14 Monk Street Spanish Town St. Catherine Jamaica, W.I.

CDC, DirectorThe Holy Land Institute for the DeafP.O. Box 15Salt,Jordan

P.O. Box 141309Amman,Jordan

Meester Koolenweg 3 8042 GB Zwolle Netherlands

Spesialskoleavd Arnestad skole Haakavikvn. 49 1390 Vollen Norway

Fax

(809) 984-7808

(962) 5-554 951

(962) 6-821 653

(31-30) 54 03 49

(47) 66 798510