Under the patronage of H.E. Dr. Mohamed Ould Amar, Director-General of ALECSO, and H.E. Ms. Rima Karami, Minister of Education of the Republic of Lebanon, the Education Department at ALECSO conducted a training course titled : “Professional Development for Early Childhood Educators and Inclusive Primary School Teachers”. 

The course took place on June 2-4, 2025, in Beirut, Lebanon, in cooperation with the Lebanese National Commission for Education, Science, and Culture. The training was supervised by Dr. Rami Iskander, Director of ALECSO’s Education Department.

This training program is part of the implementation of ALECSO’s Action Plan 2023–2028 whose education-related goals include “expanding early childhood and preschool education and integrating it into the general education system, enhancing child care, as well as preserving children’s health, safety, and well-being.”

The program is aligned with a human rights-based approach that underscores the need to promote equal educational opportunities for all children according to their natural abilities. It reflects the adoption, by most Arab countries, of inclusive education policies for children with special needs, including those with disabilities, autism spectrum disorders, and learning difficulties. This involves training the relevant personnel, particularly educators in early childhood institutions and teachers in inclusive primary schools, to strengthen their ability and help them acquire the needed skills.

The training program covered the following key areas:

1. Understanding the nature of inclusive education, its conditions, and its implementation mechanisms.
2. Identifying the multidisciplinary team in charge of supporting each student’s integration based on their specific needs.
3. Recognizing the challenges and capabilities of integrated student groups.
4. Developing and evaluating individualized educational plans (IEPs).
5. Promoting inclusive classroom strategies that respect individual differences within mixed-ability classrooms.
6. Designing lessons tailored to heterogeneous groups of integrated and non-integrated students.
7. Learning methods for enhancing the performance of inclusion teachers in early childhood and primary education stages.

The three-day course comprised five training modules aimed at equipping participants with the needed practical skills.