Estructurar los factores explícitos e implícitos de competitividad con mayor incidencia en el

This first proposition from the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD, 2006) encapsulates the essential purpose of using ICT in education for people with disabilities – the use of ICT is not an end in itself; rather it is a means of supporting individual people’s learning opportunities. This is also the clear message emerging from the Case Studies and Vignettes presented within the Practice Review.

Increasingly these learning opportunities occur within inclusive education contexts. This means that learners with and without various disabilities and special needs should have their educational needs met within the same settings, the goal for inclusive education being to promote full participation and opportunities for all learners vulnerable to exclusion, in order that they can realise their potential (European Agency, 2009).

Within this CRPD proposition, the word equity should be stressed; equity implies something more than equal opportunities (or having access to the same opportunities to take part in educational activities as everyone else). Equity implies people’s individual needs being met

in inclusive settings through differentiated approaches that take learner diversity into account.

The UNESCO IITE (2006) report suggests that:

The conditions in every type of inclusive educational area cannot be successfully created without the appropriate ICT tools applied. Assistive tools must be used to allow students with SEN to participate in the educational process based on special techniques and equipment. (p. 28)

The examples presented in this Practice Review support this argument – ICTs can provide and/or support individualised access to learning opportunities.

However, a further assertion should be made here: ‘special techniques and equipment’ does not necessarily imply separate, or segregated provision in the use of ICT. The examples show how ICT can be an integral tool for supporting learning in a number of different ways within inclusive settings. Crucially, ICT can be and is a tool for all teachers, not just ICT specialists or ‘experts’ in their work.

The use of ICT to support learners with disabilities by all teachers is not something that can be achieved without considering a range of implications, notably training of teachers and availability of ICTs. This factor therefore cannot be seen in isolation from those presented in later sections of this chapter.

All of the examples presented show how ICT can be used to widen participation to increase educational opportunity for all learners in different ways. Many of the examples presented focussed upon learners of compulsory school age, but it is interesting to note the relatively high number of examples of ICT developments to support the learning of students with disabilities in inclusive vocational and higher education contexts. This situation draws attention to a further factor for consideration; that is the need for ICTs to be available to learners across a continuum of learning experiences they may engage in during their lifetime. ICT to support learning cannot only be available within certain educational settings – ICTs must be transferable to different lifelong learning contexts.

A small number of the examples presented focus upon specialist provision in non-inclusive settings. This is particularly the case for examples focussing upon provision for adults with disabilities. However, even though these examples did not take place in inclusive education settings, they all demonstrate a shared purpose and goal: using ICT to promote the long- term social inclusion of people with disabilities into wider society, particularly through enhancing their employment opportunities.

In summary, the varied examples within this Practice Review show how ICT can be used in order to support access to, as well as improve learning opportunities for people with disabilities across different educational, geographical and social contexts. A clear message from the examples is that the effective implementation of ICT can be a contributing factor to fulfilling entitlements to educational opportunities for people with disabilities.

With these arguments in mind, a number of recommendations can be proposed to both policy makers and practitioners relating to the use of ICT to promote equity in educational opportunities.

1 – ICT in education for people with disabilities should not be seen as an end in itself – it should be seen as a means, or a tool for increasing effective access to and meaningful participation in educational opportunities. This access and participation should have the ultimate goal of increasing life chances and opportunities for people with disabilities.

2 – The use of ICT in education for people with disabilities needs to be geared towards supporting inclusive education. ICTs should an integral tool for inclusion and not be something ‘separate’ to the work of all teachers/educational professionals. The goal for ICT

within inclusive settings is that it should be inclusive in terms of its use as well as its purpose.

3 – The availability of ICT for people with disabilities must be viewed within a continuum of educational opportunities across lifelong learning. ICTs that support an individual person’s learning must be available to them in any formal or informal learning situation they wish to engage in.

4 – The implementation of ICT in education for people with disabilities must take a systemic approach. This means that at the level of the individual learner, an organisation or the wider educational system levels, a range of inter-connected factors need to be considered and addressed. Key amongst these factors are issues surrounding access to ICT, training of professionals, the development of new approaches and tools as well as the policy framework supporting the use of ICT in education for people with disabilities.