Includ-ed, red europea de educación inclusiva

Summary

The European Association of Service Providers for Persons with Disabilities (EASPD) and 13 European partners are developing INVESTT - a strategy for identifying and implementing universal design accompanied with reasonable accommodations in the mainstream vocational education and training system (VET). Inclusive VET aims to qualify everyone for the open labour market. 

How to come to universal design in order to include young persons with disabilities in the mainstream vocational education system? How to help them reach the same skill level as other students and improve their transition from school to the open labour market?

INVESTT wants to develop a European wide strategy, which is adapted to a Universal Design in the 4 partner countries, to provide schools with useful strategies to work with all students and help them achieve success in their communities.  The VET programmes will be matched to the standards and skills employers are expecting in order to improve successful outcomes.

INVESTT is a three-year project (Dec 2012-Nov 2015) and is co-funded by the Lifelong Learning Leonardo Da Vinci Programme (EU).

Project object:

To improve inclusive education in the mainstream VET system, INVESTT is working on:

1. 1. Implementing the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in VET.
2. 2. Further developing a stakeholder network on inclusive education, focusing now on stakeholders in the field of VET. This network is bringing key actors together, which is absolutely needed to make inclusive VET in practice a success.
3. 3. Further developing a web-based Knowledge Centre on inclusive education, by adding accurate information on inclusive VET.
4. 4. Developing an inclusive way of working in 4 local mainstream schools or training centres, working together on a concrete, innovative and realistic approach. Based on 2 key principles of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, “Universal Design” and “Reasonable Accommodation”, INVESTT wants to provide vocational schools with useful strategies in order to guide all students towards the open labour market.
5. 5. By involving employers in the project (at both international and national levels) Investt wants to develop and implement VET programmes based on the standards of employers in order to improve the transition from school to employment of persons with disabilities.
6.  

Thanks to the P2i project, different stakeholders in the education field had been contacted. Many of them highlighted the difficulties for persons with special needs regarding the transition from schooling to employment. Vocational education and training is one of the most difficult areas to achieve an inclusive way of working. Very often there is also a lack of support in the mainstream education system for students with special needs to find (and keep) a job once they have finalised their vocational training.

Methodology

1. The first 9 months (Dec 2012-August 2013) were dedicated to research, design and planning, to establish a first universal design and its reasonable accommodations. This research led to an overall strategy on the setting up of an inclusive learning environment, helping the national project teams to develop a concrete teaching programme in their country.

2. As of September 2013: a VET programme is implemented in 4 schools in 4 countries - according to the specific learning environment and intensively supported by the service providers. At the end, the strategy is adapted according to the results.

3. During the school year 2014-2015, the VET programme is further developed. The universal design and reasonable accommodations are finalised, leading to a European strategy.

The students who have received a qualification, will be followed in their job, in order to further streamline the programme with the requirements of the labour market. At the other hand, new students will participate in the teaching programme.

4. The evaluation is done on a continuous basis. However, the bulk of evaluation and reporting will be done in the last months of the project. These months will be crucial to come to a sustainable product, ready to be used and further developed in the future.
 

Target

• - head masters, school staff in vocational schools and training centres
• - service providers for persons with disabilities
• - people, students with disabilities and their families
• - research institutes, universities
• - employers, employment agencies
• - decision makers in the field of education
• - journalists
• - human rights defender
• - passionate about ( inclusive) education

Good practice achievements

Investt partners disseminate the results of their work and experience through the Investt Knowledge Centre, newsletters and their organisations' websites at international, national and local levels.

In 2014 and 2015, a range of events in several EU countries will gather VET stakeholders (schools, training centres, service providers, students with SEN and their families, universities...), employers and decision-makers for bringing Investt outputs to a higher level and/or in a wider framework (other countries, other schools ...).

Project partners and other stakeholders

The European Association of Service Providers for Persons with Disabilities (EASPD) and 13 European partners are developing Investt - a strategy for implementing universal design in the mainstream vocational education and training system (VET).

4 vocational schools in Europe are piloting new practices in Vocational Education and Training together with local service providers and researchers.

- Austria (Salzburg): Behandlungszentrum Aschau GmbH, a non-profit and non-governmental organisation (NFP-NGO) in Germany www.evchiemgau-bgl.de, Schule für Sozialbetreuungsberufe (SOB) www.sob-caritas.at, Paris Lodron University of Salzburg (PLUS) www.uni-salzburg.at, Pädagogische Hochschule Salzburg www.phsalzburg.at

- Belgium (Wetteren): Vlaams Verbond van het Katholiek Buitengewoon Onderwijs (VVKBuO), an umbrella and support organisation of Catholic schools for special needs education in Flanders, Belgium www.vvkbuo.be, University of Louvain (KUL) www.kuleuven.be/kuleuven/, Scheppersinstituut http://www.scheppers-wetteren.be/

- Norway (Gand): the National Support System for Special Needs Education (Statped Vest)  www.statped.no/vest, University of Stavanger www.uis.no, Gand Upper Secondary School (VGS) www.gand.vgs.no

- Slovenia (Celje): Education, Work and Care Centre Draga (CUDV Draga) www.center-db.si, Inštitut Republike Slovenije za socialno varstvo (IRSSV) www.irssv.si, Ekonomskašola Celje (ESC) The School of Business and Commerce Celje www.pksola.si

Evaluation

Project pilot between theory and practice, INVESTT proposes a research and action process. An initial phase of research ends up with a strategy to implement a programme and new practices towards universal design in VET schools. While operating on the field, the partners evaluate these actions and the initial strategy for further development.

The common evaluation model will be developed by the research centres in close cooperation with the entire consortium at the very start of the project, and will follow the principles of an action research (cyclic process of research and action).

The evaluation is done on a continuous basis. However, the bulk of evaluation and reporting will be done in the last months of the project.