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Inclusion and education: All means all. Global Education Monitoring (GEM) report 2020

GLOBAL EDUCATION MONITORING REPORT TEAM
June 2020

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The 2020 GEM Report assesses progress towards Sustainable Development Goal 4 (SDG 4) on education and its ten targets, as well as other related education targets in the SDG agenda. The Report also addresses inclusion in education, drawing attention to all those excluded from education, because of background or ability. The Report is motivated by the explicit reference to inclusion in the 2015 Incheon Declaration, and the call to ensure an inclusive and equitable quality education in the formulation of SDG 4, the global goal for education. It reminds us that, no matter what argument may be built to the contrary, we have a moral imperative to ensure every child has a right to an appropriate education of high quality.

The Report also explores the challenges holding us back from achieving this vision and demonstrates concrete policy examples from countries managing to tackle them with success. These include differing understandings of the word inclusion, lack of teacher support, absence of data on those excluded from education, inappropriate infrastructure, persistence of parallel systems and special schools, lack of political will and community support, untargeted finance, uncoordinated governance, multiple but inconsistent laws, and policies that are not being followed through.

COVID-19 Disability Rights Monitor

2020

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Evidence is emerging that persons with disabilities are being disproportionately affected by the Coronavirus pandemic and emergency measures being taken by governments worldwide. As governments rush to respond to the virus, it is more critical than ever to guarantee that measures taken are fully inclusive of persons with disabilities and prevent human rights violations from taking place.

 

With the endorsements of the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Right to Health, Mr Dainius Pūras, and the UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, Ms Catalina Devandas Aguilar, a coalition of six disability rights organisations is today launching a major international monitoring initiative entitled “COVID-19 Disability Rights Monitor” to conduct rapid independent monitoring of state measures concerning persons with disabilities. The first element of this global initiative is the launch of two surveys requesting official information from governments and requesting the testimonies of persons with disabilities and their representative organisations. The surveys aim to collect information about what states are doing to protect core rights of persons with disabilities including the rights to life, access to health and essential services.

Gender Assessment Tool

ADD International
January 2020

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This Gender Assessment Tool has been developed by ADD, based on existing good practice in the development sector, to support capacity building with DPOs in the following ways:

  • To support discussion/ awareness raising of gender issues and practical action which can be taken to promote gender inclusion
  • To analyse gender inclusion issues and practice within the organisation in a systematic way
  • To identify specific areas for improvement on gender inclusion
  • To identify CB support needed from ADD/other sources to address the issues raised
  • To track progress on gender inclusion over time

NB: this tool replaces previous versions and has been updated based on input and discussion at the global MEL meeting in July 2016.

 

The opinions expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the UK government or members of the Inclusion Works consortium.

Aid out of reach: A review of the access to humanitarian aid for women and men, girls and boys with disabilities affected by Cyclone Idai, Mozambique

BAART, Judith
WESTER, Mirian
2019

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The objective of this study is to generate empirical evidence on the barriers to accessing aid for women and men, girls and boys with disabilities in a post-Cyclone Idai context. By doing so, it also seeks to contribute to policy development for an inclusive humanitarian response in Mozambique

The research followed a qualitative design, using interviews and focus group discussions followed by inductive analysis to reveal dominant themes and stories. Data was collected in 30 in-depth interviews with women and men, girls and boys with disabilities and/or caregivers in communities (Beira), as well as in resettlement sites (Dondo).

Three Circles Tool - organisational capacity assessment & planning tool

ADD International
April 2019

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This tool has been developed by ADD International for use with partner DPOs, based on existing good practice in the development sector. It was developed with input from MEL staff across the organisation in July 2016, based on ADD’s long experience of organisational capacity building practice with DPOs , and was then piloted with DPOs before being finalised. It replaces the Five Core Capabilities tool which we have previously adapted for use within ADD International’s programmes. The key elements of the Five Core Capabilities tool have here been incorporated into a simpler model with three main categories – the three circles – and includes a system for identifying progress against specific plans within each capacity area by exploring a total of 23 different aspects of capacity within these three broad areas. The three circles tool supports organisational capacity building in the following ways:

  • To support discussion and learning within partner DPOs on the key aspects of organisational capacity,
  • To analyse gaps and weaknesses in organisational capacity, and to identify and prioritise practical action needed to address these,
  • To identify specific organisational capacity building support needed from ADD/other sources to address the issues raised,
  • To track progress on strengthening organisational capacity over time.

The opinions expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the UK government or members of the Inclusion Works consortium.

Kinect4FOG: monitoring and improving mobility in people with Parkinson’s using a novel system incorporating the Microsoft Kinect v2

AMINI, Amin
BANITSAS, Konstantinos
YOUNG, William R
2018

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Parkinson’s is a neurodegenerative condition associated with several motor symptoms including tremors and slowness of movement. Freezing of gait (FOG); the sensation of one’s feet being “glued” to the floor, is one of the most debilitating symptoms associated with advanced Parkinson’s. FOG not only contributes to falls and related injuries, but also compromises quality of life as people often avoid engaging in functional daily activities both inside and outside the home. In the current study, we describe a novel system designed to detect FOG and falling in people with Parkinson’s (PwP) as well as monitoring and improving their mobility using laser-based visual cues cast by an automated laser system. The system utilizes a RGB-D sensor based on Microsoft Kinect v2 and a laser casting system consisting of two servo motors and an Arduino microcontroller. This system was evaluated by 15 PwP with FOG. Here, we present details of the system along with a summary of feedback provided by PwP. Despite limitations regarding its outdoor use, feedback was very positive in terms of domestic usability and convenience, where 12/15 PwP showed interest in installing and using the system at their homes.

