Most countries view education as the key to improvements in quality of life for their citizens and a prerequisite for participation in econ...
Most countries view education as the key to improvements in
quality of life for their citizens and a prerequisite for participation in
economic and social activities. Education is especially important for
individuals with disabilities who, for numerous reasons, lack opportunities to
improve the quality of their lives and their economic level.
There has been a consistent drumbeat by nations and
governmental and nongovernmental organizations which echo the importance of
equity for all persons, including individuals with disabilities. In 1994, the
UNESCO Salamanca Statement affirmed the basic right to education for all
individuals and requested that countries endorse and implement inclusive
schools. Offering inclusive schooling means that all children and youth,
regardless of their physical, intellectual, social, emotional, linguistic or
other conditions be educated in the schools which they would typically attend
if they did not have disabilities (Retrieved 20 March 2009 from http://www.unesco.org).
The vision of inclusion is built on beliefs about social
justice. Social justice means that every person should be treated fairly,
impartially, and benefit from society. Everyone is entitled to shelter, basic
necessities, opportunities and the elimination of unjust inequalities.
Inclusion of individuals with disabilities in all aspects of society is
grounded in social justice. Social justice, equity, respect, and dignity are
basic rights for all individuals, regardless of disability, race, ethnicity, gender,
culture, religion, age, and economic level.
The UN considers persons with disabilities as those “who
have long-term physical, mental, intellectual or sensory impairments which, in
interaction with various attitudinal and environmental barriers, hinder their
full and effective participation in society on an equal basis with others”
(Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, 2006). Comparisons
regarding the prevalence of individuals with disabilities in various countries
is difficult for a variety of reasons including: nonuniform reporting
requirements and data collection processes, varying definitions, selective
reporting, societal marginalization, social exclusion due to economic level or
perceived status in the society, geographic isolation, religious prohibitions,
and cultural views (Filmer, 2008; Singal, 2008). Some countries include visual,
hearing, speech, physical and mental disabilities while others have narrower
definitions, such as a single category for physical and mental disabilities.
Frequently, children with disabilities are socially
marginalized and are less likely to attend school and acquire the skills and
knowledge that lead to higher income. For individuals with disabilities, lack
of access to education and economic opportunities lead to enormous inequalities
and inequities. In developing countries the school enrolment gap between
children with and without disabilities widens as children progress from one
grade to the next (Filmer, 2008).
Educational inequities for students with disabilities are
pervasive throughout Asia and the Pacific region. Approximately 500 to 650
million people who have significant disabilities live on our planet. According
to the World Health Organization (WHO), approximately 10 per cent, 200 million,
of the world‟s children and youth, have sensory, intellectual or mental health
disabilities, with eighty percent of these individuals living in developing
countries. Asia is the most populated region on the globe and, thus, has the
largest number of individuals with disabilities. According to the United
Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP),
estimates that there are approximately 400 million persons with disabilities
who live in the Asian and Pacific region (Retrieved 20 March 2009 from Figure 2
Elements of Social Justice 9 9 http://www.unescap.org/esid/psis/disability; UN
Innocenti Research Center, 2007).
Frequently, families may need to spend more time caring for
the individual, incur additional costs to pay for medical and other types of
care, and may be ostracized or feel disgraced in the society in which they
live. Individuals with disabilities and their families may have altered
perspectives of the place of individuals with disabilities and their families
in society (Retrieved 9 October 2009 from http://www.unesco.org Address of
Amadou-Mahtar M‟Bow, Director-General of UNESCO). Inclusion of individuals with
disabilities happens when society treats them as full members of their
communities. Everyone must contribute to the collective effort to include
persons with disabilities in all aspects of society.
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