Barriers to Inclusive Education in Brunei Darussalam
Emily Zhang Xian yu
There has been a growing worldwide commitment to education for children with special needs in the past few decades, especially through the United Nations’ activities and global statements, which have influenced Brunei Darussalam’s decision
to embrace the concept of inclusive education. This paper briefly describes the current state of inclusive education and looks at the barriers to including students
with disabilities in Brunei Darussalam since the implementation of inclusive education in the late 1990’s. Thoughtful strategies are suggested to these barriers.
Introduction
As inclusive education has become a major feature of current curriculum reform in Brunei Darussalam (Abdul Aziz Umar, 1996), an important concern is how to improve equity in access to quality education in Brunei Darussalam.
This paper is divided into four sections. The first part of this paper describes how inclusion differs from mainstreaming and integration followed by a brief development of Inclusive Education in Brunei Darussalam. The third section highlights the barriers to the current implementation of inclusion in the country and the final section of the paper suggests the strategies to address these barriers.
How inclusion differs from mainstreaming and integration
Why inclusion? The words “integration”, “mainstreaming” and “inclusion” are sometimes substituted for each other, as if they all had exactly the same meaning (Foreman, 2005). However, there are some major differences between the meanings of the words.
will have siblings or neighbours at the school and will come into contact with schoolmates in out-of-school situations in the neighbourhood. However, the term “integration” has fallen out of favour because of the implication that somebody who is different is being “fitted in” to a regular setting in a tokenistic way (Foreman, 2005). And Integration presumes that “segregation” exists and students are with their peers without disabilities part-time. In reality, students who were integrated part-time were not truly a part of the class and were often involved in activities very different from the other students in the class (Moore, 1998).
Students are mainstreamed while they are enrolled in or participating in a regular class. In Australia, New Zealand and other developed countries, mainstreaming is regarded as the most culturally normative school placement; that is, it is the most usual type of placement in these cultures. Many parents and school systems consider that mainstreaming should be the standard placement for all students, except under exceptional circumstances (Kenny, Shevlin, Noonan Walsh & McNeela, 2005). Mainstreaming brought students with special education needs into general classrooms only when they didn’t need specially designed instruction – when they could keep up with the “mainstream” (Moore, 1998).
Internationally, inclusion is increasingly seen more broadly as a reform that supports and welcomes diversity amongst all learners (UNESCO, 2001). It means full inclusion of children with diverse abilities in all aspects of schooling that other children are able to access and enjoy. It involves regular schools and classrooms genuinely adapting and changing to meet the needs of all children, as well as celebrating and valuing differences. This definition of inclusion does not imply that children with diverse abilities will not receive specialized assistance or teaching outside of the classroom when required, but rather that this is just one of many options that are available to, and in fact required of, all children (Loreman and Deppeler 2001).
Educating children part-time in special schools and part-time in regular schools is not inclusion. Educating children in special, mostly segregated, environments in regular schools is not inclusion. Educating children in regular classes, but requiring them to follow substantially different courses of study inters of content and learning environment to their peers, is also not inclusion (unless all children in a class follow individual programs).
Inclusion is accomplished through educational strategies designed for a diverse student population and collaboration between educators so that specially designed instruction and supplementary aids and services are provided to all students as needed for effective learning (Moore, 1998).
Inclusive education in Brunei
Brunei Darussalam is a small country located on the north-west end of Borneo Island in South East Asia. It is a member of the Commonwealth of Nations and an independent Malay Islamic Constitutional Monarchy, which is ruled according to Islamic values and traditions by the present King His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu’izzadin Waddaulah (Ministry of Industry and Primary Resources, 2004). The population of Brunei Darussalam is estimated at 414,400 (Brunei Education Statistic Handbook 2006-2010).
The government has adopted a 7-3-2-2 structure of education for its formal school system – a pattern representing 7 years of primary education including one year in preschool, 3 years lower secondary, 2 years upper secondary or GCE “O” Level and 2 years GCE “A” Level / matriculation or pre-University (Ministry of Education, 2004b). It is evident that much has been accomplished within the country over the past few decades to enhance services and support for students considered to have special education needs. Statements found in the National Education Policy (Ministry of Education, 1992, p.7) highlight an education system that aims to:
…give all Brunei children every opportunity to achieve at least an upper secondary or vocational education…To provide opportunities for all children in Brunei Darussalam to develop to their full potential so that they play a useful role in the development of the country…
The focus on providing opportunities for all Bruneian children has led to a practice of admitting children with special needs, especially those with mild disabilities, into regular schools. However, many of these children met with academic failure and subsequently repeated grade levels (Koay, 2007). To arrest the large number of students who were failing the system, the Ministry of Education introduced special education into mainstream schools to provide the needed assistance to help children and youth with special needs cope better (Csapo & Omar, 1996). The adoption of the Special Education Proposal by the Ministry of Education in 1994 was a turning point in the development of special education in Brunei Darussalam (Koay,1996).
discrimination within the mainstream education system (UN, 1989). In 1994, representatives from 92 governments including Brunei Darussalam and 25 international organizations attended the World Conference on Special Needs Education in Salamanca, Spain (Norjum, 2002). The Salamanca Statement and Framework for Action on Special Needs Education (UNESCO, 1994) urged all governments to adopt, as a matter of law or policy, the principles of inclusive education.
