Since the 90s and within the framework of Education for All that focused on access to education for all children, UNESCO has prioritized inclusive education. To this end, a set of policy guidelines were published in 2009 as a way to assist member States in their efforts towards development of national inclusive education policies.
With the advent of the 2030 Education Agenda, which places a great emphasis on inclusion and equity as the basis for quality education and “commit(s) to addressing all forms of exclusion and marginalization, disparities and inequalities in access, participation and learning outcomes”, a new set of policy guidelines is needed to help countries review and/or develop new national education policies to best respond to the needs of all learners.
As a consequent, a group of experts in inclusive education were asked to draft the new “UNESCO’s Policy Guidelines on Inclusion and Equity in Education”. The preliminary document was shared with education experts worldwide for their feedback and comments. These experts are now reunited in Paris, to attend the Experts Consultation Meeting on Inclusion in Education.
The main outcomes of this two-days gathering will be: 1) reviewing and finalizing the Policy Guidelines; 2) discussing a series of strategies for the dissemination and validation of the document; and 3) discussing how these guidelines can be used as instrument to help countries develop inclusive policies related to target 4.5 of SDG 4.
