Inclusion and education

CHAPTER
1
Introduction

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Inclusion in education is not just a result, it is a process ............................................... 17
The experiences of people with disabilities have helped shape
perspectives on inclusion ........................................................................................................18
Inclusion in education means education of good quality for all ..........................20
History has welded together national education experiences in Central and 
Eastern Europe, the Caucasus and Central Asia ................................................................. 21
Education systems in the region are trying to shed the legacy of the medical 
model ................................................................................................................................................22
Systems in the region also need to address other types of exclusion ..............23
Why does inclusion in education matter? .............................................................................25
Guide to the report .......................................................................................................................... 26
A note on methodology .........................................................................................................27
Transforming our World,
the foundation document
of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development,
brought together aspirations of poverty reduction and
environmental sustainability, underpinned by a drive 
for social justice that builds on the human rights 
instruments of the past 70 years. It refers extensively 
to equity, inclusion, diversity, equal opportunity and 
non-discrimination. It calls for empowering vulnerable 
people and meeting their needs. Several of the 
17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) refer to inclusion 
and equality. SDG 4, the international community’s 
commitment to ‘ensure inclusive and equitable quality 
education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for 
all’, has both at its heart and is one of the clearest examples 
of the overall pledge to leave no one behind.
As unequal distribution of resources and opportunities 
persists, equity and inclusion have become the central 
promises of the 2030 Agenda. Characteristics commonly 
associated with inequality of distribution include gender, 
remoteness, poverty, disability, ethnicity, language, 
migration, displacement, incarceration, sexual orientation, 
gender identity and expression, and religion and other 
beliefs and attitudes.
Some mechanisms contributing to inequality are 
universal while others are specific to social and economic 
contexts, as in the case of Central and Eastern Europe, the 
Caucasus and Central Asia. Advantage and disadvantage 
are transmitted over generations as parents impart 
resources, including income, skills and networks, to their 
children. Organizations and institutions may favour 
some groups over others and propagate social norms 
and stereotypes that exclude more vulnerable groups 
from opportunities. Individuals form groups that extend 
advantage to members and deny it to others.
Public institutions may be designed to correct imbalances 
or may be beholden to vested and powerful interests 
(UNDP, 2019).