Effect of Communication on Practitioners and Service Users

Effect of Communication on Practitioners and Service Users Standing still enough to absorb the emotional impact of (service users) experiences is something that allows the movement hidden beneath the frozen state of psychological hypothermia to emerge in a tolerable way at the right time.† (Kohli, 2007, p. 180). This paper will address the relevance of Kohli’s statement above to the discussion on the effective communication with accompanied minors. The paper will first define the term â€Å"unaccompanied minors†. It will then provide a definition of communication, then identify and examine its main theoretical perspectives. The paper will unpack the meaning of Kholi’s quotation by advancing a discussion of the importance of timing when working with unaccompanied minors and the intricacies involved in navigating the sometimes harrowing and emotional experiences of unaccompanied minors. The paper will also examine the issue of silence and how this reflects a state of being frozen in time with unaccompanied minors and will interrogate methodologies for delving below these issues, in a timely manner while ensuring that the service feels safe revealing their often locked away emotions. All these factors will be examined in the context of how communication can impact both the practitioner and the service user and how managing each factor effectively is essential to unlocking hidden feelings, emotions and trauma from which unaccompanied minors may suffer. The paper will draw on contemporary literature to empirically ground its arguments. Both the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) and the United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) defines unaccompanied as: â€Å"under 18 years of age or under a countrys legal age of majority, are separated from both parents, and are not with and being cared for by a guardian or other adult who by law or custom is responsible for them. This includes minors who are without any adult care, minors who are entirely on their own, minors who are with minor siblings but who, as a group, are unsupported by any adult responsible for them, and minors who are with informal foster families.† (United Nations: 2007) More recently, there have been a plethora of studies examining the psychosocial and day to day needs after they arrive in Western countries. Communication is said to be a difficult concept to pin down by way of definition because of its many complexities, forms and application to everything. For the purposes of this paper, the definition provided by Fiske (1990:2) that communication is â€Å"social interaction through messages†, provides a good starting point to examine the concept in relation to unaccompanied minors. Thompson (2003) contends that the social aspect of communication is vital to consider because individuals interact within a social space and the nature of this communication dictates the nature of a relationship or how that relationship develops or breaks down. Thompson (2003) navigates various theoretical model of communication by drawing on the work of other scholars. He identifies Shannon and Weaver’s 1949 definition of communication which locates 3 elements: The transmitter (person who starts communication), noise (the actual message communicated, and the receiver (the person who the message is communicated to). This definition has received ample criticism for oversimplifying a difficult concept wherein communication is not always transmitted by noise but also through silence and body language. In addressing these omissions, the semiotics model was advanced as an alternative. In this model, communication is described by Cobley (2001) as a form of semiosis which is concerned with the exchange of any messages whatsoever: from the molecular code and the immunological properties of cells all the way through to vocal sentences.† This definition introduces other aspects rather than the spoken word into the communication discourse and Miller (1973) articulates that â€Å"communication includes not only the study of spoken communication between people, but also the many kinds of unspoken communication that go on constantly when people interact.† In this respect, communication also encompasses culture, because culture determines shared norms and values, language and ultimately these norms affect how information is communicated or transmitted. Thompson (2003) draws on Pierre Bordieau’s concept of cultural capital based on the strength of power bases, to explain ho w culture and power can interact to determine how information is understood and communicated, because it informs the semantics of language and the formation of identity. The identification of language as a prominent variable in any communication discourse is inescapable because as Thompson (2003) states, language does not only reflect reality, but it also constructs reality. This fact is elucidated when certain words or actions communicate a task, or certain actions communicate joy, distress or uncertainty, as is postulated by the speech act theory. Similarly, identity is informed by cultural norms and values, and determines how individuals view themselves and how they relate to others. It is this connection between culture, identity, language and power which informs the foundations of the discussion on how practitioners can cut through the difficulties of intercultural communication barriers to assist usually traumatized unaccompanied minors. Intercultural communication skills in the social work discipline, is fraught with difficulties. Husbands (2000) maintains that the various biographical routes and stories of practitioners does interact in the social space of service users and can affect how information is communication based on how trust is fostered when communicating to service users that difference will be accepted and not judged. Kohli (2006) deftly describes the vulnerable unaccompanied child who arrives in a new country and who is reticent about divulging details to practitioners. He, alongside other scholars (Kohli and Mather: 2003; Beek and Schofield: 2004) observes that unaccompanied children often remain silent, or emotionally closed about their past. He writes that such children have usually been told over and over by others to remain quiet about themselves in order to keep safe. Kohli (2001, 2006, 2007) insists that it is imperative that social work practitioners gain skills that enable them to probe the past of unaccompanied asylum children, in order to truly understand their needs. Kohli recognizes that demands to meet targets faced by modern day practitioners, may interfere with the time they need to build trust and safely pry open the thoughts of unaccompanied minors. In light of this, the nature of their silence and the impact their experiences may have had on them must be explored, before addressing how social workers should â€Å"time† their intervention to open communication and prompt life histories from unaccompanied minors. The silence displayed by unaccompanied minors should not be immediately adjudged to be because they are hiding harmful secrets. In fact, scholars such as Finkenauer et al (2001), argues that the keeping of secrets are normal adolescence developmental characteristics. However, the literature on silences among refugee children often points to explanations of fear and the silencing effects of war on children. Psychological studies (Melzak: 1992) contend that children often bury extreme hurt, pain or loss in order to survive, some to the extent that they can forget some events or the sequence of events as a defense mechanism. The risk of acting out buried emotions in a harmful way, compels many practitioners and scholars to argue for methodologies to unlock these stories which according to Kohler’s quotation, presented at the beginning of this paper, may be in a â€Å"frozen state of psychological hypothermia†, wherein they are unable to communicate their hidden pain. Papad oupolos (2002) posits that this frozen state could be purposely imposed to assist in healing and may be necessary to allow affected children the space to reflect, make sense of and accept before being able to move on successfully. Kohli (2006) therefore views this silence as both â€Å"burdensome and protective†, and it requires a skillful practitioner to know when to encourage unaccompanied minors to open up. Krause (1997) and Rashid (1996) both warn against social workers rushing to conclusions about unaccompanied minors based on their cultural backgrounds and what is known about their country of origin. Focusing on organizational targets and not the clients needs first, may result in the practitioner missing the cultural contexts of the minors’ experiences, within specific times and risks simplifying complex information that may be transmitted without adequate reflection on the communication experience overtime. In order to determine when it is appropriate to prompt for hidden information or stories from unaccompanied minors, social workers must recognize that such children may be trying to be accepted within a new culture while suffering a loss from their own (Kohli and Mather: 2003). Therefore, social workers must be observant and reflective (Schà ¶n: 1987, 1983) to determine when a child is assimilated enough and trusting of the practitioner service user relationship to revea l any hidden stories of their past lives. Richman (1989) also reminds that many unaccompanied children are very resilient because of their experiences and they may be busy trying to figure out their next move, or how to survive within a new environment and culture, or thinking about their asylum status, than they are interested in reliving past experiences which do not in their estimation contribute to their present survival. Consequently, practitioners are encouraged to engage in â€Å"therapeutic witnessing† (Kohli and Mather: 2003) rather than feeling the need to wring past experiences from unaccompanied minors. In drawing on Blackwell and Melzak (2000), Kohli and Mather (2003: 206) states: â€Å"In essence, workers are asked not to become action orientated helpers in the face of ‘muck and bullets’, but stay still enough to bear the pain of listening to stories of great loss as they emerge at a pace manageable for the refugee.