Gone fishing, participants practice inclusive and active teaching methodologies.

Inclusive Education (IE) seeks to improve education systems by challenging and changing exclusionary policies and practices. IE aims to minimize and remove barriers to access, participation and learning for all children, particularly children who have been traditionally marginalized due to issues of child labor, poverty, disabilities, gender, or ethnicity.

Over the past six months, seven schools were selected to be IE pilot schools across Aceh. The schools were chosen based on school enrollments of children with special needs, community involvement in school activities and the commitment of teachers and principals to IE.

During June, Aceh's Inclusive Education pilot schools participated in a four-day specialized training delivered by national experts in learning disabilities and visual, auditory, physical and mental impairments.  Because IE is committed to involving whole school communities, training included teachers, parents, principals, school supervisors and sub-district heads of education. In addition, teachers and principals from select special needs schools also participated in order to build relationships with and offer support to the IE pilot schools.

This workshop not only deepened participants' knowledge about the importance of IE, but participants were also taught new teaching methodologies appropriate for children of varying abilities.

Fourth grade teacher, Lina Ginting, from SDN Teupin Pukat, expressed feelings of excitement about incorporating her newly learned skills into her classroom activities, "The Inclusive Education training is very useful because now I know that I have specific methodologies to reach children with special needs. This year, I want to implement IE and begin using the training I received."

Toward the end of the workshop participants were tasked with creating a three month action plan, outlining how they will begin their journey toward becoming an IE school.

Several teachers and principals mentioned feeling empowered and motivated to take on the challenge of becoming an IE school.

"My school is planning to begin IE with the first grade and see how it goes," commented Pak Kamaruzzaman, principal of primary school SDN Suka Jaya.

Over the coming months all participants will gather together again to reflect, assess and determine what further capacity building is required to become a successful and truly inclusive school.