Inclusion and education

particularly emphasized or encouraged.
Evidence from the 2018 TALIS is mixed on demand for 
professional development in inclusion. Overall, among 
the 14 countries in the region that took part, the average 
percentage of lower secondary school teachers expressing 
high demand for training in inclusion-related areas was 
similar to the EU average. Demand was highest for 
training to teach students with special needs. Across 
the four areas covered, Romanian teachers expressed 
consistently high demand compared with the EU average. 
For instance, 27% expressed high demand for skills to 
communicate with people from different cultures or 
countries, compared with 10% in the EU (
Figure 6.3a
).
It is worth noting that, perhaps counterintuitively, the 
relationship between the prevalence of professional 
development opportunities and the expression of need 
for more professional development in these 14 countries 
was positive: The more such opportunities existed, the 
more teachers expressed a high need to participate in 
such training. This association was strongest in the case 
of training to communicate with people from different 
cultures or countries. The increase in availability of 
such opportunities may have emerged in response to 
recognized needs.
Evidence is also mixed on changes in teacher demand for 
training in countries that have taken part in more than 
one TALIS round. Four countries that took part in the 
survey in 2008 and 2018, especially Hungary and Slovenia, 
reported considerable decline in demand, but all countries 
that took part in 2013 reported an average increase of 
about seven percentage points (
Figure 6.3b
).
BOX 6.4:
Armenia has developed a comprehensive in-service 
training programme
Armenia recently introduced a new model of in-service capacity 
development building on an initiative of Teach for Armenia. 
An expert group carried out a study of teacher competences, 
identified shortcomings and developed an inclusive education 
teacher training and mentorship methodology and toolkit. Instead 
of targeting specific skills for working with some categories of 
vulnerable students, the programme identified key competences 
for working in inclusive education, such as better recognition and 
identification of learning styles, strategies, needs and progress 
of diverse children; individualization of teaching activities and 
use of various teaching strategies; and problem-solving methods 
for challenging classroom situations through collaboration with 
other teachers, education support specialists, families and other 
stakeholders.
Following a call for applications, since 2019 a mentorship 
programme has offered two weeks of intensive training in 
mentoring and facilitation skills to more than 800 public 
school teachers and teaching assistants. To ensure high-quality 
implementation and continuous improvement of the programme, 
the Republican Pedagogical-Psychological Centre hired six 
external specialists to monitor and evaluate more than 50 trainer-
mentors’ performance and the programme’s overall impact on 
teachers’ professional development.
Many countries report an ageing teacher 
population, which may hinder efforts 
towards preparing the teaching force for 
inclusion
108
GLOBAL EDUCATION MONITORING REPORT 2021

---

While many countries lack a well-structured approach to 
teacher professional development for inclusive education, 
some are making significant efforts to formulate one, 
including Armenia (
Box 6.4
). The Czech Republic included a 
major component on teacher and other school personnel 
capacity development in the Learning Culture, Leadership, 
Inclusion, Mentoring, and Activating Forms of Learning, 
or K-L-I-M-A, project (2016–22), under the Ministry of 
Education, Youth and Sports, to support all students in 
developing their full potential.