Looking briefly back to the status of pupils with special education needs, the status can be noticed as:
It can, to a certain extent, be frustrating due to lack of literature and rapid change in decision –making in relation to education in general and special education in particular (Gaad, 2010, p. 3).
The two main factors that have delayed the serious concern of including the pupils with special needs in Kuwait are twofold. Firstly, one reason is due to the fact that the government of Kuwait has been changed seven times since 2006 (Katzman, 2012). As a result, the agendas of the Ministry of Education have been changed to meet the demands of national interests, which in turn have affected the approach of inclusion. Secondly, the scarcity of proper research and application has ended up with the misunderstanding of what inclusion is. Schools’ administrators, teachers, and mainstream pupils believe that including pupils with special needs will not help them to be effective members in the school’s life (Alseed, 2003).
The private school sector started the mainstreaming of pupils with special needs much earlier than the public schools. Within the last decade, specialized school programmes
60 have started up: Fawzia Sultan School, Dasman Model School, Hope School, Creative Children International School, and Ideal Education School which are designed for young people with learning difficulties, hearing and sight impairment, physical disabilities, as well as other multiple disabilities. The Government of Kuwait has been, at last, influenced by the progress made by private schools and programmes designed for pupils with disabilities and they have committed themselves to change to benefit this section of society. As Kuwait moves towards inclusion, the Ministry of Education needs competence and knowledge about various disabilities and strategies for instruction that will permit true inclusion. Gaad also commented on the positive governmental move as she stated:
Government legislation, policy, provision, and schemes illustrate that nations have good intentions and are committed to the rights of the person with disabilities (Gaad, 2011, p. 94-95).
Relying too much on foreign educators, like many privately run mainstream and
special education facilities in Kuwait, can bring its own set of problems. Bazna and
Reid (2009), in their study, highlight the dangers of relying primarily on Western teachers and administrators to teach the local, Arab pupils. These pupils are often presented with a predominantly Western curriculum, from a Western-teacher’s perspective, at the expense of their own culture and religion.
In addition, speech and physio therapists, as well as school psychologists, are often Western influenced by an English-language system of diagnosis and instruction, not sufficiently modified to suit local, cultural differences and needs of pupils with disabilities (p. 3). The authors also cited Ferri and Connor (2006), who describe the mistake Kuwaiti professionals and school investors make, as well as the Western
61 educators employed in their institutions, of assuming that learning disabilities are generalised on a scientific basis and therefore are unaffected by the cultural environment (p. 5).
In the recent past, parents who sought, and could afford, to have their child assessed formally for learning and other disabilities used private evaluation centres, relying on well-known diagnostic techniques, developed in the West but basically unfamiliar to many locals (p. 7). By equipping local teachers with more skills and understanding of potential pupils’ disabilities and needs, the pupils themselves can thus benefit from an educator who has a more deep-rooted understanding of Islam and Islamic laws, as well as collective cultural and social practices that prevail.
Gaad (2011) also wrote about a hindering range of other missing factors, essential for successful inclusion in the Gulf region, particularly: teacher and classroom assistant training, peer awareness, as well as a lack of societal and professional knowledge and awareness about issues related to disability (p. 86). These missing factors have worked against inclusion in the Gulf region, over many years. Some parents continue to have numerous concerns about their children, who can function within a normal, mainstream classroom setting, being impeded by having special pupils in the classroom. Teachers may also feel undue stress and unprepared to deal with pupils of significantly varying abilities and challenges than they are used to. This, in turn could cause them to focus their attention on meeting the challenges for pupils with disabilities, at the expense of time with other pupils.
The placement of pupils with disabilities follows three steps, according to the Ministry of Education. Doctors from the Ministry of Health perform a series of
62 medical tests to determine a diagnosis of the child’s disability (Ministry of Education, 2004). The purpose of the entire assessment is to determine not only disabilities, but to also delineate strengths so ultimately a development plan may be established for every child with special needs. Psychologists carry out psychosocial tests next to determine the psychological status of the child and to analyse the effect his or her social circumstances have on educational progress. The psychologists, medical doctors and special education teachers then meet and discuss the results in order to make decisions regarding the most appropriate placement for the pupil. The process is extensive and thorough and takes longer for more serious disabilities (Ministry of Education, 2002).
Finally, the special education teachers who may have had contact with the child conduct an evaluation based on diagnostic batteries which assess the pupil’s educational progress, physical abilities, emotional status, and ability to interact with peers. Teacher input at this point is essential since they spend a great deal of time with pupils in an educational setting. Teacher observations of the pupils’ interactions with peers enables them to judge responses, behaviours and achievements and abilities to help the team decide whether and to what extent, the child has a disability.
Thus, special placement decisions are made by medical, psychological and educational specialists. If the child is found to be medically, physically, biologically disabled, he or she is automatically placed in a special education programme. The results of the psychosocial and educational evaluations determine the extent to which the child will receive special education services (Ministry of Education, 2004). Since a great deal of action has not been taken in mainstream schools towards inclusion, it
63 should be noted at the decision makers are focusing on further strengthening special schools provision instead of developing inclusion of these pupils into mainstream schools.
