Engaging with teachers' knowledge: promoting inclusion in Zambian schools

Abstract

Current efforts to ensure that every child completes a full cycle of primary education are hampered by chronic poverty and prolonged conflict in the South. It is estimated that 75 million children of primary age are out of school and that one-third are disabled. This paper contrasts the exclusionary impact of the global digital and communication divide with the international rhetoric of Education for All. Access to information has increased in our brave new world, but inequitably. In this paper insights are explored from a study carried out by the Enabling Education Network in schools in Northern Zambia, in which reflective writing played a role in generating locally relevant teachers' knowledge. Although there was only minimal evidence of the benefits of the digital revolution, the Zambian teachers successfully developed a problem-based approach to including disabled children in education as part of their commitment to child rights