2.3.4.1 Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms (1982)
In 1982 the rights of all Canadian citizens were embedded in the Canadian Charter of
Rights and Freedoms and the Canadian Human Rights Act 1982. Section 15 of the Charter
guarantees “equal protection and equal benefit of the law without discrimination and, in particular, without discrimination based on race, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, sex, age or mental or physical disability” (Government of Canada, 1985, p. 5).
All 10 provinces and three territories in Canada must abide by this national legislation including the terms of education provision. Each province and territory is equally responsible for curricula and legislation. This dates back to the British North American Act 1956 which was established to protect cultural traditions and the language of English and French settlers inside each territory and province and for this to be reflected in their education. This
organisational structure has succeeded in accommodating policies which embed the disparate needs of Canadians. However, it has also been problematic as students’ requirements are addressed differently, and it could be said, inconsistently. For example, rather than a cohesive approach to inclusive practices across the country, some educational facilities excel whilst others are still far behind (Timmons & Wagner, 2008).
Some provinces were slower than others in adopting the Charter. Moreover, the extent to which it was adopted varied enormously. In 2005, Manitoba implemented the
Public Schools Amendment Act (Appropriate Educational Programming) 2005, which
specifically outlined obligations for appropriate education for all students (Van Welleghem & Lutfiyya, 2013). It was the last province to do so after 20 years of attempting it. The Act stipulates inclusion as the principal focus and has seen the implementation of many standards applicable to families, educators and administrators.
2.3.4.2 Signing of UN Convention (2007)
Canada recognises that persons with disabilities are presumed to have legal ability on an equal basis with others in all aspects of their lives. Canada signed the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (2006) on 30 March 2007 to declare that:
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Canada acknowledges the legal capacity for disabled people as equal to all other non-disabled people residing in Canada. It is accepted that provision of required support and decision making will be conducted under Article 12 where necessary and by abiding with the law. However, Canada retains the right to continue to act as necessary in accordance with safety under Article 12 and will continue to lead decision making where possible. In consideration of Article 12 (4), Canada will not subject all measures, such as those mentioned above, to review if such situations are already subject to appeal. Article 33 (2) is acknowledged by Canada as assisting federal states in implementing the Convention’s aims and that this will entail governmental support from diverse and existing levels. (United Nations, 2006, art. 12)
2.3.4.3 Since 2007
Some researchers claim that inclusive practices in Canadian schools are inadequate. Timmons and Wagner (2008) argue that Canada has far from effective inclusion due to ineffective physical, educational and community inclusion. This was found after an in-depth and country-wide study of educational enrolments by students with disabilities. New
Brunswick and Prince Edward Island showed the most promising results, with nearly 50% of students with disabilities learning within inclusive environments. This may be due to the community, local schools, extra activities or family involvement; it is also worthy of note that these are two of the smallest provinces in Canada.
The same study found that the larger provinces have about a 33% inclusion rate, excluding the more sought-after educational facilities (Timmons & Wagner, 2008). It was found that while many students with disabilities were indeed in general education classes, many were not effectively included socially or educationally. The way in which the inclusive education policy is utilised appears to differ from province to province and in terms of quality, form and degree (Timmons & Wagner, 2008). Recent research highlights that inclusive education within Canada is still a work in progress, and the goals put in place almost 30 years ago in order to recognise all citizens’ right have not been achieved.
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In conclusion as this historical overview attests, whilst there has been an acceptance of the worth of inclusive education and the promulgation of legislation to support it, inclusion has yet to be effectively implemented in all the countries discussed. Legislative mandates and processes have been developed in recognition of social equity (Riddell, 2009) and such legislation perceives and enforces segregation as unacceptable. Yet, some services founded on segregation still exist and many disability policies have been found to be contradictory (Stancliffe, 2014). In the United States, thousands of students with disabilities are still separated from their non-disabled peers, regardless of the legislation in place (Kurth, Morningstar, & Kozleski, 2014).
This review of the implementation of inclusive education policy in Australia, the United States, the United Kingdom and Canada shows that inclusive education relies heavily on the government’s implementation of its own legislative provisions. These countries have reformed their inclusivity legislation to support the inclusion of students with disabilities in the general education system in line with the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. The following section will discuss the history of legislation and inclusive education policy in Jordan.
Overview of the Population of People with Disabilities in MENA region and in
Jordan specifically
In this section, the prevalence of disabilities in Jordan is assessed and the issues related to the current Jordanian legal framework and their impact on inclusive education and its practices are evaluated. This evaluation will lead to the identification of some possible factors affecting inclusive education in the Jordanian context.
Jordan covers an area of 89,342 km2 and is located at the centre of the Middle East region. The number of people with disabilities in Jordan, according to the latest report, is estimated to be 1,170,000 out of a population of 9 million (13%) (Higher Council of Affairs of Persons with Disabilities, 2015). The estimated number of people with disabilities in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Region was 30 million in 2005; however, there is no data on the total population at that time. There are no newer data on the exact number of people with disability in MENA (Middle East and North Africa Region, 2005). These facts
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show the urgent need to establish institutional mechanisms for regular updating of data on the total population, the total number of people with disabilities and the number of school age children with disabilities, categorised into types in both MENA as a region and, in Jordan in particular (UNICEF, 2014). Most of these students are currently without access to the education available to their peers without disabilities.
The absence of reliable figures on the number of students with disabilities in Jordan remains problematic. In Arab countries, inclusion awareness or recognition of the need for inclusive education is affected by limited data. A lot of people with disabilities are denied education, making data unreliable (Hadidi & Al Khateeb, 2015). This has undoubtedly impacted on prioritising inclusive education. Multiple factors have enormously affected the accuracy of incidence reports for people with disabilities, and this in turn has had a
detrimental effect on data. Data in MENA are already limited and unreliable due to the impact of social stigma. This in turn affects the recognition of the seriousness of the problem, our understanding of it and the development of relevant legislation. There is still strong social stigma regarding students with disabilities and people are denied equality and education to save family reputations (Hadidi & Al Khateeb, 2015).
Despite the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and related developments over the past decades, the public policies and educational standards in the MENA countries, particularly in the north, do not yet promote an inclusive environment for people with
disabilities (Middle East and North Africa Region, 2005). Moreover, the education system in the MENA region continues to exclude the majority of people with disabilities at the primary school-age level (Middle East and North Africa Region, 2005). Therefore, a major problem is that, in reality, people with disabilities are segregated in the education environment and face major barriers.
On the other hand, different types of inclusion in the MENA region, such as social inclusion, demonstrate the importance of improving strategic plans for inclusive education to foster learning at the level of the learner in their environment as well as at the level of the system which supports the learning experience. However, the second significant problem is that these efforts remain very limited in scope (Middle East and North Africa Region, 2005).
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The next section addresses inclusive education legislation and practice, both historically and currently, in Jordan.
The History of Legislation and Inclusive Education Policy in Jordan