Inclusion

Subjects | Creating a subject curriculum | Inclusion | Mixed ability

Inclusion is a concept that many African countries are struggling with. The struggle arises mainly because it is a learner-cetred concept and has no place in a subject-centred system. It is not just a classroom idea; it is a holistic concept that applies across the whole system, from the curriculum to teaching and learning, to assessing.
A mis-understood concept	Inclusion is a concept that does not seem to be well-understood, possibly because it is fundamentally leaner-centred in nature and has no place in subject-centred curricula, which by their nature, tend to be exclusive rather than inclusive
Planning for inclusion	Planning an inclusive curriculum means thinking about shaping the curriculum to match the needs and interests of the full range of learners. These include: the gifted and talented those with special educational needs and disabilities learners who have difficulty learning English as a language of instruction the different needs of boys and girls learners from different ethnic and religious backgrounds leaners from different socio-economic backgrounds.
An inclusive curriculum	An inclusive curriculum is one where: different groups of pupils are all able to see the relevance of the curriculum to their own experiences and aspirations all pupils, regardless of ability, have sufficient opportunities to succeed in their learning at the highest standard.
implications for progression	An inclusive curriculum is fundamentally at odds with a subject-centred curriculum that imposes a pass-fail hurdle at the end of each year. This has major implications for the organisation of teaching and learning and also for grade-by-grade progression. Repeating a year can no longer be an automatic mechanism for addressing failure. Repetition can still be used, but it must be exceptional and it must be used specifically in order to provide learers with necessary support that would not be available if they progressed.
Ways of building inclusion into the curriculum and teaching. This is not an exhaustive list Note that many of the suggestions have implications for the way curriculum documents are written; this is a curriculum issue as much as it is a teaching issue	In effect, this boils down to ways of ensuring that the curriculum caters for learners who progress naturally at different speeds through the curriculum. There are a number of ways this is achieved in different countries and they include: different curricula for faster and slower learners, particularly in the higher grades (6/7 and above) defining curriculum statements according to degree of difficulty (attainment level) and developing progression rules based on expectations around these describing the curriculum by phase rather than grade and recognising that there will be wide differences in expectations of achievement in each grade, particularly in mathematics organise teaching in such a way that, as far as possible, all learners get the kind of help they need. This may be achievable in the lower grades in a single mixed ability class using techniques such as withdrawal to help certainchildren on a one-to-one or small group basis. In the higher grades this may require some setting–meaning a process of timetabling two (or more) mathematics classes at the same time and dividing them into teaching groups according to their mathematical needs. employ learner-centred teaching strategies such as setting agreed achievable learning targets with individual learners with appropriate rewards when the targets are met.
Emphasising achievement	The concept of academic failure is an essenially subject-centred one. It is inevitably divisive and exclusive. Inclusion must seek alternative ways to reward success which do not exclude. This means switching to assessment techniques that are more personal to the learners such as agreeing achievable personal targets and assessing the student's progress against these. The emphasis should always be on avhievement, however small this may be. This philosophy must be reflected in the public examination system. Inclusive learner-centred systems tend to have assessment systems which simply award grades; the subject-centred concept of pass/fail is inappropriate in such systems. (This is an issue that must be sold carefully to the public who tend to equate it with a lowering of standards'. Universities and such institutions often find it a particularly difficult concept to understand.)