Knowledge about Down syndrome and attitudes towards the educational inclusion of children with Down syndrome were examined in a sample of 2,053 people from the community and a group of 538 experienced teachers. Although both groups displayed reasonably accurate knowledge about Down syndrome and its developmental consequences, they significantly underestimated the average life expectancy for a person with the syndrome. 
In both groups, a positive stereotype of children with Down syndrome as particularly affectionate and happy was evident. Despite recognising the educational, social, and
emotional benefits of inclusive schooling, only around 20% of each group believed that the regular classroom was the best setting for children with Down syndrome. The findings
suggest that accurate knowledge and positive, but realistic, expectations are important for enhancing the acceptance of individuals with disabilities within their schools and communities.

Developmental expectations, personality stereotypes, and attitudes towards inclusive education : Community and teacher views of Down syndrome

For the past 15 years (2003-2018), Ghana has followed international frameworks and taken steps to implement inclusive education. This has triggered research that seeks to assess effectiveness of practices by documenting the perspectives and experiences of key stakeholders such as parents and other educators. This study took stock of the research evidence to appraise the effectiveness of inclusive education practices, identify gaps in the literature and draw attention to areas that policymakers could strengthen to advance those practices. Adopting Ainscow and Miles’s (2009. Developing Inclusive Education Systems: How Can We Move Policies Forward) inclusive education measurement indicators as a conceptual framework, we reviewed empirical studies that have been conducted on inclusive education in Ghana since the policy was formally incorporated into the education system. Ten databases, along with manual searches in journals and the reference lists of selected articles, yielded a total of 426 studies, of which 35 satisfied the pre-determined inclusion and quality-assessment criteria. We found barriers to inclusive practices at all levels of education. Teachers in particular have not been adequately informed and supported to teach students with disabilities in regular classrooms. The implications of the findings for policymaking and future research are discussed in detail.

Mapping the evidence-based research on Ghana’s inclusive education to policy and practices: a scoping review

Inclusive education systems reflect growing awareness of the imperatives of 21st-century societies to make quality education available to all students. The development of inclusive education in Ghana has been recognized as the process for orchestrating educational quality and equity for students with disabilities. This article contributes to the area of inclusive education from Ghanaian educators on its progress and achievements. The data in this paper emerged from a case study involving educators from two regions in Ghana. Findings show an uncoordinated attempt to pilot inclusive education across the country because of different agencies funding the project. The authors argue that there is the need for a holistic review of the program to ground the policy within the education system of Ghana.

