On February, 3rd IV international conference “Successive system of inclusive education” was opened in IEML.
IEML is a pilot platform of the Ministry of education and science of the Republic of Tatarstan for application of inclusive education to educational organizations’ activities. An institute’s project “Creation and development of successive system of inclusive education in the Republic of Tatarstan” gained a status of Federal innovative platform.
The Ministry of education and science of the Republic of Tatarstan, The Department of education of Kazan, International Academy of Sciences of pedagogical education, the Presidential Commission for the Disabled, The Tatarstan branch of All-Russian society of disabled people, several non-government organizations: International non-government organization “Piligrim” (Moscow), autonomous non-profit organization “Belaya trost” (Yekaterinburg), The Association for the Blind & Visually Impaired named after Valentin Haüy (Paris, France).
The conference had an innovative format: 8 countries (Russia, France, Germany, the USA, Turkey, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Ukraine) and 10 Russian cities including the most remote ones took part in it. This fact underlines the public interest in inclusive education.
Vice-rector for continuing education, director of the Institute of distance learning, head of the department of theoretical and inclusive pedagogy in IEML, professor Daniya Zagriyevna Akhmetova welcomed everyone in the beginning of the event: “We work in the direction of inclusive education not for a long time, for about 4 years, and this is very valuable to create a generation of happy people with endless opportunities. The education has to be humanistic: humanity is the main generic quality that is inherited through culture, soul and spirit”.
Besides the opening ceremony, an International student contest was held at the first day of the conference. Some teams consisted of students with special educational needs and capabilities. The youngest participants were barely 14 years old.
The organizers of the conference are convinced that the main subjects of inclusion are children and teachers. Both families and public organizations should be involved in inclusion, that is why this conference ensures the unity of inclusive policy, culture and practice – realizations of inclusion’s main criteria.
The second day of the conference will be held in a new secondary school №179 with profound studying of certain subjects, and on the third day a plenary session, master classes and discussions are planned in one of the best inclusive schools of Kazan – the school №33. On that day an experience of cluster organization of inclusive educational space in Aviastroitelniy and Novo-Savinovskiy districts of Kazan will be presented.