Inclusive education begins to gain traction in Jordan’s classrooms

AMMAN — Ensuring that the inclusive education programme covers all grades requires concerted efforts from all: Teachers, parents and society as a whole, experts and parents say. 

Sociology professor Hussein Khozai said that creating a positive psychological environment is necessary to ensure that the adoption of inclusive education is successful in schools.

“Students need to refrain from bullying, while learning the culture of accepting differences,” he told The Jordan Times.

The teacher should be an “idol”, or a role model, he said. Therefore the role of a teacher lies in practising non-discrimination between students, despite their differences.

“They shouldn’t make students with special needs feel alienated or different; on the contrary, they should bridge the gap and instil the value of friendship between them,” he said.

Maysaa Ajarmeh, a special education teacher at a public school in Amman with a PhD in Special Education, highlighted the importance of the process of engaging all students within the inclusive education programme.

She said that within her school, she works mainly with students with learning difficulties, noting that the inclusive education programme extends from grade 1 to grade 6.

“I have been working as an assistant teacher for students with learning difficulties for over 22 years. The students are being referred to my ‘Resource Room’ based either on a recommendation from their own parents, or thorough assessment exams conducted by their primary teachers to define their weak points in specific topics,” Ajarmeh said.

She noted that there is continuous coordination between the Education Ministry and the schools in terms of any needs or courses required to enhance teachers’ capabilities, while ensuring students benefit from the programme as much as possible.

Sahar Hamdan, a private school teacher of students with special needs and a Resource Room supervisor, said that the process of engaging students with learning difficulties and students with special needs depends on the condition of each student.

“While we have a Resource Room as is standardised by the ministry, we encourage inclusive education within the same classroom with the main teacher and shadow teacher for students with special needs,” she said.

Hamdan noted that the main obstacles of inclusive education can be boiled down to the behaviour of other students, who sometimes are not accepting differences, and in some cases bully the other students.

“Some parents’ refusal to admit that their children might have a weakness in a certain subject, or that they might need extra help, is another problem we teachers face,” she noted.

 “However, we totally understand their point of view, as every parent wishes to see the best performance from their kids. Therefore, we try our best to explain the problem with the solution proposed. Continuous follow-up with the parents is always fruitful,” she added.

Conducting courses to equip main teachers with the needed skills to ensure the best quality of education is crucial, as circumstances require teachers to deal with different kinds of disabilities, ranging from learning difficulties to a variety of intellectual and physical disabilities, Hamdan said.

Sanaa Nimer, a private school principal, said that the inclusive education programme in her school includes students with special needs in addition to students with some learning difficulties.

“It depends on each student’s skills and condition. We have a Resource Room that includes all specifications that are being set by the Education Ministry,” she said, noting that the inclusive education plan focuses on engaging students with special needs in the same classroom as the other students by using a shadow teacher to follow up on the students’ performance.

“However, special education teachers sometimes take students with learning difficulties to the Resource Room for further remedial plans and explanation,” she noted.

“One of the most important issues that I consider as key of educational improvement is the parents’ follow-up on the students’ performance,” she added, noting that it is the responsibility of both the teacher and the parents.

On students’ behaviour and acceptance of new environment, she pointed to the role of school counsellors in providing psychological assistance to students of special needs, and raising awareness especially pertaining to bullying from other students through holding awareness sessions.

Um Jana, a mother of a 2nd grade student with learning difficulties, said that she saw a “remarkable difference” in her daughter’s performance at school through the inclusive education programmme.

“At first, my daughter faced difficulties in the skills of reading and writing… She faced bullying from some of her classmates as she sometimes had to leave the class to attend intensive sessions at the Resource Room. But later, her classmates’ behaviour changed, as the teachers clarified the role of Resource Room,” she said.

While she witnessed improvement in her daughter’s performance, she also suggested that inclusive education should involve students from upper grades as well.

Hasna Qasem, a mother of a first-grade student with Down Syndrome who is enrolled in a public school, expressed her contentment with inclusive education.

“I am so pleased by the positive reactions and attitudes I noticed of other students’ acceptance of my daughter; it really helped her to get used to the idea of going to school and meeting many kids of her age without any sort of bullying,” she said.

Qasem noted that her daughter has her lessons according to her age, skills and abilities, as assessed by teachers.

Ahlam Abu Sneineh, a mother of a second-grade public school student with Down Syndrome, said that the idea of inclusive education has positively affected her daughter.

“My daughter is very excited to go to school every day. Instead of getting her admitted to a centre or a school for students with special needs, I chose a regular school where my daughter can advance at the social and emotional levels, as she has built so many friendships with her classmates, interacting with different people,” she noted.

Higher Council for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (HCD), spokesperson Rafat Zitawi said that there is continuous coordination between the HCD and the Ministry of Education, especially regarding financing renovations to make schools accessible, in cooperation with the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ).

“There is constant contact with donor entities to stress the importance of meeting the needs of people with disabilities in all projects pertaining to education,” he said.

Zitawi referred to a number of agreements on inclusive education programme, including the 10-year plan (2019-2029).

Zitawi said that the first part of the 10-year plan involved renovating 30 schools across the Kingdom to meet the requirements of the inclusive education programme.

He also referred to a new memo to be signed between the council and the ministry, under which the wages of 57 assistant teachers will be paid by the council through the first year of its signing, as an incentive and support for the ministry’s efforts. The ministry will continue paying the teachers’ wages after the first year.

On basis of selecting the schools fit for the inclusive education programme, he said that the council looks at the environment of each school, as well as the number of students with specific intellectual and physical needs.

“The idea of inclusive education is still novel; as many minds were set on the idea of isolation and having particular schools for students with hearing impairments, or students with special needs in general,” he said.

The stereotype associated with students with disabilities and a general lack of acceptance are among the key challenges facing inclusive education, he noted.

 “Inclusive education should cover all grades. We are currently working on the first six grades, but once the duration of implementing the ten-year plan is over, it would hopefully cover all grades,” he said.

Despite many attempts by The Jordan Times, the Ministry of Education was not available for comment.