EVALUATION OF INCLUSIVE EDUCATION PRACTICE IN GHANA: SURVEY OF INCLUSIVE PILOT SCHOOLS

ABSTRACT
Inclusive education is a form of delivering educational services to all children irrespective of their physical characteristics, linguistic or racial background in regular schools. It has to do with commitment by government to educate every child to the maximum extent appropriate in the school and classroom he or she could otherwise attend. Inclusive education has become a developmental approach to the learning needs of all children, youth and adults, especially those who are vulnerable to marginalization and exclusion. Hitherto, children with disabilities were made to have their education in special schools. This education approach was based on the philosophy of segregation and institutionalization with specially trained teachers to handle them. Many countries including Ghana had this traditional approach as the major medium for educating persons with disabilities. Traditionally, disabled children and those with other special educational needs have experienced exclusion and discrimination globally. Gadagbui (1998) informs how infants of ancient Greece, in the city states of the Spartans and Athens were destroyed at the discovery of their deformities before age three. In Ghana, during the ancient times people with disabilities were victimized by neglect, superstition, inaccurate stereotyping and exploitation (Anderson, 2004). In the views of Avoke and Avoke (2004), people with disabilities were perceived to be possessed with evil spirits, who bear curses and anger from gods for breaking taboos by their parents or families.