The Future of Education

Educators around the world are expected to practice inclusion but research suggests that only 10% of 196 countries have education laws regarding inclusion, and only one-third indicate inclusive education in teacher training (Global Education Monitoring Report [UNESCO], 2020). The primary responsibility for all pupils, rests with the regular teachers (Kimhi and Bar Nir, 2024). Mainstream classroom teachers across all subjects, both academic and non-academic need to be informed and educated about various aspects or the ASK of Inclusive Education, which includes Attitudes, Skills and Knowledge. They also need inputs on the broad spectrum of diversities that they may encounter in the classroom of the 21st century and the strategies and approaches that make learning ecosystems truly inclusive for these diverse learners. The AART of the Aatman Academy for Research and Training (India) has been conducting the CHILD Course (acronym: Certificate in Holistic Inclusion of Learners with Diversities) - a unique course on Inclusive Education since 2017 with guidance from ICI- University of Minnesota. While the course began as an in-person programme it transitioned to an online one during the Pandemic. This has enabled a wider reach as teachers from across11 Indian states and from Dubai, Bangladesh, Uganda and Senegal have been able to participate in this course. This paper examines the impact of the CHILD Course on its participants across the 5 countries mentioned above particularly focusing on their attitude towards inclusive education, their use of various strategies learnt during the course and their application of the knowledge they gained from the course.