DEVELOPMENT OF INCLUSION/INTEGRATION

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In connection with the change of law in 2000, a three-year programme was launched that aims to improve and maintain the quality of special needs education. The KVIS pro-gramme (’quality in special needs education’) has as one its aims to inspire the Minister of Education to make adjustments of the law by the end of the three-year period.

The programme is managed both at the regional and central level with the regions as the promoters. It is at this level the concrete changes and new developments must take place in order to meet the objective of improving the quality of special needs education. Regional committees monitor, support and contribute to
•  the development of the regional and local special educational programmes and special provisions for infants
•  the educational institutions and counselling services in the area with a view to developing a coherent counselling and support service in the region in question
•  the co-operation between the social, health and educational sectors in the region with a view to proposing potential improvements in this field
•  the introduction of recommendations regarding the future organisation and distribution of tasks. And they also contribute to the final evaluation through the provision of progress and status reports.

Both policy-makers and professionals in Denmark have pointed out that the local schools should be able to meet the educational needs of the majority of pupils. They have emphasised how important it is that that children have relations with other children and adults in the local environment. School must be sufficiently inclusive to meet the needs of the individual pupils.
This does not necessarily mean that teachers should be able to meet the educational needs of all children in the ordinary mainstream school classes. The special schools with their expertise are, and will continue to be, a valid alternative educational provision.

In accordance with the aim of the KVIS programme, which is to improve the quality in special needs education, it is necessary to approach the concept of ”quality” from a number of different angles in order to influence attitudes of pupils, parents, teachers and school management, and to question traditions.

This can best be achieved through:
•  flexible educational settings
•  continuous discussions regarding special education, profound special education and ordinary education
•  renewal of methods and organisational structures of the educational provision
•  application of new communication methods and educational materials
•  changes in the physical settings of the school
•  in-service training of school staff
•  multi-faceted co-operation internally as well as across schools, sectors, regions and countries.

The local Pedagogical and Psychological Counselling Offices (PPR) that exist in most Danish municipalities play an important role in the quality assurance process, as they are involved with all three types of education – ordinary education, education of pupils with ordinary special educational needs and pupils with profound special educational needs.

The counselling and guidance they provide to schools and parents greatly influences local attitudes and decisions regarding educational and organisational action programmes. The local offices must acquire the specialised knowledge required to ensure the quality of the educational programmes for pupils with special educational needs.

The quality assurance programme deals with eight thematic areas set out by the Ministry of Education.  All eight themes are addressed throughout the programme period but the individual regions can prioritise the way they work with them:

•  Theme 1: Individual educational planning and teaching
The school must be organised so that all pupils enjoy their schooling and profit from the education. The school of the future must base its activities on the pupils’ abilities and describe how to enable the pupils to develop their current competences and potentials. Many pupils with profound special educational needs were previously integrated into a structure and settings which existed already and which were not adapted to their needs.

•  Theme 2: Parent-school co-operation
Parents, pupils and teachers must continuously discuss the quality of education. The exchange of views and close parent-school co-operation can only happen if both parties are positive and open-minded. Schools and institutions must be ready to adapt to new educational processes and to the different ideas and requirement of parents. The dialogue between the pupils, the parents and the school must be clear and focused so that it becomes possible to manage the shared responsibility for the education and special pedagogical assistance to the pupils.

•  Theme 3: School structuring and teaching means
New and different forms of co-operating and teaching and new organisational structures with flexible groups of pupils are some of the most important prerequisites of the inclusive school. Willingness to adapt to new and different pedagogical theories and practices is a necessary prerequisite of the discussions of how best to arrange the school. ICT and digital teaching means and materials can improve the quality of the education of the individual pupil and create new and improved opportunities for pupils with profound special educational needs.

•  Theme 4: Management and teacher qualifications
School management and staff must be mentally flexible and willing to introduce new procedures. They must appreciate that in order for the schooling to be successful it must be based upon a dynamic and interactive concept of learning and the solving of tasks as well as specialised knowledge. Furthermore, they must support the practical development of education that aims to make the pupils independent and which is based on the pupils’ individual capacities and potentials and aims to support the development of their personal competences. This also applies to the education of pupils with profound special needs.

•  Theme 5: Transition from compulsory school to further education and employment
All pupils face situations where they move on from one stage in life to the next, for instance from compulsory school to further education. These transitions must be as easy and non-problematic as possible and it is important to establish coherence, consistency and continuity for the child or young person through close collaboration between professionals on the basis of an agreed set of principles. If the efforts to achieve coherent solutions are not successful, problems will multiply for pupils with profound special educational needs.

•  Theme 6: Co-ordination of school and leisure time
Schools and institutions must be flexible and see school and leisure time as a joint educational field. Co-operation with other groups of professionals and bodies outside the school or institution facilitates a positive approach to new ways of thinking and working. In order for co-operation to be fruitful, there is a need for such a positive co-operation as well as for adaptability and willingness to break down professional and educational barriers. This will add new dynamic dimensions to the work and increase the opportunities for improving the quality in the solutions of current and future tasks.  For pupils with profound special educational needs it is particularly important that the pro-vision is perceived as a joint coherent whole.

•  Theme 7: Infants
Early intervention with infants must take into account the surroundings that affect the child as well as the special ways in which young children learn. The different partners involved with the child - particularly the parents but also the professionals – must be involved in the efforts to provide a good educational programme. The child’s communication with its surroundings is a central element in this work and it is important to keep in mind that the de-velopment of the child’s communication abilities is not only a matter of words and sentences, but also a matter of contact and communication with other people, of personal development and self-dependence.
The aim of the professional intervention is to improve the child’s opportunities for personal development by enabling the child to understand as well as to be understood, as the development of communication skills improves the child’s learning opportunities and hence the chances of a positive development in kindergarten and school.

•  Theme 8: Division of responsibilities and tasks, knowledge mediation
The quality of the combined efforts towards children and young people is improved through the increased co-operation between regional counties and local municipalities. The co-operation itself can bring about improved professional and human resources and is also necessary if we want to develop coherent provisions across sectors and professions and to facilitate continuity in the life and development of our children and young people.
A collection of examples of ”good practice” related to each of the eight thematic areas has been made available. They serve as a source of inspiration for the development of new educational initiatives at the local level. ICT is applied both within the educational programmes and in the collaborative work.
http://pub.uvm.dk/2002/better1/