Project Background
Quality basic education is fundamental for human wellbeing and socio-economic development. The importance of education is recognised in the UN Millenniumn Development Goal of universal access to primary education by 2015. This commitment is repeated by the UN Programme of Action for the Least Developed Countries for the Decade 2001-2010 which aims to ensure that by 2015 all children have access to complete, free and compulsory primary education of good quality. The right to education is protected in the Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989) and also addressed in several internationally approved declarations.
It is estimated that in developed countries roughly 10-15 % of the children who start school have different forms of learning disabilities and behavioral difficulties which affect school achievement. These learning challenges also increase their risk for school drop-out. In Finland, which is one of the leading European countries in developing the quality of the basic education and also special education support systems for children with learning difficulties, it is estimated that 5-10% of children have some form of learning disability. In the developing countries the figure may even be higher due to large class sizes, negative attitudes towards children with disabilities, inadequate health care systems, various pediatric diseases, abuse and malnutrition among other factors.
Therefore the skills of educationalists in developing countries to work with learning difficulties should be strong, and special attention must be paid on their training. At present, the teacher education and psychology training in partner countries needs support and further development in order to provide the students with the necessary skills and knowledge on learning disabilities needed in practice. Learning disabilities are still frequently associated with lack of motivation, laziness or stupidity.
This project aims to contribute towards capacity building of the African partner institutions by promoting the latest research based knowledge on learning disabilities in the curricula for teachers, special education teachers and psychologists, and enhancing and supporting local research on learning disabilities.
In the long-term, the objective is to work, via higher education, towards improved primary (basic) school attendance and achievement in Kenya, Namibia and Zambia by contributing to the inclusion of children with learning disabilities in the education system. This inclusion will enable the children with difficulties in learning to acquire the necessary skills and knowledge needed to become productive members of their communities and hence contribute towards the overall development of the societies.
The project specifically targets building capacities of teaching staff at the university and college departments of psychology and special education. The beneficiaries are those teacher education and psychology students studying in the partner institutions, and in the long-term, the school children in primary education in Kenya, Namibia and Zambia, their families and the society at large.