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In this paper, we present a collection of decolonizing inclusive practices for elementary education that we have found effective when implementing them in postcolonial countries. The choice and implementation of such practices was informed by the intersectional and interdisciplinary theoretical framework of Critical Disability Studies (CDS) and Disability Critical Race Theory in Education (DisCrit), and guided by decolonizing methodologies and community-based participatory research (CBPR). The main purpose of this paper is to show how critical theoretical frameworks can be made accessible to practitioners through strategies that can foster a critical perspective of inclusive education in postcolonial countries. By doing so, we attempt to push back against the uncritical transfer of inclusion models into Southern countries, which further puts pressure on practitioners to imitate the Northern values of access, acceptance, participation, and academic achievement (Werning et al., 2016). Finally, we hope to start an international dialogue with practitioners, families, researchers, and communities committed to inclusive education in postcolonial countries to critically analyze the application of the strategies illustrated here, and to continue decolonizing contemporary notions of inclusive education.

Disability & the Global South (DGS), 2020, Vol. 7 No. 1

Given that UNHCR is one of the signatories of the Grand Bargain, the agency’s Needs Assessment Handbook and its accompanying online Needs Assessment Toolkit provide guidance on how to accomplish these objectives.

The Handbook is structured in two parts. The first, which is recommended for all audiences defines need assessments and their different types; describes coordination modalities; outlines the roles and responsibilities of different actors in refugee situations, IDP situations, and mixed situations; provides an overview of the steps to conduct needs assessments and the principles that should guide them; and explains the relationship between needs assessments and other information systems. The second part of the Handbook provides detailed practical guidance on how to conduct needs assessments in the field. It can be used as a reference text, with readers referring to specific steps and sections as needed based on their role in the operation or the needs assessment, and the type of situation.

This handbook presents a new participatory approach to impact evaluation of Community Based Rehabilitation and inclusive development programmes focussing on the lives and wellbeing of people with disabilities

Note: tools and appendices are available

While humanitarian organizations are increasingly recognizing women and girls with disabilities in policies and guidelines, there are still significant gaps in operationalizing this. Their needs and capacities are often under-represented in gender, protection and disability forums. Furthermore, organizations of women with disabilities, which can play a critical role in bridging the development/humanitarian divide, are not meaningfully included in humanitarian coordination and decision-making.

This report documents findings and recommendations from a participatory action research project on disability inclusion in GBV programming in humanitarian settings, conducted with communities affected by crisis and conflict.

This toolkit was created with the input and participation of persons with disabilities, as well as GBV practitioners,
over the course of the project. It is intended to support GBV staff to build disability inclusion into their work, and
to strengthen the capacity of GBV practitioners to use a survivor-centered approach when providing services to
survivors with disabilities. The tools are designed to complement existing guidelines, protocols and tools for GBV
prevention and response, and should not be used in isolation from these. GBV practitioners are encouraged to
adapt the tools to their individual programs and contexts, and to integrate pieces into standard GBV tools and
resources.

"This toolkit is designed as a practical resource for disabled people's organisations (DPOs), particularly those working in the global South, on how to use research knowledge in their programmes, campaigning and advocacy work"
Note: contact publisher to request copies of this toolkit in alternative formats

The call for papers asked to cast “a critical eye on the practice and purpose of sustainability-focused education, and its successes and failures, thus far”. We approach this task in this paper through two lenses that have not yet been very visible in the education for sustainable development (ESD) discourse. One is the lens of disability studies which is the inquiry around the lived reality of disabled people; the other is the lens of ability studies which among others investigates (a) which abilities are seen as essential in a given context; (b) the dynamic of how an ability expectation consensus is reached, if it is reached and (c) the impact of ability expectations. We conclude that (a) no consensus has been reached within ESD discourses as to the process of how to identify essential abilities and as to a list of abilities seen as important and (b) that disabled people are invisible in the formal and informal ESD discourse. We expect the paper to be of interest to disabled people, ESD scholars, teachers of ESD in different educational settings, students of ESD training, NGOs involved in ESD as well as policy makers involved in ESD.

There are some barriers that persons with different kinds of impairments commonly face, and there are also some impairment-specific barriers. Disaggregated data are needed to assess the impact of different CBR activities on different groups of persons with disabilities.

Purpose: This article assesses the impact of CBR on key variables linked to the five domains of the CBR Matrix, on 4 groups of persons with disabilities - visual, hearing and speech, physical and intellectual disabilities.

Method: A questionnaire survey was carried out involving 2,332 persons with disabilities, in a random stratified sample of villages covered by a CBR programme, in 9 sub-districts of Karnataka state (India) and in a control area. Data were collected pertaining to different activities in the lives of persons with disabilities. Through a participatory approach involving CBR workers and DPO representatives, some key indicators were identified to assess the impact of CBR on the five domains of the CBR Matrix - health, education, livelihood, social participation and empowerment.

Results: Among all the 4 groups of persons with disabilities, the CBR programme was found to have had a positive impact across all the five domains of the CBR Matrix. However, there was no uniform impact on different variables among the 4 groups; different groups of persons with disabilities benefited differently from different activities. Persons with physical disabilities seemed to benefit in more areas compared to persons in the other groups.

Conclusions: CBR programmes can have a positive impact on persons with visual, hearing and speech, physical and intellectual disabilities. Disaggregated data can help CBR programmes to identify groups of persons who benefit less from specific activities and adopt strategies to improve their participation.

Disability, CBR and Inclusive Development, Vol. 24, No. 4