EL 10: Language Policy, Language Planning, and Historical Development

LEARNING
COMPETENCIES:
 define inclusive education
 express the role of language in fostering inclusive education
 demonstrate deeper and wider understanding of Language by relating it to its role in
inclusive education.

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 EL 10: Language Policy, Language Planning, and Historical Development

NOTES:
INCLUSIVE EDUCATION
Inclusive Education – philosophy of accepting all children regardless of race, size, shape,
color, ability, or disability with support from school staff, students,
parents, and the community (2009 Department of Education Order No. 72)
– Considered an inclusive and learner-centered teaching and learning
strategy, the 2016 Basic Education Research Agenda defines
inclusive education as a cross-cutting issue implemented through
special education, indigenous peoples’ education, madrasa
education, the country's Alternative Learning System and
alternative delivery modes.
The more recent 2013 Enhanced Basic Education Act refers to gifted and talented
children; learners with disabilities; learners of the madrasa curriculum; indigenous peoples;
and learners in difficult circumstances, such as geographical isolation, chronic illness,
abuse, or displacement due to armed conflict, urban resettlement, or disaster as target
groups of inclusive education.
Having said that, it’s never been easy to provide equal educational opportunity to
all children without discrimination. In a statement, Philippine Institute for Development
Studies (PIDS) identified the lack of transportation, basic facilities, and infrastructures as
the major challenges in providing education to children with disabilities. Additionally, Save
the Children Philippines (SCP) also shares barriers that hinder teachers of children with
disabilities from using inclusive education strategies in the classroom (Sierra Mae Paraan,
SCP basic education technical adviser) which include:
1. the teachers’ lack of knowledge or proficiency in sign language
2. inappropriate student group size
3. poor classroom management manifested through inadequate pacing
4. inadequate use of materials
5. lack of instructional dialogue
6. absence of safe learning environments for children with disabilities, and
7. insufficient budget for inclusive education.

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A study of state think tank authored by Adrian Agbon and Christian Mina revealed
the need to provide mobile special education (SPED) schools especially in far-flung areas.
They also urged the government to “initiate more activities and programs that will increase
awareness about pupils/students with special needs”, to “enhance” the Alternative
Learning System or mobile teacher program of the DepEd, and “put up more SPED
facilities that cater to all types of disabilities by tapping local government units (LGUs) in
providing regular venues for ALS classes.”
Consequently, the authors also proposed the “development of learning modules
on basic health care and entrepreneurial skills” – noting that this can be done by DepEd, in
partnership with the Department of Health (DOH) and the Department of Social Welfare
and Development (DSWD) -Area Vocational Training Center, with the help of the Technical
Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA). These trainings could be “provided
to persons with disabilities (PWDs) who have acquired the basic skills for employment as
well as to their parents and guardians so they can enhance their livelihood opportunities.”

SPECIAL EDUCATION NEEDS

The proposed 2019 Special Education Act defines learners with special needs as
children who differ in mental characteristics, sensory ability, neuromuscular or physical
characteristics, social abilities, or multiple handicaps and/or have a lag in development
requiring tailored school practices or special education services. The act includes gifted,
talented, disabled, impaired and handicapped persons in need of special education and
services of rehabilitation.

Barriers and Challenges of Obtaining Quality Education for Students with Disabilities in the
Philippines
In the Philippines, we have the Republic Act 7277 (Magna Carta for Disabled
Persons, and for Other Purposes), a law that ensures persons with disabilities have the
access to education. Despite this, getting a quality education is still an uphill battle for
someone who has a disability. Quality education doesn’t only mean accepting students in
schools, accommodation, true inclusion, and support must be given to the student for them
to thrive.

