Abstract
The Pacific Island nations are in the process of transforming education to support all learners through the application of more inclusive approaches. In order to measure progress, they are working collaboratively to develop a set of local and contextually applicable indicators for inclusive education. This article reports the initial step in this process. A detailed review of literature about the Pacific Islands highlights 10 themes that are highly pertinent to the monitoring of inclusive education (IE) in the region. The article reviews these themes across the continuum of input, process, and outcomes for IE, at 3 levels of implementation: micro, meso, and macro. While disability-inclusive indicators for measuring IE within the Pacific Islands are very limited at present, the article also identifies strategies, good practices, government recommendations, and outcomes from across the region that educators may use to inform the development of inclusive practices.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Ainscow, M., Dyson, A., Goldrick, S., & West, M. (2011). Developing equitable education systems. Abbingdon, UK: Routledge.
AusAID [Australian Agency for International Development] (2013). Program design document for a regional pilot program in Papua New Guinea, Samoa, and Solomon Islands: Pacific Benchmarking for Education Results (PaBER). Unpublished document.
Burton, L. J. (2012). Building on living traditions: Early childhood education and culture in Solomon Islands. Current Issues in Comparative Education, 15(1), 157–175.
Cook Islands MoE [Ministry of Education] (2002). Special needs education policy. http://www.paddle.usp.ac.fj/collect/paddle/index/assoc/coo24.dir/doc.pdf.
Faamanatu-Eteuati, N. (2011). Se’i tatou ‘aleaga: Samoan educators’ insights into inclusive education development. Pacific-Asian Education, 65. http://pacificcircleconsortium.org/uploads/PAE_23__2__final_11.pdf.
Forlin, C., Chambers, D., Loreman, T., Deppeler, J., & Sharma, U. (2013). A review of the literature on inclusive education: Best evidence in relation to theoretical and practical findings. Canberra: Department of Education.
Glaser, B. G., & Strauss, A. L. (1967). The discovery of grounded theory. Chicago: Aldine.
Government of Fiji MoENHCA [Ministry of Education, National Heritage, Culture and Arts] (2008). Education for All: Mid-decade assessment report. Fiji: UNESCO.
Government of Vanuatu (2011). Inclusive education policy and strategic plan, 2010–2020. Vanuatu: Ministry of Education.
Kiribati MoE [Ministry of Education] (2012). Ministry of Education sector strategic plan, 2012–2015. http://planipolis.iiep.unesco.org/upload/Kiribati/Kiribati–ESSP_Education–Sector–Strategic–Plan_2012–15.pdf.
Kyriazopoulou, M., & Weber, H. (Eds.) (2009). Development of a set of indicators for inclusive education in Europe. Odense, Denmark: European Agency for Development in Special Needs Education.
Le Fanu, G. (2013). The inclusion of inclusive education in international development: Lessons from Papua New Guinea. International Journal of Educational Development, 33(2), 139–148.
Loreman, T. (2013). Measuring inclusive education outcomes in Alberta, Canada. International Journal of Inclusive Education, 18(5), 459–483. doi:10.1080/13603116.2013.788223.
McCullough, R. (2005). Challenges in paradise: Inclusive education in the South Pacific. http://www.eenet.org.uk.
McDonald, L., & Tufue-Dolgoy, R. (2013). Moving forwards, sideways or backwards? Inclusive education in Samoa. International Journal of Disability, Development and Education, 60(3), 270–284.
Miles, M., & Huberman, M. (1994). Qualitative data analysis: An expanded sourcebook (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Miles, S., Lene, D., & Merumeru, L. (2014). Making sense of inclusive education in the Pacific region: Networking as a way forward. Childhood, 21(3), 339–353. doi:10.1177/0907568214524458.
Naidu, S. (2011). Right to education for all children in Vanuatu: Are girls getting an equal opportunity to education compared to boys? Law, Social Justice and Global Development Journal, 16. http://www.go.warwick.ac.uk.
Nauru DET [Department of Education and Training] (2008). Footpaths II education and training strategic plan, 2008–2013. http://aid.dfat.gov.au/countries/pacific/nauru/Documents/footpaths–II–education–strategic–plan–2008–13.pdf.
Otsuka, S. (2006). Talanoa research: Culturally appropriate research design in Fiji. Paper presented at the International Education Research Conference of the Australian Association for Research in Education, Melbourne. http://www.aare.edu.au/data/publications/2005/ots05506.pdf.
Palau MoE [Ministry of Education] (2008). Special education policies and procedures for the Republic of Palau. http://planipolis.iiep.unesco.org/upload/Palau/Palau.Special-Education-Policy-2009.pdf.
Papua New Guinea DoE [Department of Education] (2003). Implementation support booklet for head teachers of primary and community schools: Supporting the implementation of the upper primary curriculum. http://education.gov.pg/TISER/documents/curriculum/implementation-support-booklet-upper-primary.pdf.
Papua New Guinea DoE (2004). Achieving a better future—a National Plan for Education 2005–2014. http://planipolis.iiep.unesco.org/upload/Papua%20New%20Guinea/Papua_New_Guinea_Education_Plan_2005-2014.pdf.
