Creating conditions for inclusive education in Kazakhstan: A case study of a resource center in Astana

This research project is developed on the basis of communication between DARA Foundation (hereinafter DARA) and Nazarbayev University Graduate School of Education Inclusive Education Group (hereinafter IE Group). This research is based on DARA’s project identified needs which supports establishing inclusive education conditions at mainstream public schools in the country. DARA’s project pairs Resource Centres with neighborhood schools by physically placing a center in one of the neighborhood schools to help teachers and school administrations to accommodate and support the needs of children with disability. As part of this process, DARA’s experts provide feedback on the methodological base of general education, opportunities for inclusion, assist teachers developing individual education plans (IEP), and recommend interventions for children, where needed. This project also supports professional development of educators who facilitate teaching children with special needs during the beginning stages of school inclusion. The objective of this research project is to document how this inclusive education process is working between DARA resource centres and public mainstream schools. As such, the bases of examining the experiences of those engaged in this process allows for building recommendations of potentially extending this approach of inclusive education support to other schools throughout Kazakhstan.