Forschungsprojekt ::

Pathway to inclusion (P2i)

Projektbeschreibung

Pathways to Inclusion is a European project, funded by the Lifelong Learning Programme (Comenius) of DG Education & Culture. The project started on the 1st of October 2009 and will last 3 years. In this period, a European network and a knowledge centre on Inclusive Education will be developed
(http://pathwaystoinclusion.eu/about).

1. CONCEPT AND METHODOLOGY

Inclusive education is strongly endorsed by the UNESCO Salamanca Statement of 1994 and by the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities of 2006. The European Union and most member states have committed themselves to carry out the necessary changes at all levels to achieve inclusive education. In this context the general aim of the European project ‘Pathways to Inclusion’ (P2i) coordinated by the European Association of Service Providers for Persons with Disabilities (EASPD) is to contribute to national and European implementation processes of inclusive education for persons with disabilities who have special educational needs (SEN). The P2i- project aims to raise awareness of the rights of pupils with disability and to develop ways to ensure they can benefit from high quality education in an inclusive setting, where special needs are taken into consideration and pupils do not face discrimination due to their disability.
The consortium consists of partners from 10 EU member states (Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, The Netherlands, Portugal and Slovenia). Two partners are universities (Fontys-OSO, NL and University of Siegen, D), the other eight partners are rooted in their national service provision fields.

(The P2i-consortium consists of: European Association of Service Providers for persons with Disabilities (EASPD, BE), Fontys Opleidingscentrum Speciale Onderwijszorg (Fontys OSO, NL), Association for Lifelong Learning (ALLL, HU), Vlaams Verbond van het Katholiek Buitengewoon Onderwijs (VVKBuO, BE), National Federation of Voluntary Bodies (NFVB, IE) Die Steirische Behindertenhilfe (AT), Finnish Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (FAIDD, FI), CUDV Draga Training, Occupation and Care Center (SI), Zentrum für Planung und Evaluation Sozialer Dienste, University of Siegen (ZPE, DE), Institut d’Education Motrice Charlemagne -Mutualité Française Indre et Loire (IEM Charlemagne, FR), Centro de Educação para o Cidadão Deficiente (CECD, PT))

The following ‘Barometer Assessment of Inclusiveness of Policies and Practice of Inclusive Education’ is the result of a comprehensive research on the situation of inclusive education at a national level in the ten partner EU-countries. It summarizes a wide range of information and knowledge regarding inclusive education including the latest policy developments in the field as well a comprehensive picture of their implementation in the ten partner countries.
The P2i-barometer is of interest to all who are involved in education practices at all levels:
persons with disabilities, families, teachers, policy makers, service providers, etc. It will hopefully establish a basis for and means of discussion with all who are involved in the decision making process on this topic. It could also be the start of a more comprehensive European activity that enlarges the barometer assessment process to all EU-countries.

1.1 NORMATIVE BASIS: Declaration of Salamanca and UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UN CRPD)

With the Statement of Salamanca (1994) inclusive education has become an official but non binding programmatic objective of the international community framed in a human rights perspective.

(as a result of the UNESCO-World Conference On Special Needs Education in Salamanca, Spain, in 1994,
see: http://www.unesco.de/fileadmin/medien/Dokumente/Bildung/Salamanca_Declaration.pdf, 02-06-2011)

The Statement said clearly, that regular schools
“are the most effective means of combating discriminatory attitudes … building an inclusive and achieving education for all’ (Art. 2, Statement of Salamanca);

and says schools should
‘ include all children regardless of individual differences or difficulties, (and) adopt as a matter of law or policy the principle of inclusive education’” (Art. 3, Statement of Salamanca).

It was the start for intensive international efforts to develop inclusive educational systems wherever possible.

When the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UN CRPD)
(http://www.un.org/disabilities/convention/conventionfull.shtml, 02-06-2011)
was finally accepted in 2006 (13th of December), it stated the right for inclusive education as one of the
central dimensions of human rights of persons with disabilities. The UN Convention states in Art. 24
“States Parties recognize the right of persons with disabilities to education. With a view to realizing this right without discrimination and on the basis of equal opportunity, States Parties shall ensure an inclusive education system at all levels and lifelong learning…”

Even though Art. 24 focuses in some parts on primary and secondary schools, it also states that all levels of education must be included and policies must also refer to pre-school, tertiary and other lifelong education forms.
The prescriptions of Art. 24 UN CRPD are systematically taken as the normative basis in this barometer assessment and interpreted as criteria for assessment of the existing situation regarding legislation, given practice and transformation developments.

