The aim of the study was to identify social representations of inclusive school from the point of view of Slovak education actors. Q-methodology (Stephenson, 1953) was used for the purpose of mapping. A set of 57 items was compiled, representatively representing associations with the meaning “inclusive school”. The items were sorted by 32 participants aged from 25 to 58. Five significant factors were identified, which represented various inclusive school representations linked to: 1) tradition of integration, 2) institutional processes of education quality assurance, 3) priority in declaration of pro-inclusive setting, 4) community co-existence, and 5) needs of a modern society. Preliminary interpretation of the representations from the viewpoint of participants’ additional characteristics is described in the discussion.

Inclusion is often understood as a deeper integration, what means that integration itself loses its basic sense of a voluntary and spontaneous interpersonal relationship based on the equality of rights and equalization of life (developmental) opportunities. Integration as a pedagogical concept originates from the idea of the universal education known since the times of Jan Amos Komensky, and nowadays it refers into the philosophical and social contexts of the idea of freedom and equality, constituting an important aspect of the social cohesion policy. Quite rarely, attention is paid to the fact that social (including educational) inclusion can – in defiance of noble assumptions and without conscious intention – aim at dominating the included minority group. The proposal to think about integration as the purpose of inclusion concerns both activities undertaken on educational grounds (especially for students with special educational needs) and more general social policy.

Wraz z ogłoszeniem przez ONZ „Agendy na rzecz zrównoważonego rozwoju 2030” globalna edukacja obywatelska stała się ważnym narzędziem realizacji Celów Zrównoważonego Rozwoju. Jednym z jej zadań jest w ujęciu UNESCO przygotowanie dzieci, młodzieży i dorosłych do budowy bardziej inkluzywnego świata. Krytycy podkreślają jednak, że wiele działań z zakresu globalnej edukacji obywatelskiej ma charakter pozornie inkluzywny. Problematyczny okazuje się konstrukt globalnego obywatela elitarny, imperialistyczny i paternalistyczny, a także ucieleśniający dyskurs neoliberalny.
Celem artykułu jest analiza inkluzywnego potencjału globalnej edukacji obywatelskiej i wskazanie możliwych ścieżek poszerzenia go. Argumentuję, że aby uczynić globalną edukację obywatelską bardziej inkluzywną, warto przeformułować kategorię globalnego obywatelstwa. Odwołując się do prac R. Lister, V. Andreotti, A. Abdiego czy L. Shultz proponuję bardziej elastyczną, pluralistyczną formułę globalnego obywatelstwa, wrażliwego na różnicę, ale nie rezygnującego z uniwersalistycznych obietnic. Nakreślam także wybrane implikacje tej formuły dla globalnej edukacji obywatelskiej.

Since 2015, the University College of Teacher Education in Styria (Austria) has been contributing to the integration of people who had had to leave their countries as refugees. This way, pupils from vocational schools, students training to become teachers as well as teachers get an insight into the situation and challenges of refugees. The initiative Connect2Learn focuses on encounters and mutual learning. Cultural differences are perceived as an opportunity for reflection, learning and professional development. Through encounters and reflections, barriers and mutual fear of contact are to be dismantled. In this article, three activities of Connect2Learn are described as examples: encounters of (future) teachers and refugees in heterogeneous discussion groups in the sett ing of a World-Café, a three-week joint course for refugees and Austrian pupils at a vocational school and autonomous implementation of voluntary instruction to refugees in computer skills.

Based on a survey of clients and interviews with experts, the study evaluates rehabilitation services for children with Down Syndrome provided through the out-of-school center “Socium”. It is the only non-governmental organization in Kyiv (Ukraine) which is fully engaged in physical health and sport rehabilitation of disabled children. The findings demonstrate the positive effects of sport education on the social functioning and health of children and their families. The research reveals the need for the professional support of social workers of families with children who have mental retardation, and suggests steps for improving the services and inclusiveness at the centre.

