Morocco’s Inclusive Education Program through the Lens of Ethnography

This ethnographic research study explores the changes undergone by an integration classroom designed to receive kids with disabilities following the implementation of Morocco’s 2019 inclusive education program. This longitudinal study spans two academic years (Jan-Feb, 2021 & Jan-Feb, 2022), given that classes were suspended during the academic year 2019-2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic. This paper uses qualitative tools to examine how the newly-devised inclusive education program affected a Moroccan integration classroom. It relies on participant observations, field notes, and informal questioning in addition to analysis of official documents. The research takes place in a Rabat-based integration classroom housed by the Allal Ben Abdellah public elementary school, a pilot establishment with years of expertise in dealing with kids with disabilities. The research shows that there is still a big confusion between the concepts of integration and inclusion as used in the Moroccan context. Inclusive education is still facing the challenges of lack of training for educators, scarcity of resources and equipment, and the rarity of school aids. However, there are some changes that occurred with the advent of the inclusive education program, like the change in the classroom’s demographics and the decrease of segregation of kids with disabilities, which helped many improve especially mild and moderate cases. In addition, the staff is proactive, self-taught, and has a positive attitude, a humane approach, and on-the-job expertise, a fact that helps with the implementation of the inclusive education program.