Elisa Genovesi

Promoting the Inclusion of Children with Developmental Disabilities in Regular Schools in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Please support this project at

https://www.gofundme.com/f/phd-project-aiding-schooling-for-ethiopian-kids

Education services for children with developmental disabilities are a key part of the multisectoral integrated care model that SPARK aims to develop. Eli Genovesi’s PhD project aims to develop a culturally-appropriate programme to promote effective inclusion and support of children with developmental disabilities in mainstream primary schools in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The programme will be co-developed in collaboration with local stakeholders, and subsequently piloted and evaluated. The final intervention is expected to be based around training teachers in relevant inclusive and special education strategies and ensuring they are supported and enabled to use them.

Project Phases

Phase 1: Synthesis of inclusive education strategies

We synthesised 32 qualitative studies selected through a systematic review in order to understand teachers, pupils and caregivers’ perspectives and experiences of strategies used to include children with developmental disabilities in mainstream school classrooms in Sub-Saharan Africa.

The Team (Phase 1): Dr Rosa Hoekstra (Co-investigator, PhD supervisor), Prof Charlotte Hanlon (Co-investigator, PhD supervisor), Dr Judith McKenzie (Co-investigator), Akhina Gaches (Research Assistant)

Click to see team

Phase 2: Review of existing resources

Phase 3: Exploratory study

Phase 4: Programme development

Phase 5: Pilot study

Public Engagement

A public engagement half-day event for parents at two primary schools was held at Addis Ababa University on 22nd December 2022 and facilitated by Dr Tsegereda Haile Kifle. The event was attended by around 40 caregivers of children with and without developmental disabilities, accompanied by two special education teachers.

In the workshop:

We presented study findings from phases 3 and 4
We invited caregivers to give further input on needs for achieving inclusion
We facilitated sharing of values and expectations among caregivers
We facilitated collaborative problem-solving relative to inclusion in their schools

Participants greatly appreciated to be given a platform to discuss their needs and called for further opportunities for collaborative work towards improving the education of children with disabilities.