Global Education Diplomacy and Inclusion in Developing Countries: Lessons From West Africa

Abstract

Improving education equity and quality is a major focus of global developmental movements. Within that overarching goal, educators and advocates around the world are working to ensure children with special needs receive a quality education. For many, this means pursuing programs of inclusion. The author of this article uses the tools of education diplomacy being shaped by the Association for Childhood Education International to discuss the influence of local religious and cultural practices on the education of children with disabilities, the dominant models of disability, and the differences in conceptualizing inclusive education across the world. The article highlights the need to take an approach informed by education diplomacy when advocates of inclusive education seek to collaborate with various stakeholders in the fields of early education and special needs education.