Afghanistan: Inclusive Education Training Consultant
Country: Afghanistan
Closing date: 18 Aug 2013
Terms of Reference for Inclusive Education Training
Organization: Swedish Committee for Afghanistan
Location: Kabul Management Office: Jalalabad Road, Paktia Kot, P. O. Box 5017 Kabul - Afghanistan: Tel: +93 (0) 787 870 455)
Website: www.swedishcommittee.org
Introduction:
Swedish Committee for Afghanistan (SCA) is a non-profit, non-governmental organization working to assist in the reconstruction and development of Afghanistan. SCA operations started in Afghanistan in 1982 on an emergency basis but coordinated from Peshawar in Pakistan. These operations subsequently evolved into long term development programmes in Health, Education, Disability and Rural Development sectors with the first operational office established in Kabul in 1992. Since then, SCA development work has expanded to include cross cutting issues such as Human Rights and Gender and Civil Society. SCA’s 31 years of presence in Afghanistan plus its outstanding service delivery has made it well accepted by both the Islamic Government of Afghanistan and the populace. Today, SCA has its operational presence in 17 provinces and a work force of more than 6000 staff of whom 99% are Afghans.
Vision:
• To have an Afghanistan free from poverty, violence and discrimination where human rights are respected and all live in dignity, enjoy equal opportunity and social justice
Mission:
• To empower individuals, communities and local organizations particularly in the rural areas with a focus on women, girls, boys and vulnerable groups such as persons with disabilities so that they can participate fully in society and influence their own development.
RAD Programme
Rehabilitation of Afghans with Disabilities (RAD) is a large Community Based Rehabilitation (CBR) programme which has been working since 1991 for people with disabilities. The programme is currently present in 13 provinces, 43 districts and more than 2000 villages and urban areas. RAD programme has five distinct components namely, community mobilization and advocacy, employment support, inclusive and special education, physical rehabilitation services and institutional capacity building. Embedded in these components are other services such as home based and pre-school education. Special and Inclusive Education as a core component of the RAD programme aims at promoting inclusion in mainstream schools and creating equal access to education and other activities for children with disabilities. RAD programme reaches approximately 230,000 people with disabilities.
Context of the Training and Justification:
RAD programme targets to train a team of 25 Inclusive Education Resource Persons at the Provincial levels with a view to equip them not only with knowledge but also with training skills so that they can assist teachers in the classrooms in meeting the learning needs of children with special educational needs. The main thrust of the training is to promote inclusion in the mainstream classes. Many of our teachers have voiced challenges when teaching in a class with disabled children. For instance, they have asked questions such as: “How do they respond to a child with a hearing impairment, low vision, blind, a child with emotional behaviour problems, a child with learning difficulties and the like?” “How do they prepare lesson notes to respond to these needs?” Since these challenges are seen as overwhelming for the teacher, it would be prudent to develop confidence and reduce the attitudinal feelings of helplessness on the part of the teacher. In this respect, the training is aimed at covering the following areas.
• Classroom management in an inclusive education setting or various settings
• Tenets of inclusive education - What works and what doesn’t? Do you really need to be specially trained in order to teach in an inclusive class?
• Basic approaches to mainstreaming disabilities in the classroom
• Resources for teachers
• Teaching methodologies (lesson planning, active learning, presentation methods etc.)
• Speech therapy (introduction: NB. This last point was raised a little later)
Inclusive Education: National Situation
Afghanistan as a country does not have an Inclusive Education Policy. The policy is being developed by a team of experts drawn from NGOs and the Ministry of Education. The very absence of I.E government policy is in itself an indication of how I.E is handled in the country. There are no specific teacher education institutions that exclusively focus on training in special education leave alone inclusive education. As such, the level of understanding about the approaches to inclusive education is low. The major inclusive education activities have been left to the NGOs, UNICEF, UNESCO and other players. SCA has however covered some ground in regard to making inclusive education known and accepted in schools. It has done this through carrying out varied peace-meal teacher training, supplying teaching and learning materials to teachers, combining levels of intervention e.g., CBR, Home Based Education, community mobilization, advocacy and networking with other organizations. SCA has distributed UNESCO Inclusive Education Tool Kits, has extended the services to the parents through trained CBR workers, has trained Senior Technical Officers and offered opportunities for external exchange in order to improve on quality. SCA’s efforts have so far borne some fruits in that several children have now been mainstreamed in regular classes, many persons with physical disabilities have received orthopaedic treatment, Braille Press has been initiated through SCA efforts and several persons with disabilities have been employed by SCA with some hearing impaired persons taking up responsibilities of teaching other children in schools using sign language. RAD program now is working towards perfecting the teaching skills of teachers, encouraging them to prepare well and to show confidence that they can handle the classes despite their limited training. The programme is confident that your participation in this endeavour will boost the staff who will then arrange other training sessions in their respective provinces.
Purpose of the Training
The primary purpose of the training is to build the RAD’s Inclusive Education resource persons’ capacity and prepare them to train teachers in the provinces where SCA is operating. The special and inclusive education team in the provinces needs to be more skilled, more updated, more equipped with knowledge and understanding in relation to inclusive education practices.
Expected Key Learning Outcomes:
• Mainstreaming of children with disabilities will be realized.
• Rights based approaches to education for all will be adopted.
• Advocacy for emerging needs of children with disabilities will be heightened. This will help minimize if not erase the negative attitudes meted towards persons with disabilities.
