EXPLORING THE POTENTIAL OF PARENT TEACHER COUNCILS IN THE IMPLEMENTATION OF INCLUSIVE EDUCATION IN PUBLIC SECTOR SCHOOLS OF RAWALPINDI, PAKISTAN

Abstract

Persons with disabilities include those who have long-term physical, mental, intellectual or sensory impairments which in interaction with various barriers may hinder their fiLlI and effective participation in society on an equal basis with others. About 15% of the world's population lives with some form of disability and the census for 1998 tells that there are 2.5% people with disability of the total population in Pakistan. The Salamanca Statement emphasizes the importance of equality, rights and the contribution of inclusive practices to 'combating discriminatory attitudes, creating welcoming communities and building an inclusive society '. For the last few decades, more learners with special needs are studying side. by side in regular school with their peers who do not have disabilities. Western countries adopted this inclusive education policy in 1980s but has not been adopted by public sector institutions in Pakistan yet, only a few private entities are practicing the model on small scale. Due to the involvement of parents and community, academic and social aspects of children improved in various countries. Parent-teacher councils were established in 1895 to create a partnership between teachers and parents to uplift the academic progress of both the school and students. however, separation of the mainstream and special education ministries, teachers resistance towards inclusion, lack of training and equipment 's, and large class sizes are hampering the way of inclusion. The social model of disability perceives society as the main contributory factor in disabling people, whereas Talcott Parsons' sick role model declares a disabled person as sick and unable to fitljil her/his everyday obligations. In order to gain a better insight of the people 's perception about 'disability ' and analyze the chances of inclusion of children with disabilities into mainstream education through parent-teacher collaboration, case study research of eleven respondents, from both the parents and teachers side was conducted in the public sector schools of Rawalpindi. Results revealed a mix of reviews, ranging from teachers acceptance of inclusion to parents indifference of their child's education. if all inclusion has to be implemented at national level, extensive teacher trainings, provision of assistive tools and acces