Inclusive Education Report

Introduction

1.1 Background: Unfolding the concept of inclusive education

The field of special educational has undergone a tremendous transformation with the initiation of the inclusive movement and is characterised by constant changes and controversies in terms of policy and practice, as noted by Polat and Kisanji (2009). The Salamanca Statement and Framework for action on Special Educational Needs (UNESCO 1994) brought about a significant move towards inclusive education. It was designed as a part of the aim of achieving "Education for All," by which every child had the basic right to education. As a result, all participating nations had to adopt the philosophy of inclusive education and develop programs and policies or laws that paved the

It provided remedial instructions in small groups (Bradshaw et al. 2004).However, it still did not meet the needs of all students, as they couldn't find a place in the regular school nor in the special need centres; therefore, often the responsibility fell onto the parents. Moreover, Gaad (2010) also observes that the responsibility of educating students with needs falls onthree ministries—the MOE, the Ministry of Social affairs and the Ministry of Health—which resulted in separate policies and did not integrate the pupils into society. This need paved the way for the first step towards an inclusive movement, and it found its ground in the passing of Federal Law 29/2006.Additionally, the law was also in response to the signing of the UN Salamanca Statement. Therefore, by law, students with disabilities had the right to equal opportunities and education. But Gaad (2010) asserted that the law does not affirm that the school is the only setting for achieving education that results in some ambiguity. Moreover, various researchers acknowledge other factors that hinder the implementation of inclusive education within the region, like the culture and beliefs of the people, the anxiety and attitude of the

However, the study on the role of TAs in the region is limited to assessing the impact of training Emirati females teaching to support students with special needs. Not only did the participants find the programme life changing and empowering, it highlights that havinga teaching assistant (TA) programme is inevitable. It cannot be considered as a bonus facility to supporting students with needs in a mainstream school (Gaad 2015, p.61). Additionally, themedia reports reflect the practice of having TAs or support persons in a regular school to help students with disabilities gain accessto education in mainstream schools. The report also sheds light on some other issues: there is a growing demand for their support, but there is an insufficient supply of qualified workforce in the region and it comes at an additional monetary cost (Shankar, 2015). Other evidences on the role of the TA is to promote inclusive education is reflected inthe "School for All" (MOE, 2010) document. Although some reports highlight the need forTAs,others showthat teachers need to be trained to handle students with varied disabilities rather than employing a TA that is not appropriately qualified (Nazzal,