Implementing inclusive education : a commonwealth guide to implementing article 24 of the UN convention on the rights of persons with disabilities

Includes bibliographical reference and indexes.

The right to education for all children is enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and more recently in the Millennium Development Goals. However, in developing countries the proportion of disabled children attending school is estimated at between less than one per cent and five per cent. Now the UN Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities, which came into force in May 2008, requires the development of an inclusive education system for all.

Inclusion in education is a process of enabling all children to learn and participate effectively within mainstream school systems, without segregation. It is about shifting the focus from altering disabled people to fit into society to transforming society, and the world, by changing attitudes, removing barriers and providing the right support.

Implementing Inclusive Education: A Commonwealth Perspective shows how Commonwealth countries are attempting to undertake this transformative process, and will encourage all those charged with ensuring education for all to make certain that disabled children are fully included in all aspects of the education system. The book provides examples, both through illustrated case studies and on the accompanying DVDs, of how inclusive education systems for all children have been established in pockets throughout the Commonwealth. The message is clear: it can be done. The task is now to implement inclusive education worldwide.