Learning Lessons from Experience: good practice case studies Inclusive Education Title : Teaching and learning strategies Pays: Niger / Senegal Specific topic: Designing a teacher training curriculum, Manuals, and monitoring mechanisms in the schools. Presented by: SAOU Aïssata and AMADOU Alhadji Date : 29/05/2013

This consists in including specific modules in the initial teacher training, designing new teaching aids, and developing support mechanisms for the teachers in order to achieve a better integration of the children with sensory, intellectual, and physical disabilities. What does the design of a teacher training curriculum, manuals and monitoring mechanisms in the schools mean?

Summary of IE Context NIGER Designing a teacher training curriculum The inclusive education module integration process started in Niger in 2012 with the revision and approval of the said handbook by the Ministry of National Education. in April 2012 this process culminated in the signature of an order of the Ministry of National Education calling for the integration of the inclusive education module developed by HI from the school year. Monitoring mechanism Niger is using the existing formal monitoring system. The tools are suitable for addressing the specific needs of the CWDs. Manual Niger has an inclusive education manual. HI has been working closely with the Ministry of Education to adapt, revise, and validate it.

Summary of IE Context SENEGAL Designing a teacher training curriculum An integrated training module was developed late December 2011 by the chief education officers from the academies of Ziguinchor and Kolda. It is intended to the trainee teachers and includes elements drawn from the HI inclusive education training manual included in the regional Training Centres’ training Guides for Education Personnel (RTCEP). Monitoring mechanism There is a nationwide monitoring mechanism for the teachers. In the intervention regions, a specific monitoring mechanism was put in place to control the practice of inclusive education in the partner schools. This standardized mechanism was coordinated and implemented by the school inspectors. handbook There is a manual to train the teachers in the practice of the inclusive education; this was elaborated by other partner organizations under the control of the Ministry of Education.

Teaching and learning strategies: main obstacles -High turn-over of the teachers trained in the practice of IE in the partner schools; this makes it difficult to perpetuate the on-going actions and to achieve a true sustainable inclusive education system, -Large number of contract teachers without any basic training in the partner schools, -Endless strikes of teachers throughout the year, -Multiple stakeholders (UNICEF, PLAN, SAVE …) in the domain of Education, but a poor coordination of their interventions,

Description of the good practice and measures taken to overcome barriers Designing teacher training curriculum In Niger, the process started at a high level. Actually, a committee was set up to reflect on the integration of the IE module in the initial teacher training schools. The objective of this committee is to look into the implementation agenda of the IE module and identify the initial subject matters as well as the monitoring and assessment mechanisms. Monitoring mechanism In Niger, the monitoring mechanism was implemented in the project intervention zone after an inventory of the monitoring tools for pupils and teachers. Subsequently, a workshop gathering the educational advisers and school inspectors was organized to integrate some aspects related to the CWDs’ educational integration and monitoring into the existing tools. These tools are under experimentation in the project intervention zone. Once validated, these tools will be brought into general use throughout the zone and even in the country. In concrete terms, information related to the CWDs has been integrated in the educational monitoring scorecard of the children in the schools and data related to the CWDs are included in the end-of-school-year report of the intervention zone. Manual In Niger, since 2009 has been a handbook which place more emphasis on disability than inclusion. This manual was reviewed in collaboration with the Ministry of Education to further put the issue of inclusive education at the centre of the debate. This manual was validated and prefaced by the Minister of Education in On April 2012, a decision of the Ministry of Education officially introduced this module from that date. An implementation agenda was established in collaboration with the Ministry of National Education to test out this manual in three regions of Niger during the school year.

