On 7-12 November educators from 11 different countries met in London for the second combined special interest group meeting within the project “Strategies for Inclusion”. Aim of this meeting was to develop and peer-review educational resources that the group members had been preparing for inclusive history and citizenship education.
Meeting was hosted by Open Society Foundation London office and Cass School of Education and Communities at the University of East London, and realised with the support by Erasmus+ and Open Society Foundations. In the welcoming speeches Hugh McLean, director of the Open Society Education Support Program and Dr. Carrie Weston, Associate Dean and Director of Learning and Teaching at UEL both stressed the importance of this unique project. According to them inclusive education is a subject that needs more attention, and that Strategies for Inclusion project has profound resonance with what is happening in the world today.
Together with EuroClio project managers Judith Geerling, Aysel Gojayeva, project advisor Steven Stegers and trainee Piia Lempiäinen the group worked to prepare the educational resources for future piloting. Project partner Manuela Carvalho presented the first results of the assessment of needs and resources for teachers to facilitate more inclusive education. The programme also included training sessions on inclusive assessment by Kala Parasuram, Assessment Access and Inclusion Manager at the International Baccalaureate, and on editing materials by independent editor Kay Coleman. During a visit to Victoria & Albert Museum of Childhood the group was introduced to museum’s Special Education Needs programmes and inclusive approaches. One highlight of the week was a visit to Hampshire Secondary History Network, where Dr. Patricia Hanam, County Inspector and Adviser for History in Hampshire hosted the group. The day included getting to know Hampshire History Centre and Rights and Diversity Centre, as well as visit to Wildern School to see how inclusion works in a large secondary school. All of these programme elements stimulated thoughtful discussion on inclusive history and citizenship education among the group, and produced many new contacts in the UK.
Next Special Interest Group meeting will be held in Czechia in May 2017. Follow our project page for updates and news.
