“If you’re in a wheelchair you can’t do anything. That’s the stereotype in Moldova,” said Sandra Damian before she joined her school.
In Moldova in 2007, residential institutions housed over 11,000 orphans and children with special needs. Since then, reforms have seen it move towards a more inclusive education system. Segregated education systems persist in many countries still. A PEER mapping of over 200 education system’s laws and policies carried out in 2020 for the 2020 GEM Report on inclusion and education found that laws in 25% of countries make provisions for educating children with disabilities in separate settings.
“It was difficult at the beginning,” Liudmila Lefter from UNICEF told us about the reform in Moldova. “Having children with disabilities in special schools was more like a default situation. But now children learn empathy and respect for all children every day in school. Children with disabilities have more chance to continue their education if they go to a regular school with adequate support; they have more chance to build a happy life.”
“I was worried I wouldn’t make friends here, but I’ve had a really warm welcome and see the wheelchair is no longer a barrier for me,” Sandra told us happily.
In Estonia, meanwhile, inclusive education has been embraced since 2010, taking a strong learner centered approach for all learners, no matter their abilities.
Liina Omblus, the school leader, explained that “inclusion calls for equal cooperation from all parties – especially with parents. We discuss all decisions regarding the child and their needs. It is vital for the child to have a say in the matter too.”
Liis Raal Virks, a project manager at the school explained the practicalities of the change: “We ensure all pupils have support specialist services. Out of our 55 teachers, 13 are special educators. Timetables consider the child’s abilities, skills and current emotional state to prevent leaving due to emotional difficulties. Pupils receive their timetable which is adjusted as necessary. Some subjects call for additional support, some less.”
Tiina Keskula, a parent of students in grades 6 and 9 in the school continued: “This means children accept variation and are truly tolerant of people who differ from them. It makes everyone more empathetic, understanding and tolerant. We’re all different and yet we’re all the same. Some are in a wheelchair. Well so what?”
In Armenia, meanwhile, children with disabilities had also long been excluded but a new law in 2014, set up a legal and financial framework that enables children with disabilities to be included in mainstream schools.
“The most difficult challenges that these children face is stereotypes forcing them to be often fully isolated from mainstream education,” Susanna Tadevosyan, president of Bridge of Hope, which is working with the Ministry of Education to implement the law, told us.
“Gor’s classmates instantly started acting like adults,” his mother told us, about her son, who has learning difficulties. “They started helping Gor get his backpack and enter the classroom and go to the dining room. These were big achievements for Gor, for his classmates and for me as a parent.”
Anahit Khosrovyan, the principal of the school told us about the system she has put in place to welcome children like Gor into the classroom: “The school has psychologists, special educators, speech therapists, teacher assistants. We have managed to create opportunities for children to move freely at school. The mission until now was to provide quality education by living and learning together and to create a tolerant and equitable life for all children.”