Abstract
Education represents one of the fundamental human rights and a tool for satisfying potentially all human needs in Maslow's hierarchy. In the current world of diversity, society as a whole - to achieve a true society for everyone - needs special education—not just individuals with impairments and developmental difficulties. The chapter will focus on inclusive education in Serbia from many perspectives. The framework for inclusive education in Serbia will be given by the authors through their consideration of past projects and the state of the Serbian educational system at the moment. The authors will also refer to the investments of the Serbian state in the infrastructure of inclusive education. The chapter will also present a retrospective of education in Serbia, while less emphasis will be placed on the promotion of inclusiveness in Serbian society.
TopIntroduction
With the common goal of ensuring that every child receives a top-notch education, inclusive education entails modifications and enhancements to techniques, structures, content, and strategies (Djevic, 2009). Inclusive education aims to develop ways to adapt schools to meet the needs of students with different educational requirements.
Inclusion encompasses all spheres of society, including families, communities, and schools, and calls for a methodical rise in participation (Kolic, 2012). Exclusion is the reverse of inclusion and includes things like removing kids from school systems, passive inclusion, stigmatization, segregation, child abuse, and child belittling. The process of inclusion increases the effectiveness of schools in responding to the various special needs and interests of these children, even though the focus of inclusion is on children with special needs and marginalized groups such as children with developmental (Molina Roldán et al., 2021). States undertake several initiatives, including building the infrastructure for inclusive education, to support the inclusion process in the classroom. The infrastructure makes it possible to build new educational facilities or renovate ones that already exist so that children and young people from socially vulnerable backgrounds can receive the best possible education (Ilic et al., 2022). The projects, founded by UNICEF that states have started involve teams for social inclusion and appropriate institutions (psychology, sociology, etc.). The “Platform for Education and Training of the Western Balkans” was created by the European Union a few years ago to facilitate cooperation in the field of education between Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, Serbia, and North Macedonia (UNICEF, 2009). Teacher education is a top concern for the Ministries of Education. Subsequently, the European Union commissioned a mapping research, which yielded national studies on “Teacher Education and Training” for seven countries, as well as a single consolidated report for the region (European Commission, 2013a). The European Union (EU) released a report in 2013 titled “Supporting the development of teacher competencies for better learning outcomes” (European Commission, 2013b). This report played a significant role in the production of subsequent reports. A study titled “Mapping Policies and Practices for the Preparation of Teachers for Inclusive Education in the Context of Social and Cultural Diversity” (Council of Europe, 2009) was commissioned by the European Education Foundation (ETF) in 2009. National reports containing a list of issues and suggestions for additional action were created based on the outcomes of the aforementioned activities (Regional Support for Inclusive Education in South East Europe). The team at the Institute of Psychology established a project named “Development of a Framework for Monitoring Inclusive Education in Serbia” in response to Serbia's goal of being as near to the European Union as feasible in the area of inclusive education (Cerovic, et al., 2014). Nonetheless, Serbia and its surrounding nations must make investments in educational infrastructure in addition to the previously mentioned project (Ceric, 2019). As a result, several programs, or projects, were launched in Serbia to help strengthen the infrastructure network for inclusive education (Vujacic et al., 2018; Radovic-Markovic & Bodroski-Spariosu, 2010). The chapter will focus on some of the topics, such as resources for the development and implementation of inclusive education in Serbia, institutions that are involved in monitoring inclusive education, and finally, sources of information, i.e. the marketing side of the project guidelines, as well as on reporting, i.e. the channels through which information and the progress of projects move towards the general public. With the presentation of successful inclusive education strategies from Europe and the region, the chapter's primary objective is to show where Serbia stands regarding inclusive education from the previous stages of its growth to the present.
Key Terms in this Chapter
ICT Equipment: Any communication equipment, including radios, televisions, cell phones, computers, network hardware, satellite systems, and so forth, as well as the myriad services and appliances that go along with them, such as video conferencing and distance learning, are all included under the broad category of information and communication technology, or ICT.
Andragogic Assistants: Provides support to adults for inclusion in the education system and assistance to employees in the implementation of the education program.
EIB: – European Investment Bank : Provides long-term project funding, guarantees, and assistance to achieve the objectives of the European Union. Projects both inside and outside the EU are supported by this bank, and the EU's member states are its shareholders.
Child-Belittling: Implies negative and bad behavior of adults toward the child, along with psychological and verbal violence.
Pedagogical Assistants: Serving students, or children, is the primary responsibility of a pedagogical assistant. They also aid students as they progress along their developmental paths while working alongside their peers.
Top-Notch Education: Education of the highest quality, i.e. excellent educational standards.
Exclusion: Is the opposite concept of inclusion and implies not including an individual in any social process (if it refers to a person). Concerning education, then it means that marginalized groups of children or adults are not included in the system of inclusive education,
IEQET: (In Serbian: ZVKOV) Serbian institute for evaluation of the quality of education and teaching.
IE – Inclusive Education: All students should attend the same schools and classrooms to practice inclusive education. It entails actual educational possibilities for historically marginalized groups, including minority language speakers and children with disabilities.