Includ-ed, red europea de educación inclusiva

Summary

The Comenius funded project ‘Pathways to Inclusion’ has been carried out by 11 different partner organisations across 10 EU member states, and has developed a European network and a knowledge centre on Inclusive Education.

Project object:

In particular, the project aimed to develop

• - a sustainable network of all those committedto inclusive education.
• - a regularly updated web based knowledge centre on ‘Inclusive education for all’, including: information on the existing situation in the field of policy, teacher training and school; a database of important contacts of professionals and stakeholders;
• - an overview of models of good practice and their critical success factors; a tool for self-evaluation, which schools can use to measure how far they are in realising education for all and to which extent they meet the needs of people with special educational needs;
• - A network activity in the Eastern European countries in order to involve them actively in the evolution towards equal opportunities to inclusive and high-quality education.
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Its concrete goal was to provide school administrators, teachers, teacher unions, policy makers, service providers, persons with disabilities and their families with specific information and practical suggestions in the field of inclusive education. Such sharing of information and models of good practice makes a significant difference to truly realising the changes already approved at a policy and political level.

Methodology

• The P2i-consortium produced a series of analytical papers for understanding and improving inclusive education in Europe. Based on a discussion during the project meeting in Dublin, November 2009, the research group at the University of Siegen developed a research methodology at two levels.
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• - National level: A National questionnaire had been developed for the assessment of national policies and developments on inclusive education and was based on the “Bildungsbarometer Inklusion”, (published by the German NGO Sozialverband Deutschland, SoVD), which had a very mobilizing political effect in Germany. The National questionnaire was structured in three parts:  “Statutory Legislation and prescriptions” (A), “Situation in practice” (B) and “Indices for transformation” (C). All refer to the same list of criteria, deducted from Art 24 of the UN Convention on the Rights of People with disabilities, ratified by most EU Member countries and the EU.
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• - Local level: To understand the situation of inclusive education it was necessary to go beyond the data, aggregated at national level. How education and learning is organised in the local communities and how this is done in the perspective of inclusion, should be assessed as well. Therefore a local questionnaire  had been developed, addressing not only schools but all other organisations in the “local landscape of education and learning”. In this questionnaire the current situation had been assessed, as well as the tools and barriers of inclusive education and the perspectives of organisations concerning the right to inclusive education.
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• - In order to understand the rules and routines hindering or fostering inclusion in the educational sector of social life, also interviews  were made with specialists in leading positions of services, educational organisations, associations and administrations. The intention of the expert interviews was “to find out the over-individual-common”.
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• - Finally, tree typical learning careers of children with impairments in selected local regions (the Peter, Paul & Mary typology) were described to a number of experts during the national seminars organised in each partner country. The experts were asked to react on these typologies in the light of their local policies and practices.
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• - The research activities at national and local level resulted in a comparative report: the ‘EASPD Barometer of Inclusive Education in Selected European Countries’. A dissemination executive summary paper, including a number of recommendations for political action, has been published as well in the partner languages and in an easy-to-read version.
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• An evaluation research was also carried out on some existing tools across Europe to facilitate inclusive education in the class room, with a special focus on the ‘Index for Inclusion’. The Index for Inclusion is developed by the Centre for Studies on Inclusive Education (www.csie.org.uk) and has been translated in about 30 countries worldwide. The tool consists of a set of materials aimed at guiding schools through a process of inclusive educational development. In a nutshell, the index seeks to build supportive communities and foster high achievement for all staff and students. Through two questionnaires developed by Fontys OSO in December 2011 (one at national level and one at school level), the P2i partnership evaluated the use of this Index as well as of other similar instruments in the implementation of inclusive education both at a national and school level. The evaluation was carried out in 10 selected countries, with a minimum of 5 schools per country being surveyed. http://www.investt.eu/pathways-inclusion/deliverables/tools-facilitate-inclusion
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• This research activity resulted in the ‘Analysis of the use and value of the Index for Inclusion (Booth & Ainscow 2011) and other instruments to assess and develop inclusive education practice in P2i partner countries’.
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• - A newsletter had been disseminated every six months during the project with up-to-date information on the proceedings of the project and other education related topics.  http://www.investt.eu/pathways-inclusion/newsletters
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• - During the projects’ lifetime, a number of international as well as national/regional events were organised.
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• - Within the scope of P2i, the project consortium organised a 6-days training course on the further development and promotion of inclusive education in Lisbon from 3rd to 8th October 2011. It was a hands on course focused on ‘real life’ implementation.

Target

• - Schools, school authorities and their umbrella structures all over Europe.
• - Associations for teachers and teacher unions.
• - Teachers both in mainstream and in special educational settings, the practitioners who need to put “education for all” into practice.
• - Authorities at all levels, with competences in the field of education.
• - Service Providers providing services and / or support to pupils with special educational needs.
• - Pupils with disabilities and their families as the final beneficiaries of the project.