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Non-inclusive schools
When a child is going to start school, one of the first things that a parent asks is,
“which of the schools is going to be the best for my child?” and they have a lot of different
options. This is not the case for parents of children with disabilities in the Philippines. The
first thing they are going to consider is, “which of the schools in my town is going to accept
my child?”
It’s unfortunate that the Magna Carta for Disabled Persons is not enough for
schools to open their doors for everyone, including persons with disabilities. They would
often use the excuse that their school doesn’t have a SpEd center and that parents should
look for a school who has it. Some of the schools will open their doors however, the
student is on their own after that. No support is provided from the school administration if
the teacher isn’t including the student in the classroom, if things are not accessible, or if
the student is not learning because of these barriers.
Many SpEd teachers will advocate for the students but if a SpEd center is not
present in that school, then the student is expected to advocate for themselves at an early
age because their family members can only do so much. However, not everyone can
speak for themselves, and this often leads to students not being able to maximize their full
potential in the class. They tend to become reserved, quiet, and have self-doubt because
teachers have made them feel they are an added burden.
When people in the inclusive education field were asked if they have seen any
changes in schools in the classroom over the years, they responded, “Struggles are
always present. Schools are so focused on their so called ‘regular’ students that the needs
of Persons with Disability seem invisible to them. If we have difficulties reaching out to
teachers before, more so now since we can’t visit them physically. The dominant change in
the understanding of inclusive education is that educators know that it is a right; however,
they still have not accepted their responsibility of ensuring this right. They only are more
charitable to Persons with Disability. So long as our department of education clings on
their SpEd concept, teachers will always believe that education of persons with disability is
not their responsibility but that of SpEd.” – Alphalyn Pedro, Training Coordinator at Saint
Louis University Institute for Inclusive Education.

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 EL 10: Language Policy, Language Planning, and Historical Development

“Younger teachers are more accommodating of learners with visual impairments.

However, the fear is still there since they are not fully equipped in teaching Persons with
Disabilities. They don’t know how to use Braille, and they don’t know what to do so
learners with visual impairment could see their visual aids, test papers and so forth.
Honestly, that problem remains until now. Teachers are still having 40 or more pupils on
their classes so a lot of them want to bring back their pupils with disabilities in Special
Education.” – Irish Ayesa Mendez, SPED teacher for the Visually Impaired at Jose Rizal
Elementary School.

“The problem will always be there since the teachers are handling a lot of children
in their classrooms. They are accommodating to the Children with disabilities that I send to
their classes because I always assure them that they can always count on me if they
encounter any problems with my children. It’s on how you deal with the ‘regular’ teachers
for me.” – Madonna May Guerrero, SPED Teacher at A.P. Santos Elementary School.

Poverty and Mindset

Let’s say you found an inclusive school for your child. A school that’s doing the
right thing and is very supportive. The next thing to be considered is, can parents afford to
send their child with a disability to school? The Philippines is a developing country and
many Persons with Disabilities (PwD) are living in poverty. Some of them were forced to
stop their classroom education because the family could no longer afford to send them to
school.
Some families don’t believe that it is beneficial for their child to pursue an
education since they are a person with disabilities and will rarely be able to find a job. To
them, going to school is a waste of their time and money. They prefer that their children
just stay home where they will take care of them. This mindset is the greatest barrier.
Even if the school is not inclusive or the student lives in poverty, the chance for a person
with a disability to finish school is still present with their family’s support.
State of Inclusive Education During the Pandemic
Now that we are facing COVID-19, the country has decided to conduct remote
learning and will not be having in-person classes until our country flattens the curve. This
presents new challenges for the PwD community. The Department for Education is trying
their best in providing accessible modules for students with disabilities in public schools.

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 EL 10: Language Policy, Language Planning, and Historical Development

In Northern Luzon, IIE (Institute for Inclusive Education), is assisting PwD students
and private schools to make their school materials accessible. They help in making e-
copies of their books and in reminding schools about the inaccessibility of images without
all text. Unfortunately, IIE can only do so much as schools are protective of their materials
and won’t let IIE staff access them. Ms. Alphalyn also stated that very minimal
accommodations are provided by the schools for the PwD students and that some of the
remote learning teachers are unaware that they have a blind or deaf student in class until,
the student tells them. Sadly, students with disabilities are again left behind at this time of
COVID19.

LAWS, PLANS, POLICIES, and PROGRAMS

The 1987 Philippine Constitution enshrines the right to quality education for all
citizens and mandates the state to take appropriate steps to make it accessible to all (Art.
14, Section 1). The state must also establish an integrated education system build upon
the needs of the people (Art. 14, Section 2). The 2013 Enhanced Basic Education Act calls
for learner-oriented and responsive education provision according to the needs, cognitive
and cultural capacity, circumstances, and diversity of all learners through target-based
programs. The 2015 Education Plan reaffirms the overarching nature of inclusive
education for the policy and planning framework for education for all.

