Analysis of publications on inclusive education Insoutheast Asia: a review of current research

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Ivan Franko National University of Lviv

Analysis of publications on inclusive education insoutheast asia: a review of current research

Marta Prots, Ruslana Holub

Abstract

The article focuses on the system of inclusive education in Southeast Asia and developing countries of the region in particular. It notes the relatively short history of the introduction of inclusive education in this region, as well as differences in comparison to the more refined systems of inclusive education in developed countries. This review examines the driving causes and the actual process of implementing inclusive school education in Southeast Asian countries and analyzes the existing practices in the region. The study is based on the methodology of review analysis of academic, educational and methodological publications, dated between January 2000 and January 2022, related to inclusive school education in the countries of Southeast Asia.

The work describes the official bodies jointly created by the countries of Southeast Asia to coordinate the implementation of inclusive education, namely the Organization of Ministers of Education of the Southeast Asian Countries (SEAMEO), and the SEAMEOSEN regional center, which specializes in aspects of education for people with special needs.

The article provides insights into the development of inclusive education in Southeast Asian countries, highlighting major challenges and important achievements in this area. inclusive education asia

The study identifies the different approaches and practices of inclusive education that are being developed and implemented in each country. The authors use the IPO (Input- Process-Output) model to analyze publications on inclusive education in Southeast Asia. This approach allowed us to identify the most prominently emphasized aspects, as well as identify strengths and weaknesses in existing publications on inclusion in the Southeast Asia region.

The article serves as a helpful resource for researchers, educators, policy makers, and anyone interested in matters of inclusive education in Southeast Asia. It reveals the main trends and the current state of research in this field, identifying unresolved questions and prospects for further scientific research.

Keywords: Inclusive education, Southeast Asia, contribution, process of formation.

Анотація

АНАЛІЗ ЛІТЕРАТУРИ З ІНКЛЮЗИВНОГО НАВЧАННЯ В ПІВДЕННО- СХІДНІЙ АЗІЇ: ОГЛЯД СУЧАСНИХ ДОСЛІДЖЕНЬ

Марта Проц, Руслана Голуб

Львівський національний університет імені Івана Франка

Статтю присвячено системі інклюзивної освіти в країнах Південно-Східної Азії, зокрема країнам, які перебувають у стадії розвитку. Наведено коротку історію впровадження інклюзивної освіти у цьому регіоні, відмінності від більш винятково розвинутих систем інклюзивної освіти в розвинених країнах. У цьому огляді досліджено причини та, власне, процес впровадження інклюзивної шкільної освіти в країнах Південно-Східної Азії; аналізовано практику, існуючу в цьому регіоні. Дослідження ґрунтується на методології оглядового аналізу наукової, навчально- методичної літератури, опублікованої з січня 2000 по січень 2022 року, що стосується інклюзивної шкільної освіти в країнах Південно-Східної Азії.

У праці описано діяльність спільно створених країнами Південно-Східної Азії державних органів для координації впровадження інклюзивної освіти - Організації міністрів освіти країн Південно-Східної Азії (SEAMEO), а також регіонального центру SEAMEOSEN, який спеціалізується на освітніх потребах осіб з особливими потребами.

Стаття надає інсайти у розвиток інклюзивного навчання в країнах Південно- Східної Азії, висвітлюючи важливі виклики та досягнення у цій сфері.

Дослідження виявляє різні підходи та практики інклюзивного навчання, які розробляються та впроваджуються в кожній країні. Для аналізу літератури про інклюзивне навчання в Південно-Східній Азії автори використали модель IPO (The Input-Process-Output). Цей підхід допоміг визначити, на що було найбільше акцентовано, а також виявити переваги та недоліки у наявній літературі щодо інклюзії в регіоні Південно-Східної Азії.

Стаття є цінним джерелом для дослідників, освітян, політиків та всіх, хто цікавиться питаннями інклюзивної освіти в Південно-Східній Азії. Вона розкриває основні тенденції та висвітлює поточний стан досліджень у цій галузі, визначаючи невирішені питання та перспективи подальших наукових досліджень.

Ключові слова: інклюзивна освіта, Південно-Східна Азія, вклад, процес становлення.

Introduction

The present day developments in the Ukrainian society and the process of integration into the broader European community raise questions on social security of the country's citizens, in particular those who really need it, like children with special educational needs. The relevance of inclusive education is largely determined by the constant increase in the number of children who need remedial education.

At the same time, despite the importance and relevance of inclusive education, researchers are pointing out serious issues with its academic development and practical implementation. In this context, the analysis of the introduction of inclusive education in countries of Southeast Asia may offer a useful perspective.

