2. Roots and development of inclusion in education

Inclusive approach can be characterized as completely natural integration of people with special needs into the major society - or we could say that these people are not excluded from the major population at all. Therefore pupils with special needs are educated in mainstream schools together with their peers, and no special and non-standard tools are used in their education unless it is absolutely necessary.

Since The UNESCO Salamaca Statement (Salamanca, Spain, 1994), usually referred to as the initiating document for the current wave of inclusive trends, the inclusion in education is considered more or less global trend, and international cooperation and experience exchange is accelerating the process of positive social change in many countries at the same time.

On the other hand, even in this approach we may find some risks or challenges, but there is no better form of coexistence of the intact (unaffected) population with individuals with special needs known today. It just takes a time learn how to live together, and it is always a question of the relationship of one individual person with another. Most people need to change their mind, values and ingrained patterns of their behavior.


(Photo by Ivan Bertolazzi from Pexels)