Inclusive Education-Teacher Competencies

Abstract

Owing to lack of knowledge, educational access and technology, disabled children were initially treated as unwanted and segregated from other children. Later their education was carried out in special schools. In recent times there has been a shift towards having children with disabilities attend the same schools as non-disabled children. The educationists now feel that each child should be allowed to learn in his own way. The concept of inclusive education has been spelt out in the Salamanca statement and the framework for action on special needs education 1994. It states that all Governments have been urged to “adopt as a matter of law or policy, the principle of inclusive education, enrolling all children in regular schools unless there are compelling reasons for doing otherwise”.

Teacher competency is the ability to plan, control and facilitate interaction in the classroom that is appropriate to the activity and which takes into account the different needs and abilities of learners. With more confident and skilled teachers the inclusive education programme will have a positive impact on the awareness of the community. This would increase the enrolment of disabled children in school in the light of education for all and more disabled or differently abled children would be working and contributing towards growth of the society.