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MAY 2015

Inclusion andQuality in education

COLOPHON

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THE ESHA BOARD Clive Byrne (President), Chris Harrison (Board

member), Greg Dempster (Board member), Omar Mekki (Board member),

Barbara Novinec (Board member)

ABOUT ESHA ESHA is an Association that consists of 42 Associa-

tions of Heads and Educational employers in 26 countries in primary,

secondary and vocational education.

CONTACT ESHA Visiting address: Herenstraat 35, Utrecht,

The Netherlands. Postal address: Postbox 1003, 3500 BA Utrecht,

The Netherlands. e-mail: [email protected]

THE EDITORIAL TEAM FOR THE MAGAZINEClive Byrne (editor), Fred Verboon and Monique Westland

LAYOUT AND DESIGN: Coers & Roest ontwerpers bno _ drukkers

The ESHA magazine is a platform for sharing vision, knowledge and

experiences of school leaders to their European members. ESHA’s goal

is to inform, share and promote best practice but cannot be associated

with a specific political viewpoint. The author of an article is responsible

for the content unless otherwise stated.

2 ESHA MAGAZINE MAY 2015

http://www.eshamagazine.com

mailto: [email protected]

In this issueMAY 2015

4 Column Clive Byrne

9 Agenda

10 Report on the GA meeting being held in Podgorica,

Montenegro

15 AHDS 7 Myths about Schooling

22 Best practice of inclusion and recovery in Italian schools

28 Inclusive education – An Croatian Experience

36 Bullying by students with disabilities reduced

by social-emotional learning

Some articles in this issue contain

direct links to websites. Simply click on

the coloured text and you ‘ll be automatically

linked to a specific website or video presentation.

Try it yourself and enjoy.

ESHA MAGAZINE MAY 2015 3

COLUMN PRESIDENT CLIVE BYRNECOLUMN PRESIDENT CLIVE BYRNECOLUMN PRESIDENT CLIVE BYRNE

The Skills Gap and the New Economy

I was delighted to participate in a conference, organised by CFES

and Trinity College Dublin, on “The Skills Gap and the New Economy:

Implications for Low-Income Students and Colleges” which took

place in Essex, New York towards the end of April. Speakers from

the United States, Finland, Ireland and the United Kingdom par-

ticipated with keynote presentations from George Pataki, former

Governor of New York, Dr Pasi Sahlberg, now lecturing in Harvard,

Kelli Wells, Director of Education and Skills at General Electric and

Dean Garfield, CEO of the Information Technology Industry Council

in the United States. The objective of the conference was to explore

strategic steps needed to close the skills gap. In the Eurozone a

rising number of young people are unskilled, unemployed, lacking

a post-secondary degree as thousands of jobs in healthcare, tech-

nology, engineering and other sectors remain unfilled. As many as

twenty five percent of Europe’s youth are unemployed, rising to 50%

in Spain and Greece. In the United States, four million young people

are un- or underemployed while three million moderate to high pay-

ing jobs remain unfilled. In one of the presentations the conference


COLUMN PRESIDENT CLIVE BYRNECOLUMN PRESIDENT CLIVE BYRNE

heard that over the next decade, the U.S. will be unable to fill 23 mil-

lion high-paying jobs while 20 million young people, mostly from low

income backgrounds, will be out of work or underemployed. Policy

makers worldwide are seriously worried about negative social and

economic consequences, hence the move to try to close the skills

gap which economists describe as a breakdown between supply

and demand. However there is serious disagreement about the

underlying causes. Paul Krugman, the Nobel Economist, is clear that

what’s happening isn’t a skills gap but a power imbalance where

the super-rich are creating economic inequality. Industry leaders

contradict Krugman and maintain that education and the workforce

can’t keep pace with the rapidly changing economy. Employers

seek to increase attainment and completion rates and to develop

innovative partnerships between business and education. Others in

business seek to put the blame on our education system whereas

David Attis, a competitiveness expert is clear that education is not

only the solution, it is the key to everyone’s improved standard of

living. The conference heard that in the U.S. the skills gap dispropor-

tionately affects impoverished populations – that low-income young

people are eight times more likely to be caught up in the skills gap

vortex than their upper income peers not because they lack ability

but because they don’t have the appropriate skills, training and post-

secondary degrees.

Some quotes from the Keynote speakers:

• “We have to succeed as a society but if we are to succeed as a

society we must link opportunity to education” Gov Pataki.

• “Is the point of high school just to graduate? – If you want a job you

may have to invent one yourself” Pasi Sahlberg

• “We need to train a workforce for tomorrow” Kelli Wells

• “By 2040 the majority in the U.S. will be women and will be

coloured” Dean Garfield. Quoting Jesse Jackson he said “We don’t

have a pipeline problem, we have an opportunity problem”



Much of the work of the conference was done at round tables and

a number of points emerged which are not listed in any particular

order.

• Sometimes, industry has an unreasonable expectation of what

the education system can deliver.

• Response times in education are much slower than industry and

time trying to predict what the skills’ needs will be in five years

may not be time well spent.

• Even though the industrial and mechanical infrastructure is

eroding in many parts of the world there is still a place for a

different apprenticeship model.

• Employers need to invest in training and up-skilling new

employees. If schools get the kids to us we’ll take it from there.