† While Kohli acknowledges that it is difficult for a practitioner to remain still and allow a â€Å"discovery by drip† process to unfold with the refugee, he maintains that it allows refugees to â€Å"exorcise their demons and ghosts in the process of self-recovery† (Kholi and Mathers: 2003). This does not diminish the level of practical support that workers should offer to refugees, in fact it is through assisting to order their lives, that they will also make sense of their past and be more willing or open to sharing information about themselves. However, if and when refugees begin to share their experiences, practitioners must be versed on skills to encourage such interaction and should also be cognizant of their own reactions and judgement which can also be communicated to the client nonverbally and affect the â€Å"drip† method of divulging information. It is to these issues which this paper now turns. Relationship based interaction between service users and practitioners remain central to the core value of social work and reflect its best practice. Holloway (2003) concurs with this view by asserting that conversations between practitioner and client dictate how the trust relationship is formed and how the worker is emboldened to assist the client. In this context, a discussion on emotional intelligence (EI) and its importance to the communication process is relevant. Morrison (2007) quotes Goleman’s 1996 definition of EI as â€Å"Being able to motivate oneself and persist in the face of frustrations; to control impulse and delay gratification; to regulate one’s moods and keep distress from swamping the ability to think; to empathize and to hope.† This delayed gratification is applicable to the need for social workers to allow unaccompanied minors the space to understand themselves and their new realities while making sense of their past. It requires great empa thy and being able to perceive and identifying feelings in the self and others. Morrison (2007) links emotional intelligence and successful social work as being able to be conscious of the self while establishing good communication channels with the refugee. Morrison advises that social workers must be in tuned with their own prejudices and assumptions because many vulnerable clients such as unaccompanied minors are used to reading body language and silent communication signs to determine whether they should trust individuals. Therefore practitioners must ensure that their methods of practice reinforce good communication values rather than downplay them. One of the first methodologies used by the social work practitioner is that of assessment. Assessment frameworks in the UK give little space for the exploration of histories (Morrison: 2007). Consequently, the emotions which compel youth behaviour is often not deeply understood from unaccompanied minors, especially since they may be silent and initially provide minimal normative sketches of their past. Accurate observation during assessment will take note of feelings which may hide deeper emotions and record the moments when these windows into the past were glimpsed or sensed. Much can also be gain by the observation that expression is void of emotion, as this may also be an indicator that the unaccompanied minor realize that communication certain emotions in their language may give the practitioner space to questions their past and they may be skilled at hiding such feelings in their language and tone. If information from the refugee is sparse and void of emotion, the practitioner s hould make extra effort to be reflective in practice to ensure that their own perceptions or impressions are not being transmitted to the client. Goleman et al (2002) articulates that there is a situation of dissonance when one party feels like the other is out of touch with their feelings. The Audit Commission’s 2006 report (p.66) into the treatment of unaccompanied children, demonstrates how practitioner bias can affect the level of treatment given to refugee children: â€Å"Many unaccompanied children have multiple needs because of their experiences of separation, loss and social dislocation . . . Yet in many cases they do not receive the same standard of care routinely afforded to indigenous children in need, even though their legal rights are identical.† Practitioners must therefore guard against treating unaccompanied minors as â€Å"another client†, because the literature identifies them as being particularly in tune to all forms of communication within the interaction process, and they use this as a guide on who, when and how to trust. A vital part of the assessment is the interviewing of the unaccompanied minor. Wilson and Powell (2001: 1) maintain that â€Å"a childs thinking is dependent on a number of factors including memory, conceptual development, emotional development and language formation.† They further assert that there are three aspects to remembering information: knowledge, sequencing and prioritizing. They contend that practitioners must seek to gain all three trough safe methods when interviewing and practice patience. It is important to note their guidance that a memory may not always be told in the right sequence, and be prioritized according to the present needs of the child or in the case of this paper – the unaccompanied minor. Furthermore, they remind us that a child’s memory may not be accurate, this could be deliberately so (as already explored by Kohli: 2006), and they argue that it is up to the interviewer to use a method of questioning when appropriate to maximize the accuracy of responses. The Achieving Best Evidence in Criminal Proceedings (2007) document which provided information on interviewing children stated that interviewers must approach the interview with an open mind and that enquiries should not increase the distress of a child by allowing them to reluctantly relive bad experiences. Similarly, the 1998 Cleveland Inquiry Report suggests that: All interviews should be conducted by a professional with child interview training; Interview questions should be open-ended; There should be one and no more than two interviews for the purpose of assessment and it should not be too long; the interview should be paced by the child not the adult among others and it is recommended that the both the police and the social worker (if necessary) interview the child at the same time. These guidelines ensure that the interview adopts a child-centered approach. Another method that is advised with unaccompanied children is the phased interview approach. The phased interview approach is structured in three parts: the introduction and initial rapport establishment, the free narrative section and questioning section where the child is given space to communicate, alongside being questioned, and the closure of the interview. It is important to prepare children for the interview, through pre-interview contact to lessen any stress which may arise from being fearful of the process. Children should get ample time to consider whether they wish to share their stories or keep them locked away. Furthermore, the skill to actively listen is paramount to a social work practitioner as it not only assists with accurately observing, but it assures the child that what they are saying is being heard (Wilson and Powell: 2001). To assist in accuracy, the interviewer should reflect back the child’s responses to them for affirmation of clarification paying particular attention to maintaining neutral body language and tone while doing so (Thompson: 20 02). However, Wilson and Powell (2001) maintain that if a term is not familiar to the interviewer or seems like slang, the interviewer should make every effort to clarify its meaning with the child in order