TEACHER EDUCATION FOR INCLUSION

European Agency for Development in Special Needs Education

The Agency network● National networks in 28 European countries:

Austria, Belgium (Flemish and French speaking communities), Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom (England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales)

● 16th year of operations● Main secretariat in Odense, Denmark and European

Liaison office in Brussels, Belgium

The Agency’s Activities● The Agency works to a multi-annual work

programme (2007 – 2013)● All projects and activities are identified by Agency

representatives as being a priority for their countries

● Activities include: – collection, analysis and dissemination of information– participation and organisation of conferences, seminars

and political events– liaison with the European institutions and international

organisations – Eurostat, Eurydice, Cedefop; UNESCO, OECD, World Bank

International Policy Context

At all times, the Agency works to guiding principles as outlined in:

● UNESCO statements and declarations on EFA and Inclusion

● UN Convention on Rights of Persons with Disabilities (2006)

● Council Resolutions concerning inclusion of children and young people with disabilities into mainstream systems of education

Current Agency Projects● Information and Communication Technology for

Inclusion (2012 - 2013) ● Vocational Education and Training (2010 -

2012)● Organisation of Provision to support Inclusive

Education (2011 – 2013)● Raising Achievement for all Learners (2012-

2014)● Teacher Education for Inclusion (2009 - 2012)

The TE4I Project● Agency member countries agreed that Teacher

Education was a top priority for investigation● 25 Agency member countries participated in the

project● 55 experts took part in activities:

– SNE specialist teacher educators and policy makers

– Mainstream teacher educators and policy makers

● Representatives of OECD and UNESCO and the European Commission DG-EAC Schools Unit

TE4I project aims● To address the essential project question: how

all teachers are prepared via their initial education to be 'inclusive’

● To examine the essential skills, knowledge and understanding, attitudes and values needed by everyone entering the teaching profession

● To provide information on best policy and practice to support the development of TE4I– Recommendations for teacher education– Recommendations for wider policy

● To develop a Profile of Inclusive Teachers

● Policy review● International literature review● Web based country literature abstracts● Individual country reports ● Country information database● Synthesis report ‘Teacher Education for Inclusion

across Europe. Challenges and Opportunities’● Project recommendations linked to sources of

evidence document● Profile of inclusive teachers

Project outputs

EU Agenda for Teacher Education1) Promote professional values and attitudes2) Improve teacher competences3) Effective recruitment to promote educational quality4) Improve the quality of Initial Teacher Education 5) Introduce Induction programmes for all new teachers 6) Provide mentoring support to all teachers7) Improve quality and quantity of Continuing Professional

Development8) School Leadership9) Ensure the quality of Teacher Educators10) Improve Teacher Education Systems

Priorities for improving Teacher Education that were identified by Ministers of Education in the Council Conclusions of 2007, 2008 and 2009

Key Questions for Teacher Education Policies

● Do policies advocate radical reform of pre- and in-service teacher education in order to prepare teachers for inclusive approaches in education?

● Do they encourage a view of inclusive education as a natural way of working for every teacher?

● Do they ask the question ‘who trains trainers?’ and tackle the sensitive issue of well-established training institutes teaching out-of-date approaches?

● Do policies acknowledge the different pedagogical needs and methods used with children, youth and adults?

(UNESCO Policy Guidelines, 2009)

World Report on Disability

‘The appropriate training of mainstream teachers is crucial if they are to be confident and competent in teaching children with diverse needs. The principles of inclusion should be built into teacher training programmes, which should be about attitudes and values, not just knowledge and skills’.(World Health Organisation/World Bank, 2011)

Project Recommendations (1)● Effective approaches to improve the recruitment

of teacher candidates and increase retention rates should be explored along with ways to increase the number of teachers from diverse backgrounds, including those with disabilities

● Research should be undertaken on the effectiveness of different routes into teaching and the course organisation, content and pedagogy to best develop the competence of teachers to meet the diverse needs of all learners.

Project Recommendations (2)● The profession of teacher educators needs to

be further developed with improvements in recruitment, induction and continuing professional development

● Schools and teacher education institutions must work together to ensure good models in practice schools and appropriate placements for teaching practice

Project Recommendations (3)

● Wider, systemic reform is needed to ensure the development of inclusive schools, to support the development of teacher education for inclusion

● Reform must include clarification of the language that is used when referring to inclusion and diversity

● Policies should be introduced to develop a ‘continuum of support’ to allow teachers to meet the full diversity of learner needs

● Accountability measures that impact upon teachers’ work should reflect the importance of wider achievements that are more closely aligned to inclusive principles.

