Brief description of the tool/toolkit
The ‘Training tools for curriculum development’ resource pack provides a framework to support the development of inclusive schools and classrooms. It provides guidance to support teachers on how to engage all learners.
Beneficiaries
National policymakers, curriculum specialists and developers, teachers, teacher educators, school leaders and district-level administrators.
Countries
Organisations/institutions involved in the tool/toolkit
International Bureau of Education (UNESCO)
Date of creation of toolkit and periodicity of updates
2016. No updates.
Purpose of the toolkit
The series ‘Training tools for curriculum development’ provides a comprehensive guidance to support countries’ education and curriculum reforms and development process.
The tool aims at assisting countries in promoting inclusion and fostering greater fairness through policies and practices, influencing and supporting inclusive thinking at all levels of the education system.
Detailed description of the components of the tool/toolkit
The tool is a resource pack containing 3 interconnected guides:
- Guide 1. Reviewing national policies – this guide provides a framework for reviewing national policies in order to create a policy context fostering more inclusive schools and classrooms. It comprises:
- a definition of inclusive education and what inclusive schools should aim at
- a national review framework, comprising 16 performance indicators organised around 4 overlapping dimensions (1. concepts, 2. policy, 3. structures and systems, and 4. practices) which can be used to determine the stage of development of an education system
- a set of 4 readings explaining each of the dimensions of the framework. These are summaries of international research which provide the evidence basis used to design the framework
- Guide 2. Leading inclusive school development - this guide supports head teachers and other senior staff in reviewing and developing their schools, in order to make them more inclusive. It focuses on organisational change and the role of leadership, and comprises:
- a definition of inclusive education
- 8 inclusion indicators to be used as a framework for reviewing a school (for each indicator, a set of questions is asked)
- workshop material to be used in school-based workshops, in order to encourage participants to think about their school and determine the needed changes. There is one set of material for each indicator and 3 elements for each set:
- readings summarising key ideas from international research
- accounts of practice, that is stories of schools in relation to the indicator
- issues for discussion, to encourage those in leadership positions to think about actions to support improvement efforts
- Guide 3. Developing inclusive classrooms – this guide aims at supporting teachers in developing more effective ways to engage all students in their lessons. It comprises:
- a definition of inclusive education
- 8 classroom indicators to help teachers review their own classroom practices (for each indicator, a set of questions is asked)
- workshop materials:
- readings, based on experiences and research in different parts of the world
- activities, that is ways of organising workshops for staff, proposing a step-by-step approach
- issues for discussion, to encourage the sharing of ideas
- Appendix comprising:
- a rating scale with 16 performance indicators, used to review the national development of the education system
- a rating scale to assess the school’s stage of development through 8 indicators
Type of guidance given to users
To policymakers:
- It recommends the formation of a national strategy group, encompassing different stakeholders, to review the national development on inclusive education within the education system, and score the indicators on the rating scale to identify strengths and weaknesses.
- It suggests that the readings can be used to stimulate further discussion within the group as to what actions should be recommended to address weaknesses.
- Guides 2 and 3 are provided as resources to support such actions.
To school leaders:
- It recommends using a participatory orientation, called ‘action learning’, through the creation of action learning sets, whose members work on solving problems through cycles of action and reflection.
- It recommends the lead teacher, other senior colleagues, and if possible someone from outside the school (e.g. inspector, leader of another school, university lecturer, etc.), to carry out an initial review of the school’s stage of development in relation to the 8 indicators.
- It proposes to use workshop materials in a flexible way, in order to make school more inclusive.
To teachers:
- It proposes to use Guide 3 as a basis for school-based workshops, in order to develop ideas on how to make practices more inclusive and monitor professional development.
Method and/or information used for developing the tool/toolkit
International Bureau of Education (UNESCO)
Link/s to the toolkit and further information
The toolkit is available in English in PDF format. It can be downloaded from:
Downloads
Resource pack for supporting inclusive education
Related intervention approaches
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