Promoting Inclusive Education in Greece - Phase II

The European Commission supports the Greek Ministry of Education, Religious Affairs and Sport as well as the wider education community in the country to adequately implement an inclusive education system through the European Child Guarantee. 

Context 

Until recently, inclusive education in Greece was perceived as a special needs issue. It was treated as such in legislation, policy and practice. Through the EU funded technical support project ‘Promoting inclusive education in Greece: Addressing challenges in legislation, educational policy and practice’ education stakeholders in Greece became familiar with the concept of inclusive education and developed concrete operational tools - namely inclusive assessment protocols, inclusive transition practices and inclusive school guidelines – to support a more equitable and inclusive education system.

At this stage, the Ministry is in need of support for the implementation of the policy framework and methodologies that were developed under the concluded project. Standardisation of processes across Greece will allow for their transformation into daily educational practice in every school and would allow to cater to the needs of all learners in the classroom.

Support delivered   

The technical support will be delivered through the piloting of the tools developed under the first phase project, in five selected regions of Greece, with selected schools within each region, and with diverse stakeholders. These will range from those most closely involved with schools, like head teachers, teachers, support and specialised personnel, but also extending to learners themselves, their families (parents and those who care for children), and the communities where schools are located. Peer learning activities during the pilot implementation will support exchanges on inclusive education practices from other European countries, like Finland, Italy and Portugal, that will allow participants to identify key lessons learned to improve everyday practices for the inclusive tools piloted under the project. Data from the pilot phase, together with input and feedback from the different stakeholder groups will support the development of recommendations for the implementation of the tools at national level, thereby furthering the urgent goal of achieving inclusive education in Greece.

Expected results 

The expected results of this project are that the Greek educational community will be equipped to introduce inclusive practice in three national priority areas, namely inclusive assessment, inclusive transition practices and inclusive school guidelines. 

In the long-term, the project is expected to improve inclusive education in Greece by increasing know-how to empower mainstream schools to respond to the diversity of all learners.