• How can companies convey the breadth of roles that are available

to suit the different talents of individuals?

• Close links developed between education institutions and local

industries is the best way to go.

• Parents and teachers should model the behaviours expected of

students.

• We must strive to halt the declining status of teachers.

• We must create a new purpose of schooling so that people

understand the world around them and the talents within them.

• It may be necessary to reduce formal classroom lessons and

create a personalised timetable to focus on team work and

collaborative skills with different and innovative assessment

systems to evaluate the work of students.

• Culture beats strategy every time. The family is powerful and must

be brought along if we are to avoid multi-generational poverty.

• Motivational skills are important in encouraging a culture of

life-long learning where individuals are encouraged to become

independent learners using modular structures where credits can

be built up and transferred.



• Equity of access is an equality issue but it is now becoming an

economic issue.

• Teachers, students and parents need to know what jobs will exist.

• Industry must show a commitment to education by offering

internships to educators so that they can be more in tune with the

requirements of the workplace.

• Internships where there is earning and learning are very

successful ways to attract workers, to inspire loyalty.

• There’s no point in having a head full of knowledge and empty

pockets.

The time I spent in Essex was challenging but invigorating. I felt it

was good to speak up for education and to try to demystify some

of the strongly held views about education held by corporate lead-

ers. I really enjoyed the Ryan Lutoki clip on YouTube entitled “This is

Genius” which was part of Pasi Sahlberg’s presentation. Check it out

if you get a chance. The objective of the conference was to draw up

a white paper for consultation and distribution. I’ll post a link when it

is developed. n

Clive Byrne

ESHA President

[email protected]

@NAPD_IE


mailto:[email protected]

COLUMN PRESIDENT CLIVE BYRNE


COLUMN PRESIDENT CLIVE BYRNE

AgendaMAY 201528th – 29th School Leadership Policy Developments - EPNoSL PLA in

Heraklion, Greece

JUNE 20154th – 5th “How leadership secures access and quality of education:

an international approach” World Education Forum,

Plovdiv, Bulgaria

OCTOBER 20151st Regional Conference in Glasgow, Scotland.

Joint headships: an event for those who lead more than

one school http://ahds.org.uk/joint-headships/

30th – 31st ESHA GA meeting, Bergen, Norway

APRIL 2016To be determined: ESHA GA meeting

OCTOBER 201618th ESHA GA meeting, Maastricht, The Netherlands

19th – 21st ESHA biennial Conference Maastricht, The Netherlands


http://ahds.org.uk/joint-headships/

GA PODGORICA MONTENEGROGA PODGORICA MONTENEGRO

General Assembly Spring meeting 2015, Podgorica, MontenegroThe spring 2015 working meeting of the representatives of school leadership associations in ESHA was held in Podgorica, from 27th to 28th of March 2015. The meeting in the Montenegro capital was attended by 32 representatives from 14 countries.

BY BARBARA NOVINEC, SLOVENIA


GA PODGORICA MONTENEGRO

The GA meeting was opened by the keynote welcome speech of Mr

Clive Byrne, the president of ESHA, and the host Mr Radiša Šćekić,

the president of the Association of School Leaders from Montenegro.

During the first day of the meeting we discussed the ESHA work plan

2015-2017, the financial report for 2014 and the financial plan for 2015,

as well as the last biennial conference in Dubrovnik, together with the

upcoming biennial conference in Maastricht in 2016, along with the

ICP (International Confederation of Principals) report and the Helsinki

conference, the World Education Forum, the ESHA website, and the

expansion of the ESHA membership. As ESHA connects more than

85,000 leaders in 30 European countries, it was recommended that

the representatives of associations encourage their members to visit

the ESHA website www.esha.org as regularly as possible. All national

association members were also urged to become actively involved in

creating the ESHA magazine, which is published eight times a year on

www.eshamagazine.com and is free of charge. We had the opportunity



to obtain the overview of the Montenegro education system (both

positive areas and challenges) and throughout the event the tourist

offer of Montenegro with its culture and cuisine was also introduced.

Montenegro being a country with many Entrepreneurship Education

best practices, the introduction to Entrepreneurial Education in

Europe and in Montenegro was presented. Entrepreneurship is seen

as a major engine for economic growth and job creation (Wong,

2005). The educational perspective of entrepreneurial education is to

achieve more interest, enjoyment, engagement, and creativity among

students, along with increased motivation and school engagement

(less student boredom and fewer dropouts).

The second day’s work consisted of discussion at workshops relat-

ed to: the issues arisen on the theme of Entrepreneurial Education,

exploring the potential of Erasmus+ funding program to advance

ESHA goals and priorities (motivation, exchange practices among



ESHA partners), advocating responsibility of the school principals for

educational outcomes of the students, and also the ESHA magazine

themes. Four EU projects which ESHA is involved in were presented:

European Policy Network of School Leadership: influencing policy

makers (autonomy, distributed leadership, etc.), Iguana: reducing

resistance to change, Quality for Innovation: project approach for

innovative schools, Entrepreneurial Leadership: course for school

heads.

There were group discussions

about what the best learning

practice and the challenging issue

in the schools system in each

partner country were. Throughout

discussions it was common to

all the partners that the budget

cuts and the financial conditions

throughout Europe do not affect

the important goal of all principals

and teachers which is to give stu-

dents the best possible education

and to prepare them for the global

life in the 21st century.