to maximize accuracy and assist in avoiding possibilities of intercultural communication. Bradford (1994) further posits that the interviewer has the responsibility to ensure the validity of the communication process by pursuing the statement validity analysis (SVA). The SVA checks that the testimony contains no contradictions or logical inconsistencies, the abundance of details, the accuracy of contextual evidence which may be verifiable, the ability to reproduce conversations and interactions and the presence of complicated obstacles. However, Davies (2006) warns that while this tool may be useful, it is not a accurate fix, particularly in the case of silent children who may choose to withhold traumatic information (Kohli: 2006). Wilhelmy and Bull (1999) argues that the use of drawings within interviews with child by practitioners should be encouraged where appropriate because it also provides assurance to the child that the interviewer is child centered. If this method is used, the interviewer must be very observant that this method does not make the child uneasy. While drawing may presents many opportunities to further question the child, the practitioner must as Kholi’s quotation suggests be extremely patient to unlock information and allow the interview to be paced by the child, thereby giving them space to trust the interviewing process. A child’s comfort with drawing, ay actually provide an opening to more difficult or painful areas and care should be taken to note and protect the child’s wellbeing and level of distress when painful information is disclosed. The use of role play and storytelling also offers unique methodologies to social workers to assist children in disclosing pain ful information. Outside of the interview process, Chamberlain (2007) recounts the use of storytelling by the Medical Foundation for the Care of Victims of Torture to assist refugee children from war torn countries to unlock their deeply buried painful memories when they are ready. He quotes Sheila Melzack the centers consultant child and adolescent psychotherapist as saying: â€Å"Many are in a state of suspended animation because they do not know whether they will be forced to return home. We are trying to give them coping strategies to deal with all these issues. But instead of saying directly what they saw or did we deal with it through displacement. They can be extracted through stories which create safe arenas to talk about these issues.† Therefore, Chamberlain (2007) and Davis (1990) asserts that stories can be utilized as a therapeutic intervention method to assist unaccompanied children to recall incidents, not necessarily airing them, but developing coping strategies that assist in building resilience in a new environment. There are however, instances where unaccompanied children come from countries whose language differ from that of the receiving country. Gregory and Holloway (2005) maintain that language is used both to grant and restrict access to a society or organization. Chand (2005) identifies the lack of adequate interpreting and translation services within the UK social work sector. Chand’s research located many instance where the services of interpreters and translators were needed but they did not show, usually because of lack of resources, so they prioritise which cases they believe are more important such as more formal case conferences. Humphreys et al (1999) found that many interpreters left case conferences and assessment early, or that interviews or conferences may be rushed because of lack of resources. In light of the previous discussion on the need for social workers to be patient and allow unaccompanied minors to work through past recollections until they are in a space to s hare, this practice of rushing sessions to facilitate interpreters, is detrimental to the communication process between practitioner and the unaccompanied child and could discourage disclosure and engender trust issues. As was discussed earlier in the theoretical section of this paper, language is closely related to power and can be used to control and regulate discourses and effect social control, based on its ability to include or exclude. The client-practitioner relationship is one in which the practitioner asserts their professionalism and therefore must take great care that such imbalance of power is not misunderstood by the client or imposed on them to hinder effective communication (Gregory and Holloway: 2005). Unaccompanied children, who have suffered trauma are usually used to being victimized by relationships of power imbalances, and therefore the social worker must always recognize that the relationship with such individuals is aimed at building their resilience and capacity :to adjust to all or any part of their new environment. While keeping practice client focused, recent years have seen the introduction of numerous guidelines, new legislation and policy changes which require the adherence and commitment of the social work practitioner. Some critics (Young: 1999; Malin: 2000), debate that social work has become mediatory and managerial under modern day guidelines and stipulations which risk the developing of solid client-practitioner relationships and the development of trust. While Gregory and Holloway (2005) argue that the language of such guidelines can be interpreted as the social control of the social work profession which ultimately seeks to â€Å"fix† the meanings of grounded work with vulnerable clients to suit political agendas. Social workers must remain committed to the ethic of the profession and promote good social work values by ensuring that such language of control is not transferred from the managerial spheres to what Schà ¶n (1983) terms as the trenches of social work, that is, th e interpersonal communication with clients. It is this regard that social workers must be aware of the power of language in working with unaccompanied minors, and ensure that the practice language is not dominated by a controlling or power induced thrust, but recognizes the vulnerability of clients and their need to slowly build trust and thaw their emotions (Kohli: 2006, 2007). As with language, the relations between social work practitioners and other services, can directly affect relationship with unaccompanied minors and how they trust the professionalism of those who communicate to them that they care. The death of eight year-old Victoria Climbie presents an example of how the lack of effective communication between professional practitioners can result in harm, especially to children from foreign cultures. The Laming Report of 2003, an inquiry into Victoria’s death concluded that the young girl’s death could have been avoided if individual social workers, police officers, doctors and nurses who came into contact with the girl, had effectively responded to Victorias needs. The National Service Framework for Children and Young People (NSF) and the Common Assessment Framework (CAF), both strive to ensure the effective communication between service providers across sectors. Glenny (2005) states that: â€Å"a lot of inter-agency collaboration is not about collaborative activity as such, but about communicating effectively with regard to individual pieces of work , ensuring patchwork of individual effort in relation to a particular [case], made sense†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Ensuring proper communication between agencies when dealing with unaccompanied minors, is therefore essential to build trust in the client-practitioner relationship (Cross:2004) and to remove any doubts the minor may have that the capillaries of power that agencies appear to be, will work for their benefit and well being and not contribute to any further victimization they may have suffered. It is therefore conclusive to say that the issue of managing effective communication is absolutely essential to successful social work practice with unaccompanied minors. The paper navigated the theoretical intricacies of the concept of communication to highlight its broad nature and how culture, language, body language and even silence are powerful communication tools tapped into by both practitioner and the unaccompanied minor in establishing boundaries of trust. One of the most evident revelations of this paper, is the need for practitioners to practice patience to allow unaccompanied minors the space to unlock their hidden stories, while providing them with support for their daily needs. Furthermore, the issue of intercultural communication difficulties that lack of interpreting and translation resources can cause in fostering best practice with accompanied minors was explored and it was identified that despite the lack of resources, unaccompanied minors are better served when th ey are not rushed for their hidden experiences. Finally, the paper identified the how the language of managerial control within social work can hinder best practice, if control of power imbalance is communicated even non-verbally to unaccompanied minors, who are very attuned to detecting such relations in order to protect themselves. References Beek, M., Schofield, G. (2004) Providing a Secure Base in Long-term Foster Care. London, British Association for Adoption and Fostering. Bradford, R. (1994) developing an Objective Approach to Assessing Allegations of Sexual Abuse. Child Abuse Review, Vol. 3 (2), 93-106. Chamberlain, P. (2007) Tell it like it was. Young People Traumatised by Violence are Confronting their Past through Storytelling. Community Care, 5-11th April. Chand, A. (2005) Do You Speak English? Language Barriers in Child Protection Social Work with Minority Ethnic Families. British Journal of Social Work, Vol. 35, 807-821. Criminal Justice System (2007) Achieving Best Evidence in Criminal Proceedings. London: The Stationery Office. Cobley, P. (2001) The Routledge Companion to Semiotics and Linguistics. London: Routledge. Cross M. (2004) Children with Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties. London: Jessica Kingsley. Davis, N. (1990) Once Upon a Time: Therapeutic Stories. Nancy Davis Publications. Davis, G. (2006) Statement Validity Analysis: An Art or a Science? Commentary on Bradford. Child Abuse Review, Vol. 3 (2), 104-106. Finkenauer, C., Engels, R., Meeus, W. (2002) Keeping Secrets from Parents: Advantages and Disadvantages of Secrecy in Adolescence. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, Vol. 31 (2), 123–136. Fiske, J. (1990) Introduction to Communication Studies. (2nd Edition). London: Routledge. Glenny, G. (2005) Riding the Dragon: Developing Inter-Agency Systems for Supporting Systems. Support for Learning, Vol. 20 (4), 167-175. Goleman, D., Boyatzis, R. and McKee, A. (2002) Primal Leadership, Boston: Harvard Business School Press. Gregory, M., Holloway, M. (2005) Language and the Shaping of Social Work. British Journal of Social Work, Vol. 35 (1), 37-53. Husbands, C. (2000) Recognising Diversity and Developing Skills: The Proper Role of Transcultural Communication. European Journal of Social Work, Vol. 3 (3), 225-234. Humphreys, C., Atkar, S., Baldwin, N. (1999) Discrimination in Child Protection Work: Recurring Themes in Work with Asian Families. Child and Family Social Work, Vol. 4, 283-291. Kohli, R.K.S. (2006) The Sound of Silence; Listening to What Asylum-seeking Children Say and do not Say. British Journal of Social Work, Vol. 36 (5), 707-721. Kohli, R. (2001) Social Work with Unaccompanied Asylum Seeking Young People. Forced Migration Review, Vol. 12 (1), 31–33. Kohli, R. (2000) Breaking the Silence. Professional Social Work, June 2002, 6–9. Krause, I.B. (1997) Therapy Across Cultures. London: Sage. Laming WH. (2003) The Victoria Climbià © Report. London: Stationery Office. Accessed on January 10, 2008 at: www.victoria-climbie-inquiry.org.uk/finreport/finreport.htm. Malin, N. (2000) Professional Boundaries and the Workplace. London: Routledge. Melzak, S. (1992) Secrecy, Privacy, Survival, Repressive Regimes, and Growing Up. London: Anna Freud Centre. Miller, G. (1973) Communication, Language and Meaning: Psychological Perspectives. New York: Basic Books. Morrison, T. (2007) Emotional Intelligence, Emotion and Social Work: Context, Characteristics, Complications and Contributions. British Journal of Social Work, Vol. 37 (2), 245-263. Papadopoulos, R. K. (ed.) (2002) Therapeutic Care for Refugees. No Place like Home, London: Karnac. Richman, N. (1998b) Looking Before and After: Refugees and Asylum Seekers in the West. In: P.J. Bracken C. Petty (Eds.) Rethinking the Trauma of War. London: Save the Children. Schà ¶n, D. (1987) Educating the Reflective Practitioner. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Schà ¶n, D. (1983) The Reflective Practitioner. 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Variation Of Acoustics Within A Space Architecture Essay

Concrete would bring forth loud resounding sound whereas rug would absorb sound. A little Dark and loud infinite would arouse tenseness in the user where as a infinite meant to portray joy would be big, good lit and have proper acoustic values. Aural architecture plays many important functions in assorted types of infinites such as musical, societal, navigational, aesthetic and symbolic. In a musical infinite, the echo blends the note sequences into chords. In a societal infinite it changes the distance between people in eating houses. In a navigational infinite it permits traveling through a dark infinite by echo sounding, as an aesthetic infinite it provides a delighting aural texture and as a symbolic infinite it can be associated with spiritual significance in the context of a infinite such as a cathedral ( Blesser 2009 ) The image above shows the shrine of St. Werburg in the Chester Cathedral. This shrine has six deferrals for kneeling pilgrims to put their caputs while praying. This pit amplifies and filters the sound giving the individuals voice a dramatic and emotional strength. The reverberations give the sense of being in another universe, the elaboration gives the sense of familiarity and the ocular isolation contributes to privateness. Through a insistent use for rites and ceremonials, the ocular and aural belongingss of such objects or geometries can get a symbolic significance. In the ocular universe, these would be called icons, and the equivalent of it in the aural universe would be known as an earcon ( Blesser and Salter,2007 ) . The user will be cognizant of the enormousness, geometry and stuff of the cathedral by the feeling of the reverberation and re-echo within the infinite. If the stuff used for the cathedral was carpet alternatively of rock, it would be acoustically softened every bit good as the spacial and acoustic dimensions of the architecture will be lost. ( Holl, Pallasmaa and Gomez, 2006 ) Aural architectures affect on societal infinites is clearly apparent in figure 2 shown below. When we think of architecture we tend to visualise the belongingss of the infinite that can be seen, specially the boundaries that are restricting us to a limited infinite and curtailing our motion every bit good as our legal rights of entree. On the other manus, aural boundaries are different to ocular boundaries as sound flows through every little gap and cranny. Fig 2. Hogarth ‘s angered instrumentalists. Hogarth portrays the discouragement of a instrumentalist who finds that his private music room and the uproar of the street are in fact a singleA aural infinite. The figure above demonstrates how the sounds from the street flow freely through the unfastened window of the house. Hence the street and the room with the unfastened window portion the same aural infinite. Fig 3. Dan Kish ‘s Team Bat taking unsighted adolescents on a bike drive The function of aural architecture in navigational infinites is barely of all time recognized except by the unsighted persons who rely on echo sounding to assist them travel around ( fig 3 ) . We are non usually cognizant that we posses the ability to hear spacial properties such as an unfastened window or a wall. However every person has an developing ability to utilize their ears to supplement vision. Potholers can acquire a sense of the countries of the cave that are wholly hidden by listening to the echo and reverberations ( Blesser and Salter,2007 ) . Anyone who has been spellbound by the sound of H2O beads in the darkness of a ruin is a informant to the extraordinary capacity of the ear to carve our volume into the nothingness of darkness ( Holl, Pallasmaa and Gomez, 2006 ) . The acoustic properties of a musical infinite have a important consequence on the temper and behaviour of an person. This consequence is best demonstrated in high impact infinites instead than ordinary infinites. Stockhausen ‘s public presentation of â€Å" Stimmung † in the Jaita caves near Beirut proves this. The public presentation was on a platform constructed over the abbeys and the audience was 80 thousand off from the performing artists, unlike in normal concert halls. This allowed the natural acoustics to rule the direct sound. After listening to the public presentation, a Catholic priest said it was one of the longest and happiest supplications he had of all time known. Fig 4. Stockhausen ‘s public presentation of â€Å" Stimmung † in the Jeita Cave near Beirut. The acoustic belongingss of a high impact infinite have a greater and more effectual impact on the temper and emotion of the user than in an ordinary infinite. However one can all remember the acoustic abrasiveness of an inhibited and unfurnished house as apposed to the affableness of a lived place. Juhani Pallasmaa writes, ‘ every edifice or infinite has its characteristic sounds of familiarity or monumentality, invitation or rejecting, cordial reception or ill will. ‘ The map of aural architecture in an aesthetic infinite is similar to adding decorations and texture to our ocular infinites to do them look alone and interesting. In the same mode we can add aural embroideries to alter the acoustics of the environment every bit good. In an experiment