/pdf/decade-of-inclusive-education-in-ghana-perspectives-of-1hopma53z2.pdf

Decade of inclusive education in Ghana: perspectives of special educators

Introduction The 1994 World Conference on Special Needs Education in Salamanca, Spain, declared that although children, the youth and adults have differing characteristics, interests, abilities and learning needs, they must all have access to regular education, through child-centred pedagogy, that is capable of meeting their special educational needs (SEN). The Salamanca Statement reaffirming the right to education of every individual, as enshrined in the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and committing to the 1990 World Conference on Education for All (EFA)--called upon countries to adopt inclusive education as a matter of law or policy (UNESCO, 1994). The Salamanca Statement has been a considerable source of influence in the formulation of local educational policies and has rekindled Ghana's commitment to improve the access, quality and provision of equal educational opportunities for all children, including those with disabilities. In particular, the Education Strategic Plans (ESP) of 2005 to 2015 and 2010 to 2020 have decreed inclusive education as the most appropriate educational provision for students with disabilities, with the goal of achieving an inclusive education system by 2015 (Government of Ghana, 2012, 2003). The recently drafted inclusive education policy of Ghana is founded on the premise that every child has the right to education. This policy therefore seeks inclusive education for all persons with mild as well as severe SEN at all levels of education (Ministry of Education [MOE] 2013). A recent review of the status of the inclusive education system in Ghana (Ametepee & Anastasiou, 2015), however, found that ESP (2003-2015) targets have not been met, that only three percent of children with disabilities in Ghana receive any form of education, that the remainder fails to attend and that those who attend are without support. The establishment of an inclusive education system across Ghana has lagged because of barriers facing students with disabilities, such as schooling costs, lack of adequate transportation, unavailability of curriculum support and the absence of trained teachers (Singal et al., 2015). Others explanations include lack of effective teacher training and an inadequacy of clear inclusive policies embracing specific inclusive and child-centred strategies such as co-teaching, consultative services and peer-assisted strategies (Ametepee & Anastasiou, 2015). Notwithstanding, the curricula at the primary and junior high school levels in Ghana encourage the adoption of child-centred approaches (Ampiah, 2008). However, recent studies have shown that the experiences of students with disabilities in mainstream settings are unfavourable; they sit idly and do not understand taught lessons (Singal et al., 2015), and their SEN are inadequately met due to teachers' limited competence in adaptive teaching practices (Agbenyega & Deku, 2011; Alhassan & Abosi, 2014; Kuyini & Desai, 2009; Kuyini & Mangope, 2011). Similar studies across other developing countries have shown that participatory, child-centred teaching pedagogies, activity-based learning, problem-solving approaches, child-to-child activities and group work are non-existent in mainstream classrooms (Arbeiter & Hartley, 2002; Johnstone & Chapman, 2009). The prevailing practice of teachers' adoption of teacher-centred strategies that keep disabled children away from school in developing countries has been attributed to high student-teacher ratios, a lack of resources and support services for pupils with impairments, inadequate pre-service and in-service training for teachers (Le Fanu, 2013; Singal et al., 2015) and little emphasis on inclusive instructional strategies in initial teacher education programmes (Johnstone & Chapman, 2009). The lack of adoption of inclusive and child-centred strategies might also reflect a lack of knowledge on the part of teachers. The didactic approach of disseminating knowledge from teacher to students fails to take into account the SEN of students and contradicts the pedagogies required for providing equitable and accessible education for all (Forlin & Sin, 2010). …

https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1118090.pdf

Teacher Educators' Views on Inclusive Education and Teacher Preparation in Ghana.

Equitable access to quality education has been recognised as an important human right in several international conventions. Despite the importance of education to persons with disabilities, their participation has been found to be ineffective. In the Ghanaian context, most previous studies have largely reported on barriers encountered in primary and secondary school, with a limited focus on the participation of students with disabilities in tertiary institutions. Therefore, the specific objective of this study was to explore the university experiences of employed graduates with visual impairments (VIs) in Ghana. Face-to-face interviews were conducted with graduates with VIs (n = 14), who were recruited from three regions in Ghana. The interview material was transcribed verbatim, and a descriptive thematic analysis was performed. Due to a lack of formal support, many participants reported that they relied on their sighted peers in their studies and for other daily living activities. They also encountered significant challenges during their higher education, such as inaccessible programmes and unfriendly physical environments, financial hardship, inadequate learning materials and lecturers’ negative attitudes towards them. The policy implications of the findings and the recommendations and limitations of the study are also discussed.

University Experiences of Graduates with Visual Impairments in Ghana

This study was undertaken to examine the university teachers’ perception of including students with Visual Impairment (VI) in the public universities of Ghana. The sample consisted of 110 teachers from the University of Cape Coast (UCC), the University of Education, Winneba, (UEW), and the University of Ghana (UG). Data were collected through questionnaire developed by the researchers (Chronbach’s coefficient Alpha of .76). One research question and two hypotheses were formulated to guide the study. The data were analyzed employing descriptive statistics, t-tests and ANOVA. The results showed that teachers perception toward inclusion of students with VI were favorable. Gender differences were noted showing that female teachers’ perceptions were more positive than the males’. Teachers in the three universities also differed in their perception toward the inclusion of students with VI.

/pdf/university-teachers-perception-of-inclusion-of-visually-6wypm02jpf.pdf

University teachers' perception of inclusion of visually impaired in ghanaian universities

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University teachers' perception of inclusion of visually impaired in ghanaian universities