Inclusion and education

HISTORY HAS WELDED TOGETHER 
NATIONAL EDUCATION EXPERIENCES IN 
CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPE, THE 
CAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA
Education systems do not exist in a void. They are 
influenced and shaped by the social, cultural, economic 
and political structures in which they are embedded and 
to which they contribute. Thus, they reflect and risk 
reproducing historical and current patterns of inequality 
and discrimination. Education systems both depend on 
and create the societies in which they exist: While unequal 
and intolerant societies may create unfair, segregated and 
discriminatory education systems, more equitable and 
inclusive education systems can help bring about fairer 
and more inclusive societies.
FIGURE 1.2: 
All means all
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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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The geographical area covered in this report is vast. 
Indeed, it is questionable whether the Baltic Assembly 
countries; the Central European Visegrád countries; 
south-eastern Europe; Belarus, Ukraine and the Russian 
Federation; Turkey and the Caucasus; the Central Asian 
republics; and Mongolia constitute a region. In the SDG 
classification, for instance, they belong to four different 
regional groups. However, except for Turkey, they were 
brought close historically in 1945 when state socialism 
welded them into a region with similarities in social 
and economic organization, including in their education 
structures and approaches.
The transition paths they followed after 1989 were varied, 
but defined with reference to this shared experience. 
Many of them continued to share experiences and 
compare records during the highs and lows of transition. 
While their education development accelerated in 
the second half of the 20th century, their education 
systems had weaknesses and needed to adjust rapidly 
to new social and economic realities. An immediate 
priority was removal of certain curriculum content. More 
substantive reforms later focused on democratization, 
decentralization, competence-based curricula, external 
assessment at the end of general education and 
liberalization of teacher professional development, 
often with the influence and support of international 
organizations (Anderson and Heyneman, 2005; Berryman, 
2000; Fiszbein, 2001; Radó, 2001; UNICEF, 2007).
Implementation of reforms varied greatly across the 
region. Both destructive and constructive forces were 
released. On the one hand, the number of countries in the 
region tripled in the 1990s, in some cases peacefully, in 
others tragically through violence and war. Some tensions 
remain unresolved. As no country is homogeneous from 
an ethnic, linguistic or religious perspective, many reforms 
focused on peacebuilding, interethnic understanding, and 
minority and other human rights. Countries also went 
through one or several economic shocks that affected 
governments’ capacity to finance and deliver education of 
good quality.
On the other hand, a common point of reference for 
many countries has been the aspiration to either fully 
integrate or engage more closely with the structures 
and systems of their western European neighbours. 
In total, 11 countries of the region joined the European 
Union (EU) between 2004 and 2011, 6 are candidates or 
potential candidates, and another 6 participate in the 
European Neighbourhood Policy. EU accession aims to 
ensure that ‘inclusion, tolerance, justice, solidarity and 
non-discrimination prevail’ (European Commission, 2020). 
Countries subscribe to common strategic objectives and 
take part in open policy coordination processes, including 
on education. A 2018 recommendation notably commits 
countries to promote common values and inclusive 
education (European Council, 2018). Association and