The conclusion of the meeting

was dedicated to the topics that

should be discussed in the future to provide greater value for ESHA

members. Bringing education of all European countries on a higher

level, creating links between delegates from schools of a similar size

and among sectors from different countries, as well as providing the

exchange of ideas, are certainly some of the primary benefits of the

ESHA membership. ESHA helps throughout the project involvement

with the international connections, sharing of best practices, imple-

menting innovations, and lobbying on the EC level.


KEY MYTHS ABOUT SCHOOLING

As ESHA has received the proposal from the Norwegian colleagues

to host the autumn General Assembly 2015, the next assembly

meeting will be held in Bergen on 30th-31st of October 2015. ESHA

will also support the organization of the regional conference for the

South-East of Europe, taking place in Belgrade, Serbia on 25th-27th

October 2015.

The General Assembly meeting joins the representatives of the

national associations with the aim of networking as well as further

development of cooperation among all educational institutions in

Europe through different activities and projects. The meeting in

Montenegro was held in pleasant atmosphere and was support-

ed by the generosity of the hosts who did their best to introduce

Montenegro as a well-known tourist destination with a picturesque

coast by the Adriatic Sea and a mountainous northern region in the

South East of Europe. We invite everyone to participate in the next

Assembly meeting in Bergen in October 2015 and also in the upcom-

ing biennial conference in Maastricht in October 2016. n



KEY MYTHS ABOUT SCHOOLINGKEY MY THS ABOUT SCHOOLING

7 Myths About Schooling“EHSA is keen to work with key partners influencing education in Europe and around the world. We are delighted that Andreas Schleicher, Director of the OECD Directorate of Education and Skills, has agreed to share regular articles and updates through the pages of the ESHA magazine. In this, his first article for us, he explores seven key myths about schooling which are thoroughly debunked by OECD work including the high profile PISA studies.”

BY ANDREAS SCHLEICHER – OECD



KEY MYTHS ABOUT SCHOOLINGKEY MYTHS ABOUT SCHOOLING

DEPRIVATION IS DESTINYTeachers all around the world struggle with making up for social

disadvantage in their classrooms. Some believe that deprivation is

destiny. And yet, results from PISA show that the 10% most disadvan-

taged 15-year-olds in Shanghai have better math skills than the 10%

most privileged students in the United States and several European

countries. More generally, children from similar social backgrounds

can show very different per-

formance levels, depending

on the school they go to or the

country they live in. The point

is that education systems

where disadvantaged students

succeed are able to moderate

social inequalities. They tend

to attract the most talented

teachers to the most challeng-

ing classrooms and the most

capable school leaders to the most disadvantaged schools, thus

challenging all students with high standards and excellent teaching.

They foster new forms of educational provision that take learning to

the learner in ways that allow students from all backgrounds to learn

in the ways that are most conducive to their progress.

IMMIGRANTS ARE A DRAG ON THE OVERALL PERFORMANCE OF SCHOOL SYSTEMSIntegrating students with an immigrant background can be challeng-

ing, and their performance in school can be only partially attributed to

their host country’s education system. Some observers have attrib-

uted the lower performance of education systems in PISA to a higher

share of immigrants. And yet, results from PISA show no relationship

between the share of students with an immigrant background in a



country and the overall performance of students in that country.

Even students with the same migration history and background show

very different performance levels across countries, suggesting that

where students go to schools makes much more of a difference than

where they come from.

IT’S ALL ABOUT MONEYWithout investment in skills people languish on the margins of

society, technological progress does not translate into productivi-

ty growth, and countries can no longer compete in an increasingly

knowledge-based global economy. And yet, educational expenditure

per student explains less than 20% of the variation in student perfor-

mance across OECD countries. For example, students in the Slovak

Republic, which spends around USD 53,000 per student between the

age of 6 and 15, performs at the same level at age 15 as the United

States which spends over USD 115,000 per student. Korea, the high-

est-performing OECD country in mathematics, spends well below the

average per-student expenditure. Similarly, only 12% of the student

performance variation across countries can be predicted by GDP per

capita. The world seems no

longer divided between rich

and well-educated countries

and poor and badly educated

ones and success is no longer

about how much money is

spent, but about how money

is spent.

EDUCATIONAL QUALITY AND PERSONALISATION IS ABOUT CLASS SIZEEverywhere, teachers, parents and policy-makers favour small class-

es as the key to better and more personalised education. Reductions



in class size have also been the main reason behind the significant

increases in expenditure per student in most countries over the last

decade. And yet, PISA results show no relationship between class

size and learning outcomes, neither within nor across countries.

More interestingly, the highest performing education systems in PISA

tend to systematically prioritise the quality of teachers over the size

of classes, that is, wherever they have to make a choice between a

smaller class and a better teacher, they go for the latter. Rather than

in small classes, they invest in competitive teacher salaries, on-going

professional development and a balance in working time that allows

teachers to contribute to their profession and to grow in their careers.

