Inclusive Education is a Plus For Differences

All children are different - each one is different and special, so they cannot be brought up in the same way. But they all have a need and a desire to be accepted, to feel included, regardless of race, religion, social status... Inclusive education is not well understood by parents, teachers and schools. At the beginning of our project, through a needs analysis in all partner schools, we realised that we needed to improve teachers' knowledge of inclusive education and strengthen their skills in order to enable greater social justice and equality for pupils and to enrich the content of education at national and international levels. We wanted to learn through pedagogical collaboration how to increase social justice and equality for pupils. To this end, we have established close cooperation and partnerships at national and international level. NEEDS: The main need we wanted to address with the project was the need to include or accept all learners - regardless of their different starting points (gender, race, religion, social status, social status, ability, etc.). To meet this need, we also had to meet the need for creative and innovative teaching methods and the involvement of professional staff.

The project aimed to achieve the following objectives: - to take into account the differences and characteristics of each child, - to increase the effectiveness of all children in learning and educational activities, - to minimise discrimination against pupils in schools, - to contribute to treating each child as a valuable individual with his/her own differences, - to help teachers acquire constructivist teaching techniques as a skill through activity-based educational practices, - to come up with creative and innovative solutions to make a difference in education by involving all stakeholders. This project has been designed to be inclusive and accessible to individuals from diverse backgrounds. We wanted to ensure that the specific needs of participants with disabilities were taken into account and that they participated fully in all activities. The choice of locations and spaces for the project was thus carefully selected and adapted to all, promoting a sense of belonging and equality.

The project has involved a number of different activities: All schools organised presentations, demonstration stands and opening ceremonies with student performances. In addition to the participants at the school, these ceremonies were attended by the local press, policy makers, teachers from other schools in the area, parents and representatives from related associations and institutions. Our three main activities were linked to the inclusion of pupils with fewer opportunities through different themes: 1. Inclusion through the arts. Inclusive education through animals. 3. Therapy with the earth (soil) and nature. The synergy between the different activities was a particular feature of this project. Art and music therapies often took place in natural settings, for example parks or gardens, creating a harmonious connection with nature. Therapy sessions with pets were integrated into the art and music activities, using the calming effect of animals on the participants during creative expression. These interactions enhanced positive outcomes. Other activities included: 1.E-book: https://inclusiveeducationosrogatec.splet.arnes.si/e-book/ 2.SOCIAL MEDIA: FB pages of the schools 3.WEBSITE: https://inclusiveeducationosrogatec.splet.arn

Poleg raznih aktivnosti, iger, kolaže slik, power point predstavitev in učnih listov je naš konkreten izdelek e-knjiga, kjer so opisane aktivnosti, ki smo jih izvedli, in s pomočjo katerih smo povečali in izboljšali inkluzijo učencev, ki imajo primanjkljaje in manj priložnosti za uspešno vključevanje. Pri otrocih smo opazili napredek pri: - boljše emocionalno počutje v skupini, razredu in šoli, - povečala se je socialna interakcija - stres in anksioznost sta se zmanjšali. Ena od glavnih novosti tega projekta je bil celostni pristop k dobremu počutju. Z vključevanjem umetnosti in glasbe s terapijo s hišnimi ljubljenčki in dejavnostmi v naravi so udeleženci izkusili celovito terapevtsko okolje. Ta pristop je presegel tradicionalne izolirane intervencije in ustvaril večdimenzionalno izkušnjo, ki je skrbela za različne vidike dobrega počutja osebe. Projekt je prinesel konkretne rezultate, ki so bistveno izboljšali odnose in samospoštovanje udeležencev. Vsi konkretni izdelki, aktivnosti in rezultati so objavljeni na spletni strani projekta (https://inclusiveeducationosrogatec.splet.arnes.si/).