Republic of Namibia MINISTRY OF EDUCATION CURRICULUM FRAMEWORK FOR INCLUSIVE EDUCATION SUPPLEMENT TO THE NATIONAL CURRICULUM FOR BASIC EDUCATION 31 March 2014 2 014 Ministry of Education National Institute for Educational Development (NIED) Private Bag 2034 Okahandja Namibia © Copyright NIED, Ministry of Education, 2014 Curriculum Framework for Inclusive Education ISBN: 978-99945-2-031-2 Printed by NIED Publication date: 2014 i Curriculum Framework for Inclusive Education, NIED, 2014 TABLE OF CONTENT 1. INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................. 4 1.1 The Purpose and Content of the Curriculum Framework ..................................................................... 4 1.2 Framework for Inclusive Education ...................................................................................................... 4 1.3 Early Childhood Development and Pre-Primary Education .................................................................. 6 1.4 The Structure and Substance of Formal Basic Education ...................................................................... 6 1.5 The Approach to Teaching, Learning and Assessment .......................................................................... 9 2. CORE SKILLS AND KEY LEARNING / SUBJECT AREAS .................................. 11 2.1 Core Skills .......................................................................................................................................... 11 2.2 Key Learning / Subject Areas ............................................................................................................. 14 3. PHASES OF BASIC EDUCATION .............................................................................. 16 3.1 Framework of Phase Competencies ................................................................................................... 16 4. LANGUAGE: MEDIUM OF INSTRUCTION AND SUBJECTS ............................. 27 4.1 Identity, Culture, Communication and Learning ................................................................................ 27 4.2 Medium of Learning .......................................................................................................................... 27 4.3 Communication, Reading and Writing Systems ................................................................................. 27 4.4 Language Subjects ............................................................................................................................. 27 4.5 Foreign Languages ............................................................................................................................. 28 4.6 Facilitating Languages and Communication ....................................................................................... 28 5. TEACHING AND LEARNING ..................................................................................... 28 5.1 Teaching Approaches in Inclusive Settings ......................................................................................... 28 6. ASSESSMENT ................................................................................................................ 29 6.2 Inclusive Assessment ......................................................................................................................... 29 6.3 Continuous Assessment ..................................................................................................................... 30 6.4 Formative and summative assessment .............................................................................................. 31 6.5 Informal and Formal Methods ........................................................................................................... 31 6.6 Evaluation.......................................................................................................................................... 31 6.7 Criterion-referenced grades ............................................................................................................... 31 6.8 Grade Descriptors .............................................................................................................................. 32 6.9 Conducting and Recording Assessment ............................................................................................. 33 6.10 Promotion and Progression ............................................................................................................... 34 7. CURRICULUM MANAGEMENT ............................................................................... 36 7.1 Managing Resources .......................................................................................................................... 36 7.2 Teachers and Teaching Support Staff ................................................................................................. 36 7.3 Timetabling ....................................................................................................................................... 36 7.4 Multi-Disciplinary Team ..................................................................................................................... 37 8. STRUCTURE OF MULTI-RESOURCE SCHOOLS /UNITS ................................... 37 ANNEXE 1: LEARNING SUPPORT CLASS/ UNIT ........................................................ 38 ANNEXE 2: LEARNERS WHO ARE DEAF OR HARD OF HEARING ....................... 40 ANNEXE 3: LEARNERS WITH VISUAL IMPAIRMENT ............................................ 42 ii Curriculum Framework for Inclusive Education, NIED, 2014 ANNEXE 4: LEARNERS WITH INTELLECTUAL IMPAIRMENT ............................ 44 ANNEXE 5: BASIC PRE- VOCATIONAL SKILLS TRAINING ................................... 47 ANNEXE 6: OUTREACH TEAM ........................................................................................ 48 ANNEXE 7: TIME ALLOCATION .................................................................................... 49 ANNEXE 8: GLOSSARY OF TERMS .............................................................................. 52 iii Curriculum Framework for Inclusive Education, NIED, 2014 1. INTRODUCTION The Namibian Government believes that all government school learners, including those with disabilities and additional learning needs, are entitled to an excellent education that provides them with a genuine learning opportunity to succeed in life. In responding to this vision, mainstream and special schools in Namibia are adopting policies and practices that are driven by desire to be providers of high quality education services to all learners regardless of their learning needs. The development of the Curriculum Framework for Inclusive Education follows the principles of the National Curriculum for Basic Education (2010) and replaces the Supplement to the Broad Curriculum for Special Education (1999). The main emphasis of this document is to incorporate Inclusive Education principles and to align it with the National Curriculum for Basic Education (NCBE). The Inclusive Education principles are founded on the premise of Education for All and seek to ensure that all learners, regardless of age, ability, ethnic and or racial orientation, benefit from curriculum the delivery. 1.1 The Purpose and Content of the Curriculum Framework The purpose of the Curriculum Framework for Inclusive Education is to make the curriculum more responsive to all learners requiring special educational needs in Namibian Schools. More specifically, it ensures consistency in the attainment and sustainability of the aims and objectives of the Education Sector Policy on Inclusive Education (2013). The policy reinforces principles outlined in Towards Education for All, a Development Brief for Education, Culture and Training (MEC 1993), in which the education reform goals of access, equity, quality, democracy and life-long learning are promoted. The Inclusive Education principles emphasise the right of all learners to quality and equitable education that meet learners‟ basic learning needs, and understand the diversity of backgrounds and abilities as learning opportunities. This curriculum framework seeks to develop, adapt and modify syllabuses, learning materials and textbooks to be used in various subjects and areas of learning. It further outlines the structure of each phase, subjects‟ available and overall time allocation. This framework puts in place inclusive assessment procedures, which ensure that assessment forms an integral part in teaching and learning process. More specific, the main aim of the Curriculum Framework for Inclusive Education is to expand accessibility and provision of appropriate education to all learners, especially to those with special education needs. The goals and aims of the Curriculum Framework for Inclusive Education therefore correlate with the goals and aims of the National Curriculum for Basic Education. Equally, the goals of the National Curriculum for Basic Education are aligned to the attainment of the objectives of Namibia Vision 2030. Hence, the focus of this policy is to create an inclusive knowledge-based, diverse, caring and democratic society by 2030. 1.2 Framework for Inclusive Education 1.2.1 International Legislation The following legislation supporting inclusive education is underpinned by commitment to human rights and to reducing the barriers to learning in all education systems. On international level, the government of Namibia is signatory to the agreements