SUCCESS IN EDUCATION IS ABOUT TALENTThe writings of many educational psychologists, from Terman on,

have fostered a widespread notion that student achievement is

mainly a product of inherited intelligence, not hard work. This is also

mirrored in results from PISA where a significant share of students in

the Western world reported that they needed good luck rather than

hard work to do well in mathematics or science, a characteristic that

was consistently negatively related to performance. Teachers may

feel guilty pressing students who they perceive to be less capable

to achieve at higher levels because they think it unfair to the student

to do so. Their goal is then

likely to enable each student

to achieve up to the mean of

students in their classrooms

rather than, as in Finland,

Singapore or Shanghai-China,

to achieve high universal

standards. A comparison

between school marks and

performance of students in



PISA also suggests that teachers often expect less of students from

lower socio-economic backgrounds even if the students show simi-

lar levels of achievement. And those students and their parents may

expect less, too. This is a heavy burden for education systems to

bear, and it is unlikely that school systems will achieve performance

parity with the best-performing countries until they accept that, with

enough effort and support, all children can achieve at very high

levels.

In Finland, Japan, Singapore, Shanghai-China and Hong Kong-

China, students, parents,

teachers and the public at large

tend to share the belief that all

students are capable of achiev-

ing high standards and need to

do so. Students in those sys-

tems consistently reported that

if they tried hard, they would

trust in their teachers to help

them excel. One of the most

interesting patterns observed

among some of the highest-performing countries was the gradual

move from a system in which students were streamed into different

types of secondary schools, with curricula set to very different levels

of cognitive demand, to a system in which all students now go to

secondary schools with curricula set to much the same high level of

cognitive demand. Those countries did not accomplish this transi-

tion by taking the average of the previous levels of cognitive demand

and setting the new standards to that level. Instead, they “levelled

up”, requiring all students to meet the standards that they formerly

expected only their elite students to meet. In these top-performing

education systems, all students are now expected to perform at the

levels formerly thought possible only for their elites.



In these education systems, universal high expectations are not a

mantra but a reality and students who start to fall behind are iden-

tified quickly, their problem is promptly and accurately diagnosed

and the appropriate course of action is quickly taken. Inevitably, this

means that some students get more resources than others because

the needs of some students are greater; but it is the students with

the greatest needs to who get the most resources, for that reason.

EXCELLENCE IS ABOUT SELECTIONFor centuries educators have wondered how they should design

educational school systems so that they best serve student needs.

Some countries have adopted non-selective and comprehensive

school systems that seek to provide all students with similar oppor-

tunities, leaving it to each teacher and school to cater to the full

range of student abilities, interests and backgrounds. Other coun-

tries respond to diversity by grouping or tracking students, whether

between schools or between classes within schools, with the aim

of serving students according to their academic potential and/or

interests in specific programmes. Conventional wisdom has it that

the former serves equity, while the latter fosters quality and excel-

lence. The assumption underlying selection policies somehow is that

students’ talents will develop best

when students reinforce each oth-

er’s interest in learning, and create

an environment that is more con-

ducive to effective teaching. And

yet, international comparisons

show now trade-off between the

quality of learning outcomes and

equity in the distribution of edu-

cational opportunities, the highest

performing education systems



combine both. And none of the countries with a high degree of

stratification, whether in the form of tracking, streaming, or grade

repetition is among the top performing education systems or among

the systems with the highest share of top performers. n


INCLUSION AND RECOVERYINCLUSION AND RECOVERY

Best practice of inclusion and recovery in anItalian schoolIn the last fifteen years a lot of progress has been made in Italy in pedagogical treatment for unruly children with the aim of improving their real inclusion in the classrooms and reduce the percentage of dropping out of school and their failure. The Italian government doesn’t supply schools in this situation, so the principals have to plan and organize, in autonomy, specific actions low cost for inclusion and treatment of naughty children with entrepreneurial and creative actions.

BY PINELLA GIUFFRIDA, ANP - ITALY


INCLUSION AND RECOVERY

A good practice has been undertaken in Syracuse, South Italy, in the

“Chindemi” Comprehensive School which is located in the slums of

the town.

In the past the managing of naughty pupils in this school was very

complicated because of the high number of children and families

with problems. The strategies that the school improved where too

many and too different and not coordinated among themselves.

When the problem became too urgent, the principal stimulated the

teacher's board to plan a unitary strategy that could involve the

whole school for the pedagogical managing of the great number of

naughty children that attended classes and a small number of unruly

pupils who were reaching a dropping out situation.

The teaching board planned an action aimed at promoting support

to students who had linguistic, logic, psycho-emotional shortage,

creating favourable conditions concerning concentration.



The aim of the project was strengthening human relationship which

made easier the teaching-learning process, integrating diversity,

recovering failure and dropping out school.

The principal was certain that putting the greatest attention on strat-

egies concerning individual curricula would be an effective answer

to both the problems concerning disadvantages of pupils' problems

and development of their potentiality.

The questions posed on a didactic culture, often monopolized by

recovery themes, summoned the necessity to sustain teachers who

were absorbed by unruly pupils who risked dropping out of school.

To focus his attention on a great number of Italian studies concerning

the link between embarrassment for the failure of the scholastic out-

come and the school abandoning, the principal urged the teachers’

board to arrange a school unitary project that improved the quality

of learning conditions concerning pupils frustrated by uneasiness

caused by their failure.

This project, improving easy learning conditions and reducing fail-

ure possibilities, would have raised the educational outcome of the

pupils but particularly decreased the sense of failure and therefore

the drop-out of school.

