Support Learning Space
  Inclusive Education  
Thutong > Curriculum Learning Spaces > Inclusive Education > Forums
 
Forum
 
ForumForumGeneralGeneralGeneralGenerallearning from other countrieslearning from other countries
Previous Previous
 
Next Next
New Post
 2/17/2009 10:25 PM
 
User is offline marumom
No Ranking

Joined: 9/3/2009
Posts: 0

Inclusive Education is successful in African countries like Zambia and Malawi, their learners perform far better than our learners. What is it that they are doing well, with "lack of resources"? Can't we learn from them?  It will make sense if officials/management  can visit these African countries to learn and copy good practices from them. The majority of our schools  and communities are more or less in the same socio- economic status as the ones in those countries. We still have schools without basics, like toilets and water.  It always shocks me when the senior management go to first world countries like Finland to learn from them. We do not have the infrastructure that they have. Nothing that they learn in those first world countries will be possible to implement in this country. We need to be realistic and honest to ourselves. 
New Post
 2/25/2009 5:48 PM
 
User is offline saivayrynen
No Ranking

Joined: 9/3/2009
Posts: 0

My experience from a number of countries, both rich and less-rich, is that you cannot 'copy' something into your own context. Rather, when you look something in other places, you should keep  those 'new' eyes in your own context - as if you were a stranger and saw your own schools and classrooms for the first time. What could I do differently? What is actually going on in here? What is same or different from what you have seen? Could it work what they do in Zambia or Malawi? Certainly some aspects of what they do - but these countries also have come out of apartheid and the distribution of wealth a little easier than SA.

Since you specifically mention Finland, it should be mentioned that the development of the comprehensive education system has been going on for the past 40 years. It started with recognition that only a part of the population received a good education (mainly according to wealth-lines) and the state of public schools was not really good. The idea of the education reform was to ensure that all Finns, regardless of wealth or geographical location, would receive a similar education, of similar quality. So far, after 40 years of implementation - and after constant debates of the effectiveness and 'goodness' of the system - it seems to work. At the time when comprehensive school system was introduced, Finland was not a rich country. With the boost of education, widening access to all learners and providing possibilities for a broad educational basis, the rise of Nokia and other technological achievements have come about. It has not been cheap, it has not been easy, and it has take a lot of time. People of their 40 + are those in Finland who have gone through the system. And the system is constantly being critisised. What I think SA could learn is that educational development takes time and resources, and there are no quick fixes. Another lesson to be considered is that it seems that a broad curriculum, solid 9-10 years of basic education with continuation of vocational training or upper high school for 98% of the cohort may make a difference. 

What is important is to think about the whole picture - and try to see one's own context with new eyes.

New Post
 3/1/2009 7:35 PM
 
User is offline saivayrynen
No Ranking

Joined: 9/3/2009
Posts: 0

Success stories from other African countries should be shared. Publications of EENET (the Enabling Education Network) which focus on successful implementation of inclusive education in developing countries, can be viewed as a link to this learning space. There have also been exchanges with other African countries such as Zambia and Swaziland. The Department of Education has always been emphasising that the success of inclusion does not only depend on resources but more critically on attitudes and good teaching practice. Currently we are showcasing all our own succesful practice on SABC TV and there are hundreds of schools in South Africa that are implementing inclusive education through their own initiatives or with the support of their districts. Nothing in the South African Policy emulates models from Europe or the wealthy countries of the North. However, the implementation of Inclusive Education has been generously funded by the Finnish Government and visits to that country by senior DoE officials took place within the framework of the institutional cooperation with the Finnish National Board of Education. There is a lot of good practice in especially their special schools as resource centres which can be incorporated in our own special schools to improve the quality of teaching and learning.
 Page 1 of 1
Previous Previous
 
Next Next
ForumForumGeneralGeneralGeneralGenerallearning from other countrieslearning from other countries

 

This section is in progress...