Department of Education Order (DO) no. 21 s.
2019, and in teacher quality
through the national adoption and implementation of the Philippine
Professional Standards for Teachers (PPST) or DO 42, s.2017, teachers are
now expected to act as a major implementers of inclusive education.
As a beginning teacher, your performance appraisals will be based on this
set of standards and among its seven domains, the third is devoted to
Diversity of Learners where its emphasis is on the central role of teachers to
establish environments responsive to learner diversity.
Is Inclusive education the same as special education?
• In what ways are the two terms similar or different ?
A definition of inclusive education that broadly satisfies the criteria of most
standards in the educational fields comes from the United Nations
Educational , Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
According to UNESCO:
Inclusive Education (IE)-is about putting the right to education into action
by including all learners, respecting their diverse needs, abilities and
characteristics and eliminating all forms of discrimination in the learning
environment (UNESCO , 2009)
Inclusive Education –It is the process of strengthening the capacity of the
education system to reach out to all learners. Therefore , inclusion is the
process that helps overcome barriers limiting the presence, participation,
and achievement of learners (UNESCO, 2017).
Inclusive Education is also highlighted in the recent DepEd Order 21,
s.2019, also known as Policy Guidelines on the K-12 Basic Education
Program
According to the Policy, Inclusive Education is the key standard and core
principle of the K-12 curriculum ,and as an inclusive curriculum, it is
learner-centered, developmentally appropriate, culture -sensitive,
relevant, gender-responsive , and contextualized.
With these concepts, teachers shall be considered as the primary
implementers of inclusive education as they address the diverse needs of
the learners.
According to the press release published by the Philippine Statistics Authority
(PSA) 16.7% of Filipinos are living under poverty. This means, there are 17.7
million Filipinos do not have enough income to support their family’s basic
needs. In a study from UNICEF, poverty has a major impact on the physical
and intellectual growth of a child. While according to this research, it shows
that there are children who lack interest in going to school, a major
percentage of these are due to the increasing labor participation of the youth
ages 16-17 years old, and the little expectations from education personnel
that contributes to a child’s lack of interest in education.
Inclusive education is a process that involves the active participation of
students, families, educators, and other community members in the
planning, implementation, and evaluation of educational programs and
services that meet the needs of all students. It is a way to ensure that all
students have an opportunity to learn and participate in their school
community’s life.
There are many reasons why inclusive education is important.
• Firstly, it ensures that all students have an opportunity to learn and
grow in a safe and supportive environment.
• Secondly, it prepares students for the real world by teaching them how
to work with people of all abilities.
• Finally, it helps to break down barriers between people with and
without disabilities and promotes understanding and acceptance.
The Inclusive education framework was not a new concept. The “word”
inclusion was the focus of the 1994 Salamanca Statement which was signed
by the representatives of 92 governments and 25 international organizations.
The statement affirmed education for all which promoted inclusion,
particularly for children with special educational needs (UNESCO SALAMANCA
STATEMENT, iii). Meanwhile, on May 2015, the World Education Forum held at
Incheon, Korea spearheaded by UNESCO drafted the Education 2030 Incheon
Declaration which reiterated SDG #4 — Inclusive and equitable quality
education and lifelong learning for all (UNESCO Education 2030).
The Philippines has been working on implementing various programs and
initiatives to support inclusive education. One such initiative is the “Inclusive
Education for All” program, which provides training and support to teachers,
parents, and school administrators on how to best meet the needs of all
students.
TERMS TO REMEMBER:
• Special Education (SpEd)-It refers to programs that cater to the
educational needs of learners with disabilities, giftedness, and talents
apart from their same-aged peers.
• Special Education Needs (SEN) is a term used in some countries to
refer to children with impairments that are seen as requiring additional
support (UNESCO, 2017).
• Mainstreaming is the practice of educating students with learning
challenges in regular classes, in the least restrictive environment,
based on their skills.
• Integration according to Franklin (1996) refers to the creation of spaces
such as regular classrooms, special education classrooms or pull-out services
for diverse learners. Refers to the act of bringing someone into an existing
group or system,
-A school that admits learners with disabilities and combines them
with regular pupils in the regular classroom is said to perform
integration while the classroom is called as a mainstreamed
classroom
• Inclusion classrooms are integrated classrooms between children with
disabilities and those who do not. Inclusion means creating an
environment that values and respects all individuals, regardless of
their differences.
• Exclusion classrooms are separated classrooms for general education
students and special education students with different teachers and a
different curriculum.
• Segregation- this occurs when students with disabilities are educated
in separate environments (classes or schools) designed for students
with impairments or with a particular impairment.
• LSEN-Learners with Special Educational Needs and are also referred to
as students with additional needs (SWAN), children with special
needs (CSN), students with special educational needs (SEN), or
children with special education needs and disabilities (SEND)
• IEP- Individual Educational Plan –tailored to identify and address
specific strengths and limitations towards their educational, social,
behavioral and physical development.
In the Philippines, the recent response of the government to inclusion was
the issuance of DepEd Order (DO) 21, series of 2019 by the Department of
Education (DepEd) Secretary Leonor Briones. The DO detailed the Policy
Guidelines on the K-12 Basic Education Program. Part of the policy statement
on Inclusive Education was featured in item no. 16 which states “Inclusive
education is the core principle of the K to 12 Basic Education Program. This
promotes the right of every Filipino to quality, equitable, culture based and
complete education. Through inclusive education, all Filipinos will realize
their full potential and contribute meaningfully to building the nation.” There
was also a separate Annex (5) for the Inclusive Education Policy Framework.
The Salamanca Statement also provided a guiding principle on the inclusion
framework — “school should accommodate children regardless of their
physical, intellectual, social, emotional, linguistic, or other conditions. This
should include disabled and gifted children, street and working children,
children from remote or nomadic populations, children from linguistic ethnic
or cultural minorities and children from other disadvantage or marginalized
area or group.” It was also mentioned that “children and youth with special
educational needs should be included in the educational arrangements made
for the majority of the children” (UNESCO Salamanca Statement)
Special education was part of the “inclusion” mandate of the Salamanca
Statement. The Philippines had come a long way in institutionalizing policies
on Special Education (SPED) in support, an inclusive and equitable education.
Although our journey cannot be compared to developed countries such as US
and Canada, the legislative policies for people with disabilities were in place.
