Inclusion and education

particularly sustainable, equitable and inclusive societies. 
It is an expression of justice, not of charity, whatever the 
differences, biological or otherwise, and however they may 
be described. Thinking about the education of students 
with special needs should be tantamount to thinking about 
what all students may need. All students require teaching 
methods and support mechanisms that help them 
succeed and belong.
Inclusive education promotes inclusive societies, where 
people can live together and diversity is celebrated. It is a 
prerequisite for education in and for democracies based 
on fairness, justice and equity (Slee, 2020). It provides a 
systematic framework for identifying and dismantling 
barriers for vulnerable populations according to the 
principle ‘every learner matters and matters equally’ 
(UNESCO, 2017, p. 12). It counteracts education system 
tendencies that allow exceptions and exclusions. Evaluating 
schools along a single dimension, such as reading and 
mathematics scores, to determine resource allocation risks 
forcing schools to be selective or to label students likely to 
perform below average.
GUIDE TO THE REPORT
This regional report recognizes the variety of contexts 
and challenges that countries in Central and Eastern 
Europe, the Caucasus and Central Asia must address in 
their efforts towards inclusive education. It considers the 
groups at risk of being excluded from education and the 
barriers facing individual learners, especially when multiple 
characteristics intersect. It also takes into account the fact 
that exclusion may be physical, social (in interpersonal and 
group relations), psychological or systemic (since systems 
may exclude, for instance, disadvantaged groups through 
regulations). Key elements in addressing or exacerbating 
the challenges and in fostering inclusion of learners at 
the local and system levels include laws and policies; data 
collection systems; governance and finance; curricula 
and textbooks; teachers; schools; and communities. 
Accordingly, this report has seven main chapters.
Following this introduction, Chapter 2 analyses the role 
of legal tools in supporting the development of inclusive 
education. Laws often express the national interpretation 
of international conventions, which have formulated the 
commitment to inclusion, but also the adaptation of these 
concepts to reflect the complexities and barriers specific 
to their contexts. The chapter also addresses vague or 
contradictory laws and policies that can hinder inclusion 
and universal access to the different levels of education.
Chapter 3 assesses challenges in collecting data on and for 
inclusion in education. It reviews experiences of defining 
vulnerable groups, including learners with disabilities, and 
challenges of identification and labelling. It then considers 
aspects such as segregation, administrative data and 
qualitative measures of inclusion.
Chapter 4 addresses governance and finance. Education 
ministries must be at the heart of inclusion efforts, but to 
fully achieve their aims, they need to work with ministries 
and agencies in other sectors, as well as subnational 
education authorities and NGOs. Success in inclusive 
education rests on good governance of all these complex