May 2011

Dear Readers,

In this issue of the Electronic Bulletin we provide you with updates on the Agency projects and activities.

For regular updates on Agency news on publications, events and projects, we invite you to sign up to our RSS Newsfeed. To sign up, please visit www.european-agency.org and select the link ‘subscribe to Agency news’.

Sincerely,


The Agency

1. The Agency launches a new project focussing upon Accessibility of Information for Lifelong Learning – i-access
2. MIPIE project conference held under the Hungarian Presidency of the EU
3. Agency presentation to the World Bank's Human Development Network
4. Agency Project Updates:
- Inclusive Education in Action
- Teacher Education for Inclusion
- Vocational Education and Training
5. Contacts and Disclaimer

1. i-access: Accessible Information Provision for Lifelong Learning

The availability of public information in accessible formats, for example in printed and electronic versions, is an issue recognised as requiring attention at international and national levels. The right for all citizens to access information in a way that meets their needs is stressed in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities (2006). A key strategy for ensuring equal access to Lifelong Learning opportunities is providing information relevant for Lifelong Learning in formats that can be easily accessed by people with special needs.

Accessible Information Provision for Lifelong Learning (i-access) is a one-year project of the European Agency for Development in Special Needs Education with the aim of raising awareness regarding the importance of this issue and to develop recommendations on how it can be addressed, in order to facilitate positive developments towards i-access within the member countries of the Agency. This Agency project is co-financed by a European Community Grant under the Lifelong Learning Transversal Programme (http://ec.europa.eu/education/lifelong-learning-programme/doc78_en.htm), Key Activity 1: Policy Co-operation and Innovation.

The main aims are:

1 - to use existing European and international policy and standards for information accessibility as a basis for discussing the implications as well as the practical implementation of accessible information provision within Lifelong Learning and

2 - to produce clear recommendations agreed at the European level by key stakeholders for Lifelong Learning and accessible ICT that can be used by information providers across Europe to support the provision of accessible information for Lifelong Learning for all learners who need it.

To achieve these aims is the main objective of the i-access conference, which will be held in Copenhagen on 22–24 June. During the conference the implications of accessible information for Lifelong Learning will be discussed, as well as practical recommendations identified. Approximately 80 participants will be involved, including key information providers (such as the Agency), education decision makers for Lifelong Learning and national level multipliers (journalists and researchers), who can share recommendations on i-access with a wide audience across countries and representatives of stakeholder groups working with accessible ICT. The conference will also be open to EU level information providers, as well as national NGOs dedicated to supporting the rights of people with special needs and disabilities and representatives from the European Commission.

The conference will also be open to interested parties and there are a few spaces left for self-funded participants. If you are interested in attending, please contact i-access@european-agency.org

For more information please visit the i-access project web area: www.european-agency.org/agency-projects/i-access

2. Mapping the Implementation of Policy for Inclusive Education – Conference held under the Hungarian Presidency of the European Union

The European Agency for Development in Special Needs Education in co-operation with the Hungarian Ministry of National Resources, Department for Education hosted a conference focussing upon Mapping the Implementation of Policy for Inclusive on 10–11 March 2011 in Budapest, Hungary. This conference was officially recognised as an event held under the Hungarian Presidency of the European Union (http://www.eu2011.hu/presidency).

This event was organised as one of the activities within the Mapping the Implementation of Policy for Inclusive Education (MIPIE) project involving these Agency member 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, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and United Kingdom (England, Scotland and Wales).

The project is co-financed by a European Community Grant under the Lifelong Learning Programme.

The overall MIPIE project focuses upon the need recognised in all countries to track the implementation of educational policies and legislation. The justifications and pressures for mapping such developments are very clear at international levels (as can be seen in the UN 2006 Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities calls for data collection and monitoring at State level), but particularly at the European level as outlined in EC2020.

During the project two conferences have been organised – the first was held in Brussels, Belgium in December 2010. This second event in Budapest involved various inputs and discussion sessions involving representatives from the Hungary Ministry of National Resources, the European Commission, DG Education and Culture and Eurostat, as well as national representatives nominated by the participating Ministries of Education in Agency member countries.

The focus of the first conference in Brussels conference was upon what information should be collected as well as why certain types of data are priorities for mapping purposes, whereas the aim of the conference in Budapest was to identify how the detailed information European policy makers needed in order to map developments in the implementation of legislation and policy for inclusion can be collected. Also during the Budapest conference, future priorities for this area of work at European and national levels were discussed and possibilities for development projects were identified.

All project information is now being made available on the Agency website:

http://www.european-agency.org/agency-projects/mipie including conference reports and background information collected in the project.

3. Agency presentation to the World Bank’s Human Development Network

Cor J.W. Meijer, the Director of European Agency for Development in Special Needs Education, met with representatives of the World Bank and gave a presentation on ‘The Work of the European Agency and a European Perspective on Inclusive Education’ at the Human Development Network’s Learning Week in Washington on 10 March, 2011.

The World Bank is working to improve the well-being of people with disabilities living in developing countries. Through the Disability and Development (D&D) team, it seeks to promote: knowledge generation and documentation of good practice, the integration of disability issues into the World Bank‚ analytical and operational work, and to foster external partnerships for disability and development.

