Promoting Access to Education and Social Inclusion for Children with and without Disabilities

• In Event: Inclusive Education as a Powerful Approach for Building Social Cohesion and Peace

Proposal

The project promotes disability-inclusive education in Ecuador through a holistic, intersectional approach that embeds inclusion into governance structures, school practices, and community norms. It recognizes that education is not a neutral space: it often reproduces inequalities and discriminatory norms yet also holds the potential to transform them by building an ecosystem that protects children’s rights and fosters social cohesion, key foundations for sustainable peace.

The project applies a twin-track strategy, providing individualized support for learners while simultaneously strengthening systems. This ensures that inclusion is not reduced to isolated accommodations but becomes part of collective commitments to equity and justice. When schools and institutions embrace this model, they not only expand access and learning opportunities but also create environments where diversity is valued reducing marginalization that can fuel social tensions.

Educators and families are central to this transformation. At the school level, the project has engaged 290 members of the educational community - teachers, school psychologists, pedagogical staff, and local education authorities - through participatory workshops. These workshops focus on inclusive pedagogy and the rights of children with disabilities. They also draw on our Disability, Gender, and Age (DGA) framework to ensure interventions respond to the compounded discrimination that many children face at the intersections of disability, gender, and age. This perspective allows schools to move beyond a “one-size-fits-all” model and adapt practices that recognize the diversity of learners’ experiences and needs.

At the household level, the project challenges gender norms around care. In most participating families, caregiving responsibilities had traditionally fallen to mothers, reinforcing women’s economic marginalization and isolating children with disabilities from broader participation. Through targeted engagement with 875 parents, particularly fathers, the initiative promotes shared caregiving as a collective responsibility. This reframing contests patriarchal norms that perpetuate exclusion. It also opens space for fathers to engage in their children’s education, strengthening their support network.

At the institutional and policy level, the project has worked with 20 education officials to strengthen regulatory frameworks, monitoring systems, and enhancing accountability for inclusive education commitments. The initiative has fostered collaboration between schools, local education authorities, and Organizations of Persons with Disabilities. A total of 100 civil society actors has been mobilized to participate in joint advocacy platforms, ensuring that reforms are grounded in the realities of children and families most affected by exclusion. These partnerships are critical for institutionalizing inclusive practices and for holding systems accountable to the rights of all learners.
Preliminary results demonstrate significant shifts across multiple levels. Parents report increased awareness of the right to education, as well as greater involvement of fathers in caregiving and learning. Educators indicate improved confidence in adapting curricula and classroom practices to meet diverse needs. Local authorities note progress in integrating disability inclusion into education planning and monitoring.

This presentation will show how coordinated, multi-level efforts can boost access, retention, and learning outcomes for children with disabilities. The findings will contribute to the global evidence of strategies that overcome immediate barriers and transform the norms and structures that perpetuate educational exclusion.

Author

• Tamara Jacod