Parental Perspective about Inclusive Education in the Pacific

Abstract

Countries across the Pacific are going through significant educational reforms. One of the most significant reforms within the education sector relates to education of children with disabilities. There is a push at the regional level to include students with disabilities in mainstream schools. Many countries are in the process of either revising existing policies or drafting new policy documents to implement inclusive education practices. One group of stakeholders that is going to be directly influenced by the policies is the families of children with disabilities. No attempts have been made to understand what parents think about the new policy directions. In this chapter, we make an attempt to present parental perspective about inclusive education from four countries of the Pacific (Fiji, Samoa, Solomon Islands, and Vanuatu). We believe understanding parental perspectives about inclusive education from the Pacific will shed some light on how likely the new reform will be embraced by them. It will also identify any significant issues of concern that may need to be considered for successful implementation of inclusive education reform in the Pacific.

Citation

Sharma, U. and Michael, S. (2017), "Parental Perspective about Inclusive Education in the Pacific", Working with Families for Inclusive Education (International Perspectives on Inclusive Education, Vol. 10), Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 71-86. https://doi.org/10.1108/S1479-363620170000010010