Pathways to Inclusion

The book is, as the title indicates, written to support staff development in schools working towards inclusive education. The purpose of the material is to diseminate to teachers, parents and support services elements of successful practices of inclusive schooling in four European countries. It was produced by a collaborative team from Austria, Iceland, Portugal and Spain as part of a Leonardo da Vinci, European Union project called Enhancing Teachers' Ability in Inclusion. The outcome of the project was recently selected by the Directorate-General of Education and Culture of the European Commission as a good example of innovation in vocational education in the field of Social insertion/formation for the disabled. The book is based on several case studies of successful efforts towards inclusive education in compulsory schools in the four countries. The introduction to the book introduces the context of the project and the research methodology. The conclusions section discusses the findings in nine chapters representing the major themes emerging from the study. Each chapter states the main findings for the corresponding theme and then makes practical suggestions for school and staff development based on these findings. Finally, there is a short discussion of the general implications of the study, including guidance on how the materials might be used. The bulk of the material is a handbook for staff development, divided into nine chapters corresponding to the themes emerging from the study.