The former Minister of Education, during the opening address of the 1st National Conference on Special Education in 1996 (Abdul Aziz, 1996), stressed that:
We must look at how the system can better serve all children, including children with special needs who require special education and related services if they are to realize their full potential… The special education, or special needs agenda in Brunei Darussalam, is an essential element of the drive for education for all. The emphasis is on inclusive education where the aim is to respond to the needs of all children.
All children in Brunei are now entitled to 12 years of free education in government schools. Under the Compulsory Education Order of 2007, attendance during the first nine years is mandatory for children of school age (Fitzgerald, 2010). In March 2005, Brunei Darussalam became one of the most recent members of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). The government is committed to ensuring “Education for All” and the provision of “Inclusive Education” in accord with UNESCO policies.
Relevant literacy described Learning Assistance Model as the implementation of special education into regular schools in Brunei Darussalam. The Special Education Needs Assistance (SENA) teachers are responsible for identifying students with special needs by using various screening tests designed by SEU (SEU, 1998a). A draft Individual Education Plan (IEP) is prepared by the SENA teacher, with input from class teachers and parents. The draft IEP is then presented to the school Based Team (SBT), comprising the head teacher as chairperson, SENA teacher, regular class teacher and parents (SEU, 1998c). The SBT discusses the various adaptations/modifications in the draft IEP to ensure that the student receives an appropriate education program to meet his or her individual needs. Members of the SBT collaborate and discuss ways to ensure the provision of appropriate resources and support for students with special needs at the school level (SEU, 1998b). The teamwork and successful partnerships generated by the SBT help promote decision-making and shared responsibility, thus translating inclusive education into reality (Norjum, 2000).
the needs of the student, he or she may be pulled out for a short period to the Learning Assistance Centre (LAC) for individual or small group instruction by the LAT. In the LAC, the LATs use a variety of teaching materials and teaching strategies, such as direct instruction, task analysis, and reinforcement such as token economy system, precision teaching and record keeping procedures to monitor student progress. The LAT also helps the class teachers to plan and make instructional adoptions for students with special needs, demonstrates teaching techniques and assists to monitor the student’s progress (Koay & Sim, 2004).
Existing Barriers
Despite all efforts and achievements in Brunei Darussalam related to the Education for All initiative, a daunting array of challenge still confronts policy makers, school staff and professionals working in the field of special education (Fitzgerald, 2010). There are also many barriers to meaningful inclusion, however in this paper, three main barriers namely Teachers’ attitude; insufficient human resources and Community attitude are discussed.
1. Teachers’ attitudes
Inclusion implies accommodating the learning environment and curriculum to meet the needs of all students and ensuring that all learners belong to a community. Inclusion or lack of it is also about equity of access to quality education and can be related to aspects of social disadvantage, oppression and discrimination (United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific [UNESCAP], 2002). Unfortunately many educators have reservations about inclusion or supporting the wide spread placement of students with special needs in general classrooms (Bradshaw, 2004; 2003).
The enrolment of a child with a disability will sometimes require considerable effort on the teacher’s part, and pre-service teachers, teachers and principals often worry that they will not have the teaching competencies or physical resources needed to include children with a disability in their classes (Lambe & Bones 2006; Bailey & du Plessis 1998).
least those with mental and behavioural disorders (William & Algozzine, 1979; Vandivier & Vandivier, 1981).
One possible reason for this stance or resistance seems to be due to regular teachers’ lack of appropriate skills to properly help severely disabled students in mainstream schools.
