Milan in Janez za inkluzijo (Milan Petrović in Janez Levec za inkluzijo)

The project responds to the needs of students with special needs, who are educated by both schools in the project. It concerns students with intellectual disabilities, autism and associated dissabilities. They, too, want and deserve international experience, which would strengthen their own independence, communication and social skills, and many other skills. We also applied for the project due to the teachers' need for ongoing professional training, enabling also a comparison of the two systems of inclusive education, work methods, as well as the challenges faced by professionals from both schools. Last but not least, with the project we wanted to further raise awareness in Serbian and Slovenian society about the importance of inclusion and the benefits it brings for everyone.

With the project, we wanted, first of all, to provide an unforgettable life experience for young people, students with intellectual disabilities, autism and associated disorders. For many of them, this was their first trip abroad, without parents or guardians, many Serbian participants, e.g. saw the sea for the first time. The experience strengthened them, empowered them, gave them confirmation that they can do it themselves. In addition to carrying out numerous student exchanges, with the project we also wanted to enable teachers to experience visiting a partner institution, visit specific workshops, classrooms and get to know the partner system, work practices, as well as the challenges they face when implementing inclusive education. We wanted to compare both systems, find out their positive and negative sides, and get ideas for our own work improvement. With the project, which often coincided with inclusive events in both countries, we also wanted to raise awareness in Serbian and Slovenian society about the importance of inclusion, to contribute our part to reducing stereotypes and fears.

During the project period, we carried out more exchanges than we originally planned and we are pleased to say that we included more people in the project than stated in the project application itself. Thus, in addition to partner meetings, 6 exchanges of professional staff and students (accompanied by teachers), 2 round tables (each in its own country and each held during an inclusive event with the aim of creating synergies with other activities and projects) were held. At the end of the project, we held a planned final online meeting, at which participants from Croatia, North Macedonia and Bosnia and Herzegovina were also present. For the sustainability of the project, we have combined our impressions, observations and knowledge in an online publication, which is prepared in both languages ​​of the partnership and in English, with the aim of wider use, inspiration and information. As an additional activity, during the project we also made a short questionnaire for Slovenian teachers, accompanying persons, with which we measured their expectations and fears before and after the mobility. We summarized the findings in a short paper, which was also the final thesis of the project coordinator, a student of pedagogy-andragogy studies

The concrete result was a publication in which we captured the impressions, observations, insights, and comparisons of the two education systems, both at the level of management and teachers, as well as students of partner institutions. The online publication is available in English, Serbian and Slovenian. As an unexpected result of the project, there is also a short analysis in which we measured the fears and expectations of the accompanying Slovenian teachers who accompanied 14 students from Slovene school on their exchange in April this year. Their quantitative as well as qualitative answers are covered in the document, and the questions were sent before and after the exchange itself. Part of the teachers' qualitative responses were included in the publication, but otherwise the assignment is an independent work, also published on the CJL website. The publication in three languages ​​is intended not only to inform, but also to motivate and inspire similar schools, that mobility with students with special needs can be implemented and that it brings many positive effects, many of which are completely unexpected.