Inclusive Education Practices for Fostering Creativity in West Bengal

Abstract: Integrated education means education of all the children together without any distinction of their capacity to learn economically as well as promoting the feeling of tolerance. The purpose of this research is to enhance learning creativity through implementation of inclusive education in West Bengal where learners with disabilities experience challenges in acquiring quality education. The goals include identification of the current practices, assessment of the impact of the practices on creativity, identification of the problems as well as provision of the solutions. The study adopted descriptive survey research design with 10 primary schools each in Hooghly and Howrah district through multi-stage sampling. The data were collected through structured self-administered questionnaires for the teachers, head teachers, parents and special educators. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used in quantitative analysis and the statistical package used was SPSS. The study shows that there is a positive correlation between the practical implementations of inclusive education and creativity of the student. The creativity scores were also higher in schools which had better implementation scores of the Right to Education (RTE) Act and the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (RPWD) Act. In fact, there was no marked difference between the effects of these practices in urban and rural schools. Nevertheless, the challenges, which emerged during the study, included insufficient teacher preparation, the lack of resources, and inadequate school infrastructure implying the necessity of developing extensive teacher preparation and enhancing the school infrastructure. Therefore, the study concludes that there is a need to encourage the implementation of IEP in order to enhance creativity of learners. Meaningful policy changes for inclusion and development of good quality teachers and classroom infrastructure are also important. Community involvement is also a critical consideration in the encouragement of these practices as well. Mitigating these challenges will help stakeholders foster an educational culture that enhances the creativity of all learners as espoused by current global education standards.