2. Teacher/pupil ratio and insufficient human resources
Looking at the past 15 years since Brunei implemented Inclusive Education, more than 300 local teachers have acquired tertiary qualifications in the field at Certificate, Bachelor or Masters Degree levels. A majority of these teachers have completed their studies within the country, taking courses developed by the University of Brunei Darussalam (UBD), in collaboration with the Special Education Unit of Ministry of Education. Many additional government scholarships have been awarded to local citizens to study developments in the field abroad and obtain internationally recognized qualifications at overseas institutions. The expertise they have developed and the skills that they have acquired have generally been put to good use in schools upon their return. These Special Education Needs Assistance (SENA) teachers in government primary schools are assigned full-time responsibility for students with special needs in their respective schools, equivalent arrangements are not generally provided at secondary level. Many secondary teachers have obtained relevant university qualifications to work as SENA teachers over the past ten years, with direct government sponsorship and support (Koay, 2008; Lim, Mak, & Koay, 2006). However, few have ultimately been assigned to positions like full-time special education needs coordinators (SENCOs) or SENA teachers in government secondary schools upon completion of their studies. Direct, ongoing assistance for students with special needs and consultative and collaborative support for their teachers has been limited accordingly. In the non-government schools, fewer than 10% of schools currently employ qualified special education teaching staff to support students with SEN (Fitzgerald, 2010).
The need for additional funds to be provided to schools for the purposes of educating children with diverse abilities and impairments has long been recognized by researchers (O’Grady 1990; O’Shea and O’shea 1998).
Teachers and parents unfamiliar with the terminology or the conditions involved can often become anxious about the capacity of schools to include children with
provide more assistance, in Brunei, they go for Pusat Ehsan Al-Ameerah Al-Hajjah Maryam, Pusat Kemahiran Belia and Pulaie Centre (SEU, 2002).
During an interview by The Brunei Times, Jasmin Ahmad, the coordinator for Pusat Ehsan Al-Ameerah Al-Hajjah Maryam mentioned that inclusive education has its benefits, but also pointed out that special needs individuals need proper attention (The Brunei Times, 2008). The current high teacher-pupil ratio in Brunei shows that paying individual attention to students in large classes is very difficult (Yoong, Lourdusamy, Nannestad, & Veloo, 2001; Yusop, Douglas, & Mak, 2001; Vaiyatvutjamai &
Clements, 2004), including students with disabilities further increases the complexities of a progressively more difficult and demanding job.
Specific strategies and action plans are urgently required within both the government and private school sectors to address the matter.
3. Community Attitudes
Within Brunei Darussalam, community support for those with special needs is widespread. Sufficient financial donations have been garnered from business organizations and general community members to enable the establishment and maintenance of a range of non-government organizations to support children of school age who have very high support needs. These include SMARTER (the Society for the Management of Autism Related Issues in Training, Education and Resources), Learning ladders (for children with autism) and Pusat Ehsan Al-Ameerah Al-Hajjah Maryam (for those with intellectual disabilities). Media coverage of special events for children with disabilities is extensive and community members and volunteers provide regular, on-going assistance at the facilities listed. However, the interest shown and support provided often reflects undertones of sympathy, care, charity, abnormality, separation and protection. There is little emphasis upon the implementation of inclusive educational approaches or equal educational rights for the children involved (Fitzgerald, 2010). The emphasis on “special education” seems actually is doing more “segregating” than “inclusion”. Parental demand has generally fuelled the growth of such organizations. Families typically seek placement for their children at such centers if government schools have difficulty meeting their specific needs and cannot match the facilities and services provided. It is stated that:
Although relying primarily upon charitable support, the community organizations listed offer individualized programs for the children however, in separate, well resourced, but segregated facilities.
Thoughtful Strategies
There is no doubt significant efforts have been made since mid nineties to introduce more inclusive educational approaches in Brunei Darussalam. Research at the same time showed barriers and challenges in the file. However, new thoughtful strategies and commitments are required to ensure the continuation of this process.
1. Teacher training
As Hobbs and Westling (1998) suggested that “the degree of success of inclusion can be related to several factors, perhaps the most important being teachers’ preparation, attitudes, and opportunity for collaboration’ (p.13). Positive attitudes towards children with diverse abilities are essential to the success of inclusion programs; these attitudes, however, can, and need to be fostered through training and positive experiences with children with diverse abilities. Teacher education programs that engage participants in knowledge construction and heterogeneous classroom teaching and learning are necessary, but it also essential that teacher training institutions provide relevant opportunities for pre-service teachers to develop personal philosophies that promote classroom environments supportive of participation and achievement for all learners.
The existing training programs for special education teachers - pre-service and in-service training in the country should carry on as several studies have suggested that teachers trained in special education are more positively inclined to include students with disabilities into regular classes compared to their counterparts without any such training (Kelly, 1994; Stoler, 1992).
At the mean time, training for regular classroom teacher should not be neglected. Lack of understanding of students with SEN may cause exclusion and discrimination; it is not surprising to find that mainstream classroom teachers, who have limited experience of teaching SEN students, were less accepting of them when compared to teachers in special schools. The heavy demands placed on them in their workplaces, and the long-standing perspective that students with SEN were already adequately catered for, reduced their interest in and feeling of responsibility for such students. Therefore, the appropriate training not only has a positive impact on regular class teachers’ attitudes but it also significantly enhances their confidence in teaching in inclusive classrooms.
