Cameroon

UNESCO Chair in Special Needs Education (820), established in 2008 at the University of Buea (Cameroon)

 

Fields / Disciplines Special needs education. Objectives The purpose of the Chair shall be to promote an integrated system of research, training, information and documentation in the field of special needs education. It will serve as a means of facilitating collaboration between high-level, internationally recognized researchers and teaching staff of the University and other institutions in Cameroon. The objectives of activities shall be to build institutional capacity and, through research, provide quality education to special needs persons in the Central and Western Africa region. The focus of its activities will be to: Develop institutional capacity through postgraduate programmes in special needs education; Conduct action research to inform social policy and appropriate educational practices for the attainment of quality scholarship and good practices at national and regional levels, which should align with international levels and standards; Train school administrators in special needs education; Train specialists in educational technology for special needs education, with skills for making didactic materials to support remediation programmes; Encourage partnership through community participation with aim of eradicating cultural and psychological barriers that foster faulty beliefs about disabilities and consequently hinder the promotion of appropriate intervention; Provide educational opportunities that will increase the chances for the participation of disabled persons in social and economic development. Host Institution University of Buea (Cameroon) UNESCO Sector / Office responsible for the Chair/Network Education; UNESCO Yaoundé