Multilingualism
nguage – in - Education Policy Evolution

is not a recent phenomenon.

Multilingual scholars from
different

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 EL 10: Language Policy, Language Planning, and Historical Development

parts of Europe were responsible

for the translation of Arabic and
Greek texts
into Latin and the transmission
of learning in the Middle Ages.
Multilingualism
was also present in the first
written examples of the Spanish
and Basque lan-
guages, the Glosas
Emilianenses. These were notes
in Spanish and Basque written
in a Latin book at the end of the
11th century. At the societal
level, a well-known
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 EL 10: Language Policy, Language Planning, and Historical Development

example is multilingualism in
England after the Norman
Conquest in 1066. En-
glish was the language of the
majority of the population, but
Norman French was
the language of the ruling class,
and Latin was the language of
record keeping
and the Church. An older
example of multilingualism is
Sumerian-Akkadian in
Southern Mesopotamia during
the third millennium BCE.

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 EL 10: Language Policy, Language Planning, and Historical Development

Nowadays, multilingualism is a
very common phenomenon all
over the world.
This is to be expected,
considering that there are almost
7,000 languages in the
world and about 200
independent countries (Lewis,
2009). It is not only that
there are more languages than
countries but also that the
number of speakers of
the different languages is
unevenly distributed, meaning
that speakers of smaller
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 EL 10: Language Policy, Language Planning, and Historical Development

languages need to speak other

languages in their daily life.
Multilinguals can be
speakers of a minority
indigenous language (e.g.,
Navajo in the United States
 Special Education (SPED)
It is part of the country's education system and is implemented through a specific
program targeting both children with disabilities and gifted and talented learners , who
need a systematic and deliberate process to achieve functional literacy and achieve their
individual potential and capability.
Supporting the 1997 Magna Carta for Disabled Persons , the 1997 Department
Order No. 26 on Institutionalization of SPED Programs in All Schools established at least
one special education center for children with special needs in all schools. Called
resource centers for inclusive education, the centers were intended to support the
integration of children with disabilities into regular schools through the production of
appropriate teaching materials and continuous assessment. Specific guidelines to set up
special education centers in regular schools were defined in 2000.

The 2019 Special Education Act aims literally to institutionalize inclusive education
though the institutionalization of at least one special education center in each school
division and three such centers in larger divisions, equipped with adequate qualified staff
and administered by the principal of the regular school.
 Indigenous peoples’ schools are registered within the Department of Education and
mainstreamed in the national education system but benefit from some flexibility in
terms of curriculum, teacher recruitment and school calendar.

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 EL 10: Language Policy, Language Planning, and Historical Development

 Madrasa education (school for Muslims)

Madrasa Education was institutionalized in 2004 through the Standard Curriculum
for Elementary and Public Schools and Private Madaris (i.e. madrasa schools), and then
improved with the Refined Elementary Madrasah Curriculum in 2011 in public elementary
schools with at least 15 Muslim students and in private madaris. Madrasa education is
provided in public and private schools within the context of Muslim culture, customs,
traditions and interests through the integration of the Arabic Language and Islamic Values
Education (ALIVE) in the basic education curriculum.

 The Alternative Learning System (ALS)

It is a parallel learning system to the formal education system usually conducted in
community learning centers. Established by the 2001 Governance of Basic Education
Act, it provides an opportunity for the out-of-school population to access and complete
basic education. Alternative delivery mode programs are based on self-learning modules
to cater for learners in difficult and different circumstances.

TEACHERS and SUPPORT PERSONNEL

Teachers’ right to professional development is enshrined in the Constitution (Art.
14, Section 5). However, with regards to special education, trainings are not provided on a
regular basis. Ad-hoc programs are implemented upon the specific request of local
authorities. At the national level, a training for special education teachers has been
organized by the Department of Education’s Bureau of Elementary Education, while
trainings on visually impaired learners and those with multiple disabilities were provided by
non-government organizations from 2007 and 2009.
According to the 2000 Memorandum Order No. 23 on Quality Education for
Learners with Special Needs , teacher training institutions must include special education
courses at the undergraduate and graduate levels and provide further learning
opportunities for qualified special education teachers through scholarship programs, in
coordination with the Commission on Higher Education and other government and non-
government agencies.

