EENET asia Newsletters : Fourth issue June 2007 Contents

Pemisahan Sosial dan Hak atas Pendidikan Berkualitas - Beberapa Refleksi Kritis

Ensuring quality education for all continues to be challenged by growing inequality, discrimination and exclusion in many Asian societies. Social exclusion and inclusion “describe how people’s opportunities for full and meaningful participation in the main spheres of social life may be differently facilitated or blocked. These processes, in turn, contribute to unequal prospects that people have to achieve socially and economically valued resources and capacities” [Canadian Council on Social Development].

Central to the discussion of the dynamics of social inclusion and exclusion, formal education plays a complex and sometimes contradictory role. On the one hand, public education may serve as a vehicle to overcome marginalization and enhance inclusion and other spheres of social participation. On the other, education systems often seem to strengthen of socio-economic disparities, as well as other forms of discrimination based on factors such as gender, age, health, residence and minority status.

Concern for social inclusion in education has long been associated with a traditional conception of inclusive education aimed at the mainstream participation of learners with disabilities or special educational needs. While important, this group of children only represents a small percentage of marginalized and excluded learners. Many other groups of children and young people - including girls, those who are working, who have a refugee status or are displaced, those infected or affected by HIV and AIDS, those living in remote areas, those who belong to linguistic, cultural or religious minorities, and those living in situations of extreme poverty, insecurity and of conflict - continue to be excluded from quality education.

If we move beyond seeing inclusion as a special education concern, beyond seeing those to be included as those with disabilities, then we have the potential to challenge and transform far more within our schools and society. Social inclusion focuses on All learners!!
The equity gap is unacceptable and unnecessary. Socio-economic difference should never decide on the kind of education a child receives. Schools have no control on socio-economic diversity, nevertheless, schools can have a powerful impact on the educational success of all children and can greatly increase the achievement of disadvantaged or marginalized learners.

The challenge of enabling and achieving education for all is not just one of access and initial enrolment, but also of regular attendance, retention, attainment and achievement. This implies not only that disadvantaged and vulnerable groups of children and youth have equitable access to educational opportunities, but also, that equitable participation in quality education is ensured for all individual learners and groups. Moreover, a social inclusion perspective on quality education is also concerned with the need to ensure that learning opportunities contribute to effective inclusion of individuals and groups into the wider society.

Focusing on educational and social exclusion implies understanding the range of situations of exclusion that impact on the fulfillment of the right to quality education for all, identifying the barriers to participation for individuals and groups that experience discrimination, marginalization and exclusion, and sharing experiences in creative and innovative ways of overcoming these barriers. Strategies to promote and implement social inclusion include the following:

• Change the mindset of educators and policy makers: we need to move away from seeing children as being at risk towards seeing them as being at promise. We must identify and build on cultural and personal strengths and accept and support high performance of everyone. Rather than thinking in terms of remediation or compensation, we must insist on high-quality teaching-learning practices sensitive to individual student needs and respond immediately if and when learners start to fall behind.
• Start early: all children start with enthusiasm to learn and quality early child development and pre-primary programmes have an impact on primary school success, especially of those who start disadvantaged in one or another way. Socially inclusive schools can make a substantial difference in the educational success of children placed at risk if we stop the process of falling behind before it begins.
• Holistic approach: identify non-school factors that impact whether and how successfully a child will learn in school (environmental factors; family income; home language; social status; health; nutrition). Include a family support programme to help parents, families and communities to become part of children’s education.

Adapted from UNESCO workshop paper (www.ibe.unesco.org) and Mara Sapon-Shevin “Inclusion: A Matter of Social Justice” in Educational Leadership 2003, Vol. 62, no. 2.

EENET asia Newsletters : Fourth issue June 2007 Contents