Description
43.94% of children with disabilities in Romania are not included in mainstream education.The project "Inclusive education-a right of the disabled child" aims to evaluate the current state of inclusion of children with disabilities in the educational system;to identify the barriers to the implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, Art.24; to set up and to operate inclusive models of good practice through the Diversity Class and to generate changes in attitudes and perception towards children with disabilities, regardless of gender, ethnic group, religion, by means of the expertise of the R.F. "Speranta" and the Public Policies Institute. Expected results: a monitoring report on barriers and legal gaps impeding the implementation of Art.24 of the Convention, mirrored to the results of good practices model -the Diversity Class and lobbying decisional agents to accord with legal aspects in this field, as well as putting into effect Art.24 of the Convention.
Summary of project results
Although in 2010 Romania has ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, the analysis report “Education – a (non)chance to integrate children with disabilities” developed in the framework of the project represents the first national assessment of the current state of integration of children with disabilities in mainstream schools. During the project development, several discussions took place with representatives of the Ministry of Education and Scientific Research, county school inspectorates, teachers, parents, NGOs. They were designed to assess the current state of educational inclusion of children with disabilities in mainstream education system and to identify the system, legislative or working practices deficiencies. They were also aimed at developing inclusive practices in targeted schools. 57 resource persons from 30 schools were trained to develop inclusive practices; they further provided advice and information on educational inclusion to other 391 teachers. 22 working groups were established to support inclusion in the 25 schools involved in the project. Given the limited institutional ability of schools to make available to teachers the required tools and materials for curricular and extracurricular educational activities, specialized materials on educational inclusion (paper and online) and counseling were provided. The working groups discussed the medical, educational and social situation of children in their school and proposed tailored measures for 593 children with disabilities to facilitate their maximum development potential. Personalized suggestions were made for each school to develop inclusive practices. The arrangements for implementing custom suggestions recommended by the Project Promoter have mainly targeted a set of measures or activities that were designed to support the improvement of the school′s preparedness to include disabled or special educational needs children – aiming at further establishment of inclusive values, development of inclusive schooling/school for all, support for diversity, guidance for learning and resource mobilization and overall strengthening the community. A TV spot promoting inclusive education was developed and broadcasted 217 times on national television and was also published online.
Summary of bilateral results