Communication and Information Sector Knowledge Societies Division
Policy considerations for the use of accessible ICTs for personalized learning and Inclusive Education
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- Overview of International Policy Framework
- UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
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3. Policy considerations for the use of accessible ICTs for personalized learning and Inclusive EducationAccording to the 2011 “World Report on Disability” by the World Bank and World Health Organization (WHO) more than a billion people are estimated to live with some form of disability, or about 15% of the world’s population.28The report found that students with disabilities are less likely to attend, progress through and complete school than their peers. The differences in percentages between the attendance, performance and completion of school between students with disabilities and their peers vary widely among countries. However the report found that “Even in countries with high primary school enrolment rates, such as those in Eastern Europe, many children with disabilities do not attend school.” In total, an estimated 186 million children with disabilities worldwide have not completed their primary school education.29 Thus, children with disabilities make up the world’s largest and most disadvantaged minority in terms of education.30 Inclusive Education continues to be an effective agent in breaking down attitudinal and societal barriers and in increasing equality of attendance, performance and completion of school by students with disabilities. Inclusive Education requires that the mainstream technology that is available to students within the classroom is accessible, affordable and adaptable to those that need it. The extent to which students with disabilities are prevalent in mainstream classrooms is a product of the extent to which Inclusive Education has been set as a goal and then progressively realised within a country or school system. As the principle of Inclusive Education continues to be implemented within educational systems throughout the world, the awareness of and need to assess the extent of students’ learning differences continues to increase. More and more students with many different types of physical disabilities are now visibly present in mainstream schools and receiving their education alongside their peers. Typically these students are in receipt of some level of interventions and specialised supports in regions where such support systems are in place. The visibility and recognition of students with mild disabilities tends to be lower than that of students with more ‘obvious’ physical and sensory disabilities. Where there are educational plans for each student31 or other assessment reports available to teachers, teachers are more likely to be aware of students with learning difficulties and physical disabilities in their classrooms. However teachers have greater awareness of physical and sensory disabilities than mild disabilities and learning difficulties. GOOD PRACTICE: Inclusive Education policies in the USA One country for which detailed statistics on the impact of Inclusive Education policies are available is the USA.32 The impact on retention levels for students with learning disabilities, for example, is quite noticeable. In 2008, 62% of students with learning disabilities spent 80% or more of their in-school time in general education classrooms. This is up from just 40% in 2000. The high school dropout rate among students with learning disabilities was 22% in 2008, down from 40% in 1999. As a result more students with learning disabilities are graduating with a regular high school diploma—64% in 2008—up from 52% a decade earlier.33
The corpus of international laws and texts contains significant human rights obligations and some development targets on the provision of accessible ICTs. The main legislative and policy backdrop to the Consultative Meeting was the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. It is the primary piece of international law informing national policy on disability affairs around the world. Figure 2 shows the history of many of the human rights and, more recently information society, conventions and international agreements in support of the use of accessible ICTs in Inclusive Education. 
Figure 2. Overview of legal frameworks in support of the use of accessible ICTs in Inclusive Education UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with DisabilitiesArticle 9 on accessibility elevates access ICTs the same status as access to the build environment and transportation. If defines accessibility as access to, inter alia, Braille signage in buildings, assistance and support to ensure access to information and the provision of training to stakeholders on accessibility. Article 9 (g) and (h) promote access for persons with disabilities to new technologies including the Internet and the inclusion of accessibility at the earliest stage in the development and procurement of ICTs so they can be made available at “minimum cost”. Article 24 of the Convention contains specific obligations for the provision of Inclusive Education. These include the provision of “reasonable accommodations” for students with disabilities that include, inter alia, access to, training in and the use of accessible ICTs, including AT and educational materials in an accessible format. Article 24 also contains an important requirement on the provision to professionals and staff who work in all areas of education of “disability awareness training and [training in] the use of appropriate augmentative and alternative modes, means and formats of communication, educational techniques and materials to support persons with disabilities”. The Convention also holds that in and of itself, access to information about assistive technologies is important, placing an obligation on government officials “to provide accessible information to persons with disabilities about mobility aids, devices and assistive technologies, including new technologies, as well as other forms of assistance, support services and facilities” (Article 4 (1) (h)) Article 26, on “habilitation and rehabilitation,” also emphasizes the importance of the “availability, knowledge and use of assistive devices and technologies” as they relate to rehabilitation as a means to attain independence and autonomy through, among other things, access to education. Article 4 contains recommendations on how State Parties can achieve “progressively the full realization of these rights.” This includes the use of international cooperation which, as expanded on in Article 32, can be used to share knowledge and improve capacity between nations in relation to “scientific and technical knowledge.” This is particularly relevant to the development of accessible ICT eco-systems. Article 4 also recommends all new technology developments follow a universal design approach and hence reduce the cost of including accessibility features by incorporating them at the earliest possible stage during the product development cycle. 34 Millennium Development GoalsThe Millennium Development Goals have set a target of full enrolment and completion of primary school for all children by 2015.35 The 2010 MDG Report shows that while enrolment of primary education has continued to rise, reaching 89 per cent in the developing world, the pace of progress is insufficient to reach the target by 2015.36 To achieve the target, all children of school-going age would have had to be enrolled in primary education. In sub-Saharan African countries, for example, at least one in four children were out of school in 2008. The 2010 MDG monitoring report suggests that a range of innovative approaches will be required to assist countries meet the MDGs including the use of accessible technology. However, many countries will have difficulties to achieve EFA or the MDGs without ensuring access to education for children with disabilities37.
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