Disability Pride Month: CE International Celebrates People with Disabilities
July is disability pride month, and Childhood Education International is proud to honor people with disabilities across the globe.
CE International is dedicated to ensuring that all children have access to quality education worldwide. We continuously work to celebrate the intrinsic worth and many contributions of people with disabilities. We also seek to amplify the advocacy of people with disabilities, as well as reject ableism and discrimination.
The best way to ensure lifelong inclusion, equity, and opportunities for people with disabilities is by providing strong support and accessibility in the early years, such as early intervention, supportive care, and inclusive education.
Far too often, children with disabilities are excluded from schools and other opportunities. Professional training is needed to support education leaders in building inclusive classrooms, learning materials and methods that support all learners in accessing information. Activities need to be made accessible, and buildings may need to be changed to allow for mobility and access for all.
Learn more about CE International’s work with inclusive education:
Early Childhood Development Task Force (ECDtf): Supporting Children with Disabilities
CE International is the host organization for the Early Childhood Development Task Force (ECDtf), an international network of professionals, families, and individuals dedicated to ensuring that young children with disabilities reach their full potential.
The ECDtf promotes multi-sectoral and cross-sectoral policies, programs, and practices in all nations. We aim to establish and expand high quality inclusive services for early childhood intervention in natural and community-based environments. We foster the inclusion and equitable participation of young children and families in social protection, education, health and nutrition, and emergency situations.
Inclusive Education in Serbia
Using a “train the trainer” model, CE International and our partner, the Center for Interactive Pedagogy, completed a project that focused on inclusive education in Serbia.
This project provided professional development training to education leaders in five schools across Serbia, and those trainers in turn provided training to more than 175 education professionals in their schools and regions.
Inclusive Education in Côte d’Ivoire
CE International has collaborated with the organization Education & English for You (EEFY) to support inclusive education in Ivoirian schools. Pre-primary and primary school education leaders from across the country attended two full-day training sessions focused on Universal Design for Learning, Education Diplomacy, social-and-emotional learning, and gender equity.
Inclusive Education Practices in Singapore
With support from the U.S. Department of State, CE International administered online courses on inclusive education practices for early childhood education leaders in Singapore.
Over a period of 35 weeks, the project incorporated core and small-group sessions that focused on perspectives on inclusion, policies and practices from around the world, the benefits of inclusion, and evidence-based approaches to inclusion that could be utilized in the Singaporean context. It incorporated an asset-based approach and encouraged participants to brainstorm strategies to collaborate with families.