Inclusion and education

CONCLUSION
School availability, accessibility, acceptability and 
adaptability are key elements of the right to education. 
Their fulfilment takes multiple forms in a variety of 
contexts and requires alignment of within-school, 
between-school and beyond-school processes. Following 
a history of education segregation in the region, schools 
increasingly welcome broader learner diversity, though 
obstacles remain. Exclusive school selection mechanisms 
and assessments often persist, without sufficient critical 
reflection, preventing full participation of all learners 
in mainstream schools. Transformative leadership is 
needed to overcome barriers and establish an inclusive 
school culture.
A common language and understanding of inclusive 
pedagogy and support for learning are crucial if inclusive 
practice is to be described and shared among school 
leaders, teaching and support staff, but these concepts 
remain novel in many contexts. Pedagogical, instructional 
and distributed approaches to leadership are necessary to 
make the most of collaborative practice available through 
school teams and resource centres. However, there is little 
evidence of systematic approaches to develop school 
leaders’ capacity for whole-school development. As the 
next chapter shows, without school leader preparedness, 
the quest for inclusive school cultures, promoting 
access and all learners’ full participation in the school 
community, remains unfulfilled.
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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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Three workshops were organised for parents to connect better
with the kindergarten and preschool teachers in Croatia, along
with a community event organised and attended by parents and
the wider community.
CREDIT: UNICEF/UNI276637/Cosic

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