done by Eusebio Sempere, where he made a sculpture with unstained steel tubings that rotate at its base. It acts as a sonic filter which filters out passage of certain frequences, therefore the hearer on one side heard a tonic alteration of the sound geting from the other side. This sculpture is a ocular equivalent of the colored glass prism. Fig 5. Eusebio Sempere ‘s sculpture inA Madrid has alone acoustic belongingss. Architecture is best perceived every bit sound as it leaves a batch to the imaginativeness of the user and it is said that imaginativeness is needed to do sense of perceptual experience. Even though sound is non the dominant medium for comprehending architecture, it is successful in giving individuality to architecture as sound creates an atmosphere beyond map. In his book Eyes of the Skin, Pallasmaa states that ‘Modern architecture at big has housed the mind and the oculus, but it has left the organic structure and the other senses, every bit good as our memories, imaginativeness and dreams, homeless ‘ ( pg 19 ) . â€Å" You see things and state why? But I dream things that ne'er were and state why non? † Unknown Imagination is the ability to organize a mental image of something that is non straight perceived through the senses. It is the ability of the head to organize mental scenes, objects or events that do non be, are non present or have non happened ( Remez Sasson ) . Imagination is non merely limited to seeing images in the head. It includes all the five senses and feelings. One can conceive of a sound, gustatory sensation, odor, a physical esthesis a feeling or emotion. It is imagination that makes it possible to see a whole universe inside the head. It gives us the ability to look at any state of affairs from a different point of position. It has a really of import function and value in an person ‘s life and is non simply merely woolgathering. Every person possesses some ability to conceive of, but in some it may be developed more than others. We all use it, consciously or unconsciously, in our day-to-day life whether it is to read, compose, be after a party or a trip, to depict an event, to state or narrative, or merely merely giving waies to acquire to a specific finish. The originative power of imaginativeness is needed to accomplish success in any field, and some persons have a greater imaginativeness than others. It is a power beyond originative visual image, positive thought and avowals ( Remez Sasson ) . Basically, imaginativeness is the power of doing something up in one ‘s caput. Perception depends on the world-wide position of a individual and imaginativeness is needed to do sense of these perceptual experiences. Make you prefer your ain dreams or person else ‘s? How about your ain phantasies or person else ‘s? ( Anthony Megna ) . This is the really ground why many persons prefer reading a book in comparing to watching a film, as the film is person else ‘s position and non their ain. The spectator has no power to conceive of the characters, topographic points or the events of the narrative as everything can be seen. Alternatively, when reading a novel, the reader has the chance to put out their ain readings of the narrative and has the power to conceive of the characters, topographic points and incidents in the narrative as he/she wants. Hence reading a book leaves one with a greater capacity to conceive of than watching a film, which is person else ‘s fiction. â€Å" Whenever I start reading a book I ever come up with how I think a character should look or sound, so when versions come out and there is eventually a face and voice to the character and it is different t han the 1 in my caput, it can be hard for me to accept † says Lauren, a Harry Potter fan. By and large when comparing a film to a book, the book wins the lucifer because with a book, one can acquire more information, more scenes and a better

Brief History of Education in Nigeria

As they say Rome was not built in a day. Same applies to education system of Nigeria. In Nigeria education has been filtered and iterated than any other developing Nation around the world. Nigeria had witnessed the brief tradition of education system and was developed in its own phases with some notable revolutions.Undeniable three important tradition followed in educational system during different timeline were, the native Indigenous education, welcoming of Islam had introduced more different strategy of education (Quran Education through Quranic schools), and recently was introduced to the western educational system that help them to make their own benchmark in this world. Though initially during each timeline, the respective phases served their purpose and also had some problems.In this paper different education system and the phases of education development that flourished Nigeria had been discussed and also the recent introduction of Universal Basic Education (UBE) after success fully navigated by Universal Primary Education (UPE). The journey of education system in Nigeria has its own story to tell. The Early Days of Education (The Indigenous education of Stone-age Nigeria) Deeply rooted Culture and daily life routine followed by Nigerian population during early ages was followed for many centuries until influenced by outside world.Native Indigenous education in Nigeria is had its face decorated with limited life style and much priorities were given to welfare of community and local population. The education offered was based on the necessities that are useful govern and feed local tribe. This was the pre-colonial education, where the specialized skills and enhanced abilities were passed on to children from father and grandfather. Sometime children’s were forwarded to some other community head and mentors for advance skills and community etiquettes.The bottom line of the education delivered was to learn and live according to Nigerian climate and occ upation. These occupations were practiced according to geographical conditions of Nigeria. Some of the popular occupations practiced were Farming (according to seasonal condition), trading (barter system), and fishing (only by communities living either side of river bank), craft work (mask, cloths, color work, utensils), black-smithy (traditional & farming hunting tools, war weapons).Most of the skills were taught in very traditional ways like listening to elder people from community for their advices and wisely saying, hunting and farming was learned from observing father and masters working in farm lands and accordingly engaging themselves in the same work. Girls and women’s were expected to stay at home and undertake jobs more suited for them such as raising kids, weaving and craft-work, body decoration, farming. But this too had followed same strategy of learning from elders (from mother). This kind of education was based on ability and adaptation of skills from elders an d had no written or printed records.Such traditional education had great impact and socially developed sense for protection of community, but the same sense of protection proved to be limitation for Indigenous education system. Although traditional skills managed to travel and spread across many tribes but tribe never agreed to pass on their skills to people from other community (mostly people from other villages). This made it to almost impossible for such education system to travel ahead in timeline and had vanished, as community increased and started to spread across Nigeria. Islamic Education (Arabic Language) in Nigeria Islam was believed to Introduced to somewhere around 1080. Islamic faith was first accepted by Umme Jilmi (1085-1097), Ruler of Kanern, followed by his successors Dunama 1st who ruled during the period 1097-1150 and also by Dunama 2nd during 1221-1259. As these people had much influence so was Islam the faith sowed into Nigerian earth. Islam made major changes i n Nigerian life and educational system. Apart from just living life people were made to serve GOD (although they already did) and had to allot separate time. Islam and Islamic education was made to believe inseparable duty that one must follow in this daily life.The local priest of Mosque used to teach chapters of Quran and its verses. Quran also made people to learn new language â€Å"Arabic† which was completely unknown to Nigerian population. Arabic alphabet was taught for the first time, as a written language in printed format. This effort at primary level was widespread and greatly appreciated & absorbed in Nigerian culture. Although Arabic language was blessed by grammar, syntax, rich literature but it also had its own setbacks. First was women’s were forbidden in ISLAM and took considerable to anticipate women’s participation in learning Arabic language and Quran.A later on Islamic study was also allowed for women’s of Nigeria. Abdullahi Bayero the (Ruler of Kano) strengthen the Islamic studies by building Law schools, for teaching Islam, different Islamic subjects, English and Arithmetic as well. Schooling and building of institutes