Inclusion and education

CONCLUSION
Governance and finance are interdependent in education. 
This chapter has identified factors that affect governance 
and finance systems and that must be considered when 
implementing inclusive education legislation and policy. 
These factors include collaboration between government 
structures and between state and non-state actors, 
identifiable forms of horizontal and vertical collaboration 
and the impact of decentralization on provision of 
inclusive education. Mechanisms of quality assurance 
between governance levels are also key elements, as they 
support coherence and continuity in activities related to 
inclusive education. Finally, applying a funding system for 
inclusive education that is not based on labelling should 
be considered.
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C E N T R A L A N D E A S T E R N E U R O P E , C A U C A S U S A N D C E N T R A L A S I A

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At Vulcănești school, Renata, 14 (left), is in a Romanian language class. 
“I don’t speak Romanian very well so I like to go to class to learn,” she 
explains. For children from Roma-speaking homes, learning Moldova’s 
official language is key to a successful education. "Teachers and 
local authorities went from home to home to identify the children of 
schoolgoing age and the reasons why they were not attending,” says 
UNICEF Moldova Education Specialist Liudmila Lefter.
CREDIT: UNICEF/UN0248592/Dickinson

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CHAPTER
5
Curricula, 
textbooks and 
assessments

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KEY MESSAGES
The curriculum should represent all learners and be flexible.
„
Groups that lack political or social recognition are represented only marginally if at all. A Council of Europe 
review of history, civics and geography curricula in 14 education systems found:
• 
no mention of national minorities in Albania and one in the Czech Republic
• 
no mention of Roma in 9 countries, including Bulgaria, Serbia and Slovakia, where they are a sizeable 
minority; but a comprehensive framing of Roma history offered since 2017 in Romania’s history curriculum.
„
Curricula should not reproduce stereotypes. Bosnia and Herzegovina has distinct curricula for its three 
constituent groups; each curriculum emphasizes the respective group and mentions the others in passing.
„
The gender dimension is often compromised. Turkish curricula in 2016 barely mentioned women’s rights and 
had removed grade 9 content referring to gender equality.
„
Sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression are mostly ignored. Russian Federation law 
prohibits talking in school about the existence of the LGBTI community.
„
Some ministries issue guidelines on inclusion. Slovakia’s National Institute for Education annual citizenship 
education manual offers detailed proposals to schools for actions to help prevent racism, xenophobia, anti-
Semitism and intolerance.
„
Meaningful stakeholder participation is needed. Estonian parents and Moldovan students are among the few 
examples of external stakeholder involvement in curriculum development.
„
Curriculum flexibility can manifest in what, how, where and when learning occurs. Such flexibility should 
support learner-centred approaches.
„
Some 70% of the region’s countries provide schools or classes using the home languages of the largest 
national minority groups, leading to parallel provision that often works against inclusion. By contrast, in 
Slovenia’s Slovene-Hungarian bilingual schools, the ethnic majority and minority learn together using an 
intercultural curriculum.
„
Education of nomadic populations presents challenges. In the autonomous Republic of Karakalpakstan, 
Uzbekistan, a project seeks to increase preschool education coverage in remote rural areas through mobile 
groups and a cycle of television programmes.
Learning materials and textbooks may promote inclusion but also reinforce stereotypes.
„
Inclusive textbooks employ inclusive language, represent diverse identities and integrate human rights.
The trilingual education policy in Kazakhstan led to new Tajik, Uighur and Uzbek primary school textbooks.
In Bulgaria, specially developed teaching aids are available for electives on Roma history and traditions.
„
Reversing representation of traditional gender norms in textbooks requires strong government commitment. 
Azerbaijan introduced a gender equality criterion in the textbook assessment process, although it assigned it 
a low weight.
„
Technology can support learners with disabilities. Montenegro uses textbooks in the Digital Accessible Information 
System format, which allows easy recording of written material containing audio and visual information.
Assessment frameworks that do not consider learner diversity harm inclusion.
„
Various adapted assessment models can demonstrate progress and increase opportunities for learners 
with special education needs. In Lithuania, formative assessment is encouraged to enable individual learner 
progress. In Georgia, sign language standards have been elaborated to assist inclusion of learners with 
hearing impairment, and standards for learners with visual impairment are being prepared.
„
Nevertheless, national assessment systems have a long way to go to become inclusive, respond to individual 
needs and not result in segregation.
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GLOBAL EDUCATION MONITORING REPORT 2021

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Inclusive curricula take all learners’ needs into account .................................................87
Tensions often arise over what a truly inclusive curriculum is .............................88
An inclusive curriculum requires stakeholder participation from
development to implementation .......................................................................................90
An inclusive curriculum should be flexible .......................................................................91
Textbooks support inclusion through content and accessibility ..............................94
Textbooks can exclude through omission and misrepresentation .....................94
Textbooks need to be accessible to all learners ........................................................... 96
Inclusive assessment frameworks should include all learners ....................................97
Countries offer various accommodations to learners with disabilities in 
examinations ................................................................................................................................98
Conclusion ........................................................................................................................................... 99
Inclusion is not just about ensuring everyone is in school 
or eliminating physical segregation. An inclusive learning 
experience requires inclusive curricula, textbooks and 
assessment practices. The curriculum has been described 
as ‘the central means through which the principle of 
inclusion is put into action within an education system’ 
(IBE, 2008, p. 22). It reflects what is meant to be taught 
(content) and learned (goals). It needs to be coherent with 
how it will be taught (pedagogical methods) and learned 
(tasks) as well as with the materials to support learning 
(e.g. textbooks, computers) and the methods to assess 
learning (e.g. examinations, projects).
Curricula exclude learners when they do not cater 
to diverse needs and do not respect human and 
citizenship rights; they must embrace learners’ identities, 
backgrounds and abilities and respond to learners’ needs. 
Textbooks can perpetuate stereotypes by associating 
certain characteristics with particular population groups. 
Inappropriate images and descriptions can make students 
with non-dominant backgrounds feel misrepresented, 
misunderstood, frustrated and alienated. While 
good-quality assessment is a fundamental part of an 
inclusive education system, testing regimes that do not 
accommodate various needs can exclude learners. Finally, 
the links between curricula, textbooks and assessments 
are often ignored. Sometimes changes are made to one 
but not the others.
This chapter addresses these three interlinked aspects 
of learning, showing how a number of factors need to be 
aligned for inclusive curricular, textbook and assessment 
reforms to be successful. Capacities need to be developed 
so that stakeholders work collaboratively and think 
strategically. Partnerships must be in place so that all