Annual Conference for Principals of Special Schools

Collaborative Working across Europe

Verity Donnelly European Agency for Development

in Special Needs Education

The Agency● National networks in 28 European countries:

Austria, Belgium (Flemish and French speaking communities), Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom (England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales)

● Secretariat based in Odense, Denmark and Centre of Activity in Brussels, Belgium

● 15th year of operations, funded by Member Countries and EU Commission

Strategic Objectives● To promote quality in the field of special needs education

through the maintenance of a long-term framework for extended European collaboration

● To provide a reliable reflection of the reality of special needs education across Europe with up to date information that can be related to individual countries’ national contexts

● To identify key factors that hinder or support positive experiences

● To facilitate effective exchange of knowledge and experience among as well as within member countries

● To make it easier for policy makers and professionals to access relevant information by providing mechanisms and services that enable information sharing and facilitate contact between different users

The Agency as a collaborative organisation

● Collects information from 28 member countries, on priority themes

● Carries out information collection and analysis and disseminates user-friendly information

● Organises meetings of country representatives, study visits, thematic conferences and seminars to facilitate sharing of information/ experience

● Organises political events to raise awareness and disseminate information on key issues

Contributions to International Debates

● The Agency has a clear role in representing member countries in a collective way in international arenas

● Due to its unique position within Europe, the Agency provides an opportunity for member countries to influence EU policies (and programmes) in accordance with Council priorities

● The Agency maintains active co-operative relationships with other key International bodies and organisations in the field of education, inclusive and special needs education – for example UNESCO and OECD

Collaborative practice as professional development …

● Policy makers benefit from:- networking opportunities with professionals

working in similar policy making roles and in other roles who share similar concerns

- tools that help to address current policy demands (e.g. monitoring policy impact) and that offer practical strategies for key aspects of policy implementation

Information and Professional Networking in Agency work

● Networking opportunities are developed using a participatory approach (RB, NC, project experts) to facilitate a process of professional learning and development through various forms of exchange of information and experience

● In networks and collaborative projects, policy makers from member countries may agree upon principles and possible actions

● Information products reflecting these are translated into all national languages and used to further reflect upon and evaluate policy and practice – also acting as a mechanism for developing thinking at national and European levels

Collaborative practice as a lever for change – ground rules

● Countries are at different starting points and have different ‘histories’ in terms of education generally and inclusion specifically

● No-one has all the answers. Many countries have examples of good ‘work in progress’

● Learning from diversity is a principle for all Agency work

Collaborative practice as a lever for change at national level

●Phase 1 - Policy makers actively disseminate Agency materials and products to committees (ministerial or national committees) where policy is being discussed ●Phase 2 - Information enters national documents or reports (either directly with a citation or indirectly as general ideas) ●Phase 3 - Specific materials may develop into national policy guidelines ●Phase 4 - Information materials may influence new legislation and ultimately practice

Collaborative practice as a lever for change at European level

- European level efforts by the Agency should identify the features of different systems that work and could improve practice for others

- The EC now provides more focused support for educational policy making via the method of 'open co-ordination’

- The OMC aims to spread best practice and achieve convergence towards key EU goals agreed by Council of Ministers. These are translated into guidelines and national/regional policies by member states. Benchmarks and indicators are agreed to support monitoring and evaluation.

Member Country Perceptions

What the Agency does● The provision of good and applicable

information and products translated into all national languages

● The development of networking opportunities that go beyond the immediate work of the Agency

Member Country Perceptions (2)

How the Agency operates ● Use of a participatory / bottom up

approach● The effective arrangement of the work -

involving experts and country representatives working with Agency staff

Member Country Perceptions (3)

Why Agency work is significant for member countries

• The European focus of Agency activities and quality information provided by the Agency

• The Agency as a mechanism for developing thinking

• Agency work incorporated into national guidelines/policies

• The Agency as a lever for change in countries

Research evidence- Most innovation results from activity of networked teams

- Lateral networks transfer practice more effectively than top down hierarchies

- Networks of peers support co-production of new knowledge as a source of better professional practice (open-source culture) (Hargreaves 2003)

- Networking may be considered one of the most promising developments in education and

school improvement today (Muijs et al 2011)

Short term Projects● Early Childhood Intervention Project Update (2009 -

2010) ● Indicators for Inclusive Education (2009 - 2011)● Inclusive Education in Action (2010 – 2011)● MIPIE: Mapping the Implementation of Policy for

Inclusive Education (2010 – 2011)● i-access: Accessible Information Provision (2011 –

2012)● Raising Achievement for all Learners (2012-2013)● Information and Communication Technology (2012

- 2013)

Long term Projects

● Multicultural Diversity and Special Needs Education (2007 - 2009)

● Vocational Education and Training (2010 - 2012)

● Teacher Education for Inclusion (2009 - 2011)

● Organisation of Provision to support Inclusive Education (2011 - 2013)

● Raising Achievement for all Learners (2012 - 2014)

Organisation of Provision to support Inclusive Education

How are systems of provision organised to meet the needs of learners with disabilities in mainstream settings?

- The project aims to support understanding of factors that influence effective policy and practice and investigate levers for change to provide insights for policy makers

- Project parameters:– UNCRPD definition of disability– Support for learners in mainstream - compulsory school

sector

Aims● To analyse country information to explore key issues

and challenges– Definitions of inclusion? Competitive systems?

Standards agenda? Accountability?● To identify innovative ways forward

– Providing an ‘optimal learning environment’ and equal educational opportunities for all

● To provide practical information on managing change and transferring practice across different settings and contexts– Who are the key change agents? What are the

most effective strategies?

Methodology● RBs/networks to gather country information and

examples of practice for analysis and investigation● Agency staff, Project Advisory Group, External

Consultants undertake analysis and activities – Review of existing Agency work and recent

literature– Research on UNCRPD implementation and

monitoring– Analysis of country information– Investigation of examples/ selected case study sites

● 2012/2013 – seminars held at different country sites to explore key themes

Emerging themes- Innovative ways to increase the capacity of mainstream schools to support learners with disabilities – including through the development of special settings

- Collaborative approaches and networking to support schools to meet the needs of learners with

disabilities – working with multi-agency services/local organisations etc.

- Provision and allocation of resources at school/learner level to meet identified needs

- Consideration of ‘quality’ in support for learners with disabilities in mainstream settings and how this is

evaluated and feedback used for further development

Special settings as…● Resources centres – supporting

schools/staff/learners/families● Part of a ‘flexible interacting continua of provision’

(Norwich 2008) moving towards greater commonality and considering options in:– Identification– Participation in programmes and practices, social

and cultural aspects– Placement– Curriculum and teaching– Governance and responsibility of separate

settings

Outputs● Literature Review● Country reports and examples of

practice● Reports from selected case study

sites● Reports from thematic seminars● Project final report

Agency Publications

Agency Information Resources

The Agency offers various information resources, which can all be accessed via the website www.european-agency.org

– Thematic Reports– Thematic Databases– Newsletters and Electronic Bulletin

Agency publications can be downloaded in up to 22 member languages

More informationwww.european-agency.org

European Agency for Development in Special Needs Education

Østre Stationsvej 33

DK-5000 Odense C

Denmark

secretariat@european-agency.org

Dr. Verity Donnelly

Project Manager

verity@european-agency.org