The school leader has first pressed the team of expert teachers, who

worked in the school, and then the whole teachers' board to plan an

action that involved all school teachers, also those who didn’t have

unruly children in their classes and even a small number of retired

teachers willing to give their contribution to the school.

It was the first time in Italy that a principal employed retired teachers

who had a contract of occasional work without salary, a voluntary

work, and worked as senior tutors in the school cooperating with

teachers teaching to pupils in trouble.

The detailed planning stage of the intervention foresaw, at first, some



teachers meeting to work out each pupilۥs specific profile and study

deeply, each pupilۥs learning difficulties. At a later time it scheduled

didactic planning and each pupilۥs personalized curriculum timeta-

ble which became belonging to the “school” and not to the “class”.

Each pupil in trouble enrolled in “Chindemi” school, according to his

own skills, inclinations, deficiencies and difficulties, follows a curric-

ulum that starts from some classes attended within his original class

group, which however remains his

reference point in the school, and

winds through the strengthening

of some subjects that the pupils

attend in other classes (according

to their skills)or in small tempo-

rary groups supervised by some

of the teachers in the school or by

retired voluntary teachers.

In this way the first aim of the

project is achieved: stimulate

the pupils to become more moti-

vated towards studying through

the individuation of alternative

curricula, developing in the small

external group the skill to collaborate with the teacher, (quick under-

standing didactic orders, carrying them out, feeling autonomy within

the task, being enterprising) increasing each personal curriculum

with subjects more suitable to the pupil, asking external teachers

to give remedial classes (as Italian or Maths) that the pupil cannot

attend with his classmates because too difficult for him. Teachers

can promote in these pupils, throughout their curriculum, their basic

and character needs.

They can also educate them to stay together opposing and preventing

Teachers can promote in these

pupils, throughout their curriculum,

their basic and character needs



the troubled children to feel inadequate and losers compared with

their classmates.

Every curriculum is expanded according to each student’s needs;

they participate to more physical education lessons with students

of other classes if they have attitude to Physical Education, or to

more ICT lessons if they prefer using computers. Italian, Maths and

Science lessons will be personalized with the help of the tutors.

In a climate of permanent welcoming where social-cultural-affective

integration is favoured, students start to reach gradually a positive

and a participative attitude even in their normal student life, they fill

the gaps, regaining linguistic-expressive and logic-cognitive skills

and abilities concerning learning methods.

Chess, gardening, ICT and practical activities in the technological

area have completed the curriculum and have made it more appealing.

In this way school has been able to prevent discomfort either in stu-

dents in trouble and in their classmates. It reduced significantly the

percentage of drop out and one of the most interesting thing was the

prevention of the collapse of motivation in the classmates of naughty

students who, until that moment, lived with difficulty the presence of

troubled pupils in their classrooms. n

MARCO, A RESTLESS WANDERERMarco was already fourteen and still attended the sixth class of

primary school with children aged eleven. He lived in a slump and

he spent his mornings running around the neighbourhood with his

motorbike acting as a hooligan especially towards his classmates

and his teachers when they left school.

Marco had become aggressive also by his school failures, he didn’t

follow any rules. When he sometimes came to school he created

confusion and trouble.



Unwillingly teachers tolerated Marco: when he was in his classroom

disorder and anarchy reigned, classes weren’t concluded. His class-

mates couldn’t stand him because they were afraid of being beaten

and were annoyed about his presence.

Parents were apprehensive for the safety of their children and angry

because Marco was not an example of good behaviour.

At the beginning of the new school year Marco, integrated in the

‘Tutor Programme’, was picked up outside the school by his former

Maths teacher, that he liked, who had retired two years before and

was working on this project.

Marco’s curriculum scheduled the doubling of Physical Education

and ICT hours in a parallel classroom. Playing chess with the external

group of classmates for two hours a week he developed logic capac-

ity. He had individualized Italian and Maths lessons for ten hours a

week, and took up gardening with his Science teacher developing a

great interest for looking after and growing plants.

In a little time Marco became proud of having a special programme,

happy to work with his favourite teacher, he positively accepted the

proposal to become responsible and get going within the school

among classrooms and laboratories with his personal scheduled

timetable, like a university student.

Marco felt the attention focalized on him, he felt motivated because

his learning became more meaningful every day, it started to be a

pleasure for him to come to school every day because he understood

that he could succeed, he was having his first academic successes.

He became peaceful during Music, Physical Education, English and

Art classes. While his successes grew his uneasiness decreased.

In two years’ time he was able to take middle school exams and

succeed. He is now attending a vocational Agricultural school.


INCLUSIVE EDUCATIONINCLUSIVE EDUCATION

InclusiveeducationAn Croatian experienceBY BISERKA MATIC, CROATIA


INCLUSIVE EDUCATION

CHILDREN WHO LEARN TOGETHER, LEARN TO LIVE TOGETHER

Inclusive education is an approach focused on educational needs of

all children, youth and adults with disabilities by focusing on vulner-

able groups in terms of marginalization and exclusion. The principles

of inclusive education were accepted at the World Conference on

Special Needs Education: Access and Quality in Salamanca, Spain

in 1994, and at the World Education Forum in Dakar in 2000. The idea

of inclusive education has been supported by the UN Standard Rules

on the Equalization of Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities,

proclaiming that the participation and equality for all human diver-

sities are natural, contributing to the wealth of any society and it

must be reflected in schools. Schools must provide the possibility of

inclusion through wider choice of methods and individual approach.



