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TITLE OF THE PUBLICATION
IndexforInclusion. A guide to the evaluation and improvement of inclusive education
SURNAME AND NAME OF AUTHOR(S)
Giné, C., Durán, D., Miquel,E., Sandoval M., López, M.L. &Echeita, G.
PUBLISHER
Educational Contexts. Journal of Education - University of La Rioja
PLACE AND DATE OF PUBLICATION
Logroño. 2002
TYPE OF PUBLICATION
Report
LANGUAGE OF THE DOCUMENT
Spanish
LANGUAGE OF THE REVIEW
English
THEMATIC AREA
Students with learning difficulties
DESCRIPTION OF CONTENTS
This article presents, in a summarized way, the translation and adaptation to the Spanish educative system of the "Indexforinclusion" (Index for inclusion) that has being constituted as a essential work to promote the processes of change towards a greater educative inclusion in schools, taking into account the points of view of the different members are the educative community. This material contemplates the process of educative inclusion from a globalized approach, as it is directed towards the learning and participation of all the students who are vulnerable to be subjects of exclusion and not only those diagnosed with "Special Educative Necessities".

The authors of this work propose that the improvement of the mechanism of educative inclusion in students with disabilities or special necessities supposes, on the one hand, the improvement of the conditions of the implicated students and the diminution of the risk of participating in situations such as social exclusion, school bullying or early school leaving; and, on the other hand, the improvement of schools as a whole.

Once settled the theoretical bases of Index, the authors present its structure. It is a process of self-evaluation organized around three dimensions: culture, politics and practices related to inclusive education. This way, the dimension of creating inclusive is divided in: building a community and establishing inclusive values. The dimension of elaborating inclusive policies in: developing a school for everyone and organizing the support for attending to diversity. Finally, the dimension of developing inclusive practices is divided in: orchestrating the learning and managing resources. Furthermore, within each of these dimensions, a series of indicators are distinguished, which show in which rate schools adhere themselves to this principles of inclusive schools.
COMMENTS ON THIS PUBLICATION
This work supposes a contribution of relevance both in the theoretical field and in the applied field. In the theoretical, because it analyzes the different dimensions that are linked to social exclusion within the educative context and that, ultimately, provoke absenteeism and/or early school leaving in a significant group of students. These dimensions are formulated from an approach which is very close to educative practice, this is why they are easily understandable by the professionals in education, as well as by those in charge of educative administration. The first of these dimensions is centered in the creation of an inclusive culture within the school, with special emphasis in the development of the values model that allows the acceptance and inclusion of everybody. The second of the dimensions makes reference to the development of educative policies. In this case, it thinks about the means that schools have to turn the educative values into specific measures that can be developed within the educative institutions. And, finally, the third of the dimensions analyzes the specific practices that are carried out in schools and Compulsory Secondary Education centers.

But, at the same time, "Indexforinclusion" supposes a great contribution from a practical point of view. The indicators that the scale offers to the professionals of education, in special those who act as teachers in schools, objective criteria about the degree in which educative inclusion is present in their workplace. This kind of measurement allows a double interpretation. On the one hand, it gives a measure about how the phenomenon of inclusion in students with special necessities or disabilities is being approached in a specific moment. But, on the other hand, it also gives clear clues about what aspects need improving within school dynamics in order to foment more inclusive educative practices.
WHERE TO FIND IT
Publicado en Contextos Educativos. Revista de Educación 2002, 5, 227-238http://publicaciones.unirioja.es/ojs-2.4.2/index.php/contextos/article/view/514/478
Name of Compiler
Joaquín Mora Merchán
Name of Institution
University of Seville
Role in the institution
Researcher

20 December 2014

Final Partners’ meeting

The fourth partners’ meeting took place in Florence (IT) on 15 December 2014. The meeting had the objective to check the activities carried out since the third meeting of the project and share and assess the in progress results. A special focus has been dedicated to the presentation of the strategies to solve the case scenarios.