Part 2: The feasibility of utilising photovoice method and the World Health Organization Quality of Life instrument in evaluating the Community-Based Rehabilitation programme in Namibia: A pilot study

SHUMBA, Tonderai W.
MOODLEY, Indres
2018

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Background: Evaluation of Community-Based Rehabilitation (CBR) programmes in Namibia has been primarily quantitative, focusing mainly on outputs, including numbers of persons with disabilities served, referrals made and activities implemented. Little or no evidence is available on experiences and quality of life of persons with disabilities, despite the CBR programme being operational for more than 20 years. The 2011 World Report on Disability recommended the use of appropriate tools to fill the research gap by integrating the experiences of persons with disabilities and their quality of life.

 

Objectives: The overall objective of the larger cohort study is to develop a monitoring and evaluation tool that can measure and integrate the experiences of persons with disabilities and their quality of life within the context of the CBR Programme in Namibia.

 

Method: An adapted photovoice process was conducted with six purposively selected participants over a period of 1 month. The World Health Organization Community-Based Rehabilitation (WHO CBR) Matrix was used to identify the themes and subthemes. Participants were requested to complete the World Health Organization Quality of Life (abbreviated version) (WHOQOL-BREF) instrument at the end of the photovoice process to determine their quality of life.

 

Results: Administering the WHOQOL-BREF instrument at the end of the photovoice process measured both the quality of life of persons with disabilities and at the same time indicated the convergence and divergence in the two data collection methods. The study demonstrated a stronger convergence than divergence of the two methods. A feasibility criterion was mapped for future studies.

 

Conclusion: This study demonstrated that photovoice is a flexible method that can be used with a variety of disabilities and has the potential of being combined with the WHOQOL-BREF assessment form. A larger cohort study may consider implementing photovoice and WHOQOL-BREF on multiple study sites and be able to compare results, considering geographical and demographic variables. The feasibility of utilising each method alone and in combination offered valuable insights on future conceptual framing of CBR programme evaluation. This conceptual framing will allow CBR practitioners to appreciate how these two methods contribute to a rigorous process of CBR programme evaluation.

An Online Survey on Identification of Evaluation Capacity, Needs and Current Practice of Programme Evaluation in Community-based Rehabilitation

WEBER, Joerg
POLACK, Sarah
HARTLEY, Sally
2016

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Purpose: Evaluation of Community-based Rehabilitation (CBR) is important for developing good practice and providing a foundation for evidence of efficacy of practice. Since not much is known about the extent to which monitoring and evaluation (M&E) are carried out within CBR programmes, this study aimed to enhance knowledge by focussing on current M&E activities, the need and capacity of programmes to conduct evaluations and the challenges experienced. 

 

Method: An online survey of 15 questions was developed, field-tested and sent out to 236 CBR managers in Africa, Asia and Latin America.  

 

Results: The majority (86%) of the respondents indicated that their programmes had been evaluated in the past.While this was mainly done by international donors (87%), only around half of the respondents reported programme participants as the main audience. Just over half of the programmes (54%) included people with disabilities, their families and community members in evaluation processes. Insufficient financial resources were considered the most important challenge to conduct evaluation, particularly in the African region and among smaller programmes. The complexity of CBR was also indicated as an important barrier to evaluation.

 

Conclusions and Recommendations:  Although evaluations have been widely implemented in CBR programmes, many of them are not locally owned, and people with disabilities and their families are often not included in evaluation processes. The issues of limited financial resources and CBR complexity reflect current discussions in other areas of mainstream development. It is therefore recommended that models for evaluation in CBR should learn from, and be embedded in, ongoing developments in mainstream evaluation in international developm

Participatory Monitoring of Community-Based Rehabilitation and other Disability- Inclusive Development Programmes: the Development of a Manual and Menu

Madden, Rosamond H
et al
2016

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Purpose: This paper describes a three-year research project leading to the development of the CBR Monitoring Manual and Menu (MM&M). The MM&M is a practical toolkit that meets the needs of CBR managers and stakeholders, and is consistent with the philosophy of CBR and community- based disability-inclusive development. It is designed to produce meaningful and locally useful information and data, based on international data standards where possible, to enable aggregation at regional, national and international levels.

 

Methods: Five complementary workstreams of research were carried out from 2011 to 2014: 1) literature review and analysis; 2) participatory action research with CBR stakeholders; 3) analysis and refinement of validity of concepts andstructures; 4) consultation and review; and 5) synthesis of results. This article documents the method and key results of each of the five workstreams, and the lessons learned along the way.

 

Results: The MM&M is now freely available on-line at thttp://sydney.edu. au/health-sciences/cdrp/projects/cbr-monitoring.shtml. Collaboration among members of the development team continues, chiefly via an on-line group to which new members have been welcomed.

 

Conclusion and Implications: At the time of writing, the MM&M is the only international monitoring product, known to the authors, that consciously sets out to reflect both a ‘bottom- up’ and ‘top-down’ perspective of monitoring information and data.To achieve this for a complex programme such as CBR, and to align with its principles, it was essential to use a multi-component and multi-stage strategy for tool development, involving a diverse multidisciplinary team including collaboration with CBR stakeholders.

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