Good practice achievements

• - An analysis of the national and local situations in the 10 partner countries, with regard to inclusive education. http://www.investt.eu/pathways-inclusion/deliverables/state-play-partner-countries

• - The research activities at national and local level resulted in a comparative report: the ‘EASPD Barometer of Inclusive Education in Selected European Countries’.

• - A dissemination executive summary paper, including a number of recommendations for political action, has been published as well in the partner languages and in an easy-to-read version (ex. Dissemination paper – English, Dissemination paper – Easy-to-Read) 

• - A list of good practices. http://www.investt.eu/pathways-inclusion/deliverables/good-practices

• - This evaluation research activity resulted in the ‘Analysis of the use and value of the Index for Inclusion (Booth & Ainscow 2011) and other instruments to assess and develop inclusive education practice in P2i partner countries’. This comparative report was published in all partner languages and in an easy-to-read version

• - An important outcome of the final project conference in Budapest (13th – 14th September 2012), was the ‘Budapest Manifesto on Inclusive Learning: What should be done now?’. The Budapest Manifesto is a further elaboration of the ‘Dublin Manifesto on Inclusive Education’, developed after the initial conference in Dublin. It sets principles and values, recognises the daily reality in regard to education and makes recommendations for all stakeholders, including politicians, policy makers and individual organisations. The paper has been translated into French, German, Hungarian and in easy-to-read, and has been widely circulated to European, national and local organisations as an encouragement to work towards inclusion.

• - During the projects’ lifetime, a number of international as well as national/regional events were organised. All practical and content related information is available in this section of the website http://www.investt.eu/pathways-inclusion/events

• The 6-days training course on the further development and promotion of inclusive education in Lisbon from 3rd to 8th October 2011 (Training course leaflet). 21 persons from 11 European countries participated in the course, which resulted in an impressive exchange of ideas on how to move towards inclusive education. Each participant developed an individual learning pathway, supported by a reflection and learning portfolio. The participants set their individual learning goals and monitored their achievement in interaction with their peers and with the tutor team. They developed a work plan to be implemented in their schools. Information and discovery sessions alternated with discussion groups, peer group support and reflection sessions.

• - Final conference, Budapest: The final conference ‘Pathways to Inclusion - Inclusive education and learning: challenges and opportunities’ took take place in Budapest (Hungary) on 13th and 14th September 2012. Conference programme: http://pathwaystoinclusion.eu/project-information/wp-content/uploads/Conference-Programme_ENG_FINAL.pdf

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• > One of the most important objectives of P2i is to gather professionals, policy makers, persons with disabilities and other stakeholders in a sustainable network. The business-related social networking site ‘LinkedIn’ is an excellent tool to create such a network. It gives stakeholders the opportunity to exchange information and good practices, and to stay in contact.

> Become member of our network and visit our discussion group on LinkedIn (www.linkedin.com), where you have the opportunity to discuss topics related to Inclusive Education.

Project partners and other stakeholders

• - The European Association of Service providers for Persons with Disabilities, EASPD www.easpd.eu
• - Fontys Teacher Training College for Special Educational Needs (Fontys Opleidingscentrum Speciale Onderwijszorg) www.fontys.nl/oso
• - Association for Life Long Learning (Szövetség Az Életen Át Tartó Tanulásért), ALLL www.alll.hu
• - Flemish Association of Catholic schools for Special Education (Vlaams Verbond van het Katholiek Buitengewoon Onderwijs), VVKBuO www.vvkbuo.be
• - National Federation of Voluntary Bodies providing services to people with intellectual disability www.fedvol.ie
• - Association for Help for Persons with disabilities (Die Steirische Behindertenhilfe) www.behindertenhilfe.or.at
• - Finnish Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (Kehitysvammaliitto ry) www.kehitysvammaliitto.fi
• - Training, Occupation and Care Centre Draga (Center za usposabljanje,delo in varstvo Dolfke Bostjancic Draga) www.center-db.si
• - University Siegen, Centre of Planning and Evaluation of Social Services (Universität Siegen, Zentrum für Planung und Evaluation Sozialer Dienste) www.zpe.uni-siegen.de
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Associated Partners

• - Education International www.ei-ie.org
• - National Higher Institute of Training and Research for the Education of Young Disabled Persons and Adapted Teaching (Institut national supérieur de formation et de recherche pour l’éducation des jeunes handicapés et les enseignements adaptés, INS HEA) www.inshea.fr
• - Association for Special Educational Needs (Verband Sonderpaedadogik) www.verband-sonderpaedagogik.de
• - Ministry of Education in Lower Saxony (Niedersachsen Kultusministerium) mwww.mk.niedersachsen.de