Inclusive education means that schools can provide good educa-

tion for all students regardless of their different abilities. All children

are treated with respect. The school provides equal opportunity of

co-education. Inclusive education is a process that develops and

progresses.

The education system in the Republic of Croatia consists of: pre-

school education, primary education, secondary education and

higher education.

Preschool education in the Republic

of Croatia includes education,

training and care for preschool

children, and it is realized through

programs of education, training,

health care, nutrition and social

care for children from six months

to school age.

The eight-year primary educa-

tion in the Republic of Croatia is

mandatory and free for all children

from the ages of seven to fifteen.

After finishing primary school,

children are becoming part of

secondary education system.

Under the same conditions and

according to his/her own abilities, secondary education provides

everyone to continue their education and acquire knowledge and

working skills.

Inclusive education has been carried out in Croatia since 1980s. In

the beginning it took a lot of patience, understanding and tolerance

to break down prejudices related to children with disabilities and their

education. Schools often disapproved the attempts of integration of

children with disabilities in the regular education system. However,

Inclusive education means that schools can provide good education for all students regardless of their different abilities



everybody’s attitudes have changed since then, teachers have been

provided with extra training and our society has realized that children

with disabilities cannot be excluded from real life. They have equal

rights to quality education as well as other children.

The Non Governmental Organizations, especially associations of par-

ents of children with disabilities were of great importance in improving

inclusive education. After having realized that teachers need extra help

in the classroom, they have come up with a project The Classroom

Assistant, in order to ensure children equal access to education and

additional forms of assistance and support for teachers and parents.

The NGOs themselves organized assistant training through various

projects in partnership with schools and the local community. The

training was held by experts (special educators, psychologists, occu-

pational therapists) as well as practitioners from schools.



The good practice has shown that, in inclusive education, motivation

is often more important than working conditions. It happened that

schools with poor equipment and inadequate professional support

were among the first in promoting inclusion.

After the project had been realized and showed great improvement

in education and socialization of children with disabilities in regu-

lar schools, local communities started to finance the project The

Classroom Assistant in their areas.

The new Strategy for Education, Science and Technology, adopted

by the Croatian Parliament in December 2014, provides that spe-

cial education will deal only with the most complex cases, and that

special institutions will be transformed into centres of professional

support for the regular educational system.

HOW DOES IT WORK IN PRACTICE?In Croatia, almost all children with disabilities are enrolled in regu-

lar primary schools. Only a very small number of children and with

extremely severe and multiple (combined) disabilities are educated

in special institutions (special schools).

When children enrol in a regular primary school, the expert team

consisting of a school medicine physician, a special educator, a ped-

agogical adviser and a school teacher suggest forms of education

adapted to a child with disabilities.

They create the appropriate educational program with support meas-

ures (including teaching assistants). It is formally approved by the

local education authorities and The Ministry of Science, Education

and Sport. The financing of assistants is left to the local communities.

Children are taught individualized programs with the daily help of

assistants (they help a child all the time during the school day) and a

professional support of a teacher and a special educator.

Classroom assistants are usually students of teacher training col-

leges, special education colleges or young teachers. They all attend



additional training related to education of children with disabilities in

the Teacher Training Agency or NGOs.

Duties and obligations of assistants are the following: help with

studying, in communication and social inclusion, in moving, feeding,

fulfilling hygiene needs, assistance in writing, encouraging to do the

given tasks, additional explanations, help with homework, encour-

aging collaboration with other students. In special cases assistants

need to know the sign language

and braille.

With this kind of help, inclusive

education includes children

with cerebral palsy, ADD, Down

syndrome, specific learning diffi-

culties, autism and children with

vision and hearing disabilities.

We can be happy when we see

these children grow up and

develop their abilities to the

limit. The school environment

is supportive, so the children

and their parents feel happy and

accepted.

PRACTICAL EXPERIENCEWe have positive experience

with this type of education.

Since positive experiences create positive attitudes, the benefits are

mutual.

Children with disabilities stay and learn in their natural environment

and, with constant encouragement, they achieve academic skills

that enable them further education. Their emotional and social

development is equally important. It takes place in the atmosphere

It is important to mention that children equally participate in all

school activities, outdoor education,

various events, fairs and public

appearances



of acceptance and provides children with a sense of belonging,

security and warmth they cannot get in special institutions.

Their peers learn about tolerance, understanding, helping and

responsibility towards other and different children. The presence

of a child with disabilities in the classroom is accepted as natural,

everybody’s attitudes are changing and the child is seen as an equal

member of the community.

We can say that the education of children with disabilities is an

extremely complex and demanding process: On the other side,

the experience we have got through that process has enriched

our personal and professional development. We have learned that,

in addition to stimulating cognitive development, it is extremely

important to develop a relationship of belonging, tolerance, under-

standing and social sensitivity towards vulnerable groups within

the society. Our children have brought a lot of warmth, love and

kindness to our schools and we hope that we have been able to

give it back to them. n

A mother has once said that caring for a child with disabilities is a

difficult, emotionally painful, physically exhausting and a demanding

job. If possible, every mother would eliminate the handicap of her child.

