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Description
The Slovak education system is facing criticism due to the poor results of pupils in international testing (PISA), which point to their extreme dependence on the socio-economic background, but also due to the high degree of segregation of disadvantaged children. As the experience of countries with above-average pupil outcomes shows, the answer to these challenges is to increase individualisation in education and to transform education systems towards inclusive education. Based on the results of the To dá rozum (It makes sens) survey, schools are not prepared to educate children with diverse needs and would need learning and methodologic support in this area.
The aim is to build an expert institution aimed at supporting the introduction of inclusive education, which on the one hand will create and validate a model of comprehensive support services for schools and local governments and on the other hand will coordinate the process of joint advocacy activities. The Centre for Inclusive Education, which was founded for this purpose in 2019, began to implement educational activities, provide assistance to schools and local governments. Its members also received a mandate from the Research Institute of Child Psychology and Pathopsychology to coordinate the preparation of a national strategy for inclusive education. The project represents an effort to ensure sufficient personnel, professional and institutional capacities to perform these tasks.
The expertise, experience and history of the partner, Pedverket Resource Center, is an example of good practice in building a quality support centre in the field of inclusive education, operating both nationally and internationally. The applicant has ambitions to inspire partners in terms of their institutional development, but also specific expertise in inclusive education. The project partner brings his expertise in a unique, Grundlaget method, aimed at supporting the cognitive development of children with specific potential.
Summary of project results
The Slovak education system faces criticism because of the poor results of pupils in international tests (PISA), which show their extreme dependence on their socio-economic background, but also because of the high level of segregation of children with disadvantages. As the experience of countries with above-average pupil performance shows, the answer to these problems is to increase individualisation in education and to transform education systems towards inclusive education. This trend is also reflected in international documents that Slovakia has ratified and should ensure their implementation (Salamanca Declaration, UNESCO, 1994; European Strategy for the Disabled, EC, 2010-2020; UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, 2010). However, Slovakia is not fulfilling these commitments and although the term inclusive education is gradually making its way into strategic documents, it is rather an empty phrase, while in reality the opposite trends can be observed. Based on the results of the survey of the This Makes Sense initiative, schools are not prepared for the education of children with diverse needs and would need training and methodological support in this area.
In 2017, the problems faced by children, parents and teachers in practice, which have not been addressed by the state for a long time, resulted in the establishment of the Coalition for Shared Education (Inclusion Coalition), which brings together actors advocating for the development of inclusive education - parent, teacher, service and advocacy organizations (see the list in the annex). The organisations have jointly defined the main barriers to the development of inclusive education and named priority areas for the Coalition''s activities. At the same time, they identified unmet needs in the area of support to schools and municipalities in the implementation of inclusive education, which are not covered in practice and thus for the needs of policy-making, the necessary resources (financial, personnel) that the implementation of inclusive education requires are not known.
In line with its priorities, the Inklucoalition has carried out a number of successful advocacy activities, including creating pressure through the media, which has contributed to bringing the topic of inclusive education into the public discourse. However, since its inception, the Coalition''s work has been marked by the fact that its coordination has been on a volunteer basis. Although the organisations meet regularly, the capacity for joint action is affected by a lack of resources. Despite good intentions, the coalition''s recent activities have thus been limited to informing each other about the organisations'' activities, expanding the coalition and involving new members is not taking place. The potential that the coalition could have as an established actor is not being exploited. This is also problematic because in the coming period (2020-2021) there are a number of opportunities to push for the introduction of inclusive education, including funding for the process of this transformation and support for the activities of NGOs (preparation of a national Inclusive Education Strategy; preparation of a new Partnership Agreement with the EU; EC action on the segregation of Roma children; the arrival of a new government in the Slovak Republic).
The project helped to build an Inclusion Centre - Centre for Inclusive Education, which can serve as an example of good practice in n.o. functioning - democratic and participative management culture, consensus-based decisions. For a year and a half we faced and withstood the following challenges: setting up internal inclusive processes in the organization, efficiency of work and increasing the motivation of the staff and lecturers of the Inclucentre through the identification of their own potential, interests, quality service for people, open system of remuneration for staff, online counselling for schools, service and support to schools in the form of training and methodological or legislative support.
The organisation has delivered 9 long term training courses on Artphilics, Teaching Assistant in Practice, Nonviolent Communication, School Support Team, Facilitative and Reflective Learning, some up to three runs. The project implementers created 28 topics of short-term webinars for pedagogical and professional staff and in total almost 2000 graduates from all over Slovakia took part in them. The organisation implemented the unique Grunnlaget training in cooperation with a Norwegian partner. The implementers of the project managed to expand the organizational team (currently 3 permanent employees), the board of directors (3 members who meet monthly), more than 20 expert lecturers, developed important documents of the organization: strategic plan, financial plan, marketing plan. In the framework of advocacy activities, the project implementers participated in the creation of the National Strategy for Inclusive Education, comments and drafting of legislative regulations on the topic of inclusive education (amendments to school laws and decrees, the State Educational Programme), inclusive adjustments to the criteria of admission interviews in secondary schools, addressing complaints against unjustified interventions of school inspectors, labour law violations against school support teams or assistants in schools. The activities of the project are important for the development of inclusive education in Slovakia, of which Inklucentrum is an important representative.
The project has resulted in a functional organization with 3 employees, efficient management, a well set budget, and the ability to acquire new and new projects. We have trained around 2000 teaching and professional staff in schools, published 60 articles and 8 methodological materials - bulletins in an eye-catching graphic design, responded to more than 356 advisory emails.
Summary of bilateral results
The project partner is a major European organization with a 25-year tradition, Pedverket Kompetanse, which operates in Norway and was founded by Gunvor Sønnesyn and Morten Hem, who also support the recognized Grunnlaget method. The importance of such cooperation lay in the exchange of knowledge and the establishment of the Grunnlaget method in Slovakia. The authors of the method directly trained future trainers of this method in Slovakia. During the partner''s visit, the Slovak organization felt the inclusive approach that the preschool system and the school system live there.During the working trip, an even closer cooperation was established with the Norwegian partner, the project implementers and the partner mutually proposed joint visions of the partnership, they completed the first run of trainings for Slovak participants in the Grunnlaget method. After the partner''s visit itself, the organization gained encouragement and new inspiration for an even better understanding of the topic of inclusive education, focusing more on the classroom and the teacher than on professional services and external service.The result of the cooperation is, for example, the translated Grunnlaget methodology into Slovak in aesthetic graphic design, suitable for those interested in a deeper study of the method. And organizing education in the Grunnlaget method in Slovakia by trained lecturers.The vision is to continue contact with the partner organization and to develop cooperation on other topics, as evidenced by the concluded memorandum of cooperation.