Realizing the Educational Rights of Children with Disabilities: An Overview of Inclusive Education in Cameroon

Abstract

All children deserve access to education, including those in low income countries. Educators and teachers share a desire to promote inclusive education, and can came together, such as the current group of authors did, to educate themselves about current developments. This paper examines published research relevant to inclusive education in Cameroon to contribute to understandings of inclusive education in Africa. An extensive review of published and grey scholarly literature since 2002 yielded 22 documents. Analysis, framed around a human rights perspective, focused on three areas: the legal context for inclusive education; the situation of children with disabilities in inclusive education settings; and the organizations providing inclusive education. Findings indicate that there is emerging attention to inclusive education for children with disabilities in Cameroon yet many children are still not able to realize their educational and social rights. It appears that most children with disabilities are not included in schools, and points to a need to address teacher attitudes and pedagogy. This paper initiates a discourse into the strategies to increase awareness and promote change among teachers, principals, school administrators, parents, and other stakeholders in Cameroon, and concludes with cautious optimism that inclusion in schools in Cameroon is beginning to take place.