Conference Agenda

Inclusive education, in the year we celebrate 30 years since the Salamanca Declaration (UNESCO, 1994), is still an issue that needs more convincing solutions, both from research and practice. Research has shown that inclusive education has academic and social benefits for the entire school community and is considered a step towards a more inclusive and equitable society (Antoninis et al., 2020). In the current conceptualization, diversity and interindividual differences (including those based on race, ethnicity, sexuality, culture, or disability) are regarded as inherent characteristics of any system or school. Full educational inclusion is understood as providing equal learning opportunities for all spectrums of diverse students, not just those with disabilities. Despite various efforts to conceptualise and implement this understanding of inclusive education, one cannot yet speak of qualitative full inclusion in Romania (Vrășmaș & Vrășmaș, 2021). That`s why this research aims to determine the characteristics and specificity of school inclusion in Romania in terms of inclusive culture, practices, and policies, from the teachers` perspective. The specificity is measured using the Index for Inclusion (Booth & Ainscow, 2016), a widely used instrument internationally.

Effective school management, particularly embodied by school principals, plays a pivotal role in the successful implementation of school inclusion initiatives (Khaleel et al., 2021). School principals serve as key orchestrators, influencing the overall organizational climate, policies, and practices within an educational institution (Lian, 2020). In the context of inclusion, they bear the responsibility of fostering an environment that embraces diversity, equity, and accessibility for all students (Theoharis & Scanlan, 2020). Principals contribute significantly to the development and execution of inclusive policies, ensuring that they are aligned with the school's mission and vision (Villa, 2016). Their leadership is instrumental in creating a supportive and inclusive culture that goes beyond mere compliance with regulations. Moreover, principals act as advocates for inclusive practices, fostering collaboration among educators, parents, and the community to create an environment where every student, regardless of diverse abilities or backgrounds, can thrive academically and socially (Cobb, 2014). In essence, school principals' effective management is crucial for the successful integration of inclusive practices, which in turn shapes a learning environment that respects and accommodates the individual needs of every student. Given the significance of school management in the implementation of inclusion at school level, we aimed to identify the differences in the perception of school inclusion between managerial levels (principals) and teachers.

Developing inclusive cultures, policies, and practices, the three dimensions on which the Index for Inclusion is structured, can contribute to improving a more inclusive school environment. The Index for Inclusion refers to the whole process of giving equal access to education for all children and young people, according to the concept of "schools for all" (Booth & Ainscow, 2016), a concept we embrace as a vision for the schools of tomorrow, paraphrasing the title of the ECER conference.

The Index for Inclusion (Booth & Ainscow, 2002), in its fourth revision (Booth & Ainscow, 2016), served as a distinctive tool to measure the effectiveness of inclusion in our research. Assessing inclusive policies, practices, and cultures, the Index acts both diagnostically and as a basis for concrete measures in institutional development (Nes, 2009). Schools across various countries engaging in activities based on the Index for Inclusion reported an enhanced understanding of inclusion and observed improvements in school development (Nes, 2009).

This study aims to delineate, based on the Inclusion Index, the characteristics and specificity of school inclusion in Romania from the perspectives of teachers and principals. The emerging conclusions, grounded in empirical evidence, will serve as a foundational point for proposing measures to foster institutional development and cultivate a more inclusive school community.

In an increasingly globalized and interconnected world, education systems are constantly confronted with new situations to which they have to respond. Besides political, economic, environmental and other changes, global education developments such as the transformation of many education systems towards inclusive education, the problem of teacher shortage, the difficulties to provide education in difficult to reach rural areas etc. further require schools to respond flexibly to changing circumstances. They must therefore be flexible. But what is a flexible school system? How can it become flexible? And is flexibility really a solution to global educational challenges?

Students who are at risk to drop-out of or to be excluded from school often belong to vulnerable and marginalized groups (e.g. affected by poverty, disability, refugee experience, etc.) (Graham et al., 2019). Studies from higher education research indicate that vulnerable individuals in challenging life situations are more likely to enroll in open or distance education programs because of the inherent flexibility in terms of place, time and pace and other dimensions of flexibility (Collis & Moonen, 2001). I argue that flexibility could also have a positive impact on school enrolment and participation of primary and secondary school students at risk of not being in school. This idea of flexibility would – according to (Veletsianos & Houlden, 2020) – aim at “increas[ing] the student-centered and empowering aspects of education, thereby improving not just access, but also equity, diversity, inclusion, retention, completion, and satisfaction” (p. 851).

Despite this very positive view on the potentials of flexibility in education, it should be considered that flexibility is a concept of much controversy (cf. Bauman, 2009; Bouzarovski, 2009; Buzar, 2008; Furåker et al., 2007). Whereas Naidu (2017, p. 2) sees flexibility in higher education as a value principle "much like we see diversity, equity or equality in education and society more broadly", different scholars in the social sciences link flexibility to uncertainty, insecurity and unrest (Bauman, 2009; Reckwitz, 2018; Rosa, 2005). Flexibility can concurrently mean positive potential for one side and instability or uncertainty for the other side (Jonsson, 2007).

The discourses on flexible learning in higher education, mainly from the Netherlands and Australia, later from Canada and the UK, offer interesting ideas for flexibility in the primary and secondary school context. Veletsianos and Houlden (2020) suggest the approach of “radical flexibility” to address questions of inequality, injustice and exclusion in (higher) education, that could be relevant for other educational contexts, too. In order to use this open and holistic approach focusing on the positive potentials of flexibility in education, it still seems necessary to consider and examine the negative traits and find a way to outrule them.

Collis & Moonen (2001) present a systematic overview on flexibility dimensions in higher education: flexibility related to 1) time, 2) content, 3) entry requirements, 4) instructional approach and resources, and 5) delivery and logistics. To what extent these dimensions taken from higher education can be relevant for primary and secondary schooling is going to be discussed in the presentation. A conceptualization of flexibility dimensions for the school context is the ground work for empirical work on school attendance issues.

The second part of the presentation focuses on the question of how the theoretical considerations on flexibility can be transferred to a research methodology to answer questions such as: Which flexible approaches are already existing in specific schools/school systems and beyond? How can flexibility enable school education for students who are not in school/at risk of not being in school?