A team recording the new episode on the role model at the classroom for Grade 1 students.

A teacher in Xieng Khuang shows how education can be inclusive for all

The Ministry of Education and Sports and the Australian government are promoting inclusive education through a television show to inspire teachers across the country to make lessons more inclusive for all children, irrespective of their ability or ethnicity.
Mrs Viengkeo Douangprachan, a passionate teacher from Xieng Khuang province features as the role model for inclusive education in the documentary programme. A media team from the Ministry recently travelled to the province to interview her.
For 20 years, Mrs Viengkeo has taught at a state primary school in Xieng Khuang, a region with many children with disabilities, often non- or mis-diagnosed.
Her school has seven students living with a mental or physical disability, and Mrs Viengkeo truly believes every child has a right to education.
She adapts her teaching to ensure all students can fully participate, and feel welcome, in her class.
She said, “Every class group is different, and during their career, teachers will encounter a wide diversity of learner abilities, backgrounds and aspirations. Being a good teacher is about adapting your teaching style to meet these diverse needs. Disability is just one aspect of this.”
With the support of her principal and other teachers, she has developed several approaches to ensure children with disabilities are supported to participate in school.
“First, it is very important to connect with the parents of the student living with disabilities, to understand the story of the child, to ensure the child will come regularly to school. I also discuss how the parents can support their child’s learning at home,” Mrs Viengkeo told the media team.
“The classroom arrangement is also key. In my class, I have been teaching five students living with disabilities.”
Mrs Viengkeo arranges her classroom according to the needs of students. “I sit a student with a physical disability or a hearing impairment in front so that it is easier for the child to move around or hear what I say. I can monitor them more closely and see if the student has any difficulty. It is important that the student feels comfortable to learn,” she said.
Teaching resources and activities need to be adapted to include all children. “I adapt my teaching according to the ability of the child. For example, a boy I am teaching this year has some hearing difficulties, so I use images to explain words,” Mrs Viengkeo added.
The new Grade 1 textbooks are convenient in this context as they contain many illustrations. She gives the boy special homework because he takes longer than other students and she wants to be sure he makes progress without being discouraged.
The involvement of other students is important to strengthen inclusion. Every morning in her classroom introduction, Mrs Viengkeo encourages all the children to help each other and to play together even though they are different.
“When I do a group activity, I pair the boy with disabilities with a stronger student who can support him. In the playground, I monitor that they play together and show respect. It has happened that I have heard students calling the boy with disabilities bad names, so I talked to the whole class at the end of the day about respect,” she said.
Going by the smiles on the faces of Mrs Viengkeo’s Grade 1 students when they enter the classroom in the morning, one can be sure that they will enjoy the day, and that they will participate and learn, no matter their abilities.
It is also clear to see how a passionate and inclusive teacher can make a huge impact on the education and future of a generation.
The story of Mrs Viengkeo can be watched on the YouTube channel Teacher Development Videos and on Education and Sports TV on Lao Sat Channel 8.
In line with the commitment of the Ministry of Education and Sports and the Australian government to promote inclusive education for all, the programme is dubbed in Lao sign language.
The project is fully supported by the Australian government through the Basic Education Quality and Access in Laos (BEQUAL) programme.

By Keoviengkhone Bounviseth
(Latest Update August 16, 2022)