CHAPTER II.

BASES AND POLICIES OF SPECIAL

AND INCLUSIVE EDUCATION

A.3 HISTORICAL / SOCIOLOGICAL

3.1 CONVENTION ON THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILD

In the industrialized countries of the early twentieth century, there were no

standards of protection for children. It was common for them to work alongside
adults in unsanitary and unsafe conditions. Growing recognition of the injustices
of their situation, propelled by a greater understanding of the developmental
needs of children, led to a movement to better protect them.

International standards on child rights have advanced dramatically over the past
century, but gaps remain in meeting those ideals.

WHAT IS THE UN CONVENTION ON THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILD?

 The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child is a comprehensive,

internationally binding agreement on the rights of children, which was
adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 1989. It is the most
widely ratified human rights treaty in history.
 It sets out the rights that must be realized for every child – the rights to
survival, development, protection, and participation. It offers a vision of the
child as an individual and as a member of a family and community, with
rights and responsibilities appropriate to his or her age and stage of
development.
 The Philippines as a State Party to the Convention has the obligation and
accountability to undertake all appropriate legislative, administrative, and
other measures for the realization of children’s rights and those children
have access to services, protection from all forms of abuse and violence,
opportunities for personal development to reach their fullest potential.
 Since the Philippines’ adoption in July 1990, there is much to be celebrated.
Recently, the UN Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner published
the Philippine Compliance Report on UN CRC (combined 5th and 6th
periodic reports);
 In spite of the overall gains and continuing efforts of the Philippine
Government, Filipino children and their families still face challenges that
compromise their human rights and benefits of development.

THE DENIAL OF CHILD RIGHTS

In the Philippines thousands of children are robbed of their childhood and

suffer lifelong developmental challenges as a result of violence.

According to the Philippine National Baseline Study on Violence against

Children, 80% of Filipino children had experienced some form of violence in
their lifetime, whether in the home, school, workplace, community, or during
dating.

WHAT ARE CHILD RIGHTS?

Child rights are human rights that also recognize the special needs for care
and protection of minors — children and young people under the age of 18.
All children have these rights, regardless of religion, race, ethnicity, gender,
or cultural background. No child should be treated unfairly on any basis.

All adults should do what is best for the children. When adults make
decisions, they should think about how their decisions will affect children.
The government has a responsibility to make sure rights are protected.
 TIMELINE OF CHILD RIGHTS

THE FOUR GENERAL PRINCIPLES OF UNCRC:

1. Non-discrimination — all of the rights provided by the Convention must

be available to all children without any form of prejudice.
2. The Child's Best Interests - that the child's best interests must be the
primary consideration in all acts related to children.
3. Life, Survival, and Development – that every child has the right to life,
survival, and development.
4. Respect for Children's Opinions - that in all matters affecting him or her,
the child's opinions must be considered and taken into account.

THE CONVENTION ON THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILD

Since then, the Convention on the Rights of the Child has become a significant
agreement between countries that have pledged to protect the rights of
children.

There are 54 goals in the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

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WHO IS RESPONSIBLE?

 Children’s rights laid down in the Convention on the Rights of the Child
have to be provided by adults or the state.
 Governments have the main responsibility to make sure the rights of
children are protected and provided for.
 All citizens have a responsibility to respect the rights of children as well.
 It also identifies parents as the primary caregiver of the child while
governments are charged with assisting families in fulfilling their role.
 However, the Convention also refers to the responsibilities of children, in
particular, to respect the rights of others, especially their parents (Article
29).

WORLD VISION AND CHILD RIGHTS

As a Christian relief, development, and advocacy organization, World Vision

affirms that Girls and boys are people created in God’s image; therefore they
are individuals of worth and dignity. World Vision upholds the rights of children
regardless of their religion, race, ethnicity, or gender. We believe that God’s
plan is for all children to experience the fullness of life.

 Safety
 Education
 Parent Nurturing
 Protection from Violence
 Protection from Abuse
 3.2 UNESCO

Ensuring that each individual has an equal opportunity for educational

progress remains a challenge worldwide. Sustainable Development Goal 4 on
Education and the Education 2030 Framework for Action emphasize inclusion
and equity as laying the foundations for quality education.

The International Committee for Intellectual Cooperation of the League of

Nations was succeeded by UNESCO in 1945. The agency's goals, governing
structure, and functioning framework are all outlined in its constitution.

UNESCO's founding mission, which was shaped by the Second World War, is to
advance peace, sustainable development, and human rights by facilitating
collaboration and dialogue among nations. This includes education as one of
the objectives through five major program areas

The UNESCO Convention against Discrimination in Education (1960) and other

international human rights treaties prohibit any exclusion from, or limitation to,
educational opportunities on the basis of socially ascribed or perceived
differences, such as by sex, ethnic/social origin, language, religion, nationality,
economic condition, ability.

The UNESCO promotes inclusive education systems that remove the barriers
limiting the participation and achievement of all learners, respect diverse
needs, abilities and characteristics and that eliminate all forms of
discrimination in the learning environment.

