Inclusion The Gender Divide Free Essay Example, 3500 words

Finding the optimal balance between adapting teaching and curriculum overall so it suits all learners and accommodating to individual differences through differences in teaching when overall adaptations are not enough. (Norwich 1994 p. 304) This paper focuses on the inequality, in terms of inclusion, due to gender difference. This is an area of concern even for the developed countries since the girl child is generally considered to be the one responsible for keeping house while the men go out to work and provide for the family. Girls are seen as not being capable of undertaking studies in particular areas like mathematics, and in mixed classes they get a lower treatment as compared with boys. Inclusion – Legislative Background Segregation of students based on their disabilities or special educational needs (SEN) is widely understood to be against their rights and different policy guidelines, and laws have been laid down to ensure that such segregation does not take place. Statistics indicate that these are having some effect in the UK (Statistics of Education: Special Educational Needs in England, January 2001, DfES). The right to education is guaranteed by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1948.We will write a custom essay sample on Inclusion: The Gender Divide or any topic specifically for you Only $17.96 $11.86/pageorder now This right was reaffirmed in the 1990 World Conference on ‘Education for All’ and the concept extended to cover every individual regardless of person to person differences. The 1993 United Nations ‘Standard Rules on Equalisation of Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities’ urged all countries to ensure that the education of persons with special educational needs (SEN) be integrated into the mainstream. In 1994 the international conference held in Salamanca, Spain under the aegis of UNESCO adopted a resolution that laid the foundation for inclusion in education and defined the concept of ‘‘schools for all’ – institutions which include everybody, celebrate differences, support learning, and respond to individual needs’ (Salamanca, 1994). The UN Convention on the ‘Rights of the Child’ (1989), clearly spelt out that all rights shall apply to all children without discrimination on any grounds including disability (Article 2) and recommended that education be designed in a way that is conducive for the child ‘achieving the fullest possible social integration’ (Article 23). Rule 6 of the UN ‘Standard Rules on the Equalisation of Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities’ (1993) clearly encouraged countries to make education of persons with disabilities an integral part of the system.