Inclusion and education

partnerships but also on equity-oriented funding.
Chapter 5 discusses the politically complicated issue 
of how curricula and learning materials are adapted 
to the principles of inclusive education. It looks at 
the stakeholders involved in curriculum and textbook 
development and how groups at risk of exclusion are 
neglected, under-represented or misrepresented. 
Assessment mechanisms may not fulfil their formative 
role, leading to exclusion.
Chapter 6 looks at ways teachers can support the case for 
inclusion, considers their needs, and examines how well 
governments help them prepare to meet the inclusion 
challenge. It also considers education support personnel, 
examining the extent to which they are available and how 
they relate to teachers in ensuring inclusive practice. 
Chapter 7 examines school-level factors. Head teachers 
must be prepared to promote a whole-school approach 
based on an inclusive ethos as a prerequisite for inclusion. 
They need to link their school to a broader system of 
specialist support. Physical accessibility and universal 
design principles increase functionality and are adaptable 
to everyone’s needs.
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GLOBAL EDUCATION MONITORING REPORT 2021

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Chapter 8 examines communities’ crucial role in achieving 
inclusive education and protecting students from 
discriminatory attitudes, which affect school climate as 
well as students’ safety, well-being and learning. Parents of 
vulnerable children, like other parents, may support more 
inclusive education but also be apprehensive about its 
implementation. Grassroots and civil society organizations 
have promoted inclusion through education service 
provision, advocacy and scrutiny of government actions.
Chapter 9 looks at all the main inclusion challenges through 
the lens of COVID-19. The pandemic has forced education 
ministries to respond under extremely challenging 
circumstances, which has led to considerable reliance 
on distance learning solutions. This chapter considers 
whether such solutions have respected the principle of 
‘doing no harm’ to marginalized populations that may have 
been left out. Governments need to ensure not only the 
continuation of education, helping those disadvantaged 
catch up, but also support students’ well-being.
Finally, Chapter 10 offers a conclusion and 
recommendations.
A note on methodology 
This regional report draws on analysis of primary data 
collected in 30 education systems of Central and Eastern 
Europe, the Caucasus and Central Asia: those of Albania, 
Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, 
Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Georgia, 
Hungary, Kazakhstan, Kosovo,
1 
Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, 
Lithuania, Mongolia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, 
Poland, the Republic of Moldova, Romania, the 
Russian Federation, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Tajikistan, 
Turkey, Ukraine and Uzbekistan. Although Turkmenistan 
is also in the region, it was not possible to include a 
description of its education system.
Drawing on the approach of the 2020 
Global Education 
Monitoring Report
on inclusion and education and the 
expertise of two partner organizations, the European 
Agency for Special Needs and Inclusive Education (EASNIE) 
and the Network of Education Policy Centers (NEPC), a 
template for data collection was developed to explore 
national policies and practices on inclusion and education in 
the seven areas covered by the report. Piloted in Mongolia, 
Poland and Turkey, the template was then completed by 
national experts and government representatives from 
December 2019 to March 2020. Representative examples 
by geography, demography and policy approaches were 
identified and explored in more depth. EASNIE country or 
affiliated local representatives and NEPC-affiliated local 
organizations or individual experts reviewed and validated 
the information.
A summary of evidence from the 30 education systems 
is available in an annex. Full descriptions of all education 
systems are available on the regional report website 
and are the key reference for most examples used. They 
expand considerably, and add to, the country profiles that 
originally informed the 2020 
Global Education Monitoring 
Report
, which are available at the Profiles Enhancing 
Education Reviews (PEER) website.
With the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic during 
the development of this regional report, data coverage 
was extended to include information on education 
system responses. A survey by NEPC in selected 
countries was complemented by desk-based research to 
inform Chapter 9.
1
References to Kosovo shall be understood to be in the context of Security Council Resolution 1244 (1999)
.
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Children with learning difficulties fully
included into a regular kindergarten in Belarus. 
CREDIT: UNICEF/UN040214/

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