The questions raised in this review of the literature on inclusive education in Southeast Asia are shaped by the diversity and scope of research in the field. It is important to determine how researchers can contribute to the development of inclusive education in the region.

The absence of a detailed discussion of links between special schools and inclusive education in the existing publications indicates the need for broader knowledge in this area. The transition from traditional (isolated) special education to inclusive models can open up new opportunities for increasing the efficiency of the educational process and integrating students with special needs into society.

In addition, it is important to determine how the collaboration and the division of areas of responsibility between school principals and inclusive teachers affect the implementation of inclusive education in Southeast Asia. This can become a key factor in the successful development of inclusive education and ensuring a good quality education for everyone.

Thus, the problem statement is to gauge the dynamics of the transition from special education to inclusive education in Southeast Asia, as well as to consider the importance of collaboration between educational leaders and teaching staff to ensure the successful implementation of inclusive practices. Such analysis is an important prerequisite to mapping the strategies for further development of inclusive education in the region and resolving existing issues in this area.

Main part

The region of Southeast Asia includes 11 independent countries: Brunei, Cambodia, East Timor, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam, of which ten form the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) [9]. The levels of economic development and education are uneven across the region [9; 12]. As a whole, it has less weight in global politics and economy compared to India and China [12].

One of the interesting examples of a broad understanding of inclusion is presented in the article «Learning diversity in the Chinese classroom» [11]. It presents a concept based on international trends observed in many Southeast Asian countries and aimed at the development of inclusive education and a special approach to learning. It includes sections on giftedness, counseling, and behavior management. This article describes inclusive education in an Asian context, the concepts of integration and cultural diversity with an Asian audience in mind, and highlights how they differ from the understanding of these concepts in the Western countries. In addition, an analysis of the educational and social-emotional needs of children in the context of an inclusive class is carried out, various heterogeneous groups of students are studied and pedagogical work with them is considered [2].

In simple terms, inclusive education means that all children have the opportunity to be educated in the mainstream system and receive individualized support according to their needs. The introduction of inclusive education in schools is an important part of the education policy of many countries, including those in the Southeast Asia region [7]. Despite the difference in the pace of implementation between the developed and developing countries of the region [8], many of them face the challenge of implementing inclusive education practices. For example, countries that have only recently reached stability in the political and economic spheres, such as Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, and Vietnam, are already implementing inclusive education [4]. On the other and, in a highly developed country such as Singapore, the inclusive education system is still in its infancy [14]. Thus, the commitment to inclusive education for students with disabilities is a major challenge for this region [3; 9].

Special schooling has been in place in Southeast Asia for over four decades. However, in the Southeast Asian publications, researchers have not examined the relationship between special schools and inclusive education. Internationally, there is a growing trend towards transition from special schools to inclusive education [5; 10]. One of the possible options along this path is to use special schools as resource centers for mainstream schools. This could potentially affect various aspects, including the learning climate.

Collaboration and shared responsibility are often highlighted in the Southeast Asian publications, but one important aspect has been lacking in this context. We found no evidence of a link between school leaders and inclusive teachers, even though both stakeholder groups are involved in the implementation of inclusive education.

Most countries in Southeast Asia have a history of excluding vulnerable groups and minorities from mainstream education [3; 6]. Today, however, inclusive education seeks to integrate different groups and to promote social justice, develop the potential of students with disabilities, and improve relationships between them [10]. For example, in Thailand, there are six main reasons for implementing inclusive education:

To ensure equity in terms of human rights.

To develop the potential of students with disabilities.

To strengthen the social community and interpersonal relationships.

To prepare for life beyond school.

То build readiness to accept people with disabilities in the community.

And to meet the international standards of education for all [1].

It is now hoped that the experience gained from inclusion in schools will be extended to everyday life in society as a whole [1].

To coordinate the implementation of inclusive education, Southeast Asian countries have established a joint body, the South East Asian Ministers of Education Organization (SEAMEO). One of SEAMEO's regional centers specializing in the aspects of education for people with special needs is called SEAMEOSEN. It is actively working to improve special education and inclusive practices in all member countries [13]. However, it is still difficult to determine what research is available to guide inclusive education in these countries.

Southeast Asia's progress in implementing inclusive education is linked to the fulfilment of international commitments [9; 7; 14] and the process spans more than two decades in most countries in the Southeast Asia region [15]. The Salamanca Statement and the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) have become key documents guiding Southeast Asian countries in recognizing inclusive education for people with disabilities as a fundamental human right. International analyses have identified three main factors that impede the implementation of inclusive education: (1) the lack of an enabling legislative framework; (2) insufficient funding, (3) lack of appropriate resources and training. These obstacles remain relevant across the developed and developing countries of Southeast Asia [2; 6].