helped in good educational progress and many institutes & schools were started in coming in year. As Arabic was neither the language in many part of Nigeria, nor followed by educational institutes other than Islamic, this proved to be failure for Arabic language.The Western Education (Missionaries schools and Culture) This was the proper time to intersect the Nigerian environment with western education system. In 1842 Wesleyan Christian Missionaries stepped in Badagry. The western missionaries and missionaries school stepping onto Nigerian land was not so welcomed, because Islamic schools and institutes already has its footmarks on Nigerian soil, specially northern Nigeria, where Islam has its wings spread wide across with almost 25,000 Islamic schools and education centers.Although the start was not good for missionaries’ school and had to keep trying until in 1843 the first school came into existence followed by Anglican Church Missionary society in 1850. Missionaries’ schools were helped by the government and they did understand the importance of western education for further development of Nigerian society. As a result of this, education department came into power to administrate and to set curricular criteria and requirements and started to giveaway grants and funds for missionary schools.The north Nigeria had nothing to do except watch southern Nigeria grows in better lifestyle. Further in 1914 northern and southern Nigeria united and these missionaries’ were strengthening to put-forward their idea about education in northern Nigeria as well. North Nigeria had to fill the growth and development gap as in 1914 there were only 1100 school kids as compared to 36,000 in south Nigeria, number was no less but still there was good hope for development. T he main focus of examination was given on examination. More to say institute building, sufficient teaching staff, and moderate labs were inspected.School ranking was graded and, performance was sorted according to individual performance of each institute. Results were notable and according to expected and lead the entire nation towards Jobs availability and overall development. In year 1952 a body was formed named as West African Examination Council (WAEC) and important responsibility of conducting examination was handed over to them.The responsibility of council was to qualify number of appeared candidate for certificates which were same as that of certificates offered by examination authorities in United Kingdom Until now much of educational program were carried by missionaries, but now Nigerian government started to feel the need to help these missionaries and in 1882 began to act by providing necessary guidelines, policies for students and staff, and development of educational a uthorities. Schools appointed school inspectors and started to ensure grants/funds for schools to keep the educational quality intact. To give wider perspective to the government activities the common experiment more popularly known as Universal Primary Education Program was undertaken in 1955 (East) and 1957(West), that proved to be very helpful and genuine program.In Nigeria, the school year currently runs from January to December, consists of about 3 quarters with a month between quarters. Primary education begins at the age of six for the majority of Nigerians. Students spend six years in primary school and graduate with a school-leaving certificate equivalent to what is called ‘elementary school' in some other countries. This runs for 6 years, and after that, students take the Common Entrance Examination to be admitted into Secondary School, which is the equivalent of ‘high school' in some other countries.It used to be that way many years ago, and then they switched to a school year that ran from September to July, and within the last decade, they've switched back to a school year that runs from January to December. Some Nigerians go to nursery school in their early years. What is basically done there is teaching kids the basics like the alphabet, etc. Subjects taught at the primary level include mathematics, English language, Islamic knowledge studies, Bible knowledge, science and one of the three main native ethnic groups (Hausa-Fulani, Yoruba, and Igbo).Private schools would also offer computer, science, French, and art. Primary school students are required to take a Common Entrance Examination to qualify for admission into the Federal and State Government schools. However, around 1990 what was once known as ‘secondary school' was split into 2 sections, and had a year added. So now, there is Junior Secondary School (JSS), which lasts 3 years, and then students have to take the Junior WAEC or the JSSE (Junior Secondary School Exam) to move up to Senior Secondary School (SSS).During primary school and secondary school (both parts), students wear a school uniform that is chosen and designed by their school. During school parties or special functions, students are sometimes allowed to wear what they choose. Also, there are usually other physical standards that students must abide too. For instance, most schools either have the girls hair cut short, or allow them to braid it neatly, sometimes depending on the grade level. Boys must have their hair short. With both boys and girls who have short hair, the hair must be neatly combed.Also, shoes, jewelry, and other accessories usually have guidelines attached. For primary and secondary schools, some schools do have buses to transport their students from certain areas to the school, and of course, in boarding schools, transportation is not an issue. For day school students though, for the most part, transportation to and from school is left to the family. Some parents dro p their kids off at school on their way to work. Prof. Fafunwa Contribution towards education Education system in Nigeria is one of the greatest achievements of Prof.Fafunwa especially at the primary and secondary school levels. He sustained efforts and struggle culminated in the adoption of the mother tongue education policy by the national policy on education (1977). He rightly observed that, developing countries are known mainly as consumer of knowledge rather than as producers. However the acceptance of some of the Fafunwa’s idea internationally proved to be an exception. One of the great ideas that won international recognition is the Each-one-Teach-one approach in the promotion of the education for all (EFA) global program and campaign.The second is the Mother Tongue mode of educational instruction, which has received some international acceptance through the efforts of UNESCO. At the national level also, the recommendation of the Fafunwa Study Group on funding of educa tion at all levels in 1984 brought two notable institution into existence. The first was the establishment of the National Commission for the College of Education (NCCE) in 1986 while the second was the establishment of Federal Ministry of Science and Technology. One of the measures he took was the establishment of the national Institute for the Language in Aba in 1992.By these achievements, Fafunwa’s name will always be written in gold in any history on the promotion of mother tongue education in Nigeria. It would also be recalled that in addition to these, he established the Nigeria French Language village, in Badagry in 1991, and the National Arabic Language Village in 1992 in Gamboru, Borno State when he minister of education. The success of the mother tongue project let to the production of teaching material in Yoruba language in the primary schools. And following its success too, other linguistic area translated the Ife materials on science and mathematics into their sp urred Prof.Fafunwa to work harder the promotional of the teaching of, and research on, Nigeria language, when he becomes minister of education. With all these, Fafunwa gained recognition at both the national and international levels. In 1973 he received a medal for distinguished service in Education, Teachers college, Columbia University, New York city. In 1976 he got the Franklin Book Award for Outstanding Contribution to Educational Development, New York City. In 1983, he was appointed a Distinguished Fellow, International Council on Education for Teaching, Washington D. C and then in 1986, this ‘prophet’ was rightly honored in his own country, with Hon. LL. D by the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, where he started his academic career. His was later also honored by fellowship of Science Teachers Association of Nigeria in 1990; and Fellow, Nigeria Academy of Education in 1990. In 1955, he earned a Ph. D. in Education, becoming the first Nigerian recipient of a doctoral degree in Education. He started his University teaching career in 1961 at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. During the Nigerian civil war, he left the east and moved to Ife, and taught at the Obafemi Awolowo University.Universal Primary Education (UPN) in Nigeria In 1970 the new term was introduced into the world