Wednesday, 7 September 2016

Education matters

School talk: introducing disabilities to classrooms and friends
Kelle Hampton, Enjoying the Small Things, 31 August 2016
... the instant welcome to friendship in the first week of school hugged that little part of me – the part that dramatically played out the entire story of her life when she was born, and worried if she’d have friends or be invited to parties or feel part of the group ...

UN Committee clarifies right to inclusive education
Catia Malaquias, Starting with Julius, 29 August 2016
...The Australian Government has endeavoured to discharge its obligations under Article 24 of the (Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities) CRPD by imposing obligations on education providers (including private providers) to comply with the Disability Discrimination Act 1992(Cth) and the Disability Standards for Education 2005 made under it.

There has been significant ambiguity as to what is meant by “inclusive education” and that ambiguity has complicated efforts to implement inclusive education systems.

The purpose of General Comment No. 4 is to provide Governments with guidance on the scope of their obligation to provide quality inclusive education for people with disability ...


Choosing Sides On School Inclusion Jillian Benfield, Huffington Post, 21 August 2016
Special education should be a service for children, not a place they are sent.

Before the ‘70s, children with disabilities had very few rights in the public education system. In many cases, they were not educated at all or attended separate schools. As laws were implemented, children started attending their neighborhood schools, but in separate classrooms isolated from their typical peers. This is often still the case today. Now it’s time move past this outdated method and move forward into inclusion ...


Presenting the big idea for all: universal design for learning (UDL) - practical tips for teachers (No. 4, Part C)
Robert Jackson and Catia Malaquias, Starting with Julius, 3 September 2016
Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is based upon an idea that was originally applied in architecture – that it is more efficient and effective for a building to be “universally designed” from the outset so that it can used by all people, to the greatest extent possible – rather than the building being designed for the “average” user, and subsequently adjusted or modified in design to cater for other users ... In education, teachers know all too well that all students are different and that they learn differently – this fact is recognized by the learning sciences, including cognitive neuroscience, which underlies the Universal Design for Learning framework ...

Interview: Alastair McEwin, Disability Discrimination Commissioner
Matt Wordsworth, Lateline (ABC TV), 1 September 2016
Matt Wordsworth speaks with Alastair McEwin, who's calling for more learning institutions to include people with disabilities ...

Report from weekend reading viewing, in case you missed it:
  • Replay of the segment is embedded  here 
  • Lateline 1 September 2016 on ABC iView until 15 September 2016
And a new development in the Uni 2 Beyond program, announced yesterday

Centre for Disability Studies, 6 September 2016
Young people with intellectual disabilities will be embedded as paid interns in two leading Australian organisations, including the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA), as part of an innovative new program at the University of Sydney ... 

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