Cor Meijer presented the activities and the outputs of the Agency within the current international policy context, with details on projects such as the Inclusive Education in Action, Teacher Education for Inclusion or the European Parliament Hearing in Brussels in November 2011. He highlighted the importance of funding issues, effective practices in inclusive education and presented general conclusions drawn from previous Agency projects.

After the presentation Cor Meijer participated in a question and answer session with the Disability and Development (D&D) Team, based on which an article was published on the website of the Word Bank.

Read the full article at this link: www.worldbank.org/disability

4. Agency Project Updates

Inclusive Education in Action project update

Since the end of the initial one year project, more examples have been added to the IEA website at http://www.inclusive-education-in-action.org/iea/ so in total there are now over 50 examples covering all continents of the globe. Further funding has been provided by UNESCO Division for Basic and Higher Education and learning (Section for Basic Education) to support the development of the site, increasing the coverage of the suggested actions in the UNESCO Policy Guidelines on Inclusion in Education and also to prepare the site to include examples in languages other than English.

The use of the site continues to grow and the most recent figures show over 11,500 visitors since the launch. The video material on the site is proving to be of particular interest.

More examples are welcomed – for information on how to submit, please see http://www.inclusive-education-in-action.org/iea/index.php?menuid=57

Teacher Education for Inclusion

Teacher education issues are high on the policy agenda across Europe and globally. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities is gaining momentum and providing a force for change. Article 24 covers many aspects of education and points to the growing body of evidence that shows that inclusive education not only provides the best educational environment for children with disabilities but helps break down barriers and challenge stereotypes. The Convention also states the need to train all teachers to teach in inclusive classrooms – a conclusion supported by many other communications at European level.

Teacher Education for Inclusion is a three-year project which has been identified as a priority by member countries. Following a literature review and an initial country survey on key issues and challenges, further information was gathered regarding policy and practice in teacher education for inclusion in all member countries.

The final report – which will be available in late 2011 – will draw on all sources of project information in order to provide an overview of the current situation in countries; identify challenges, ways forward and effective innovations and finally, make recommendations for policy and practice which address the question: how are mainstream teachers prepared via their initial training to be ‘inclusive’.

Agency member countries in particular requested information on the necessary competences, attitudes and skills required for all teachers working in inclusive settings and the project will also develop a profile of inclusive mainstream teachers based upon national level information, but agreed upon at the European level.

This Profile of Inclusive Teachers will consider the key aspects such as what attitudes, knowledge and skills do mainstream teachers working in inclusive settings need, what initial training to develop both the above do they need and what are the implications for training all teacher trainers?

The Profile is currently being validated by country study visits to Cyprus, Malta, Norway, Latvia, Finland, UK (England), Denmark, Spain and Austria held in spring and early summer of this year.

The Profile will be available in early 2012.

Information is now available on the Teacher Education for Inclusion project at http://www.european-agency.org/agency-projects/teacher-education-for-inclusion . In addition to the literature and policy reviews, the web area contains a report from each participating country on current practice in teacher education for inclusion at http://www.european-agency.org/agency-projects/teacher-education-for-inclusion/country-info . This information will be put into a database to enable users to search for content on a particular theme across countries. A synthesis of all the country reports highlighting key issues and recommendations will be available soon.

The web area also includes presentations from study visits undertaken as part of the project in 2010 at http://www.european-agency.org/agency-projects/teacher-education-for-inclusion/country-study-visits . Further visits are taking place in 2011 and information on these will be added to the site as they become available.

Vocational Education and Training

In February 2011, Cor J.W. Meijer met with the Minister of Education for Northern Ireland, Mrs Catriona Ruane within the framework of the current Agency project ‘Vocational Education and Training (VET), Policy and Practice in the field of SNE’ in connection with a study visit in Belfast.

The aim of the three year project is to identify and investigate key aspects of VET programmes for learners with special educational needs aged between 14 and 25 with a clear link to employment opportunities.

Agency Staff members and experts from Norway and Sweden were also in Belfast for the above mentioned study visit, where they were given the opportunity to meet key staff from the Department of Education and the Department for Employment and Learning who informed them of the Entitlement Framework (EF). The EF is a joint initiative between the two government departments which aims to widen access to, and participation in, Vocational Education and Training for all young people including learners with a wide range of special educational needs.

The participants of the study visit got an overview of the national policy for young people aged 14–19 years in relation to VET and visited a few examples of good practice: the Southern Regional College – Newry Campus, the Clanrye Training Organisation, and the Fleming Fulton School. During the visit, experts saw in practice how the organisations work and discussed with professionals and trainees the training methods and strategies used for the Vocational Education and Training of students with special educational needs and the employment possibilities for the trainees after completion of training.

5. Contacts and Disclaimer

For more information about the Agency in general or specific projects please contact:

European Agency for Development in Special Needs Education
Østre Stationsvej 33
DK-5000 Odense C
Denmark
Tel.: +45 64 41 00 20
Fax: +45 64 41 23 03
E-mail: secretariat@european-agency.org
URL: www.european-agency.org

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The European Agency for Development in Special Needs Education is an independent and self-governing organisation, supported by Agency member countries and the European Institutions (Commission and Parliament). The production of this document has been made possible through support from the Agency member countries as well as the DG Education and Culture of the European Commission (http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/education_culture/index_en.htm).