Inclusion into what? Education provision for students with disabilities and additional learning needs in Papua New Guinea – register here!

Guy Le Fanu, Visiting Research Fellow, School of Education & Social Work, University of Sussex

18 February, 11-12:30

GSRC, Arts C / Zoom Webinar

In recent decades, there has been increased awareness of the need for education systems around the world to become more inclusive for learners with disabilities and additional learning needs (DALN). This has been attributed to civil society activism (both within countries and globally) and the signing, endorsement and ratification of various international agreements, such as the Salamanca Statement (1994), the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (2006), and the Sustainable Development Goals (2015).

This seminar will report back on research carried out last year with a Papua New Guinean researcher, Mevelyn Kawane, a lecturer in special and inclusive education at Balob Teachers College in Lae. This case-study based research was carried out over a four-week period in a ‘model’ inclusive primary school with a significant number of learners with DALN. It involved lesson observation and semi-structured interviews with selected teachers, along with broader contextual analysis. While it was found the teachers had developed their own ‘home grown’ inclusive pedagogical practices to accommodate these learners, it was also found they struggled to meet their needs, particularly the needs of deaf learners. These challenges can be placed in the immediate context of teaching and learning realities and the broader contexts of curriculum reform, culturally embedded pedagogical practices, fragile support systems, and the impact of colonialism, post-colonialism and globalisation on the Papua New Guinea education system.

Post-research, discussions were held with the Provincial Division of Education which had commissioned the research. In the light of these discussions, strategies for strengthening education provision at the school were identified which are at present being implemented.

The implications of the research will be discussed, particularly for the new inclusive education policy in Papua New Guinea and for the international development community as it seeks to promote sustainable inclusive education of good quality in line with the Sustainable Development Goals.

An article based on the research has recently been published in International Journal of Educational Development and can be downloaded from: https://authors.elsevier.com/sd/article/S0738-0593(25)00014-8

Guy Le Fanu taught in special and comprehensive schools in the UK before working in Bangladesh for four years supporting the government’s integrated education programme for learners with visual impairments and six years in Papua New Guinea lecturing in special and inclusive education at the University of Goroka in the Eastern Highlands. For twelve years, he was the Senior Global Technical Lead at Sightsavers, a UK based, disability-focused international non-governmental organisation working in the fields of health, education and social inclusion in Africa and South Asia.

We look forward to having you join us for this event! If you have any queries, please email cie@sussex.ac.uk. 

You can also visit our website: Centre for International Education, University of Sussex.

By: Eve Wilcox
Last updated: Tuesday, 21 January 2025