Papua New Guinea DoE (2006). Lower secondary education reform: Lower secondary implementation handbook. http://education.gov.pg/TISER/documents/curriculum/implementation-support-booklet-lower-secondary.pdf.
PDF and PIFS [Pacific Disability Forum and Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat] (2012). Mapping of the disability policy and program frameworks in the Pacific: A report on mapping work completed by the Pacific Disability Forum (PDF) working with the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat (PIFS). http://aid.dfat.gov.au/aidissues/did/Documents/mapping–disability–frameworks–pacific.pdf.
PEDF [Pacific Education Development Framework] (2009). Pacific Education Development Framework (PEDF), 2009–2015. http://www.forumsec.org/resources/uploads/attachments/documents/Pacific%20Education%20Development%20Framework%202009–2015.pdf.
PIFS [Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat] (2002). Forum basic education action plan: 2002 review. Fiji: PIFS. http://www.forumsec.org/resources/uploads/embeds/file/FBEAP_complete_2007 (1).pdf.
PIFS (2009). Forum disability ministers’ meeting (session 9): Pacific regional strategy on disability, 2010–2015. Fiji: PIFS. http://www.forumsec.org/resources/uploads/attachments/documents/Pacific%20Regional%20Strategy%20on%20Disability.pdf.
PIFS (2011). Outcomes document: Directors’ of education meeting, 21 October. Fiji: PIFS. http://www.forumsec.org/resources/uploads/attachments/documents/Directors%20of%20Education%20Meeting%20Final%20Outcomes%202011.pdf.
PIFS (2012a). Forum ministers’ meeting (session 4): Update on the implementation of the Pacific education development framework, country and regional level. Fiji: PIFS. http://www.forumsec.org/resources/uploads/attachments/documents/2012FEdMM.03_Paper.pdf.
PIFS (2012b). Pacific regional MDG’s tracking report. Fiji: PIFS. http://www.forumsec.org.fj/resources/uploads/attachments/documents/MDG%20Track%20Rpt%20web%202012.pdf.
PRIDE [Pacific Regional Initiatives for the Delivery of Basic Education] (2007). The PRIDE project: Benchmarks for national strategic plans. 4th ed. http://www.usp.ac.fj.
Puamau, P. (2007). Advancing inclusive education in the Pacific. In P. Puamau & F. Pene (Eds.), Inclusive education in the Pacific (pp. 9–28). Suva, Fiji: Institute of Education, University of the South Pacific.
Samoa MoESC [Ministry of Education, Sports, and Culture] (2007). Education for All: Mid-decade assessment report, Samoa 2007. http://www.mesc.gov.ws/pdf/efa_web.pdf.
SPBEA [Secretariat of Pacific Board for Educational Assessment] (2013). Pacific benchmarking for education results (PaBER). http://www.spbea.org.fj/getattachment/218361b5-7afa-42a4-89f8-8c9dcb43a502/PaBER-Bulletin-1.aspx.
SPC & SPBEA [Secretariat of Pacific Community and South Pacific Board of Educational Assessments] (2014). Pacific Islands Literacy and Numeracy Assessment (PILNA). Noumea: Secretariat of the PCSPBEA. Fiji: PCSPBEA. http://forumsec.org/resources/uploads/attachments/documents/2014FEdMM.03_Attachment_PILNA_Rpt.pdf.
Tonga MoE [Ministry of Education] (2004). Final draft Tonga education policy framework 2004–2019. Tonga: MoE.
Tufue-Dolgoy, R. (2010). Stakeholders’ perspectives of the implementation of the inclusive education policy in Samoa: A cultural fit. Unpublished doctoral thesis. Victoria University of Wellington, Wellington, New Zealand.
UNESCAP [United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific] (2007). Biwako Plus Five: Further efforts towards an inclusive, barrier-free and rights-based society for persons with disabilities in Asia and the Pacific. http://www.unescap.org/resources/biwako-plus-five-further-efforts-towards-inclusive-barrier-free-and-rights-based-society.
UNESCAP (2012). Incheon strategy to “make the right real” for persons with disabilities in Asia and the Pacific. Bangkok: United Nations Publications.
Vanuatu Education Services (2012). Inclusive education: Vanuatu report. International Council for Education of People with Visual Impairment. http://www.icevi.org.
Waitoller, F. R., & Artiles, A. J. (2013). A decade of professional development research for inclusive education: A critical review and notes for a research program. Review of Educational Research, 83(3), 319–356.
World Bank (2007). Opportunities to improve social services: Human development in the Pacific islands. Washington, DC: World Bank.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
This research has been funded by the Australian Government, through the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade’s Australian Development Research Awards Scheme (ADRAS), under an award titled ‘Developing and testing indicators for the education of children with disability in the Pacific’. The views expressed herein are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of the Commonwealth of Australia. The Commonwealth of Australia accepts no responsibility for any loss, damage or injury resulting from reliance on any of the information or views contained in this publication. The assistance and advice of members of the ADRAS research team who provided documents and support is gratefully acknowledged.
About this article
Cite this article
Forlin, C., Sharma, U., Loreman, T. et al. Developing disability-inclusive indicators in the Pacific Islands. Prospects 45, 197–211 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11125-015-9345-2
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11125-015-9345-2