Inclusive Education | Articles on Education of Bangladesh | Articles on Education of Bangladesh

The word “Autism” was not well known in Bangladesh before the last decade. People are not aware about disability with autism except the urban parents having autistic children. They are different from the other people of the society in respect of social and emotional behavior.  Autism Society of America (ASA) defined Autism as:

Autism is a complex developmental disability that typically appears during the first three years of life and is the result of a neurological disorder that affects the normal functioning of the brain, impacting development in the areas of social interaction and communication skills. Both children and adults with autism typically show difficulties in verbal and non-verbal communication, social interactions, and leisure or play activities.

Again, set of common developmental disorders are also known as Autism Spectrum Disorders, ASD. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) the rate of prevalence of ASD is 1/110 (ADDM, 2009). The characteristics of or affected with autism is defined as autistic behavior or autistic children (web definition).

Abstract: This paper presents findings of a study conducted at Flinders University of South Australia in 2005 on inclusive education. The concept and definition of inclusive education has a great deal of controversy and diversity both in theoretical and practical aspects. The comparison of inclusive education issues indicates that Bangladesh is not behind developed countries like UK, USA or Australia in enacting laws and declarations in favour of inclusive education, it is much behind in implementing inclusive education programme due to many reasons, one of them obviously lack of resources. Special education and integrated education models still exist both in developed countries and in Bangladesh. However, the difference is that almost all school age children with disabilities in developed countries are in educational institutions, whereas only 11% of children with disabilities are in educational institutions in Bangladesh. Bangladesh can learn from the developed country experiences to improve inclusive education practices. The suggestions and recommendations, in view of the current stay of developed countries experiences, could be helpful in advancing the cause of inclusive education in Bangladesh.

AHSAN HABIB

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Abstract: Video technology is increasingly used as an effective instructional tool in teacher training programmes for inclusive education. Video Interaction Guidance (VIG) is one of the innovative approaches originated in the Netherlands uses videos for guidance and behavioural interventions to support to teacher and parents conducting  children with special needs. ‘It involves participants in viewing and discussing very short recordings of their successful interactions with a Video Interaction Guider’ (Sked: 2006). VIG has the potential to enhance the interactive learning style individually and collectively through its reflective and collaborative learning features. The present article analyses how good practices of VIG strategy can be fit into the in-school teacher training programmes in Bangladesh to develop self-supported teacher guidance facilities to response effectively in pupils’ different educational needs. It also discusses concerns for cost–effectiveness and potential incorporation with the existing training framework. The analysis shows existing regional resource centres and existing clusters training programme could be incorporated with VIG as a strategy for effective teacher support system to deal with the children with special needs which ultimately leads the school as a self dynamic and cooperative inclusive learning centres.

Key Words: Video Interaction Guidance (VIG), Inclusive Education, Special Education Needs (SEN), Teacher training, Reflecting learning

Introduction
Using video in teacher education is increasingly recognized and practised as an effective instructional tool in the teachers’ education programmes across the world. One of the key reasons is its potential to capture many aspects of classroom practices through its capability to record visual and aural richness and details (Farber & Nira, 1990, Wetzel et al: 1994 quoted in Fevre, 2004). The complexity of teaching and its multi contextual situation is hardly could be materializes through conventional abstract conversation or lecture method. Video could provide a rich and thick representation of practice that leaves distinctive mental images in the mind of the viewer (Fevre, 2004). Besides alike any other social phenomena, teaching practices could not be reproduced in the same way physical science does in the laboratory. Video recording gives the opportunity of revisiting the moment of teaching practices. it’s different control options like pause, rewind, jump forward, replay offers the practitioner to manages the complex and multidimensional aspect of teaching that are so challenging to grasp  at the real time pace (Fevre, 2004).

The effective use of video is not yet brought out massively in the teacher education programme. General use of video showing and analysis does not reach its full potential to intervene behaviours. For example, a video on good practise of a training programme may give the impression of a good instructional strategy to the trainee but does not ensure internalizing specifically the link between the good practise and self. Hence, problem–focus interactive self-video analysis is being more popular recently. Video interaction analysis has been used in many forms like Video Interaction Guidance (VIG) or self-modelling.