Inclusion Europe member Insieme recently shared the results of a study on schooling integration of children with disabilities led in two cantons of Switzerland.
There are few areas which cause more heartbreak and distress for children with intellectual disabilities and their parents than education does. The statistics are clear - children with intellectual disabilities are increasingly excluded from mainstream schooling, and either isolated in special schools, or denied access to education completely.
When it comes to education, policies and practices in most European countries are becoming increasingly divergent. In fact, while many states are developing policies formally geared towards inclusive education, the segregation of students with disabilities has been constantly growing since 2008.
Inclusive education will be the focus of the 2014 Global Action Week entitled âEqual Right, Equal Opportunity: Education and Disabilityâ. The event, scheduled for 4-10 May is organised by the Global Campaign for Education (GCE), a broad civil society coalition advocating for free and compulsory, quality public basic education for all children.
Allowing people with intellectual disabilities to become teachers at institutions of higher education is an overall aim of a three-year project in Kiel in Germany. The projectâInclusive Educationâ will firstly train people with disabilities to gain the necessary qualifications in teaching and consequently, support these trainees to give classes at the institutions of higher education about disability and inclusion.
The Global Campaign for Education (GCE) issued a report calling for inclusive education for children with disabilities. A report entitled âEqual Right, Equal Opportunityâ urges national governments to adopt appropriate legislative frameworks and set out national plans for inclusive education.
In many countries in Central and Eastern Europe, children with disabilities and Roma children are still placed in the segregated classrooms and schools receiving inferior education. Mental Disability Advocacy Centre (MDAC) and European Roma Rights Centre (ERRC) called for inclusive education for all children on the occasion of International Studentsâ Day on 18 November.