of education in Nigeria and Universal Primary Education (UPN) was accepted as policy for educational system, just because it had all necessary guidelines and regulatory work flow, most important it was designed in a way to have each person to complete it as primary need. This was again non-welcomed, but still had impressive accomplishment. According to small survey it was seen that Nigeria had an impressive population of 50 million and among that population 22 percent of population was school going (Primary schools).UPN gained its importance in coming year 1985-86; during time period approximate estimated considerable population of 24 million (age group between five â€⠀œfourteen) and 46 percent of the entire age group had attended school. This was a remarkable change in education system of Nigeria and they believed that more number would be achieved in coming years. Special Education in Nigeria As seen till now Nigeria’s efforts of educational program has been tremendous, was well noted and these efforts were reviewed by Ministry of Information and Culture, 1986.This revolution in the field of education had deep impact on special education reform. Special educations are firmly established under the roof of overall education policies set by Ministry of Education. The need had arisen because of exceptionalities and special skill amongst sons/daughters of Nigeria. The special section has been set aside for pupils with extraordinary special skills. This is known as Section 8 of policy created by ministry of education in 1977.According to section:1. Materialize the meaning of equal education for all pupils.2. Provide sufficient education for al l disabled students and citizens so as to overcome their disability and let them help for their contribution in development of nation.3. To provide opportunities and resources for those pupils who possess special skills and abilities for nations technological and economical development.This was not just to provide the platform for students with good academic and talent but also the solid groundwork for those who have knowledge must have the freedom to go for the education they want.This also had put more focus on those are handicapped and physically challenged, and had given them the right of equality of education along with other normal pupils. To anticipate section 6 government had to move ahead in some research and had to collect data that clearly depict the number of all children’s, separation through age, sex, disabilities and locality, standard of living and their requirement about education.Categories of Special Education1) Blind and partially sighted or different sigh t problems.2) Deaf and partially hearing or different hearing problems.3) Disabled or physically challenge or handicapped.4) Mentally retarded (Partially/Completely).5) Hospitalized children.For any special education program the direction must be towards ability of anticipation of program that increases the inner potential of extraordinary individuals. But this was again hampered by some special education systems and institutes program were imposed on admitted pupils instead of exposing and providing platform for those students. Inclusion International Perspective (Salamanca Meet) United Nations Salamanca Statements were major and good exposure to international level by United Nation.UNESCO had arranged a world meet in Salamanca, Spain was held from 7th June 2994 till 10th June 1994. This meet was attended by 300 participants those representing 92 governments and 25 international organisations. Salamanca statements were built on 1. Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948) 2. Con clusions from â€Å"The World Conference on Education for All† (1990) 3. United Nations â€Å"Standard Rules on the Equalization of Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities† (1993).Recognition of Salamanca Statement1. Every child has a fundamental right to education.2. Every child has unique characteristics, interests, abilities and learning needs.3. Education systems should be designed and educational programmes implemented to meet these diversities among children.4. Students with special needs must have access to regular schools with adapted education.5. Regular schools with an inclusive orientation are the most effective means of combating and preventing discriminative attitudes and building up an inclusive societyRole of National Authorities and Government1. Improve the education system so it can include all students.2. Adopt the principle of inclusive education in the legislation system to enrol all children.3. Develop demonstration project.4. Establish decentr alized systems and user participation in planning, monitoring and evaluation.5. Encourage the participation of parents and relevant user organisation.6. Pay attention to early identification of special needs and Early Intervention.7. Give relevant education, further education, training and support to teachers and other relevant professionals.8. Emphasise the international cooperation within programs of education for all.9. Emphasise the importance of Special Needs Education as an integrated part of teacher education and training programs.10. Involve the NGO’sNew Perspective on Special (excellent students) needs education1. Inclusion and participation assume that students with disabilities attend ordinary kindergartens and schools on the local environment.2. The fundamental principle is that all children are together as much as possible.3. Inclusive education of high quality should focus on:1) Curriculum2) organizational arrangements3) teaching strategies4) resource use5) Part nership with the communities4. Inclusive education demands a focus on peers. This implies that special units, special classes and schools should be used to a limited extent, and as exception from ordinary education5. Special needs education varies enormously from country to country. If a country has to have special schools they should function as resource centres for regular schools.6. Countries with a limited number of special schools should be advised to establish mainstream-inclusive schools.7. The governmental planning of education should concentrate on all persons, in all regions of the country and in all economic conditions.8. Special needs education policy represent a new approach. That’s why adults with disabilities should have special attention.9. Girls and women are often discriminated. Women and men should have equal influence and opportunities.10. To make EFA effective it should be plans on the local, regional and national planInclusive Education and Amendment of Salamanca Statements in United KingdomSpecial Education Needs and Disability Act (2001)The Special Educational Needs and Disability Act (2001) impose certain specific duties on the respective educational institute in respect of students with disabilities. The following guidelines attempt to establish good practice for access to teaching and learning for students with disabilities in the light of these requirements under the Act.These guidelines are directed towards individual lecturers and tutors, to provide a descriptive outlook of the main elements of planning for SENDA (2001). The Act requires the University not only to make adequate provision for existing students with disabilities but to be prepared for the probable needs of future students and candidates, so as to be able to respond adequately and promptly when required. It does not require Schools or individual tutors to make wholesale changes to teaching materials, teaching practice, curricula, timetables, etc.(though it is a common experience that the refinement of teaching practice to meet the needs of students with disabilities is of benefit to students in general). It does involve the identification of aspects of teaching and learning which can be expected to create barriers for students with disabilities, and a concerted planning initiative on the part of the University to establish how these might be adjusted to allow the full participation of students with disabilities. The Act makes it unlawful for bodies responsible for the provision of education to discriminate against disabled students.Discrimination consists of failing to make reasonable adjustments which would permit students with disabilities to participate fully in Higher Education, or giving them less favorable treatment at any point in the educational process. The definition of disability includes a wide range of long-term physical and mental conditions. This Act SENDA imposes a pressurized direct responsibility on educational institut ions for their own admitted students. This would include elements such as field place used in fieldwork and study tour, or foreign educational institutes/universities where students go for under students exchange program.Special Educational Needs (England and Wales)The legislation relating to SEN is contained in Part 4 of the EA (ss. 312 – 349, Schedules 26 and 27). This has been amended by the School Standards and Framework Act 1998 (SSFA) to