Online interviews in qualitative research of the pandemic period: inclusive potential, risk of exclusion, and quality of collected data

The paper is devoted to online interviews that gained significant popularity during the pandemic. The text has two main goals. The first was to reflect on the possible mechanisms of exclusion and inclusion of various categories of research participants. The second objective was to analyze the impact of the communication channels used with the respondents on the quality of the collected qualitative data. The study exhibits that online research is gradually becoming more inclusive, and the argument of digital exclusion is becoming increasingly outdated. The respondents’ education may still exclude, especially among lower than secondary education respondents. At the same time, the formula of online interviews offers a significant proinclusive potential, which was reflected in the participation in the study of a number of informants who could be permanently unavailable under traditional research. Research also shows that online interviews are generally effective. However, the application of diversified communication channels results in systematic and measurable differences in the collected data. Considering various aspects, Zoom offered data of better quality than Skype. On the other hand, mobile applications (and phone calls) do not constitute a natural alternative, and it is difficult to recommend them.

Children’s literature sensitizing to situations of exclusion threat – selection and pedagogical implications

Children’s literature of the last decade of the 21st century presents a number of narratives that show the need to be attentive to numerous situations that threaten to exclude a person from certain social groups. These books can be described as particularly sensitive to harm of the neighbour. The aim of the article is to show the fate of literary heroes in selected children’s books, in which they directly or indirectly face the problem of discrimination and social exclusion. The situations that I would like to draw attention to are: homelessness of another person, poverty, exile. My goal is achieved by analyzing selected children’s literature of both Polish and foreign (mainly Swedish) writers. The text is composed of two parts. In the first, I present the existing state of knowledge in social sciences and humanities on social exclusion and the process of non-existence, in the second part of the text, I present conclusions from the content analysis of selected children’s literature. Each of the books selected for analysis can function in the early school readership as close to the ideas of intercultural education and philosophy of dialogue.

In an empirical quantitative study, the aim of which was to examine more thoroughly the representation of recognition and appreciation of the individual abilities of children in preschool education from the point of view of students, 321 respondents participated – students of the first and second cycles of preschool education programmes of faculties from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia and Slovenia. The main findings of the study indicate that although students highly vaalue the recognition and appreciation of individual abilities in working with children, the degree of recognition of children’s abilities is higher in relation to their appreciation in practice, as well as a more optimal appreciation of the individual abilities of children without than with developmental difficulties.

The article presents the results of a study of the peculiarities and difficulties of educational and social inclusion of Ukrainian children with special educational needs who found protection from the war in the Czech Republic. The sample was formed according to the criteria we defined. The results obtained using a semi-structured interview testify to the social significance of the outlined problem. They can be used to develop ways and resources to increase the effectiveness of including of Ukrainian children with special educational needs and their self-realisation in European society.

Public school towards the inclusion of students with disabilities – diagnosis of selected problems

At the heart of inclusive education is ensuring that students with disabilities have access to high-quality education in a mainstream setting. The way to achieve this goal is to build a new model, a school better adapted to the needs of all students. The paper aims to present the school situation (educational and peer) of students with disabilities against the background of everyday educational practice implemented in many Polish mainstream schools. Adopting the position on the teachers’ fundamental role in designing the development and learning environment, the focus was mainly on their educational activities and attitudes towards inclusive education. Critical points of the didactic and educational process have been identified, which hinder the transition from school routine to education open to the diverse needs of all pupils, including those with disabilities. Significant obstacles to building cooperation, exchanging knowledge among students, and, consequently, increasing the level of social relations were identified, among which the legitimisation of individualistic values, often reinforced by the mechanism of competition, may be particularly important.

This study is a review (content analysis of the literature) supplemented with actual indications and a proposal for a project that can be implemented by researchers representing universities from several countries. The aim is to show how universal design and broadly understood accessibility relate to the idea of intercultural education, or how they rather stem from it. Additionally, it will be important to develop these ideas within the thinking about the changing university – open and accessible to everyone as much as possible. Due attention will be drawn here to important issues from the point of view of the priorities and prospects of the European Union’s policy, also because of the obvious need to change the social reality towards the frequently mentioned inclusion. The ending will comprise the guidelines and recommendations for those designing future activities, those implementing ready-made solutions, as well as for theoreticians who try to organize their knowledge in this area.