Siauliai, Lithuania October 28, 2010

 Inclusive education:  Including all children in schools  Including all children in mainstream schools

 How far is inclusive education being achieved in developed countries?  Can address this question through international comparisons

 There is no international agreement on what “Special Education” means  OECD set out to create a definition  Those children receiving additional resources to access the curriculum

 Data gathered using this definition varies widely from country to country but can be broken down into 3 broad categories:  Disabilities  Learning Difficulties  Disadvantages

Disability  Those with organic pathologies.  Educational need arises mainly from problems associated with these disabilities.

Learning Difficulties  Those with behavioural or emotional disorders or specific learning difficulties.  Educational need arises mainly from problems in the interaction between the student and the educational context.

Disadvantages  Those with problems arising mainly from socio-economic or cultural/linguistic factors.  The educational need is to compensate for the disadvantage associated with these factors.

CROSS-NATIONAL CATEGORY A - DISABILITIES - Number of students receiving additional resources over the period of compulsory education in cross-national category A as a percentage of all students in compulsory education

CROSS-NATIONAL CATEGORY B - LEARNING DIFFICULTIES - Number of students receiving additional resources over the period of compulsory education in cross-national category B as a percentage of all students in compulsory education

CROSS-NATIONAL CATEGORY C - DISADVANTAGES - Number of students receiving additional resources over the period of compulsory education in cross-national category C as a percentage of all students in compulsory education

CROSS-NATIONAL CATEGORY A - DISABILITIES / LOCATION - Percentages of students receiving additional resources over the period of compulsory education in cross-national category A by location, 2005

CROSS-NATIONAL CATEGORY B - LEARNING DIFFICULTIES / LOCATION - Percentages of students receiving additional resources over the period of compulsory education in cross-national category B by location, 2005

CROSS-NATIONAL CATEGORY C - DISADVANTAGES / LOCATION - Percentages of students receiving additional resources over the period of compulsory education in cross-national category C by location, 2005

Table showing proportions of children with disabilities and learning difficulties in compulsory education in Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, LithuaniaLatviaEstoniaOECD median Children with Disabilities ‘A’ Percent total Percent regular classes Children with Difficulties ‘B’ Percent total Percent regular classes

The structure for supporting children with special needs in Lithuania  Education:  Special commissions in schools  Pedagogical-Psychological Services  National Centre for Special Needs Education and Psychology  Teacher training (in-service and pre-service) that gives teachers skills  Parental involvement  Health:  Child Development Centres

Conclusions  Although there are some children with disabilities still at home and in boarding institutions, the vast majority are in schools  Most children with disabilities in ‘A’ were in special schools pre-1990, the majority now (70%) are in regular schools  This provision is significantly different from Latvia and Estonia

Conclusions  There is a comprehensive set of services and in-school specialised support that are improving all of the time  It has taken 20 years with substantial financial, political and technical support to get this far  There has also been strong parental and professional commitment to creating inclusive education

Conclusions  The evidence shows that these policies and practices are working to create inclusive education  Policies for the future intend to increase the amount of inclusion of children with disabilities in regular schools; and  To continue to change the services offered by special schools.

Thank you Peter Evans