Disability Inclusive Education in Emergencies

Six different images include: a women instructing a class outdoors, a young child writing on paper, a student pointing to a chalkboard, a young boy inspects an item in his hands, a young child claps, a women works with two children on an assignment.

Guide for Government, NGOs, International Agencies

The Inter-Agency Network for Education in Emergencies (INEE) Task Team on Inclusive Education and Disability has developed a Pocket Guide to Inclusive Education, entitled Education in Emergencies: Including Everyone. The booklet guides users in making educational services during during conflicts, disasters, or other humanitarian emergencies accessible for everyone. It is targeted at governments, non-governmental agencies, international agencies, and others who provide, manage, or support education services in emergencies.

The INEE Pocket Guide:

  • Outlines useful principles for inclusive emergency education
  • Guides users in considering strategies for overcoming challenges to disability inclusive education
  • In the annexes, provides further advice and sample materials for use with stakeholders
  • In the resource section, provides an extensive listing of further resources on disability inclusive education

The booklet is meant to supplement the INEE Minimum Standards for Education in Emergencies, Chronic Crises, and Early Reconstruction (INEE Minimum Standards).

Guide for Teachers and Others Working Directly with Students

Another INEE publication, Pocket Guide to Supporting Learners with Disabilities, is a guide for teachers, teacher trainers, school supervisors, non-government organization advisers or managers. It outlines some of the common challenges that young learners with disabilities may face in pursuing an education before, during, or after emergencies. This publication provides advice on how teachers can overcome constraints in their environment in order to be more inclusive of students with disabilities. Some of the advice is most appropriate for people with extensive teaching experience, but some of the advice also can be used by new or less confident teachers and volunteers.

The guide discusses issues such as:

  • Helping children with disabilities get to and from school
  • How to recognize when youth need more support to learn
  • How to plan and deliver learning activities so students with disabilities can participate

It also addresses common arguments people use to oppose the inclusion of young learners with disabilities and how to remove some of the common barriers to inclusion. The resource section helps users find more tools and resources related to disability inclusive education. Although primarily written with emergency or crisis situations in mind, some of the advice may also be appropriate in non-emergency conditions.