Expanding Inclusive Education Strategies for Girls with Disabilities Kenya

The Expanding Inclusive Education Strategies for Girls with Disabilities Kenya project supported 2,100 girls and was implemented by Leonard Cheshire in Kenya.

The project supported girls with disabilities to transition through relevant pathways from primary school to secondary school and vocational training, and worked to improve their learning outcomes. Girls with disabilities face a range of barriers to accessing and remaining in education, and actively participating and learning. These include discriminatory attitudes and behaviours related to social norms, lack of trained teachers in inclusive education, inappropriate infrastructure and policies, and limited resources. This results in lower enrolment, attendance and completion rates for girls with disabilities.

To address these barriers, the project took a systems approach and worked to create accessible, inclusive, and sustainable change at an individual, community, school and policy level. It worked closely with the Government of Kenya and local authorities so that inclusive education structures would be in place beyond the life cycle of the project. The project worked alongside communities and school staff to significantly change the attitudes of the community towards disability inclusion. The Crucial project also took an individual approach that ensures girls with disabilities are assessed and receive the support they need to go to school by providing assistive devices, dignity kits, educational materials and transport.

Main activities

• Training headteachers and teachers on inclusive pedagogy and practices and school management boards on inclusive education.
• Developing literacy and numeracy learning materials adapted for children with disabilities.
• Establishing 50 school-based inclusion teams.
• Establishing Child-to-Child Clubs to improve social inclusion and life skills training for children with and without disabilities.
• Establishing parent support groups and group income generation activities were developed for parents to support their children with a disabilities’ education.
• Working with key government ministries to ensure that the project contributes to the government’s agenda including a comprehensive Inclusive Education Policy.
• Conducting health and learning assessments and provided the individual support needed to girls (for example material support) as well as psycho-social support.

The project in numbers

Lessons learned

Improving teachers’ capacity to implement inclusive practices can only be fully realised if structural barriers are also addressed. It may not be realistic for a teacher to implement inclusive education strategies without also working to reduce wider barriers such as high pupil/teacher ratios and performance reviews which do not examine differentiated teaching and assessments.

Using a human rights approach supports inclusive education. It is important so shift away from the charity approach to disability, as well as one based on ‘ableism’ (with the assumption that able-bodied children are ‘normal’). This shift needs be reinforced at all levels, particularly in respect of teacher training, so that learners with disabilities are empowered and feel capable and affirmed for who they are.

A multi-pronged approach is needed to support girls transitions which includes protection and sexual and reproductive health education. Advocacy in support of safeguarding children (especially girls) with disabilities to reduce the risk of sexual violence and teenage pregnancy needs to go beyond schools and target the wider community. At the same time, there is a need to strengthen sexual and reproductive health messaging for girls with disabilities to prevent early pregnancy and dropping out of school.

Leonard Cheshire: https://www.leonardcheshire.org/