Perspectives on Socio-Educational Inclusion of Children with Special Educational Needs

The socio-educational inclusion of children with special educational needs is an insufficiently explored topic in Romania, despite the fact that we are part of many international organizations that support human rights and an increasing number of nationally ratified conventions. This paper aims to capture the perception and attitude of teachers on the rights and possibilities of these children to integrate into mainstream education, identifying obstacles and possible solutions. The study was conducted through an opinion poll and a focus group with the participation of teachers from mainstream education units.The main conclusions show that regular education will not be able to integrate children with special educational needs, in the absence of differentiated teaching/ learning, programs and assessments tailored to the specifics of each child, a thorough training of teachers and support of specialized staff, parents and community.

Teacher Attitudes Towards the School Integration of Students With Special Educational Needs

In recent decades, the issue of integrating students with SEN in mainstream education has been the focus of both educationalists and teachers from Romania. In this respect, integrated education means the form of schooling in which students with SEN are taught in mainstream education, while inclusive education assumes that schools adjust themselves to the psycho-individual particularities of each student, whether or not they have certain disabilities. Unfortunately, teachers and other educational agents are not always prepared to accept and meet the needs of a student with disabilities. Thus, the aim of this research was to identify the attitude of teachers towards the integration of students with SEN in the mainstream education of Bihor county, Romania. The results show that both society and a large part of the school staff ignore the issue of people with disabilities, preferring a superficial involvement, which restricts itself mainly to the administrative aspect instead of developing quality interpersonal relationships between non-disabled students and those with SEN.

The Three E’s of Private Tuition in India: Expansion, Expenditure, and Effect

Private tuition (PT) is a common phenomenon in India. Today, it is a multi-billion U.S. dollar (USD) market and the third major contributor of household expenses in India. However, “the effect of PT on academic achievement of the students” is a subjective statement and is being questioned by its very outcomes. Literature reveals that PT has neither a “positive” nor a “null” effect on an individual’s learning. However, assertively, we can conclude that PT comes with a baggage of “toxic by-products” for mainstream education. It necessitates implementing a regulatory mechanism for PT. Nevertheless, institutions need to extend additional support.

The Impact of Learning Kurdish ‘Mother-Tongue’ in London on Mainstream Education

This study investigates the impact of a group of Kurdish children learning their mother-tongue, in two Kurdish Saturday schools in North London, and particularly the impact on the children’s integration into mainstream schooling. There are some historical issues surrounding ethnic minority children’s education that have been labelled as problematic towards their educational achievements in the United Kingdom. The responsibility of teaching the mother-tongue to those children takes place formally in supplementary or Saturday schools in their community rather than in mainstream schools. Many researches have revealed that learning their mother tongue is beneficial for children in general. In particular, this research focuses on the impacts on Kurdish children in mainstream education, since the number of children from diverse backgrounds is increasing, including the number of children from the Kurdish community. Mixed method research has been undertaken to examine this issue, including a semi- structured questionnaire and group interview used to collect data, as this research depended on students’ as well as parents’ views in integrating their child in some state schools. The findings revealed that learning the mother-tongue is beneficial for children from diverse backgrounds and that supplementary schools play a vital role in learning the mother-tongue on children’s attitude in mainstream education.