But very few mothers would renounce the benefits gained by that expe-

rience. (Landsman, according Zaviršek 2007)


BULLYING PREVENTIONBULLYING PREVENTION

Bullying by students with disabilities reduced by social-emotional learningBullying perpetration decreased by 20 percent over a three-year period among youths with disabilities who participated in a social and emotional learning program, a new study found.

BY EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGIST AND YOUTH

VIOLENCE EXPERT DOROTHY ESPELAGE,

GUTGSELL ENDOWED PROFESSOR OF CHILD

DEVELOPMENT AND HARDIE SCHOLAR, OF THE

UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS.


BULLYING PREVENTION

More than 120 students with disabilities at two school districts in

the Midwest participated in the research, which was part of a larger

three-year clinical trial of the widely used social-emotional learning

curricula Second Step.

Funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the study

was led by bullying and youth violence expert Dorothy L. Espelage

of the University of Illinois. Co-authors of the study were: Joshua R.

Polanin, of Vanderbilt University’s Peabody Research Institute, and

Chad A. Rose, of the University of Missouri at Columbia.

During the sixth through eighth grades, stu-

dents in the intervention schools received

a total of 41 Second Step lessons, which

addressed bullying, emotional regulation,

empathy and communication skills.

Forty-seven children received the curricula,

and seventy-six peers were in the control

group.

At the beginning of the study, students were

surveyed on their involvement in verbal and

relational bullying, victimization by peers and

fighting. Students were re-assessed during

each of the three subsequent spring terms.

Self-reported bullying perpetration signifi-

cantly decreased over the course of the study

among students with disabilities who received

the Second Step lessons.

“The significant reduction in bullying perpetration over this three-year

study is a notable finding, because much of the existing literature

suggests that students with disabilities are overrepresented in the

bullying dynamic,” said Espelage, the Gutgsell Endowed Professor

Peer victimization

declines 20 percent over 3-year

study



of child development and Hardie Scholar of Education in the depart-

ment of educational psychology. “Evidence suggests that this may

be because they are more likely to have social and communication

skills deficits, and these are foundational skills taught in the Second

Step program.”

Equal numbers - 47 percent - of youths in the intervention and the

control groups had learning disabilities, while the remainder had

cognitive, speech/language or emotional disabilities and/or health

impairments.

According to prior research, students with behavioral disabilities are

more likely to be identified as bullies by their teachers and peers than

are other students.

Espelage and her co-authors

hypothesize that the prev-

alence of peer aggression

among these students may be

a function or manifestation of

their disabilities - perhaps an

aggressive reaction to social

stimuli - and whether they are

placed in inclusive or restric-

tive classrooms.

The potential impact of educational placement is a notable issue,

the researchers said, because more than 39 percent of students

with behavioral disorders are educated in restrictive environments,

according to data from the U.S. Dept. of Education.

In a 2009 study, Rose and his colleagues found that students with

disabilities who received their educational services in restrictive

environments were twice as likely to be bullies compared with peers

without disabilities.



They also were 1.3 times as likely to bully peers compared with

students who had similar disabilities but were educated in more

inclusive environments.

Reductions in fighting were not significant among children who

received the Second Step intervention or their peers in the control

group, a finding that was unexpected, given that significant reduc-

tions in fighting were found in the larger clinical trial from which the

sample was drawn, the researchers said.

The researchers hypothesized that the SEL programming may have

been more successful at teaching students with disabilities to reflect

on and actively manage their impulses toward proactive aggression,

but not reactive aggression.

These students’ reactive aggression could be a manifestation of

the social information processing deficits associated with their

behavioral disabilities, prompting them to respond aggressively in

nonthreatening social situations, the researchers suggest.

If these behaviors are disability-related, specific interventions need

to be developed - above and beyond universal SEL programming - to

identify and address possible triggers and social reinforcers for each

child and incorporate them into each child’s Individualized Education

Program, the researchers recommended.

Under federal law, each child eligible for special education services

must have an Individualized Education Program, a document that

specifies how their disability affects their learning process and pro-

vides goals and objectives to help them learn more effectively. n

The paper is available online ahead of publication in the journal

Remedial and Special Education.


International ConferenceHow leadership secures

access and quality of educationAn international approach

4th and 5th of June 2015Imperial Hotel, Plovdiv, Bulgaria

The World Education Forum and the Municipality of Plovdiv, Bulgaria will host an international

conference on “How leadership secures access and quality of education: an international

approach” The conference will take place on 4th and 5th of June 2015 at Imperial Hotel, Plovdiv.

The World Education Forum was founded in Toronto and the Netherlands in 2011 and it

currently has many active members in the USA, Finland, Belgium, Great Britain, Slovenia,

Hungary, Norway, Spain, Ukraine, Russia, New Zealand and China. Its objectives are: creating

equal conditions for quality education accessible for all children around the globe, creating a

global network of schools aiming to exchange good practices and innovations, and supporting

national education priorities.


