The annual workshop for nominated European Agency Statistics on Inclusive Education (EASIE) data experts took place in Frankfurt am Main, Germany on 25–27 November 2019.
EASIE focuses on collecting data that informs learners’ rights issues and policy-makers’ work in relation to European Union objectives for Education and Training, policy goals for inclusive education, and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
A number of key messages have been identified after three cycles of EASIE data collection (school years 2012/13, 2014/15, 2016/17) and analysis. Data is often limited or missing on the situation of learners who are out of any form of education for different reasons (i.e. formally enrolled in education but not attending, or not enrolled in any form of education). The issue of out-of-education learners is crucial in considering learners’ rights to inclusive education – if a learner is ‘out of school’ they are definitely out of inclusive education, so it is a fundamental equity issue which requires further examination.
Therefore, the main discussion topic at the workshop was around collecting data on out-of-education learners. The 2020 data collection work (school year 2018/19) will look deeper into the situation of these learners. The workshop also started preparing for the change from biennial to annual data collection, which will begin next year.
Daniel Bognar (Head of Division Special Needs and Inclusive Education, Hessian Ministry for Education) opened the workshop, followed by a presentation by Agency Director Cor J. W. Meijer on the Agency’s past and present activities, with special focus on EASIE. Professor Dieter Katzenbach (Department for Special Needs, Goethe University) welcomed participants at a dinner in the Goethe University, hosted by the Hessian Ministry for Education.