1.2 PROGRESSIVE IMPLEMENTATION WITH A MAXIMUM OF ALL AVAILABLE RESOURCES

It is important to note that education in international law is seen as a part of overall economic, social and cultural rights. As long as institutional practices are not directly discriminative the UN CRPD does not demand an immediate, but a progressive overcoming of segregating systems that are rooted in educational traditions of a certain state (Gewerkschaft für Erziehung und Wissenschaft (GEW 2008: 34)). Nevertheless, Article 4 of the UN CRPD says that states have “to take appropriate measures” and “with a maximum of all available resources” to fulfill the inclusive demands of the Convention. To monitor the progress a monitoring system was agreed upon that is able to identify the steps taken by each state. States that have ratified the Optional Protocol of the Convention have to report to the UN every two years on the present position and on progress towards full implementation.

1.3 CONCEPTUAL IDEA AND STRUCTURE OF THE BAROMETER ASSESSMENT

Orientation to the Open Method of Coordination (OMC)

Whether or to what extend inclusive education of children with disabilities is implemented depends on the political will and the educational policies of governments and other political actors. Laws, structures and procedures have to be changed, resources have to be provided or shifted, conflicts have to be solved etc. In European politics, it has become apparent that systematic comparison and reporting between member states according to agreed criteria can produce public and political attention. The ‘open method of coordination’ (OMC) aims to create political dynamics and to develop a mutual learning process involving the scrutiny of specific policies, programs or institutional arrangements presented as good practices in the national strategic reports. It is a political framework
”for national strategy development, as well as for coordinating policies between EU countries on issues relating to poverty and social exclusion, health care and long-term care as well as pensions. The open method of coordination is a voluntary process for political cooperation based on agreeing common objectives and common indicators, which shows how progress towards these goals can be measured” (European Commission 2011) (See: http://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?catId=753&langId=en, 02-06.2011).
Relating to this, the concept of a ‘European Barometer on Inclusive Education’ has been developed and used to assess and compare different national situations.

Assessment methodology

The barometer instrument conceptually follows the idea of an ’informed rating’ on inclusive education of persons with disabilities and/or special educational needs (SEN) in participating European countries. The objective is to use available data to identify tendencies and produce information that is relevant for policy makers and other stakeholders to promote the implementation process of inclusive education (The P2i-project was inspired by the Germany Inklusionsbarometer presented by SOVD in 2010, see:
http://www.sovd.de/fileadmin/downloads/pdf/sonstiges/neu_-_Landkarte_Inklusion.pdf, 02-06-2011).

Questionnaires were developed that address the national level in each country. The complete versions of national questionnaires and a full version of the barometer results with all references can be found on the project website (www.pathwaystoinclusion.eu, 02-06-2011). The barometer assessment is structured in
three parts: ‘Statutory Legislation and prescriptions’ (A), ‘Situation in practice’ (B) and ‘Progression of Implementation’ (C). These three parts are covered by a questionnaire developed by the University of Siegen and were intensively discussed in project meetings.
The national partner experts of the P2i consortium completed their questionnaire with collated data. They were asked to involve other national experts in their research process and to identify main references and comments. Data sources were official government reports, official statistics, scientific studies or other sources such as the Special Needs Report of the European Agency for Special Educational Needs (http://www.european-agency.org/publications/ereports/special-needs-education-country-data-2010/specialneeds-
education-country-data-2010, 02-06-2011).
Finally the national partner experts of the P2i consortium were asked to do a rating on the situation of inclusive education in their respective countries.

The assessment model is based on a differentiated analysis of available data on inclusive education. It proved to be a useful tool, based on valid and accepted methodologies, thus becoming acceptable according to scientific standards. Its results are to create or endorse debates within the participating countries on better implementation of inclusive education more than to come to clear diagnosis and prescriptions.