amend the references to the categories of schools. There is a statutory code of practice (the Code of Practice on the Identification and Assessment of Special Educational Needs) to which LEAs, governing bodies, health and social services and the SENT must have regard when exercising their functions under Part 4 of the Act.There was a consultation on a revised draft of this Code from 7 July to 13 October 2000. The aim is to publish the final version of this Code to come into force from September 2001. A child has SEN if he has a learning difficulty which calls for special educational provision to be made for him. A child, for the purposes of the SEN provisions, includes any person under the age of 19 who is a registered pupil at a school. About 20% of children will have some form of SEN at some time.Most of these children will have their needs met by their school, but around 3% of children will have severe or complex needs which will require the LEA to determine and arrange for the special educational provision for the child by means of a statutory statement of SEN. It has always been intended that as many children with SEN as possible can be included within mainstream rather than special schools, whilst recognizing the importance of the specialist sector. There is a duty in section 316 of the EA to secure that a child is educated in a mainstream school, unless that is incompatible with the wishes of the parent.Provided that three conditions are satisfied: that this is compatible with 1. His receiving the special e ducational provision his learning difficulty calls for; 2. The provision of efficient education for the children with whom he will be educated. 3. The efficient use of resources. School governing bodies have a duty to use their best endeavors to see that pupils with SEN at their schools receive the special educational provision their learning difficulties call for.The LEA must keep their arrangements for special educational provision under review They have a duty to secure that they identify children within their area who have SEN and the LEA need to determine the special educational provision for which their learning difficulty calls. Where an LEA are of the opinion that a child has SEN and that it is necessary for the authority to determine the special educational provision which any learning difficulty he may have calls for, the LEA will make an assessment of the child, to decide whether a statement of SEN should be made for the child.Once the assessment of the child's needs has been completed, the LEA will decide whether it is necessary for them to make and maintain a statement of the child's SEN. If the LEA decide to make a statement, the statement must be in the form prescribed by the Schedule to the Education (Special Educational Needs) Regulations 1994 (revised regulations are planned to come into force at the same time as the revised SEN Code of Practice). Any statement made by the LEA must give details of the assessment of SEN and specify the special educational provision to be made.The special educational provision must include the type of school, or other institution, which the LEA considers would be appropriate, the name of the school preferred by the parents if this has to be named in accordance with Schedule 27 or, if none, the name of any school the LEA considers should be specified, and any provision for which arrangements are made otherwise than in a school, e. g. : occupational therapy. The SENT considers parents' appeals against the decisio ns of LEAs in England and Wales about their children's SEN, if parents cannot agree with the LEA.The SENT considers appeals about refusals to assess, refusals to make statements, the contents of statements and decisions to cease to maintain statements. The constitution of the SENT is provided for in section 333 of the EA. There is a President and a chairmen's panel appointed by the Lord Chancellor and a lay panel appointed by the Secretary of State for Education and Employment or (as appropriate) the NAW. Each Tribunal consists of a chairman and two lay members. The procedure of the Tribunal is set out in the Special Educational Needs Tribunal Regulations 1995 made under section 336 of the EA.The Special Educational Needs Tribunal Regulations 2001 have been laid before Parliament and will, unless annulled, come into force on 1 September 2001. Where does Nigeria Stand in Inclusive Education? Education is not only a right of every child as advocated for by the United Nations (UN), it is a Constitutional enactment in Nigeria through ‘The Compulsory, Free, Universal Basic Education Act,2004 and other Related Matters' leading to the setting aside of two percent (2%) of the consolidated revenue for its implementation.It is also a punishable offence for anyone to deny a Nigerian child the opportunity to get at least the basic nine year compulsory and free education. Worthy of note is that the UBE Act not only stipulates that it is an offence for anyone to deny a Nigerian child the opportunity for free basic education but clearly pointed out Part 1 section 1, 2 and 3 of the Act that â€Å"Every Government in Nigeria shall provide free, compulsory and universal basic education for every child of primary and junior secondary school age. Every parent shall ensure that his child or ward attends and completes his:(a) Primary school education.(b) Junior secondary school education by endeavoring to send the child to primary and junior secondary schools.â€Å"The stak eholders in education in a Local Government Area, shall ensure that every parent or person who has the care and custody of a child performs the duty imposed on him under section 2(2) of this Act† The above are wonderful as far as the quest towards achieving the goals of the Millennium Development Goals (MGDs) as well as the targets of the Education For All (EFA) remain a cardinal objective of the present leadership in the education sector.It would be pertinent to point out that Nigeria in April 2000 joined over 170 other countries that met in Dakar, the capital of Senegal to re-affirm national commitment towards ensuring that they deliver the goals of EFA by 2015. Given the importance of UBE and need to ensure that it succeeds, stakeholders in the sector especially those that have held sway at the helm of affairs of the Federal Ministry of Education had for some time taken steps deemed necessary to ensure that the country not exit the status of being one of the countries not l ikely meet the target for EFAQ nor the goals of MDGs.â€Å"From a regional perspective, South and West Asia reported the greatest progress. This was mainly due to changes in India, where the number of children out of school fell by over 12 million as participation in primary education significantly improved for girls (accounting for more than 75% of the decrease). â€Å"Sub-Saharan Africa also made important strides, with a reduction of 10 million.This was largely the result of progress reported by the Governments of Ethiopia and the United Republic of Tanzania† the report added. For a country like Nigeria, the importance of the report comes in various forms but the most touching ones will be the positive aspect which noted that the Sub-Saharan African made important strides towards the global achievement accounting for about 10million out of the 28million that was recorded within the period.But unfortunately for the country, while the names of countries like United Republic of Tanzania and Ethiopia were clearly mentioned while others were listed on the detailed report, Nigeria appeared on the list with dots in this form (****) which simply means that there was no information available on the various performances and efforts of government and other stakeholders in the area of improving enrolment.It is should be on record that Nigeria is not a country to be pushed aside when the issue of rolling out policies, bright and wonderful policies at that aimed at achieving envious feat that can stand its own anywhere in the world. Though the country for the umpteenth time has failed to blow its trumpet, stakeholders would not disagree if this write-up notes that over 80% of government efforts are not well coordinated leading to none availability of credible, scientific and acceptable data that can be presented to relevant bodies.It is however gratifying to note that the leadership at the Federal Ministry of Education presently is doing a lot to change all that and when one takes a look at the latest decision to integrate the Mandrasah Education into the mainstream of at least the basic education, it shows that Nigeria is serious about meeting the set goals and targets.At this juncture, it will be pertinent to note that just about two-years ago during the celebration of the 2008 Education For All (EFA) week celebration, the then Minister of Education, Dr. Igwe Aja-Nwachuku said that at least about 11million Nigerian children are still without access to basic education in the country.

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