Young Views on Inclusive Education
Mon, 12/03/2012
On 6-7 November 2011, 90 young people from across Europe gathered together in Brussels for the opportunity to make their voices heard on inclusive education. In seven working groups dedicated to both secondary and vocational education settings, they discussed what inclusive education means to them, how it can be achieved, the benefits it brings and which challenges remain to be overcome. The active and animated participation of all delegates provided insightful and valuable messages, many of which they presented in the European Parliament to representatives from the European Commission, European Parliament, Polish Presidency of the EU and key European and International organizations. The young delegates’ presentation can be found on the European Hearing 2011 web area.
The initial results of the Young Views on Inclusive Education - European Parliament Hearing 2011 are now available to download from the European Hearing web area.
http://www.european-agency.org/agency-projects/european-hearing-2011/young-views-european-hearing-2011-brussels
Some thoughts on inclusive education from the youngsters:
“It is our right to get quality education that gives us better job opportunities and improves our life chances”, says Claudia from Italy, but the young delegates see inclusive education over all as an investment for society as a whole since it increases the awareness of diversity within society, mutual understanding, respect as well as “solidarity in terms of helping and supporting each other’s needs” as John from the UK puts it. Inclusive education breaks down stereotypes, changes attitudes and reduces discrimination creating though a better society.
Students integrated in mainstream classes praise the diverse and enriching social relationships and the increasing opportunities to find a job later on since they acquire next to work qualifications a wide range of social skills and become more self-confident. Inclusive education allows them “to make more friends, to be part of the community and to feel like everybody else”, Claudia says. This sense of equality, partnership and friendship allows them to integrate fully in society.
Nevertheless, the young delegates remark that still a lot has to be done in order to improve inclusive education practices. Everybody involved – students, teachers etc. - need to understand and accept students with special needs. Physical accessibility (elevators and ramps) and adapted learning environments including special electronic gadgets (laptops, hardware and programs) and further support by care assistants need to be ensured. Individual needs have to be taken into account, since some people need more support than others.
All of the young delegates' statements will be included in the final results of the Hearing, which the European Agency looks forward to publishing in the near future.