UNESCO works with governments and partners to address exclusion from, and
inequality in, education. Among marginalized and vulnerable groups, UNESCO
pays special attention to children with disabilities as they are overrepresented
in the population of those who are not in education. Indigenous people also
continue to experience exclusion within and from education.

WHAT UNESCO DOES ON INCLUSION IN EDUCATION

UNESCO supports the Member States to ensure that education policies,

programs, and practices promote the development of inclusive education
systems, from early childhood onwards. This includes overcoming barriers that
limit the presence, participation, and achievement of all learners. Particular
attention is given to those learners who may be at risk of underachievement,
marginalization, or exclusion.

UNESCO monitors the implementation of normative instruments such as the

UNESCO Convention against discrimination in education and the UN
Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (link is external).
The UNESCO Global data on the right to education takes stock of the
implementation of the right to education in the UNESCO Member States and
provides information on laws and normative instruments that promote
inclusion as well as on inclusive education policies.

UNESCO enhances knowledge and promotes effective practices through

advancing understanding and documenting of factors that allow inclusion in
education.

UNESCO provides guidance and tools to support the Member States in

developing/revising policies and programs to ensure inclusion. UNESCO’s
Guide for ensuring inclusion and equity in education helps the Member States
to review how well equity and inclusion figure in existing policies, to decide
what actions are needed to improve policies, and to monitor progress as
actions are taken.
 3.3 EDUCATION FOR ALL

The Statement begins with a commitment to Education for All, recognizing the
importance and urgency of providing education for all children, young people,
and adults "within the regular education system." It goes on to say that
children with special educational needs "must have access to regular schools,"
and adds:

Regular schools with this inclusive orientation are the most effective means of
combating discriminatory attitudes, creating welcoming communities,
building an inclusive society, and achieving education for all; additionally, they
provide an effective education to the majority of children while also improving
the efficiency and, ultimately, the cost-effectiveness of the entire education
system.

HISTORY OF EDUCATION FOR ALL

Education for All (EFA) is a global movement spearheaded by UNESCO that

aims to address the learning needs of all children, youth, and adults by 2015.

Education for All is a 501 non-profit organization located in the United States
that aims to give FREE education to disadvantaged poor rural children, in
accordance with a UNESCO initiative.

The movement was launched at the World Conference on Education for All in
1990 by UNESCO, UNDP, UNICEF, and the World Bank. Which adopted by 150
governments adopted the World Declaration on Education for All at Jomtien,
Thailand to boost efforts towards delivering the right to education.
The international community met again in Dakar ten years later, in 2000, with
many countries still far from achieving this goal. They created six
key education goals for 2015, with the purpose of meeting the learning
needs of all children, youth, and adults.

Philippine Education for All (EFA) 2015 is a vision and holistic program of
reforms that aim to improve access and quality of basic education for every
Filipino by 2015. Providing education to all Filipinos opened an alternative
learning system to complement formal schooling to reach and better serve
those in difficult circumstances.

This entails not only the Department of Education but the involvement of the
entire society, including national and local government agencies and civil
society organizations as providers of basic learning needs.

THE SIX EFA GOALS

 Goal 1: Expand early childhood care and education

Expanding and improving comprehensive early childhood care and
education, especially for the most vulnerable and disadvantaged
children.
 Goal 2: Provide free and compulsory primary education for all
Ensuring that by 2015 all children, particularly girls, children in difficult
circumstances, and those belonging to ethnic minorities, have access
to, and complete, free, and compulsory primary education of good
quality.
 Goal 3: Promote learning and life skills for young people and adults
Ensuring that the learning needs of all young people and adults are met
through equitable access to appropriate learning and life-skills
programs.
 Goal 4: Increase adult literacy
Achieving a 50 percent improvement in levels of adult literacy by 2015,
especially for women, and equitable access to basic and continuing
education for all adults.
 Goal 5: Achieve gender parity
Eliminating gender disparities in primary and secondary education by
2005, and achieving gender equality in education by 2015, with a focus
 on ensuring girls' full and equal access to and achievement in basic
education of good quality.
 Goal 6: Improve the quality of education
Improving all aspects of the quality of education and ensuring
excellence of all so that recognized and measurable learning outcomes
are achieved by all, especially in literacy, numeracy and essential life
skills.

CRITICAL AND URGENT EFA TASKS

To attain the above goals, nine urgent and critical tasks were formulated as
follows:

 Make every school continuously perform better

 Expand Early Childhood Care and Development
 Transform nonformal and informal interventions into an alternative
learning system yielding more EFA benefits
 Promote practice of high quality teaching
 Adopt a 12-year program for formal basic education
 Enrich education curriculum in the context of articulation, enrich the pillars
of new functional literacy
 Provide adequate and stable public funding for countrywide attainment of
EFA goals
 Create a network of community-based groups for the attainment of local
EFA goals
 Monitor progress in efforts towards the attainment of EFA goals

According to Article 26, Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1948- Everyone

has the right to education. Education shall be free, at least in the elementary and
fundamental stages. Elementary education shall be compulsory. Technical and
professional education shall be made generally available and higher education
shall be equally accessible to all on the basis of merit.
 3.4 K TO 12 INCLUSION POLICY

Inclusive education is the core principle of the K to 12 Basic Education

Program. This promotes the right of every Filipino to quality, equitable,
culture-based, and complete basic education. Through inclusive education,
all Filipinos will realize their full potential and contribute meaningfully to
building the nation.

