Design and implementation of disability-inclusive interventions – the experience of USAID-funded program in Bangladesh, Philippines, and Tajikistan

• In Event: Highlighted Session: Evidence on making inclusive education work on the ground – key lessons on data, design and implementation

Proposal

Donors, governments, and stakeholders share an almost universal agreement to the principle of quality education for all learners. In recent years, there has been an increasing focus on disability-inclusive education, and in February 2022 United States Agency for International Development (USAID) strengthened its commitment to disability-inclusive education at the Global Disability Summit. USAID committed, among other things, to advancing the knowledge base of what works in disability-inclusive education in partnership with Organizations of Persons with Disabilities (OPDs) and incorporating principles of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) into all future education programming. These commitments build on USAID’s previous work and align with USAID’s twin-track approach to disability programming, which supports a progressive transformation of education systems. The twin-track approach supports mainstreaming disability-inclusive activities throughout education programming as well as conducting disability-specific programming when additional support is needed. To better understand how disability-inclusive interventions are implemented in USAID-funded broader education and disability-specific programming, Inclusive Development Partners (IDP) supported the USAID-funded All Children Reading Asia program, implemented by Research Triangle Institute (RTI), to examine 23 basic education programs in Asia. The aim of the study was to understand the types of disability-inclusive interventions that are happening and to identify any gaps or potential incentives to improving the education sector’s response to disability inclusion to support future USAID education programming.

The core objectives of this presentation are to (1) show how USAID-funded basic education activities in three unique contexts – Bangladesh, Philippines, and Tajikistan – incorporate disability-inclusion into activity interventions; (2) integrate findings from these three contexts into findings from a larger review of disability-inclusion in 23 USAID-funded basic education activities in Asia; and (3) offer recommendations for stakeholders – including donors and implementing partners – on embedding disability-inclusion within basic education programming.

Firstly, this presentation will highlight how USAID-funded basic education activities in Bangladesh, Philippines, and Tajikistan design and implement disability-inclusive interventions. Beyond this, the presentation will explore the motivations for USAID, implementing partners, host governments, and local partners in carrying out disability-inclusive interventions as well as opportunities and challenges that exist. The selected countries offer unique perspectives – informed by interviews with donors, government representatives, implementing partners, and OPDs –with examples of twin-track programming across all three countries.

Secondly, this presentation will integrate the findings from Bangladesh, Philippines, and Tajikistan into findings from a larger review of disability-inclusion across 23 USAID-funded basic education activities in Asia. This presentation will present trends across 11 Asian countries and will offer participants an opportunity to “zoom out” and look at how activities respond to the call for disability-inclusion.

Thirdly, this presentation will offer reflections on emerging and promising practices in disability-inclusive interventions within USAID-funded basic education programming. In an effort to expand the knowledge base within this sector, it will also offer recommendations to a range of stakeholders – including donors, implementing partners, and other education groups – on embedding disability-inclusion within basic education programming.

Authors

• Kate Brolley, Inclusive Development Partners

• Ashley Rae Stone, Inclusive Development Partners