Provision for Learners with Special Educational Needs: A European Perspective

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Provision for Learners with Special
Educational Needs A European Perspective
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Member countries of the European Agency

• Presently, the Agency has 26 full member
  countries Austria, Belgium (French), Belgium
  (Flemish), Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark,
  Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece,
  Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia,
  Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands,
  Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden,
  Switzerland and the United Kingdom.
• It is expected that Slovenia, Slovakia, Bulgaria
  and Romania join as full members soon

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The European Agency

• Ministerial and Expert Practitioner
  representatives
• Offices in Odense, Denmark and Brussels, Belgium
• Staff from 11 European countries
• 10th year of operations
• One of the 6 organisations supported by the
  European Commission Lifelong Learning Programme

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Funding

• The European Agency is financed by
• The member countries Ministries of Education
• European Commission

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Agency Mission

• Member countries platform for collaboration in
  the field of special needs education (SNE)
• Our ultimate aim is to improve educational policy
  and practice for learners with special
  educational needs
• This aim takes into account issues such as equal
  opportunities, accessibility, inclusive education
  and the promotion of quality of education, whilst
  recognising that there are differences in
  countries policies, practices and educational
  contexts

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Policy Context for SNE - International

• UN Standard Rules on the Equalisation of
  Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities
  (1993)
• UN Convention on Rights of People with
  Disabilities (2006)
• All European countries have ratified the UNESCO
  Salamanca Statement and Framework for Action in
  Special Needs Education (1994)

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Policy Context for SNE - European

• Resolution on the human rights of disabled people
  (1996)
• Towards a barrier-free Europe for people with
  disabilities (2003)
• Equal opportunities for pupils and students with
  disabilities in education and training (2003)

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Changing Terminology

• Integration implying that the goal is to
  integrate a learner back into the mainstream
  school, because at some point they have been
  excluded from it
• Inclusion referring to a learner being a part of
  their local educational community from the
  beginning ... a part from the start

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Selection of Agency Priority themes

• Early Intervention
• Provision of special needs education
• Financing and inclusion
• Transition from school to working life
• Classroom Practice to support Inclusive
  Education
• Assessment of learners with Special Educational
  Needs
• Immigrants and Special Needs

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But of course..

• We clearly want to improve the (educational)
  situation for learners with SEN
• That is why we listen carefully to wishes,
  demands and needs of learners with special needs.

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A European Policy Approach?

• Shared intentions and long-term goals
• Different interpretations
• Different starting points
• Different implementation methods and strategies
• Different practice

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Inclusion Developments in Europe

• Progress
• More continuum of services
• Funding
• Resource centre 
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• Challenges
• Output and SEN
• Secondary education
• 2 in separate settings increase
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Segregated Provision
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Explanation for differences

• Funding
• Population density

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A Worrying Trend?

• In many countries there is actually an increase
  not a decrease in the numbers of learners in
  segregated settings - often separate classes
  where learners are educated away from their peers
  for the majority of the time
• The difficulties of inclusion in secondary
  settings, coupled with increased pressures to
  raise academic standards are - for some
  countries - leading to the dilemma of increased
  pressures for learners with special needs to be
  placed in separate settings

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Reflection

• This is ironic as most research shows that what
  is good for learners with special educational
  needs is good for all learners
• Effective practice within the context of
  inclusive education is effective teaching
  practice for all learners
• co-operative teaching
• co-operative learning
• collaborative problem-solving
• heterogeneous grouping

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Conditions Teacher

• Develop positive teacher attitudes
• Introduce appropriate pedagogical skills and time
  for reflection

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About Conditions School

• Implement a whole school approach
• Develop leadership within the school

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Conditions external

• A clear national policy
• Flexible funding arrangements that facilitate
  inclusion
• Visionary leadership on the level of the
  community
• Regional co-ordination

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We deal with differences!
Climb the tree!
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Contact Information

• Cor Meijer
• director_at_european-agency.org
• European Agency for Development in Special Needs
  Education
• www.european-agency.org