The Department of Education (DepEd) is mandated to protect and promote

the right of every Filipino citizen to quality education that will enable each
learner to realize their full potential and meaningfully take part in nation-
building.

Actualizing this constitutional right is the main thrust of the K to 12 Basic

Education Program which recognizes the diversity of the country's learners,
schools, and communities. Seeking to be inclusive, K to 12 has broadened
the goals of basic education in response to the varied realities of learners
and their families by providing a wider range of options not only in
preparing them for higher education but also for opportunities in
employment and entrepreneurship.

K to 12 further promotes the implementation of programs that address the

various physical, intellectual, psychosocial, and cultural needs of learners in
diverse contexts. These programs are anchored on inclusion which is a
core principle of the Enhanced Basic Education Program (DepEd Order No.
43, s. 2013).

The principle of inclusion promotes institutional sensitivity and

responsiveness to the nature, situation, and realities of our country's
learners and directs the Department to proactively address these through
the curriculum and other interventions. This is institutionalized by K to 12
through Inclusive Education, a policy perspective realized through the
development and implementation of learner-centered and context-
responsive programs.

LEGAL BASES

The principle of inclusion as a basis for development initiatives including

education has been highlighted in international legal and standard-setting
instruments, and Philippine laws. These laws and instruments are premised
on the fundamental importance of recognizing the right to quality basic
education of all learners, especially the disadvantaged and marginalized,
who may be in unique situations and have different learning needs due to
their personal, social, cultural, and economic context. These serve as pillars
of this Inclusive Education Policy Framework.

GUIDING PRINCIPLES

The Department adheres to the following guiding principles in the pursuit of

Inclusive Education:

 Inclusion - All learners shall have access to and participate in all

aspects of life in school, in learning centers and other places of learning.

 Responsiveness to Rights - Inclusive Education contributes to the

realization of the Department's commitment to quality, equitable,
culture-based, and complete basic education which is premised on its
mandate to protect and promote the right of every Filipino citizen to
such education services. The Department subscribes to the Rights-
based Approach (RBA), which highlights the recognition, promotion, and
protection of rights as the basis for initiatives, and focuses on people
empowerment through the introduction and use of the concept of rights
as legal entitlements of the people and legal obligations of the
government to its people.
 Sensitivity and Responsiveness to Context - K to 12 recognizes and
values the diverse contexts of learners, schools, and communities, and
this diversity guides the design and delivery of basic education
programs and interventions.

The inclusiveness of K to 12 is also expressed through existing programs

such as Special Education, Indigenous Peoples Education, Madrasah
Education, and Flexible Learning Options including Alternative Delivery
Modes and Alternative Learning System, which address the context and
needs of particular learners. Special Interest Programs also cater to
learners who manifest the interest and aptitudes for particular skill sets.

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 CONCLUDING STATEMENTS

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child is an important

agreement by countries that have promised to protect children's rights. The
Convention explains who children are, all their rights, and the
responsibilities of governments.

UNESCO puts an emphasis on children, and as UNICEF reiterates, reducing

poverty begins with children and the things that improve their quality of life.
Education is one of the most important pieces, and UNESCO’s efforts to
improve it benefit people the world over. Education transforms lives and is
at the heart of UNESCO's mission to build peace, eradicate poverty and
drive sustainable development. UNESCO believes that education is a
human right for all throughout life and that access must be matched by
quality.

Philippine Education for All (EFA) 2015 is a vision and holistic program of
reforms that aim to improve access and quality of basic education for
every Filipino by 2015.

Inclusive education is the core principle of the K to 12 Basic Education

Program. This promotes the right of every Filipino to quality, equitable,
culture-based, and complete basic education. Through inclusive education,
all Filipinos will realize their full potential and contribute meaningfully to
building the nation.

The Department's inclusive basic education system's key stakeholders are

the students. As future teachers, it is our primary responsibility to learn
about our students' rights and to take greater responsibility for how we
treat and cater to them in the classroom. Also, as future educators, we will
always maintain an inclusive environment and promote respect at all
times, and we will take steps to ensure that initiatives geared toward
differentiated instruction to address a variety of learning needs are not
misinterpreted by learners or the immediate community as segregation,
nor are they a source of bullying or discrimination.
We should also make sure that students feel accepted and welcome, in the
sense that we should not discriminate, judge, or degrade them; instead, we
should make them feel as if the classroom and their learnings are free of
discrimination, judgment, and degrading, so they can freely express
themselves, eagerly participate in class, and exercise their rights.

So that, "NO LEARNER IS LEFT BEHIND".

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