Facilitating the Participation of Children with Disabilities in Early Childhood Development Centres in Malawi: Developing a Sustainable Staff Training Programme

Anita Soni, Paul Lynch, Mike McLinden, Jenipher Mbukwa-Ngwira, Mika Mankhwazi, Emma Jolley, Bhavisha Virendrakumar, Juliet Bedford and Ingrid Gercama
Additional contact information
Anita Soni: Disability, Inclusion and Special Needs Department, School of Education, University of Birmingham, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK
Paul Lynch: Disability, Inclusion and Special Needs Department, School of Education, University of Birmingham, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK
Mike McLinden: Disability, Inclusion and Special Needs Department, School of Education, University of Birmingham, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK
Jenipher Mbukwa-Ngwira: Faculty of Education, Chancellor College, University of Malawi, P. O. Box 278, Zomba, Malawi
Mika Mankhwazi: Faculty of Education, Chancellor College, University of Malawi, P. O. Box 278, Zomba, Malawi
Emma Jolley: Sightsavers, Chippenham SN14 6NG, UK
Bhavisha Virendrakumar: Sightsavers, Chippenham SN14 6NG, UK
Juliet Bedford: Anthrologica, York YO30 7D, UK
Ingrid Gercama: Anthrologica, York YO30 7D, UK

Sustainability, 2020, vol. 12, issue 5, 1-15

Abstract: This article explores the development of a sustainable training programme supporting the inclusion of children with disabilities in early childhood, education and care (ECEC) centres in Malawi. This programme is based on a review of literature of curriculum, pedagogy and teaching approaches in ECEC in sub-Saharan Africa, alongside a review of national policy documents. The training was designed to enable staff to value the inclusion of children with disabilities in ECEC centres, as well as suggesting practical ways to do so. We set out our response to the gap in training of ECEC staff through the development of a supplementary integrated training programme, which, whilst respectful of the curriculum, policy and practice of Malawi, challenged staff to consider ways of including children with disabilities (CWD) and their families. We suggest this is a pragmatic and sustainable model that could be applied to training in other ECEC settings across the region in sub-Saharan Africa. It concludes with guiding principles for training those working in ECEC with young children with disabilities in low-income countries.

Keywords: early childhood education and care (ECEC); inclusion; disability; early childhood development (ECD); education training; Malawi (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:12:y:2020:i:5:p:2104-:d:330267

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