Building More Inclusive Classrooms in Côte d’Ivoire
Every child learns differently—but not every classroom is equipped to meet those differences with confidence. In Côte d’Ivoire, teachers face the daily challenge of engaging students with diverse learning styles, abilities, and backgrounds in resource-constrained environments. To address this, Childhood Education International (CE International), through its Center for Professional Learning, partnered with Education and English for You (EEFY) in Abidjan to help educators strengthen their inclusive teaching practices and create classrooms where all children can thrive.
Although Côte d’Ivoire has made strong progress in expanding access to education, many children with disabilities or learning differences still face barriers to full participation. Across West and Central Africa, it’s estimated that 40% of children with disabilities at the primary level remain out of school, highlighting the urgent need for teacher training that equips educators to reach every learner (UNGEI, Promoting Inclusive Education for Girls and Boys with Disabilities in West and Central Africa, 2020).
A Solutions-Based, Capacity-Building Approach
CE International designed and delivered a Professional Learning and Quality Assurance initiative that trained pre-primary and primary teachers and school leaders from across Côte d’Ivoire in inclusive pedagogy. Over the course of two full-day workshops and guided follow-up activities, teachers explored practical strategies for engaging students of all capabilities—using frameworks such as Universal Design for Learning (UDL), social and emotional learning (SEL), education diplomacy, and gender equity.
The program emphasized real-world application. Teachers developed action plans to integrate inclusive practices into their classrooms, tested those ideas in their own schools, and reconvened to reflect and refine their approaches. CE International also embedded quality-assurance measures—including pre- and post-training surveys and observation visits—to document impact and support continuous improvement.
Impact and Results
By the end of the project, educators reported a stronger understanding of inclusive teaching, increased confidence in implementation, and deeper collaboration with peers through emerging communities of practice. Many participants began mentoring others in their schools, multiplying the program’s impact beyond the initial cohort.
Through this initiative, CE International demonstrated its ability to serve as a solutions-based connector—linking global best practices with local capacity-building. By equipping teachers to effectively engage students of all capabilities, CE International helped strengthen classroom quality and advance a more equitable, inclusive, and resilient education system for Côte d’Ivoire’s children.
Change in Teaching Approach
The training came to bring a radical and total change in my way of seeing and considering teaching. Today, I see teaching differently and I have enough resources to flourish in my profession. Passion drives me. I show empathy towards the students whom I consider to be part of the act of learning.
Project participant
More Attention, Love, and Support
I admit that before the training I marginalized and ignored the children who had difficulty following the lessons normally in the classroom because of their large number, sometimes calling them lazy and incapable. However, after the training I realize that these children need more attention, love, and interaction with their classmates and myself.
Project participant
After the project was complete, an impact report was compiled in English and French to share outcomes. We anticipate that many children will benefit from enhanced inclusion practices in the educators’ respective schools.
