Tracing the lineage of international inclusive education practices in Kenya

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this article is to trace the academic lineage of models of inclusive education in Kenya, as some large international development organisations look to the region as a guide for disability inclusive education programs and projects. With the current focus on developing sustainable inclusive education systems in low-resourced countries in the global South, it is critical to situate this work within the constellation of inclusive education research that came from scholars, from both the global North and South, collaborating in Kenya. In this article, we highlight Kenya as a leader in inclusive education in low-resourced contexts, and we cite recent policies, laws, and research that make this disability inclusive development work innovative and progressive. Specifically, we describe foundational inclusive education teacher training modules and provide appendices with steps for how we applied this work to schools in rural western Kenya.

KEYWORDS:

• Inclusion
• teacher training
• Kenya
• inclusive practices
• critical disability studies (CDS)

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank our mentors at Syracuse University and our colleagues in western Kenya without whom this work would not be possible. We owe a debt of gratitude to the Kenyan Ministry of Education, as well as the stakeholders on our inclusion committees who were so generous with their time and expertise. We hope the rest of the world appreciates your creative approaches to inclusive education as much as we do.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 Following independence, post-colonial governments around the world were established to benefit Northern governments more than indigenous populations. To address these realities, we avoid terms like ‘developing countries’ and use terms like ‘under-developed’ and ‘low-resourced’ countries to acknowledge the purposeful underdevelopment of Southern countries by Northern powers (Hall 1990; Mwaura 2005).

2 We use terms like ‘Southern countries’ and ‘global South’ to reference countries that have been colonised (i.e. much of Africa, the Americas, Asia, and Australia). We also use the term ‘Northern countries’ and ‘global North’ when we reference countries with colonising histories (e.g. United States, the United Kingdom, countries in western Europe, Japan).

3 In education, the term 'professional learning community' describes a collegial group of administrators and school staff who are united in their commitment to student learning (Henderson 2008). This definition of a PLC describes the expressed and demonstrated commitment of the original Kenyan teacher participants in these modules.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Michelle L. Damiani

Dr. Michelle L. Damiani is an Assistant Professor of Inclusive Education at Rowan University in the Interdisciplinary and Inclusive Education Department. Her research focuses on understanding the experiences of educators with disabilities, as well as, developing sustaining inclusive education practices in schools in the United States and internationally.

Brent C. Elder

Dr. Brent C. Elder is an Assistant Professor of Special Education at Rowan University in the Interdisciplinary and Inclusive Education Department. His research and practice focuses on the development of sustainable inclusive education practices in under-resourced schools in the United States and low-and middle-income countries around the world.

Benson O. Oswago

Benson O. Oswago is a Curriculum Support Officer for Special Needs Education with the Teachers Service Commission-Kenya in charge of Homa Bay County. He is completing his Masters in Special Education at Tom Mboya University College. He holds a B.A. in Special Education and Counselling from The Kenya Methodist University. He also holds diplomas in Special Education from the Kenya Institute of Special Education and in Social Work and Welfare from the Kenya Institute of Social Work and Community Development. He has wide experience in teaching and global citizenship and focuses his work on the development of sustainable inclusive practices in rural western Kenya.