Promoting Inclusive Education in Palestinian Formal Education Context

Abstract

In cooperation with Educaid, an Italian NGO, and the Palestinian Minister of Education and Higher Education (MoEHE) is working on a series of international cooperation projects in Palestine (2017 - 2018) to support the development of inclusive practices in the Palestinian national school system. The paper intends to describe a project that was implemented in 6 schools in the districts of Hebron and Tubas. An “Index for Inclusion and Empowerment” was developed, adopted by the MoEHE and implemented in those very schools. The concept of empowerment was included as a reaction to welfarism, and to support an approach that supports children and youngsters to actively participate in their own development as students and as citizens of the communities they live in. In line with this, the project was developed using a bottom-up approach through an action research process that involved all stakeholders. This paper presents an overview of the projects with a focus on stakeholders’ perceptions and impact on practices.