The Frontiers Of Inclusive Education Theory And Practice In Italy And Spain

The current societal and social reality in Europe is undergoing far-reaching changes due to the phenomenon of migration. Educational policy and pedagogical practice play a key role in the academic support of immigrant children in schools. In this volume, the connections between societal change and educational issues in relation to two southern European nations, Spain and Italy, are analyzed. The stories of intercultural communication and integration of these two case studies focus on five themes: linguistic diversity, the performance gap, teacher training programs and school culture, the role of music education in multicultural and multilingual contexts, and the development of a supranational education as an improvement for multicultural education. The volume is of particular relevance for educational researchers, as well as for the interested general reader. It takes the reader to public and private entities in Italy and Spain, where intercultural education is part of societal discourse, and serves as a sounding board for the discussion of developments in other parts of Europe with similar demographics.

This volume studies the implications of the right to inclusive education in human rights law for disability law, policy and practice.

This open access international scientific study provides an analysis of how the educational strategy of Universal Design for Learning can stimulate the process of inclusive education in different educational-cultural contexts and different areas of the educational system. The findings of the research deepen the conception of inclusive education and present an analysis of factors that are significant for developing the educational system as well as providing evidence-based recommendations for educational practice. The research for this work was done in four European countries with various historical-cultural contexts: Lithuania and Poland underwent a transformation of the educational systems at the turning point in their political system, shifting from a strictly centralized Soviet policy to a liberal and democratic education system; Austria has experienced changes in social stratification and a need for cultural harmonisation arising from active national migration processes, whereas Finland has been gradually developing a socio-democratic model of national welfare. The analysis of the educational processes in the four countries has been performed using a qualitative action research method. The researchers, in cooperation with the teachers from the selected schools in their country, have implemented the strategy of Universal Design for Learning and assessed its transformation indicators in terms of the quality of inclusive education components.

The interwoven futures of humanity and our planet are under threat. Urgent action, taken together, is needed to change course and reimagine our futures.