Inclusive education training ensures that every child has access to education regardless of their gender, ability and socio-economic status.
Beatrice Aristako is an inclusive education teacher who completed the Graduate Certificate in Disability Inclusion in 2022 at Queensland University of Technology, supported by Australia Awards PNG Short Course Awards. She is working to transform approaches to teaching to be more learner centred for children with disabilities in Bougainville to thrive in education.
As a teacher to children with disabilities at Callan Special Education Resource Centre’s (CSERC) Early Intervention School in Buka, Beatrice prepares her students to transition to mainstream schools. She uses practical classroom and recreational activities which encourages equal participation and recognises individual needs. Beyond the classroom setting, Beatrice is raising awareness on inclusion.
“I find it meaningful to teach children with different types of disabilities using the Universal Design for Learners. We teach children using this approach, which helps to eliminate discrimination and differences among them,” says Beatrice.
Beatrice has developed training modules with the support of the CSERC board. She is now training her colleagues to become inclusive trainers, who in turn will train teachers in the mainstream schools.
With her colleagues, including the CSERC board and administration, Beatrice has formed a cohesive team that is raising awareness on inclusive education in schools and communities, and forging partnerships between schools and CSERC.
“We are now prepared to initiate the next step, which involves training selected teachers from mainstream schools to become inclusive resource officers (IROs). They will be working closely with us. They’ll attend our trainings on behalf of their respective schools. After training, these IROs will conduct in-service training in their respective schools. We have started collecting data, and now we are ready to conduct training,” Beatrice explained.
“I express my gratitude to the board and administration of CSERC for their recommendation that I pursue a Graduate Certificate in Disability Inclusion through AAPNG’s Short Course Awards. The knowledge that I’ve gained, I’ve imparted to my colleagues, and we are ready to implement inclusive education in Bougainville schools.”
The Short Course Awards support the development of Papua New Guineans’ knowledge and skills in priority human resource development areas; and enhancing the partnerships and linkages between Papua New Guinean and Australian organisations.