● A specific request coming from Agency country representatives - concrete information on the necessary competences required of all teachers

● Developed as a guide for the design and implementation of ITE programmes for all teachers – not a script for ITE content

● Should be considered stimulus material for identifying relevant content, planning methods and specifying desired learning outcomes for ITE

Profile of Inclusive Teachers

● Developing the ability of new teachers to be more inclusive in their practice

● Developing new teachers who are effective in their teaching, as well as experts in subject content

The goal of ITE

1 - Inclusion is a principled, rights-based approach to education underpinned by a number of central values

2 - There are practical and conceptual difficulties in focussing upon isolated competences for teaching in inclusive education and for the Profile to be relevant for different countries and stakeholders, a broad approach to the idea of using competences was needed

Parameters for developing the Profile (1)

Parameters (2)

● A developmental process from 2009 onwards● Country experts’ inputs on drafts and redrafts ● Over 400 country stakeholders’ inputs● Over 70 written responses● Validation and verification activities in the 2011

country study visits● Identification of key factors supporting the

implementation of the Profile

Methodology

● Four core values relating to teaching and learning have been identified as the basis for the work of all teachers in inclusive education

● These core values are associated with areas of teacher competence: a certain attitude or belief demands certain knowledge or level of understanding and then skills in order to implement this knowledge in a practical situation

● For each area of competence identified, the essential attitudes, knowledge and skills that underpin them are presented

The Profile Model

Learner difference is considered as a resource and an asset to education:

- Conceptions of inclusive education- The teacher’s view of learner difference

Valuing Learner Diversity

Supporting All Learners

Teachers have high expectations for all learners’ achievements:- Promoting the academic, social and emotional learning of all learners- Effective teaching approaches in heterogeneous classes

Collaboration and teamwork are essential approaches for all teachers:

- Working with parents and families - Working with a range of other educational

professionals

Working with Others

Teaching is a learning activity and teachers take responsibility for their lifelong learning:- Teachers as reflective practitioners- Initial teacher education as a foundation for on-going professional learning and development

Personal Professional Development

● The Profile text is non-copyright material● In the final report there will be a separate

‘removable’ copy of the Profile text that can be copied

● Electronic, editable versions in all Agency member countries’ languages, will be available to download on the website

● Users are free to modify and ‘re-purpose’ the Profile text providing that a reference to the original source is given

Supporting country work

The crucial role of Teachers

Key Principles – Practice, 2011http://www.european-agency.org/agency-projects/key-principles

Young Views in Inclusive Education - European Parliament Hearing 2011http://www.european-agency.org/agency-projects/european-hearing-2011

All teachers should have positive attitudes towards all learners

● The starting point for inclusive education is teacher awareness and education (Sophie and Gemma)● Teachers must be aware of what everyone needs and give opportunities for successfully reaching goals (Klara)● There were teachers who didn’t want to co-operate in making inclusive education work for me and others; teachers should accept everyone in their classes (Wessel) ● Teachers sometimes only focus on the things I cannot do, not on my skills (Thordur)

All teachers should develop the skills to meet the diverse needs of all

learners

● Teacher training is really critical (Sophie)● Teacher training does not provide enough and

the right information on inclusion issues. People with special needs are already in trouble; getting more support sometimes causes them more problems (Wessel)

● Sometimes teachers are not interested in learning about special needs (Méryem)

● The ICT teacher in my school is disabled, too – this helps him understand special needs better – he is more familiar with the problems of his students (Áron)

Inclusive education as a means to…

… realise the right to an equitable high quality education without discrimination

… advance towards more democratic and fair societies

… learn to live together and build our shared identities

… improve the effectiveness and efficiency of education systems

And the starting point?

● The focus is often on practical things (like buildings) – but inclusive education is mostly in people’s minds. Everybody must have the habit of thinking about different disabilities, not discriminating or dividing. (Mei Lang)

● We need to remove barriers in the widest sense; we must change people’s mentalities (Jens)

● Other people must develop their understanding: we live in an ignorant world (Gemma)

More informationhttp://www.european-agency.org/agency-projects/teacher-

education-for-inclusion/teacher-education-for-inclusion

European Agency for Development in Special Needs Education

Østre Stationsvej 33

DK-5000 Odense C

Denmark

secretariat@european-agency.org

Amanda Watkins amanda@european-agency.org