Inclusion and education

INCLUSIVE EDUCATION DEPENDS ON 
FAIR SCHOOL ADMISSIONS AND SOCIAL 
RECOGNITION
A school culture of inclusiveness refers to values and beliefs 
underpinning its policy and practice to foster diversity 
at various levels (Booth and Ainscow, 2011; Ebersold, 
2015). Flexibility in admissions, irrespective of ethnicity, 
language, gender, poverty, disability, learning achievement 
or behaviour, is an important indicator of inclusive school 
culture. The school leader’s role in communicating these 
values and beliefs, regardless of the limits posed by school 
structures and social environments, is key.
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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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Although 24 of the 30 education systems in the region 
claim to accept all learners in mainstream schools, 
potential students are rejected in many countries as a 
result of exclusionary mechanisms and administrative 
barriers. For instance, in 15 countries, admissions depend 
on medical-psychological assessments and other 
selection procedures overseen by head teachers.
Half the countries reporting that all learners have access 
to local schools use selection procedures for admission. 
In addition, 11 countries give structural reasons for 
non-admission, such as overcrowded classrooms in urban 
schools or lack of support staff, and 6 cite administrative 
barriers, such as requiring registration in the school 
catchment area. Other barriers include online registration 
and language preparation requirements. Hungary, 
Kosovo,
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Romania and the Russian Federation mention 
exclusion for disciplinary reasons. 
Some vulnerable groups are systematically 
under-represented in mainstream education. Of the 
30 education systems reviewed, 17 do not include children 
with disabilities in primary and 21 in secondary education. 
Admission barriers exist for Roma children in 10 countries 
in primary and 13 in secondary education. Even when 
admitted, poor and marginalized students are more likely 
to underachieve at school. Education officers whose task 
is to prevent early school leaving may fail to reach out 
to their families as a result of discrimination or social, 
economic and cultural barriers.
Selection tactics lead to exclusion even when legislation 
is in place to prevent this from happening. In Romania, 
urban schools are more likely to refuse to enrol learners 
with special education needs when there are other schools 
to turn to. Some countries maintain priority registration 
in secondary schools, track learners at transition points – 
for instance, from pre-primary to primary education – or 
group learners according to achievement. In 15 education 
systems, mainstream schools have special classrooms 
or collaborate with non-residential special schools. In 
some cases, as in Serbia, separate classrooms provide