2.7 Conclusion
During the last few decades, life in Kuwait, particularly in its economic and social aspects, has undergone great changes. One of the greatest changes has been in the field of education. Kuwait showed great interest in education because it saw the foundation of the country’s political, economic and social progress. In this chapter, the history of formal education in Kuwait and the role of the government have been briefly outlined. This chapter describes the current organizational pattern and the educational development of schools in the State of Kuwait to meet the needs of Kuwaiti society through educational planning.
At the same time, special schools have been widely used by politicians for their own benefits. This, coupled with the other difficulties associated with special school, has led the government to pay attention towards special school. These difficulties guided more attention towards the needs and services for the special schools. However, they also initiated the question of inclusion in education which needs to be introduced through the proper teaching skills and technology specific to meeting special education needs.
Advanced first world countries kept progressing and improving the quality of inclusion and the associated services and encouraged projects and studies which may introduce new notions to mainstreaming pupils with disabilities. During the 21st
64 century, inclusion has grown in sophistication. Inclusion helps to find better means of education for both pupils with disabilities and to their families. Moreover, it is to the advantage of the society.
The next chapter provides an overview of the issues that were found in the literature more specifically related to the thesis research questions. The following chapter will also present an overview of the types of disabilities and the attitudes of teachers and head teachers towards inclusion. This study examines importance of teacher/head teachers and educational variables that can impact the efficacy of mainstreaming.
65
CHAPTER THREE: EXPLORING THE RELATED
LITERATURE ON INCLUSION
3.1 Introduction
The need to introduce pupils with the disabilities into mainstream schools has been a goal in Kuwait and has been studied by the government (Al-Albaan and Al- Mmosalam, 2001). Although a great deal of research, thought and effort have been dedicated in the past to address this issue in other countries, and though at every step some progress was made, there remains a great deal more work to be done in order to solve this equity/excellence dilemma. Lupart (2008) reviews the state of the excellence/ equity debate, by saying, it has been considered in separate academic compartments mirroring the segregation of special needs pupils in the mainstream schools. Often the teachers of mainstream schools have the primary goal of excellence in education, as this is the reason for their support of reform, whereas the proponents of inclusion working in the area of special educational needs have equity as the primary goal. Many overlook the idea that both can be achieved at the same time. Inclusion actually needs excellence as inclusion without excellence in educational practice is bound to fail. The debate of equity and excellence is evidence of the importance of inclusion. In the Kuwaiti context, the fact is that inclusion is a new concept. The two main debatable concepts (equity and excellence) are not highly discussed by the decision makers since the inclusion is still at the early stages.
In the previous chapter an historical overview of the myriad political, social, cultural and religious influences on Kuwait’s mainstream and special school systems was
66 presented in order to establish a context for the timeliness of effectively implementing educational inclusion programs in Kuwait now (Ministry of Education, 2002).
This chapter will now provide a review of literature, the purpose of this which is to examine and analyze related research so that this study may contribute to the existing knowledge about effective implementation of inclusion
Several notable patterns emerged regarding the types of studies undertaken on inclusion in general and educators’ attitudes in particular. These included: (1) general views on the issue of inclusion; (2) the educators’ emphasis on the institutional improvement, the education of educators as regards their role in the successful implementation of inclusion and the role of family in this process; (3) programmes and initiatives aimed at linking pupils with disabilities and mainstream pupils and facilitating mainstream education for the them; (4) the nature of the disability (emotional and behavioural disorder, mental disability, physical disabilities and learning difficulties) and the degree to which its severity plays a role in successful inclusion; and (5) other key factors contributing to the difficulty of implementing inclusion, for example, the impact of cultural perceptions. For the purposes of this literature review, I will look at the associative factors influencing my research questions and will try to find links and clarifications to these research questions.
The objective of this literature review was to explore the subject of inclusion and teachers’ and head teachers’ attitudes. An attempt was made to collect as much information as possible from international sources. As Kuwait is still in the early stages of studying and implementing the inclusion process, it was important to look at
67 the broader international progress of the movement. It was assumed that the work done on inclusion of the pupil with disabilities in countries such as the United States, Great Britain and Canada would provide inspiration to work on inclusion in countries still developing concepts and policies in this area of education, such as Kuwait. Looking at countries in the midst of development or for whom inclusion is a new issue was of interest, in the sense that they are able to benefit from the experience of the aforementioned nations.
It was deemed necessary to travel to Bahrain to obtain local research material (specific to the Gulf region), which was not available anywhere else. Travel to Bahrain was necessary because inclusion is a new concept in Kuwait, and little research has been done in Kuwait in this area. Bahrain has an extensive library, so I travelled there hoping to find studies on inclusion in the Gulf region.