Paving the Way for More Inclusive Education in Haiti
USAID supports researchers who are working to ensure that children with disabilities have access to education
Inclusive education helps promote a stronger, safer, and more prosperous society. It provides pathways to better health, economic growth, a sustainable environment, and peaceful, democratic communities. Education is also an equalizer and enabler, giving children and youth with the skills they need for life and work.
However, children and youth with disabilities often face barriers in accessing quality, equitable, and inclusive education, especially in Haiti. In fact, official data about persons with disabilities is almost non-existent in the country. According to the latest information available, 2009 data from Haiti’s Ministry of Social Affairs and Work, an estimated 3.5 percent of the 120,000 children with disabilities in Port-au-Prince have access to education.
Add to that the trauma from natural disasters and crises, and that present more barriers for students with disabilities. Teachers and administrators may not realize students have post-traumatic stress (PTS) or social and behavioral disabilities, and, even if they do, few have training on how to accommodate the needs of their students. The devastation of Hurricane Matthew in 2016 led Rochambeau Lainy of the Initiative Group for the Study of Cognition, Language, Learning and Disorders (GIECLAT) and a team of Haitian researchers to investigate the needs of students with disabilities.
Rochambeau explains: “These problems are psychological, environmental, sociological… There were already problems, but the hurricane made the situation worse. Schools were destroyed and they have not been rebuilt… Many students and teachers… lost their family members and loved ones, creating a lot of trauma”
Rochambeau teamed up with USAID’s Partnerships for Enhanced Engagement in Research (PEER) program, Queens College researcher Nathalis Wamba, and educational leaders in Haiti to better understand and address the challenges faced by students with disabilities.
How Haitian Researchers are Tackling the Challenge
With support from USAID’s PEER program, Rochambeau led a team of Haitian social scientists to conduct a large-scale survey of the needs of students with disabilities in Southern Haiti, areas severely affected by Hurricane Matthew. The team collaborated with Haiti’s Ministry of Education through the Commission for School Adaptation and Social Support (CASAS), the Public University of Grand’Anse, University Institute for Management Training (INUFOCAD), the Secretariat for Integration of Persons with Disabilities, and local civil society groups — including an organization led by youth with disabilities.
For the first time they collected school data in Southern Haiti that identified students with disabilities and detailed information on their needs. By visiting 80 schools and interviewing 2,812 students, 240 teachers, and 80 principals, their study revealed that learning disabilities, along with social and emotional challenges, such as PTS, are widespread in schools.
In many of the public schools studied, more than 50 percent of the students exhibited some form of a disability, yet many of the teachers reported that they did not have any students with disabilities.
“Once the researchers started talking about different behaviors,” Rochambeau adds, “the teachers said, ‘oh wait, yes we see that and that.’ They did not realize there were disabilities other than physical ones.”
And despite the prevalence of disabilities, almost none of the teachers or administrators had received any training in inclusive education or reported any support services to help students. This locally-led research is changing perceptions and spurring action.
Jean Sheddeley Lalane, a school principal in the department of Nippes, noted how engagement with the research team motivated him to seek additional services for students. With assistance from USAID, teacher-student dynamics improved and psychologists provided support that helped combat the stigmatization of children with disabilities. He noted improvements in student behavior and performance and concluded “we can give the right quality of teaching” and there is “enough time to develop their competencies and … equal education for all which is the ultimate goal.”
Similarly, asking questions about persons with disabilities has galvanized interest in adopting new teaching practices. When teachers realized disability is not only physical, but also learning, social, and behavioral, their interest sparked. “Teachers see the need for training in inclusive education, and they now request training,” reports Rochambeau.
In response, he and Nathalis are developing a program to provide extensive training for inclusive education to teachers and principals across Southern Haiti; these new local experts would then train others.
Louis-Pierre Janvier of Haiti’s Commission for School Adaptation and Social Support (CASAS) applauded the project for “collecting data that will allow CASAS to better understand the problem of exclusion.” CASAS is now using this research to renew their strategy and develop curriculum for inclusive education.
Haiti’s Ministry of Education, which has representatives on the research team, is also enthusiastic about the project. The team published a book detailing findings and recommending educational reforms to advance inclusive education. For the first time, Southern Haiti has comprehensive data on students with disabilities and their needs.
General attitudes about persons with disabilities in Haiti are also changing: through numerous public media appearances on the radio, on TV, and in conferences, the researchers have promoted awareness in Haiti of different concepts of “disability” and the value of inclusive education. A key tenet of the PEER program is sharing knowledge outside the classroom and into the larger community, in this case spreading understanding of persons with disabilities.
Within the university system, the PEER project is transforming teacher education. Through a partnership with Grand’Anse Public University, the State University of Haiti, and INUFOCAD, the team trained professors in inclusive education. These professors then mentored and trained over 80 Haitian university students.
And, the 80 newly trained university students are spurring change in their communities — many are working in Southern Haiti as teachers, school psychologists, and even pastors — creating inclusive learning environments so that all children can gain the skills they need for life and work. To sustain this success, Grand’Anse Public University has created Haiti’s first master’s degree program in inclusive education, which is set to welcome its first cohort of students in October 2021.
About the Author
Karen Fowle is a Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning Analyst for the Research Division in the Innovation, Technology, and Research Hub at USAID.