• Classroom management in inclusive education settings will improve
• Teachers will apply “active learning” methods for children with disabilities
• Approaches to lesson planning, development of teaching and learning materials will improve.
• Participants will demonstrate acquisition of advanced knowledge in inclusive education as well as better training skills
Work plan
Day/Date Activity Logistics Responsible Persons
Sunday 29th Sept 2013 Processing of visas in Dubai by trainers Consultants seek entry visas using welcome letters provided by SCA Kabul Naemullah: Admin Manager
Monday 30th September 2013 Travel from Dubai to Kabul and settling at KMO* Guest House Security briefing by Bilal Transport 1: +93 (0)700 175 445: Bilal +93 (0)799 309 530
Tuesday 1st Oct 2013 Briefing session at KMO by Deputy Director Transport to and from KMO: Nassir (Transport 1) Jorgen Holmstrom PID Deputy Director: Amin Qanet Head of RAD: Joseph, Samiullah
Training venue arranged; registration of participants Training begins Training venue arranged according to trainers’ requirements Joseph, Samiullah
Wed 2nd and 3rd Oct 2013 Training sessions continue None Trainers
Saturday 5th to Thursday 10th Oct 2013 Training continues None As above
Friday 11th Oct 2013 Off day None As above
Saturday 12th to Sunday 13th Oct 2013 Training continues: Wind up on Sunday 13th. None As above
*KMO Kabul Management Office
Required Skills for the Trainers
The proposed training is an essential activity in the RAD Inclusive Education sector. The dynamics of the RAD Inclusive Education are challenging given the training levels of the teachers as well as Inclusive Education Resource Persons in the areas of operation. The participants are supposed to carry the skills gained from this training and impart them on their teachers in their respective regions. As such, there is need for the trainer to consider a variety of approaches that will keep the participants active throughout the training and at the same time deliver the necessary information that will enhance their knowledge and skills. With this in mind, the trainer(s) must have the following qualifications:
• Master’s Degree or PhD in pedagogy for inclusive education, psychology, or special education
• 5 years and above experience in training consultancies of this kind, experience in inclusive education and/or special education
• Good track record of training performance in the area teacher education or educational administration
• Experience in coordination, advocacy and strategic development of inclusive education with authorities on local, provincial/regional and central levels.
• Experience in capacity development of key actors, stakeholders and staff regarding inclusive education
• Experience in training and preparation of curricula, resources and training materials
• Experience in conflict or post-conflict environments (Afghanistan in context) and in Muslim countries
• Experience in pre-school education, knowledge of CBR activities and home based education is an added advantage.
• The trainer must have authentic association of an organization that is well experienced in conducting inclusive education training.
• Good knowledge of Minimum Standards for Education in Emergencies (MSEE) is an added advantage
• Knowledge and acceptance of diverse cultures particularly in Afghanistan
Costs:
SCA shall cover the following costs.
- Flights to and from the trainers country of origin unless otherwise arranged
- Food and accommodation at SCA Guest House - Kabul
- Insurance costs as per SCA Guests insurance guidelines
- Entry Visas to Kabul (to be processed by trainers upon arrival in Dubai). SCA Admin will process the necessary documents to facilitate acquisition of the visas.
- Provide stationery to the participants and LCD projector during the training sessions
Trainers shall:
- Make hand-outs available to the participants
- Provide a hard copy of the full training notes or CDs to Head of RAD
- If possible, show examples of inclusive education settings in various countries using videos, clips, pictures with explanations or other relevant learning materials
- Write a detailed report regarding the training and submit it not later than 2 weeks after completion of the training (October 31st 2013)
Application Procedure
Interested consultants are invited to apply with an offer which includes the following:
• CV of the consultant, showing relevant experience and background for the assignment;
• An indicative work plan with proposed dates; (See our tentative dates in the work-plan provided)
• A description of the methodology to be applied;
• Financial offer including the consultant’s daily fee and any other costs associated with the consultancy. Accommodation, food as well as travel within Afghanistan will be arranged and paid for by SCA.
The full documentation required shall not exceed three pages less the CV.
The assignment is subject to a tender procedure according to SCA’s standard procurement regulations. SCA reserves the right not to accept any of the tenders submitted. In addition SCA reserves the right to take references on the proposed candidate.
Tenders shall remain valid for a period of 60 days.
The tender, including all required information, is to be submitted to SCA at the following e-mail address: evaluations@sca.org.af, cc-ed to joseph.evans@sca.org.af. The final date and time for submission of offers is 16.00hrs Afghan time (12.30 CET), 15th August, 2013. For further information, contact: joseph.evans@sca.org.af by August 29th, 2013.
Conclusion:
Upon completion of the training, the trainers have the responsibility of writing a preliminary report and a debriefing. Their recommendations shall be handed over to the Head of the RAD Programme for further discussions and implementation. Participants will have the right to evaluate the training and make suggestions. It would be prudent if the consultant(s) would make follow-ups with the RAD programme to establish the impact of their training.
How to apply:
Interested qualified candidates should send an offer to SCA containing the following:
• Full CV, including a list of studies and evaluations carried out;
• A cover letter indicating the Evaluator’s background and relevant experience;
• A proposed work plan giving indicative dates for carrying out the evaluation;
• A short description of the proposed methodology;
Application should be submitted to evaluations@sca.org.af to arrive by 18 August 2013. Please put the words Inclusive Education in the subject line
For further information please contact amin.qanet@sca.org.af