PARTICPANTS

We are glad to announce the confirmed conference participants:

• Ton Duif, President of World Education Forum, past ESHA president

• Henk Janssen, WEF representative

• Frans Schmitz, WEF representative

• Professor Michael Schratz, University of Innsbruck, Austria

• PhD in economics Yanka Takeva, Chairman of the Teachers Union, Bulgaria

• Lazar Dodev, Director of “Organisation, control and inspection” directorate at the

Ministry of Science and Education, Bulgaria

• Prof. PhD Galin Tsokov, executive dean of the Pedagogical department at University

of Plovdiv “Paisiy Hilendarski”, Plovdiv, Bulgaria

• Metody Terziev, Institutional Partnership Director of “Together in Class”

Foundation

• Ivan Totev, Mayor of Plovdiv, Bulgaria

• Architect Ilko Nikolov, Chairperson of the Municipality of Plovdiv, Bulgaria

• Experts and representatives from the Regional Education Inspectorate and

Municipalities in Bulgaria

Sharing good practices and innovations motivate us to work together towards equal

access to quality education for all children. Now you can become part of the com-

munity of leaders in education through our initiative. All participants will receive a

certificate of participation.

LOCATION

In the links below you can see The Old town of Plovdiv:

http://bulgariatravel.org/en/object/9/Stariq_Plovdiv

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Plovdiv

Accommodation will be at Imperial Hotel, Plovdiv:

http://hotelimperial.bg/

>


http://bulgariatravel.org/en/object/9/Stariq_Plovdiv

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Plovdiv

http://hotelimperial.bg/

TRAVELINFORMATION

International visitors should fly to Sofia. They will be picked up and transferred to

Plovdiv by the conference organisation. They should send their flight details to

[email protected] till May 30th 2015.

COSTS AND PAYMENTS

Participation requires payment of the full participation fee with accommodation which

includes: Transport from Sofia airport to Plovdiv and back, organization and technical

support; access to all program sessions; participation of guests and speakers; two

lunch meals (on 4 and 5 June 2015), one Gala dinner (4 June 2015); two coffee breaks,

simultaneous translation, accommodation + breakfast for 3 June and 4 June and/or

5 June in a single or double room. The participation fee with accommodation is calcu-

lated according to the accommodation type:

Participation+ accommodation

2 nights per personVAT incl.

3 nights per personVAT incl.

single standard room 193 euro 222 euro

deluxe single room 213euro 252euro

double standard room 173euro 192euro

deluxe double room 183 euro 207euro

Participation should be confirmed before June 1st 2015 by sending your application

online with the link http://goo.gl/forms/h0M2jaLRSV

Payment should be made together with sending the registration to the following bank

account:

UniCredit Bulbank

IBAN BG96 UNCR70001522109344 / BIC UNCRBGSF

To: Foundation World Education Forum Bulgaria – WEFBG

For: participation fee for … (participant’s names)


mailto:[email protected]

http://goo.gl/forms/h0M2jaLRSV

Invoices can be issued upon request. Please submit all required invoice details in

the participation form. Invoices are issued only after payment is received and will be

distributed to the participants at conference registration. According to hotel booking

regulations, in case of cancelation only half the amount can be refunded. Deadline for

sending participation forms and payment: 15 April 2015.

You can find additional information for the international conference at:

worldeducationforum-bg.wikispaces.com

PROGRAM

03.06. 2015

Arrival at Airport Sofia and transfer to Imperial Plovdiv hotel

04.06.2015

09.30 — 11.00 Registration

11.00 — 11.30 Opening

11.30 — 12.00 “Globalization and the educational system during 21 century“

Introduction and set up of World Education Forum (WEF) Bulgaria.

Signing the contract by representatives of WEF Global and WEF

Bulgaria.

12.00 — 12.30 Keynote speaker Professor Michael Schratz, University of Innsbruck,

Austria

Teacher Leadership in the framework of the lower secondary school

reform of the Austrian school system

12.30 — 13.30 Lunch

13.30 — 14.30 Presentations of key-note speakers from Bulgaria

PhD in economics Yanka Takeva, Chairman of the Teachers Union,

Bulgaria

Lazar Dodev, Director of “Organisation, control and inspection”

directorate at the Ministry of Science and Education, Bulgaria

14.30 — 15.00 Coffee break >


15.30 — 17.00 Good Practices panel – Exchange workshops:

1. ”Teach like a leader” (language: Bulgarian)

2. “Moral leadership in modern education”

(simultaneous translation)

3. Mission and activities of the World Education Forum

(language: English)

17.00 — 20.00 Free time ( Sightseeing of interesting places in Plovdiv)

20.00 Official dinner

05.06.201509.30 — 11.00 Presentations of keynote speakers from Bulgaria Prof. PhD Galin Tsokov, executive dean of the Pedagogical department

at University of Plovdiv “Paisiy Hilendarski”, Plovdiv, Bulgaria, Metody Terziev, Institutional Partnership Director of “Together in Class” Foundation,

Vaska Atanasova, Experts from the Regional Education Inspectorate11.00 — 11.30 Coffee break11.30 — 12.30 Good Practices panel Presentations of good practices from participants in the conference –

Head teachers and teachers12.30 — 13.30 Lunch13.30 — 15.30 Visits in schools in Plovdiv – Good practices15.30 — 16.30 Closure of the conference and receiving certificates Departure-transfer to the Sofia airport


may 2015 inclusion and quality in education€¦ · offer of montenegro with its culture and...

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