Most countries in Southeast Asia do not have appropriate legislation on inclusive education. For example, universal access to inclusive education in Cambodia may not be compatible with existing socio-political structures in Southeast Asia [5], supporting a dual system that includes both regular and special education [6]. The dual system is a pragmatic attempt to provide special education for students with disabilities [14], but it carries risks for students, teachers and school principals [7]. This includes the tension between meeting global educational priorities as defined in the CRPD and the needs of society to ensure that students have access to schools in their neighborhoods [4].

The level of funding is also significantly different between the wealthy countries of Southeast Asia and developing countries. Developing countries such as Laos and Vietnam often face limited funding [1]. Thailand and Malaysia have decided to provide additional compensation to teachers for teaching students with disabilities in regular classes [12]. In this context, Miles and Singal (2010) explore the effectiveness of teaching students with disabilities in inclusive classes compared to segregated classes [13].

Publication studies consider the challenges of inclusive education in countries with limited resources and low levels of disability awareness [6; 8; 9]. Singapore responded to these challenges by focusing on training future teachers for work at both regular and special schools [13]. However, a study [11] indicates that practicing teachers have limited knowledge and experience in working with people with disabilities, and generally have a negative attitude towards inclusive education. Education authorities in Southeast Asia believe that professional development for mainstream school teachers is needed to strengthen their belief in inclusive education [13].

The IPO model was used to analyze the publications on inclusive education in Southeast Asia. This approach allowed us to identify the aspects that have received the greatest emphasis, as well as strengths and weaknesses in the existing publications on inclusion in the Southeast Asia region.

Elements present at three stages of implementation of inclusive education, found in publications in Southeast Asia, compared to the elements presented by Forlin and Loreman [4; 12].

Table 1 The results of analyzing the pathways for implementation of inclusive education in different countries using the IPO model

Elements highlighted in bold were not found in publications from the Southeast Asia countries.

This review has shown that only 10 of the 14 elements of inclusive education have been discussed in the Southeast Asian publications as key aspects of research. It can be argued that the absence of some elements is a realistic reflection of the state of development of inclusive education in Southeast Asia. According to the findings of this study and others using the same model, only 12 of the 14 elements have been used in the publications on inclusive education in the Pacific Island countries. Similarly, when analyzing individual countries in Southeast Asia, it is clear that even in the most developed country in the region (Singapore), research has only been conducted on certain stages of inclusive education. This assessment thus reflects the real state of inclusive education in different countries in Southeast Asia and highlights the lack of research in East Timor, a country that arguably has the least developed inclusive education system.

Measuring inclusive practices is a complex and dynamic task, partly due to the rapid development of inclusive education in Southeast Asia.

The IPO model has demonstrated that assessing inclusion requires not only an analysis of policies, practices, and connections between them [10; 13], but also detailed information about each element and individual experiences of inclusion. Our analysis of the current state of inclusive education in Southeast Asia has highlighted that the IPO model is a useful tool to provide guidance to researchers and education administrators in the region to support and plan for inclusive education for students with disabilities. The approach also helped us identify areas where research attention has been insufficient, particularly in the context of limited or no attention to important aspects of the outcome evaluation phase. Thus, one clear implication for education research and practice in Southeast Asia is the need to systematically monitor and evaluate the outcomes of inclusive education, including student performance and subsequent achievements. This information on outcomes can also serve as a valuable source of feedback for improving resources and processes, such as teacher training and changes in instructional practices.

Conclusion

The academic literature on inclusive education in Southeast Asia is still developing and publications reflect the rapid growth of inclusive education in this region, where it has a shorthistory of implementation. Most schools have limited experience with inclusive education in mainstream classrooms, and teaching staff are not always adequately trained. The current situation is a step forward from the past practices, but there are still many challenges to be addressed. The findings of this review highlight the need for further monitoring and evaluation of various aspects of inclusive education, including student performance and achievements. Such monitoring can serve as a valuable source of information for improving resources and processes, such as teacher training and pedagogical practice.

In general, research in Southeast Asia indicates that most of the countries are actively working on the introduction of inclusive education, at least for some categories of students with special needs. The application of the IPO model to analysis of inclusive education in the countries of Southeast Asia demonstrates its value as a research tool on the subject in developing countries.

The available information on the outcomes is insufficient for comparisons between individual countries.

References

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