Description of the good practice and measures taken to overcome barriers Designing a teacher training curriculum In Senegal, the curriculum design process was entirely managed by the local educational stakehoders(AI and DINE). The AI of Ziguinchor took the initiative to convene the representatives of the two other academies (Sédhiou and Kolda) to develop the integrated module during an inter- academic workshop. This module which is meant to be cross-disciplinary integrates some elements from the inclusive education training manual into the initial disciplines taught in the RTCEP. Monitoring mechanism In Senegal, the implementation of the inclusive education principles is monitored by the school inspectors solely in the partner schools of the project. This monitoring is done on the basis of a scorecard developed by the school inspectors. Two focal point inspectors are responsible for the monitoring in each Departmental Inspection of National Education and carry out at least one follow-up visit per term in each of the schools. At the end of the follow-up visits, reports are written and submitted to the AI (Academic Inspection) and HI. Manual HI was associated in the elaboration process of the IE manual initiated under the coordination of the COSDPE (Coalition of the Organizations in Synergy for the Defence of Public Education) in collaboration with the Department of Elementary Education (DEE) and funded by SAVE The Children / Sweden. This initiative resulted in the elaboration of a first draft manual which has been subject to successive revisions and improvements. Despite the erratic funding from the stakeholders and the poor coordination of the process, HI managed to submit its recommendations and provide its technical support for the production of the first version of the teacher handbook. Under the aegis of the Ministry of Education, this handbook was officially presented by the COSDPE and Save The Children in November HI promised to follow up the experimentation of this tool in 10 schools of the Casamance region in order to develop an improved version upon receipt of the handbook in question.

Most significant Changes NIGER Designing a teacher training curriculum and a manual In Niger, the elaboration and integration of a training module on IE result from the necessity realized by the educational stakeholders to take into account the needs of the children with special educational requirements in the school curricula and teacher training curricula. This integration of IE in primary education culminated in the designation of three focal points respectively trainers at the Department of 1 st basic cycle Education, the Department of programming, and Department of educational Innovations. Monitoring mechanism In Niger, the specific needs of the CWDs are taken into account in the tools of the project intervention zone.

Most significant Changes SENEGAL Designing a teacher training curriculum and a Manual The integration of a training module and the elaboration of a specific manual result from the necessity realized by the educational stakeholders to take into account the needs of the children with special educational needs in the school programmes and teacher training curricula. This will take into account the children with specific educational needs resulted in the top- level appointment of a technical adviser responsible for special education at the Ministry of National Education (in 2012).. Monitoring mechanism In their usual monitoring missions, the school inspectors further lay an emphasis on the integration of the CWDs in the schools of their intervention zone, and even in schools that are not partners of the project.

Observable impacts NIGER Training module According to Mrs. Kaka Houaila, an official at the Department of Initial and Continuous (DIFC) Training: “The IE module, once integrated into the initial teacher training, will facilitate not only the educational integration of the CWDs, but also the access of this often left-out category of children to school.'' Monitoring mechanism ADO Mamane, an educational adviser at EIB Niamey 5: “The CWDs monitoring scorecards and the supervision reports are tools that favour the inclusion because they enable not only to supervise “all the children” i.e. the able-bodied and the children with disabilities, but also to ensure that the courses meet the interests of the whole class. SENEGAL Training module The education authorities in the intervention regions carry out advocacy initiatives with the Ministry in order to get the on-going pilot mechanism assessed and generalized nationwide. Monitoring mechanism As part of their regular monitoring missions in schools (and not just in the partner schools of the project), inspectors appreciate the presence of the children with disabilities and sensitize the teachers on their integration.

How to duplicate and develop these practices? It is necessary to launch an advocacy campaign both at the local and national levels in collaboration with the Civil Society Organizations (DPOs, Federation of Schoolchildren's Parents, etc.). It is also necessary to publish more reports and/or studies that would allow to revise this experience and explain the implementation of these initiatives. It is important to strengthen the partnership alliances and involve the other actors of the domain in the process (national and international NGOs, Education work teams, Disability, etc.) It would be appreciable to exchange on our experience with the state bodies, civil society organizations, regional structures, and the donors.

Points of summary Modules Include specific modules in the initial teacher’s training requires a strong collaboration with the governement. Monitoring mechanism Use the existing formal monitoring system instead of setting up a specific monitoring system. Manual Manual should be more practical for the teachers.

PHOTOS Niger : IE module adaptation workshop Niger : Training of teachers on the IE module Senegal : Training of inspectors-Trainers on IE training manual