Inclusion and education

FIGURE 5.1:
Hardly any country in the region involves parents and students in curriculum design
Number of education systems reporting stakeholder involvement in curriculum development
NGOs, foundations
and associations
Faculties and academies
Experts
Teachers
Institutes, agencies
and inspectorates
School professionals 
and support specialists
Parents
Students
School leaders
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
Yes
No
Education systems
Source
: Data collected for the regional report on inclusion and education in Central and Eastern Europe, the Caucasus and Central Asia.
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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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The most common forms of curriculum adaptation in the 
region are individualized education plans and adaptation 
for learners belonging to ethnic minorities, such as Central 
Asian pastoral communities (
Box 5.1
).
Almost all countries use individualized education plans. 
Some, including Albania and Romania, specify in their 
laws that curriculum and working methods should be 
adapted to enable learners with special education needs 
or disabilities to reach their full potential. Individualized 
education plans are also used for gifted students
(e.g. in the Russian Federation) or those with specific 
health conditions (e.g. in Slovakia). Other countries, 
among them Bosnia and Herzegovina, do not specify for 
whom such individualized education plans are intended.
In most countries, a special commission, working group 
or support group is in charge of developing individualized 
education plans. In Kazakhstan, a psychological-medical-
pedagogical commission leads curricular adaptation 
in partnership with teachers and experts in schools. In 
Mongolia, students, parents and/or teachers apply for 
individualized education plans. Students and parents 
can offer suggestions on the plan and its content. In the 
Russian Federation, parents are involved in preparation 
of individualized education plans. The school chooses an 
appropriate curricular framework and adapts it to student 
needs and school conditions. Adjustments tend to be 
made by representatives of psychological-pedagogical 
services, the deputy director and teachers commissioned 
by the school director. The adapted version is submitted 
for discussion with teachers and parents of children with 
special needs before the pedagogical council and school 
governing body adopt the final version.
Individualized education plans are mostly implemented 
by a regular teacher assisted by an expert. In Albania, 
for example, an assistant teacher implements the plan 
in cooperation with the classroom teacher, subject 
teacher, psychologist, social worker and parents. In 
general, individualized education plans for students with 
disabilities are used in regular schools, although in some 
cases the plan may be implemented in special schools 
or at home. Plans for students with health conditions 
preventing school attendance are used at home.
In Kyrgyzstan, although there are individualized education 
plans implemented in regular schools, students with a 
disability or health condition often study at home.
The school develops a plan for a child for one school year; 
if the psychological-medical-pedagogical commission 
decides that the child should study at home, the parents 
must transmit the decision to the school. But caution 
should be exercised so that individualized plans are a 
vehicle to ensure flexible adaptation to meet learner 
needs in mainstream classes, not a basis for segregating 
learners or fitting them to the system.
Curriculum flexibility also applies in adaptations for children 
belonging to ethnic minorities. Some 70% of the region’s 
education systems provide schools or classes using the 
Some 70% of the region’s education systems provide schools or classes 
using the home language of the largest national minority groups