The promotion of equity in education is a clear strategic challenge for the EU member states. The ET 2020 framework outlines a number of strategic objectives relating to the promotion of quality educational opportunities for all learners, particularly those who are vulnerable to exclusion.
A new Agency project - Raising Achievement for All Learners – Quality in Inclusive Education (RA4AL) - aims to explore a critical issue emanating from these policy initiatives: how the achievement of all learners in inclusive education can be improved in a meaningful way that improves their life chances and opportunities for actively participating in society.
This is a one-year project beginning in December 2011 and running until the end of 2012. The project is supported under European Commission LLP Comenius Accompanying Measures funding.
These and related issues will be the focus of inputs and debates during the RA4AL project conference organised in collaboration with the Danish Ministry of Education and the Odense Municipal authorities and will be held in Odense, Denmark 13-15 June 2012. The conference will be opened by the Minister for Children and Education and will be an official event under the Danish Presidency of the Council of the European Union.
The conference will be used as an initial forum for key stakeholders to contribute to the clarification of a rationale in relation to raising achievement for all learners as a quality issue. The conference will involve: policy makers for general and inclusive education, as well as researchers in inclusive education.
These participants will work collaboratively during and after the event to share existing knowledge in this area and develop a synthesis of information in order to provide initial recommendations and key policy messages relating to raising achievement for all learners in inclusive education that will be widely disseminated in European countries.