THE ROLE OF LANGUAGE IN MEETING THE CHALLENGES OF INCLUSIVE EDUCATION

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Apart from access to education and enrollment in schools, ‘inclusion’ entails the
place of education to be devoid of self-denigrating experiences for children. Students are
often evaluated on the basis of their academic performance alone, giving them all an equal
footing. This refutes the collective and individual identities of each of these children,
marked by their social circumstances. Their learning capacities are also often vulnerable to
these factors. The social experiences of these children, pertaining to class, caste, ethnicity,
religion, gender, and language must be taken into consideration when their education is
addressed.
An important, if not the main, function of education is to empower children with the
skills, knowledge, and attitude required to function as members of the society. The void left
by the lack of adequate language instruction can deeply affect social functioning. It is the
school’s task to make up for the fissures caused by social conditions on language. English
can easily be considered as the one language that aids in integrating students to the
mainstream. The responsibility of schools entails not just grammatical instruction or
introducing students to new words, but providing adequate opportunities to practice the
language.
Language teaching isn’t the responsibility of the language teacher alone but must
be the collective undertaking of all teachers, teaching all subjects. Every teacher teaches
language when he or she explains science, math, or social science. Language is used to
construct knowledge. This occurs constantly in school and the importance of using ‘correct’
language must not be overlooked by teachers of non-language subjects. The way
knowledge, skills, and attitudes are communicated in schools contributes to emancipation
through education.
PROBLEMS and SOLUTIONS
Millions of children worldwide are still not attending school, and language barriers
are a significant reason for this. Many children, especially those from ethnic minority
groups, use a different language at home from that used in school. If they don’t speak the
school’s language, they may not be accepted, may struggle to make progress, or drop out
early. This is especially more difficult for students with hearing/speaking and seeing
impairment. In this case, students with disabilities must come to a common language with the
teacher. Hence, teachers for the blind must know how to use the braille and teachers of those
who have hearing and speaking disabilities must learn to use sign language.
MOTHER-TONGUE COMMUNICATION and TEACHING

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Children need to learn in their own language for five to six years, before they
gradually begin using a second language as the main medium of instruction. And they
need to have received, and keep receiving, good quality teaching in that second language.
Yet many children have to learn subjects in their second language almost as soon as they
start school. Education authorities in low-income countries often think it will be too
expensive and time-consuming to deliver quality education in multiple languages. They
forget that current language and education approaches aren’t working or helping to
improve educational quality.
Increasingly, therefore, education programs are promoting the use of prolonged
mother-tongue communication and teaching and demonstrating its benefits. Programs
often cover a range of initiatives, from teacher education to material production, to
community involvement. But many policymakers are yet to be convinced.

MIND
BOGGLERS:
A1. Directions: Answer the questions comprehensively and intelligently. Write your answer
on the given answer sheet.
1. What makes a school inclusive?
2. Are there some kids, for example those that have significant disabilities, that can't
be included? Expound.
3. How does inclusive education promote successful learning? Explain with examples.
4. What is the role of language in successful inclusive education? Cite concrete
examples.

REFERENCES
:
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Ambiong, J. (2020). Barriers and Challenges of Obtaining Quality Education for Students with
Disabilities in the Philippines. Retrieved at: [Link]
challenges-of-obtaining-quality-education-for-students-with-disabilities-in-the-
philippines/

Krishnan, A. (2016). The Role of Language in Meeting the Challenges of Inclusive Education. Ei Blog.
Retrieved at: [Link]
challenges-of-inclusive-education/

Malipot, M. (2020, January 4). DepEd, gov’t urged to address education challenges of children with
special needs. Manila Bulletin. Retrieved at: [Link]
urged-to-address-education-challenges-of-children-with-special-needs/

[Link]

[Link]

________________________ ________________________
Date Accomplished Pre-service Teacher’s
Signature over Printed Name

_______________________
Date Received

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