Issues surrounding curriculum provision to children with diverse abilities and their peers in inclusive settings are central to successful inclusion (Margolis and Truesdell 1987; Clough 1988; Gormley and MsDermott 1994; Carpenter 1997; Cole and McLeskey 1997; Loreman 1997).
A suitable curriculum for disabled learners is one that equips learners with practical skills useful for leading a productive and meaningful life (Australian Education Council, 1991). Such a desirable curriculum should be flexible to address individual differences and take into consideration the dynamic nature of life that change with time and technology (Olivier & Williams, 2005). Flexibility of the curriculum is even more important for students with intellectual difficulties (Donald, Lazarus & Lolwana, 1997). A flexible curriculum might make it possible to vary the teaching strategies, assessment techniques, and counseling sessions. In addition, the ideal curriculum should also have adequate social and ecological validity (Mash & Terdal, 1988). Students with special needs require more practical than academic skills (Martinez, 1987) which they should be able to use insightfully and productively (Trafton & Claus, 1994). The curricula should also emphasize social skills as such skills are more important to disabled than non-disabled students (Fields, 1997).
The Special Education Unit in conjunction with the Curriculum Development Department produced a curriculum guide for students with high support needs (SEU, 2005). The guide, which is in form of intervention lesson plans, focuses on the following topics: communication; gross and fine motor skills; social skills; self care; health and safety; Islamic religious education; self-direction; functional academics; leisure skills; work skills; information communication technology (ICT) skills; assessment; and individualized education plans (IEP). The curriculum guide was officially launched and explained to teachers at a conference organized by the Ministry of Education (SEU, 2007; Lim, 2007a,b; Yeo, 2007). However there are not many relevant researches on how the curriculum has been adapted in inclusive classroom and the result is not clear.
Generally, to achieve a successful curriculum, collaborative planning can be introduced to inclusive schools in Brunei, it is a team effort in which each member of the team supports the others in developing appropriate instructional plans and in designing differentiated learning and teaching activities for students with additional needs (Conway, 2005). In Brunei Darussalam, Regular Teacher (RT), Special Education Needs Assistance Teacher (SENA), instructional assistants or paraprofessionals, community volunteers and specialists need to work cooperatively on curriculum adaptation and implementation in order to maximize the participation for students with high support needs.
3. Community organizations
It is evident that considerable effort has been expended by existing community organizations namely SMARTER, Learning Ladders and Pusat Ehsan, to ensure that appropriate facilities, equipment, resources and staff are available to support students with high support needs within Brunei Darussalam. In this regard, what has been achieved must be considered exemplary. It is also evident, however, that these well establishments entail a high degree of separation and exclusion from mainstream educational process. They reflect more traditional, segregated approaches to the provision of educational opportunities for students with special needs, rather than the inclusive education models now being promoted at national and international levels (Fitzgerald, 2010).
Similar study of implementing Inclusive Education in Hong Kong by Don-il Kim (2003) point out, the Hong Kong government’s government policy support full participation in education and promote equal opportunities for children with SEN, however, many mainstream schools are not ready to admit students with SEN, especially those with more severe disabilities – and many students and parents share this view – because of lack of understanding and prejudice against people with disabilities, and a belief that it is better for children with a disability to be educated in special schools or segregated settings. Having investigated the issue involved, the government put some effort into promoting integration and introduced the Pilot Project on integration in 1997 (Cheung, & Hu, 2007).
government schools follow individualized remedial education plans during their primary schooling (UNESCO, 2008). These plans are specifically designed to address their learning difficulties and needs. SENA teachers in the respective primary schools help implement such plans. However, the number of students with IEP decreased dramatically when they move to the secondary level. In the same document, the total number of SN children in secondary school level was only 80. While comparable provisions remain unavailable in secondary school, it is likely that parents will continue to seek alternative placements for their children (Fitzgerald, 2010). But with continuing effort to promote inclusion and improvements in educational practice, parents should see less need for separate programs and alternative choices.
Conclusion
In the past decade, Brunei Darussalam has achieved significant developments in promoting the practice of inclusive education within its mainstream schools. To inform the future direction and development of inclusive education policy and practice in Brunei Darussalam, it is important that current practices related to school and tertiary levels be monitored and evaluated. This paper discussed three main barriers to beneficial and meaningful inclusive education in the country. In fact, it must always remembered that barriers are often temporal and that with determination, effort, resources, time and further strategies planned and developed, their effects can certainly be reduced and eventually eliminated.
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