EASNIE Director Dr João Costa travelled to Wuhan, China, on 24 and 25 June, to participate in the Fourth International Symposium on Inclusive Education Development at Central China Normal University.
The symposium explored many topics on inclusive education, including the role of special education and developing inclusive curricula and textbooks. A series of parallel forums took place on subjects such as subject teaching for learners with special educational needs in mainstream classrooms, teacher training and establishing inclusive education resource centres.
Dr Costa gave a keynote speech entitled ‘Inclusive education – The role of innovation for bridging the gap between principles and practice’. He gave an overview of EASNIE and its work with and for its member countries, and highlighted the key principles for inclusive education systems. He stressed the importance of teacher education, and the need for teachers to be able to differentiate their pedagogy to meet diverse learners’ needs. He also looked at ways in which technology and artificial intelligence can assist teachers in the classroom.
Other keynote speakers included representatives from Central China Normal University and Inclusion International.
